2019 Bikepacking Awards: People and Routes

In parts one and two of our 2019 Bikepacking Awards, we showcased our choices for Gear of The Year and Best Bikepacking Videos, Photography, Writing, and Art.

For our final awards installment, we celebrate the people who have contributed to our community, whether through their physical achievements, the richness of their storytelling, or their commitment to spreading the word about bikepacking and related causes. Additionally, we both acknowledge and thank route makers by honoring everything from small but perfectly formed overnighter escapes to overseas odysseys. We’re thrilled to be able to share this growing resource and we couldn’t do so without our vibrant, inquisitive, and talented community.

Note that we looked at over 30 routes and six of us (Logan, Virginia, Lucas, Cass, Joe, and Miles) cast blind votes; the results are a direct tally of our votes, which were based on three criteria: 1. Which we’d like to ride most, 2. Originality/intent, and 3. Quality of documentation. Without further ado, let’s get on to the awards…

Bikepacker of The Year

Our top award for 2019 goes to an individual who keeps inspiring us, time and again.

Alexandera Houchin

Many of you may have followed Alexandera in 2019 with her incredible wins in two of the biggest ultra-endurance races of the year: the Tour Divide and the Colorado Trail Race. But we don’t admire her simply for her achievements on the bike, though she’s undoubtedly a hero to countless people in that respect. She’s continually inspired us with her storytelling ability (including her piece “Ditibised” in the third issue of The Bikepacking Journal, strong personal character, and resounding humility. For these reasons, we can’t imagine a better person to recognize as our 2019 Bikepacker of the Year.

Ambassadors of The Year

This award recognizes individuals who have helped propel bikepacking to the forefront of the outdoor community, and have made a positive impact through their pedal-powered projects.

Ben Weaver and Keenan DesPlanques

In the summer of 2018, musician and poet Ben Weaver and filmmaker Keenan DesPlanques took on the Tour Divide route from Banff, Alberta, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, for their Music For Free tour. They rode with instruments and camera gear, stopping along the route for 16 scheduled performances and adding in shows as opportunity allowed. This year, Ben and Keenan released their film, Music For Free, which documents their journey, explores wilderness, what it means to be wild, and examines the common denominators we all hold dear as humans sharing this planet. This film is a shining example of what it means to be out experiencing the world by bike. Had it not been for its limited public release (and an oversight on our part), it would likely have been on the top of the Film/Photo awards. Congrats, Ben and Keenan… well deserved on all fronts.

Explorers of The Year

This award is dedicated to the intrepid few who’ve set out to experience diverse corners of the world, both across the globe and close to home, and have thoughtfully shared their stories with the rest of us.

Jesse Carlsson and Sarah Hammond

Earlier this year, Australians Jesse Carlsson and Sarah Hammond of Curve Cycling left their ordinary lives behind when they gave away nearly everything they owned, moved out of their house, and started living off their bikes for their Tent is the New Rent project. They’ve been experimenting with flipping the traditional work week, working two days and riding five each week. Jesse and Sarah have also been busy scouting out the route for the Rhino Run, a 2,750km gravel race across Namibia and South Africa that will take place in November 2020. All the while, Jesse managed to sneak in another Race to the Rock win, and the pair have led bikepackers on guided trips around southern Australia, South Africa, and across Lesotho. Look for more from Jesse and Sarah in the year ahead.

Ultra-achievers of The Year

This award is for individuals who compete in and advance ultra-endurance bikepacking as a competitive sport and a personal challenge. This year, continuing a rather unconventional selection, we chose to highlight not only the fastest record setters, but those doing things slightly differently.

Jonas Deichmann

Judging by the sheer numbers, it’s easy to see why Jonas Deichmann’s accomplishment made our top spot in this category. The German-born athlete and speaker recently set the new record for fastest time between North Cape, Norway, and Cape Town, South Africa, riding an extraordinary 18,000 kilometers in just over 72 days. Read more about his journey here.

Best New Routes (9+ days)

Our three favorite worldwide bikepacking odysseys – experiences we’re sure you’ll never forget.

Camino Del Puma

Sparsely populated, diverse in landscapes, and rich in culture and history, the southwestern corner of Peru is a remarkable region to tour by bike. The Camino Del Puma follows a high-elevation route from Arequipa to Lago Titicaca and back. Forming a 1,255 km loop, the route weaves through the colorful landscapes of Peru’s dramatic Central Volcanic Zone, rolls easily along the sunny plains surrounding sparkling Lago Titicaca, skirts the arid northern margin of the Atacama Desert, and dives into one of the country’s deepest canyons, connecting an interesting string of remote towns and pueblitos. View our route guide here.

Runners Up

Best New Routes (Week-long)

These 5-8 day bikepacking routes can be slotted into your work schedule and daily life commitments. After all, it’s amazing how many rich and rewarding experiences can be garnered during a short riding holiday.

Prairie Breaks

Prairie Breaks is a weeklong bikepacking route that takes in the rugged badlands of Montana’s Upper Missouri River Breaks and the rich grasslands of the American Prairie Reserve, an ambitious effort to rewild the northern prairie and assemble the largest track of public land in the United States. And 70% of this 360-mile route is on protected public land, showcasing the rich wildlife, intricate ecosystem, spectacular scenery, and absolute solitude of the American Great Plains. View our route guide here.

Runners Up

Best New Routes (Weekend)

Weekend bikepacking routes (2-4 day rides) are extremely rewarding in their own small but perfectly packaged way.

River Road Ramble

Jordan Vonderhaar tackled an excellent project that’s long been on our minds: a weekend loop taking in the splendor and scenery of Big Bend National Park. This four-day bikepacking route follows the park’s most rugged and scenic 4×4 roads, beginning and ending along the infamous River Road. View the route guide here.

Runners Up

Best New Routes (Overnighter)

Overnight routes offer an easy and accessible way to get out, disconnect, and get a quick sense of an area’s landscapes and culture from the saddle.

Cathedral Valley Loop

Ann Driggers put together this beginner-friendly route that’s a geologist’s and stargazer’s delight. This two-day route follows a scenic loop through the aptly named Cathedral Valley in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, using mostly dirt and sandy doubletrack roads through a unique and dramatic desert landscape. View the route guide here.

Runners Up

Collective Choice

Best “Compact” Route

Our favorite routes often come in the form of attainable trips that can be undertaken by anyone with a work schedule and accomplished within a week or two (or a weekend!). We curated a list of ten of our favorites from 2019 and asked members of the Bikepacking Collective to vote on their favorite. Here’s the one that rose to the top.

Montanas Vacias

Picture high elevation plateaux, remote refugios, abundant wildlife, and kilometre upon kilometre of quiet forest roads… Welcome to Spanish Lapland, as it’s been dubbed, an area in SE Spain with a population density similar to its Finnish namesake. The 700km Montañas Vacías route offers a wonderful introduction to this little travelled area, linking the Montes Universales, Sierra de Javalambre, and Sierra de Gúdar via a dense network of doubletracks and quiet paved roads.View the route guide here.

Best New Event

Our last category honors three new events, all of which had their inaugural running in 2019. Further, each serves to grow and foster the bikepacking community at large.

BT700

The BT 700 is eastern Canada’s first official bikepacking event. This 713-kilometer loop group ride in southwestern Ontario uses a route designed around a combination of gravel roads, rail trail, two-track, forest singletrack, rugged roads, and just a whisper of pavement when necessary. All told, the route features 85% unpaved surfaces. In the spirit of the original North American bikepacking events, the BT700 was free event to all participants. It saw 65 riders, with 60% finishing the ride. Details for the 2020 BT 700 can be found here.

If you missed them, make sure to check out parts one and two of our 2019 Bikepacking Awards, 2019 Gear of The Year and Best Bikepacking Videos, Photography, Writing, and Art.