Joe Cruz

Last night Ted King premiered a film on his inspiring gravel ride across the state of Vermont via the forthcoming VTXL bikepacking route. He pedaled 310 miles (499 kilometers) with 35,000ft (10,700m) of climbing—90% of which was on dirt—in under 23 hours. Watch the video here along with a Q&A with Ted and the filmmakers.

With clearance for 27.5 x 2.4″ tires, a quick and nimble geometry, and double dropped chainstays, the Open WI.DE. (Winding Detours) is a coveted and capable machine. Joe Cruz put this bike through a full test with big 27.5″ mountain bike knobbies in Colombia and 700C gravel tires back in Vermont. Read his detailed review here.

The Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo has won numerous awards since its introduction, and the feature spec makes it plenty appealing for bikepacking. Joe has been testing it on three continents for nearly a year, and has spent upwards of 75 nights in it. Read on to see how it has fared.

GORE’s fabrics have undoubtedly transformed the outdoor industry and anyone who spends any time outside has probably used their products. In addition to licensing its technologies to other companies, GORE has for many years produced its own line of technical garments that have by now reached elite status for thoughtfully designed outerwear. Joe Cruz spent the last six months rotating through three of their jackets and reports back on their limits and successes…

In 2019 Joe pedaled in Bosnia, on dirt roads from Munich to Marseille, and on a folding bike in Portugal. Closer to home he rode along the Mexico/Arizona border and was part of the Arkansas scouting mission for the No Place Like Oz loop. Not to mention a 50th birthday party of three days of massive gravel rides in Vermont with a few dozen close friends. Along the way he put plenty of new things to the test. Find his favorites here…

Joe Cruz sets out on El Camino del Diablo and beyond to test the Sierra Designs High Side 1, a relatively affordable one-person tent that claims to be lightweight, highly packable, and fully functional for backpacking and bikepacking alike. Here’s the full review…

Joe spent a few weeks with Trek’s Checkpoint SL6 to run it through challenges ranging from the weekly fast roadie coffee shop ride to a ten-hour dirt randonee to local gravel and singletrack explorations. Is this go-fast bike the bridge between a svelte carbon road machine and a lumbering gravel tourer?

For the past six months, Joe has worn Shimano’s XC5s on everything from fast group road rides to gravel explorations to extended bikepacking trips. Can a single pair of shoes—especially one at such an attractive price point—rise to all of these challenges? Read on to find out…