Weekend Snapshot

Throughout the last year, our global readers treated us to weekly scenes from their rides around all corners of the world. We’ve loved seeing and sharing them, and for today’s special Weekend Snapshot, we’re taking a moment to pause and highlight a dozen favorites from the 150+ community-sourced images we published in the last year. We invite you to browse the collection below, and once you’re through, we hope you’ll use the short form at the bottom of this post to submit a scene from one of your rides! Thanks to everyone who read, commented, and participated during the past 12 months. Here’s to many more!

Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

By Liz Ryen

A quiet last night on a month-long trip through southern Patagonia. It was all too fast, too big, and too beautiful.

Italy

By Ann Driggers

At the end of November, autumn wanderlust took our group of 10 family and friends on a gravel bikepacking adventure through Tuscany and Lazio regions of Italy. Starting in the Renaissance city of Florence, we rode through olive and hazelnut groves, forests of rust brown oaks and chestnut trees, rolling farmland, and vineyards lined with cypress trees to medieval mountaintop villages where we spent the nights. Along rugged woodland tracks, acorns crunching beneath our wheels, we pedaled over the smooth famed white gravel of L’Eroica and the Strade Bianchi and teeth-chattering, 2,000-year-old Roman stone roads, fueling with copious amounts of espresso and wine, cheese, bread, prosciutto, and all manner of delicious Italian cuisine before reaching the Eternal City of Rome after 250 miles.

White Rim Trail, Utah

By Lucas Winzenburg

Taking a little break atop Murphy Hogback while waiting for the rest of our crew to regroup on the stunning White Rim Trail in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park. I’ve been wanting to ride this rugged 100-mile route for years, and it surpassed my expectations in every way.

White Mountains, Alaska

By Aaron Wilbur

Crossing Beaver Creek on my way back from a night of camping out in the White Mountains Recreation Area; it was about 10°F and lightly snowing. The trails were well groomed with 2-3″ of fresh snow on top, making for a slow but steady day of pedaling. I saw a few people out on Saturday but had the trails to myself all day on Sunday.

Brandenburg, Germany

By Josh Meissner

The trails are muddy, so we hopped on our rando bikes and rode with the wind. Neither fast nor slow, it was spirited riding; we chatted and laughed and even saw some sun. Homemade cake at the turn-around got us back home.

Sedona, Arizona, USA

By Miles Arbour

The first time Emily and I visited Sedona was in 2018 in our old rusty Ford E250 van. We had come from the north through Flagstaff and remember being in bumper-to-bumper traffic the entire way. Long story short, we didn’t stop and drove right through. We came again in 2019, equipped with a larger van that placed us a few notches up on the social hierarchy of van life. Following Logan’s advice, we rode a gravel section of the Robbers Roost route out to the Palatki Heritage Site. Last week, we returned again mentally prepared for crowded trailheads and snuck in two fantastic singletrack rides around the village of Oak Creek and West Sedona. It took three attempts, but now we understand why everyone loves Sedona.

Sweden

By Michael O’Dwyer

Scene from an amazing bikepacking weekend with 10 friends of the Haglöfs brand store in Stockholm, Sweden. Riding in the county of Sörmland, this 125-kilometre route is a modern classic and a must do for any local rider. Gravel, singletrack and a whole host of exciting places to explore with over 90% off-road tracks, this tour is one not to be missed.

Zafrilla, Spain

By Emily Wormald

We’re currently nine days into riding the stunning Montañas Vacías bikepacking route in Spain. This was taken the day after snow and thunderstorms in a beautiful valley. Tummies full of fried potatoes from Bar Pappi, this descent into the stunning river valley with griffon vultures flying overhead was worth all the climbing!

Minnesota

By Andrew Nepsund

Schlopptoberween: Part roaming radventure, part FUNdraiser! Ride organizer Anders always brings together such a positive and joyful group of folks to raise some money for a great cause and get sendy along the way. This year, Schlopptoberween raised a bunch of dough for Pedal Power MN, a non-profit that introduces biking to school-age children in underserved communities and across Minneapolis. Schlopptoberween showcases the amazing bicycle community here in the Twin Cities, and Anders deserves so much credit and love for putting this together every year!

Brazil

By Damiao Santana

The São Francisco River forms one of the largest river basins in the world and is of fundamental importance for the economy of the northeast of Brazil and its people. Three friends and I decided to cycle the last 500 kilometers of the river until it ended in the sea. The choice to visit small towns and villages on the banks of the river led us to some very demanding terrain for cycling: sand, mud, gravel, backroads, and countless hills. We traveled to isolated places, camped in canyons, met ordinary people, and spent time in charming villages fed by fishing, art, and history. The whole adventure is on YouTube.

Fanes Sennes National Park, Italy

By Karen Ekman

Last night’s thunderstorm on the high plateau had me wake up and move camp in the middle of the night, hence I’m moving but barely awake. My brain is craving for espresso, but my attention is drawn to the size and color of the beautiful walls of rock around me. I followed the gravel road around a bend but skidded to a stop when the view in front opened up. The road seemed to disappear into a bowl. There was not one person in sight during peak holiday season, and I just stood there for a while wondering if it was really a dream.

Poland

By Wojtek Waloch

Together with the three musketeers, Mciora, Ucek and Aleksander, we set off on a three-day escape from the autumn grey to the south of our country to remind ourselves how to ride in the snow. It turned out to be harder than we remembered!

Michigan, USA

By Collin Crane

The Copper Country Century is 100 miles of pedaling through the vibrant Fall colors of the Keweenaw Peninsula. By chance, our plans to do this fell into place, and the trio of us made the journey to the northernmost point in Michigan. “Peak Fall colors” are what everyone is talking about here, and we were lucky to have warm winds and sunny skies to accompany us on a two-wheeled tour of the hues of changing seasons. Highlights of the day include a blueberry pancake sunrise breakfast on Gratiot Lake, elevenses at Slim’s Cafe, tailwinds on M26 (the western coast of the peninsula), expansive views on Brockway Mountain, and ice cream at “The Genny” in Copper Harbor.

Further Reading

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