Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Cass Gilbert
Contributing Editor
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Belgium’s Ardennes Arbalete with Friends
59 Sep 24 Cass Gilbert / PlanShirking short-haul planes for the summer, Cass Gilbert spends the time exploring his own backyard. Or at least, places that lie just a train or ferry ride away. Here are his thoughts on one of our favourite new routes from last year, Belgium’s Ardennes Arbalete, enjoyed with a group of global bikepacking friends…
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Wizard Works X Get Wild Matty Collab
1 Sep 6 Cass Gilbert / DispatchAnnouncing a limited edition hat and stem bag collaboration from London-based Wizard Works and roving Yorkshireman Get Wild Matty…
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Alpkit Kraku Stove + MytiPot 900 : Convenient Minimalism on a Budget
28 Sep 4 Cass Gilbert / Bikepacking GearWe try the Alpkit Kraku – an ultra-compact gas canister stove – and the 900ml MytiPot on tour in Europe. Who said minimalism can’t be affordable? Find our review here…
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Cycling UK announces the Great North Trail, an 800 mile mountain biking route
7 Sep 3 Cass Gilbert / DispatchRunning between the Peak District National Park and mainland Scotland’s most northerly points, the brand new Great North Trail is an off-road extravaganza that promises more than 800 miles of rolling hills, windswept moorland, drovers’ roads, forest trails, singletrack, and historical intrigue…
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Announcing the Surly Dunoon Dirt Dash gravel event
4 Aug 29 Cass Gilbert / DispatchWhy not head to Scotland this autumn? Held on Scotland’s Adventure Coast, the Surly Dunoon Dirt Dash promises fine gravel riding, camaraderie, and camping the shadow of a castle!
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First Look: 2020 Bombtrack Beyond+ ADV
37 Aug 23 Cass Gilbert / Bikepacking Bikes2020 sees a few tweaks to Bombtrack’s big-wheeled Beyond+ ADV, including three-pack cage mounts on each seatstay. Here are all the details, the full build kit, and a few thoughts on how it rides.
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2020 Bombtrack Audax and Audax AL: First Impressions
37 Aug 19 Cass Gilbert / Bikepacking BikesContinuing our coverage from Bombtrack’s Groundwork launch event: If you’re in the market for a bike primed for bikepacking and gravel riding, you’d be forgiven for thinking Bombtrack’s Audax range doesn’t tick the relevant boxes. But don’t be misled by the name, which suggests long distance, road-based randonneuring… because these bikes can do a whole lot more than that.
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First impressions on the 2020 Bombtrack Hook EXT, EXT-C, and ADV
53 Aug 16 Cass Gilbert / Bikepacking BikesCass Gilbert heads out to rooty, doubletrack-laced Bergisches Land to try out some of Bombtrack’s 2020 range of bikes. Here are his thoughts on the burly, gravel-chomping, bikepacking-friendly Hook EXT and EXT-C, as well as the (slightly oddball) Hook ADV…
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Amanda and her Salsa Fargo Plus Bike
20 Aug 7 Cass Gilbert / Bikepacking BikesWe chat to Amanda Andros about the European bikepacking tour she’s currently sharing with her partner Chris, and find out which routes they’ve ridden so far, where they’re headed to next, and what motivates her to bikepack rather than tour more traditionally. Plus, Amanda shares some one-pot recipe ideas to help stay happy and healthy on the road…
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61 mi. / 98 km 2 daysPurbeck Bimble, Dorset UK
34 Aug 1 Cass Gilbert EuropeAs the name suggests, the Purbeck Bimble isn’t a mile-crunching sufferfest. Rather, it's an exploratory ramble that uncovers almost every nook and cranny of Dorset's beguiling Isle of Purbeck. Because despite its modest proportions, this petite parcel of Dorset land is filled with many treasures, be it roller-coasting bridleways, a crumbling castle, quirky place names, spectacular ridge riding, gorgeous swimming coves, or fine local fare. -
A First Multi Generational Bikepack
23 Jul 31 Cass Gilbert / InspirationCass Gilbert reminds us that it’s never too late to start bikepacking. In his first multi-generational tour, he, his six-year-old son, and his seventy-three-year-old mum enjoy three days bike riding and camping around the gravel paths of the New Forest. Plus, hints and tips for planning something similar, and a map of the route.
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70 mi. / 113 km 2.5 daysThe Brecons Bash, South Wales
25 Jul 25 Cass Gilbert EuropeEasily reached by train from Bristol and Cardiff, the Brecons Bash is a route that connects two of the Brecon Beacons National Park’s classic ‘Killer Loops’, with some honest-to-goodness, Roughstuff-style bike pushing in between. Expect 17th Century drovers’ roads, ribbons of grassy, ridgetop singletrack, and during the summer, bountiful harvests of wild winberries...
