Your Stories

Cass Gilbert spends a near perfect holiday touring with his son Sage around France’s delightful Île de Ré, pondering the merits of traffic-free riding for family adventures, whatever the surfaces may be. If kite flying, beachcombing, oyster sampling, and ice cream eating sound like your idea of an appealing summer escape, you’ll likely enjoy yourself there as much as he and his son did, too…

Spain is nothing less than a dirt-touring utopia, especially in Valencia, where the Burrally showcases the country’s abundant beauty, the richness of its culture, and its extensive network of gravel roads. Cass Gilbert reports in from his time along the route and celebrates Europe’s remarkable rights of way…

With his winter travel schedule mostly cleared by the pandemic, photographer Chris McClean headed out for a unique trip right from his front door, using a bike and packraft to rediscover an area in the North East of England that was a playground for him growing up. Read his story of finding joy and gratitude in his backyard here…

The Iowa Wind and Rock is a challenging 340-mile event that continuously pushes riders to their limits and has some of the lowest finisher numbers we’ve seen. Mike Ivancic, this year’s first-place single speeder, put together a deeply personal reflection on the tragedy that led him to the starting line and what motivates him to keep pushing on. Find it here…

Jacob Martin recently rode the rugged Lakeland 200 bikepacking route in the UK’s Lake District National Park with several friends. It turned out to be what he calls the best bike ride of his life. Find a short written reflection and a beautiful collection of images here, all shot on film…

Despite being a relatively inexperienced bikepacker, Brett Woodward took a leap of faith and flew to the top of the world in Deadhorse, Alaska, for an unforgettable three-month ride back south. Find his recap of the rugged and remote Dalton Highway segment of his trip here…

Looking back on his time bikepacking through South America, Toby Elliott put together this reflection on the two distinct kinds of days that are seared into his memory. Find a beautiful gallery of images and his essay on the value he gleaned from both slow days of sipping coffee at camp and grueling days of pushing up mountainsides here…

We caught up with Rebecca Rusch, Chris Burkard, and Angus Morton following their incredible north-south journey across the heart of Iceland—in the middle of winter, no less—to learn more about their wild ride. Find our interview with the trio here, along with a spectacular set of photos from expedition photographer Ryan Hill…

After months of lockdowns and dreary winter days, Joshua Meissner and friends seized a perfect weather window for an overnight bikepacking escape from Berlin that turned into something much longer—or so it seemed. Find his story of learning to slow down time by tuning into the present here…

By now, it’s clear that 2021 won’t play out how most of us envisioned. Even with vaccine distribution underway, we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic, and many places have strict travel restrictions in place. Find Miles’ thoughts on how he plans to keep busy this summer, from signing up for his first mountain bike skills clinic to diving headfirst into packrafting…

Having recently returned from an 300-mile winter fat biking expedition along Alaska’s storied Iditarod Trail, Bjørn Olson put together this reflection on how traveling with a small wood stove allowed him and his partner, Kim McNett, to be fully self-reliant, which was especially important amid the pandemic. Read it here…

Whilst looking back on a solo trip through Spain’s Serranía Celtibérica, Cass considers the transformative power of route creation, from its ability to inspire others in the bikepacking community, to the way it can help us use bicycles as tools for connection, education, and change…