Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
In this installment of Weekend Snapshot, we travel to Vermont, France, and Germany’s Black Forest to pedal alongside a few folks from our worldwide bikepacking community. Join fellow readers on their two-wheeled adventures and share a photo from one of your recent escapades here…
Today’s Weekend Snapshot showcases some exceptionally beautiful rides through some of the most appealing parts of three countries. Our readers take us to Germany, France, and the United States, where they find scenic vistas and little slices of the good life. Check out all three below, then continue scrolling to find a handful of related posts from our deep archive and a quick form you can use to share a photo from one of your trips.
Vermont, USA
By Tim Farrell
For me, Vermont fall foliage season is a celebration of the year’s end. It’s a time that our family sets aside moments to reflect on the past year’s highlights. My partner Maggie and I have been lucky to call this state home for the past seven years. This fall, we recruited our friends Max and Em of Brainwave Coffee Roasters to join us in a rendition of the Green Mountain Gravel Growler. This route from my friend Joe has become sort of a go-to for me. With life being so busy raising a toddler, it’s easiest to go for a tour in our backyard, and we are fortunate that this is a logistically simple trip for us. It scratches the itch of far further afield wanderings, at least for now. Here’s to seasons changing, light shifting, and the wind blowing!
Provence, France
By Dennis Politz
I’m on a trip across Europe, having first traveled by bike and boat to the North Cape, now cycling down to Portugal via the European Divide Trail. Due to some nasty weather and fatigue, I decided to reroute through the Rhône valley to Valence. Having arrived there, I realised I was about to hit the first 20,000 kilometres on my beloved bikepacking machine and decided for one more detour to celebrate with a ride up Mont Ventoux. I started the climb via gravel roads in the afternoon, camped by the side of the road, and continued next morning. The summit was covered in clouds, and the winds were, strong making for a brief stay on top. After a short but thrilling descent on tarmac, it was time to turn to the rough stuff again. A bit more climbing was necessary and then a seemingly endless gravel descent took me down to Bédoin for a pizza to end the day.
Black Forest, Germany
By Quint Sblick
I siezed the last summer weekend for a quick solo overnighter with the hammock and the bike. Some self-convincing (and a couple of oat bars) were needed for me to get on the bike and up the steep hills after a pretty long week. On the way up, I got a little lost going past my camping spot and ended up even further uphill than planned. Trying to get to my original destination in time for sunset, I took the local downhill trail, resulting in my beverage exploding inside my frame bag (rookie mistake!). Luckily, no sleeping or dinner essentials were hurt, and I guess the reduced weight helped a little on the uphills. I finally made it in time for the sunset, and the effort paid off with a warm summer night in my hammock under the starry sky. Nothing quite like it!
Send Us Your Weekend Snapshot
We’ll be selecting three photos per week to feature in Weekend Snapshot. Send yours along for consideration, and if it’s selected, we’ll be in touch! Note: We prefer 3:2 ratio landscape-oriented photos.
Further Reading
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