Introducing… Routes.
After a recent stint of too little riding and a lot more programming than I’d care to admit, I am happy to introduce a new section of the site: Routes. When I first learned about bike touring my interest was piqued; but when I read about multi-day bikepacking trips through pristine and remote dirt routes, I was captivated…
PUBLISHED Aug 27, 2014
During our last two tours, and even in between, we found ourselves scouring maps and blogs in search of routes that are removed from the typical paved touring itineraries. Less clicking and more pedaling would have been nice. I wished for a resource to access insight from all of the wandering pioneers out there exploring the far corners on dirt tracks and gravel roads. Nothing quite like that existed.
So, to indulge my own wishes (and, hopefully, some of your own), we introduce Routes as the new heart of this site. The front-end display provides the ability to browse and sort bikepacking routes submitted by a growing list of contributors, AKA ‘Ambassadors’. The types of routes that will be the focal point of the site are both US and international, off the beaten path singletrack, dirt trails, and gravel roads that lead through magical places.
Today, the first phase of this application is up and running. Right now you’ll simply find 9 of our own routes with three more coming later this week (some remote and some more well-known), but over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll be introducing routes from individuals who have been an inspiration: Joe Cruz, Cass Gilbert, The Gypsy, Donnie Kolb, The Pikes, Skyler Des Roches, and more. Ultimately, our goal is to grow this list of Ambassadors and routes into a resource that increases interest in this type of travel, connects the bikepacking community, and promotes the general notion to drop everything and pedal nowhere.
We’ll be adding more sorting features in the future, but right now the functionality is in place to filter by location, and Ambassador (once their added). Each route detail contains an overview, gallery, stats, travel tips, a GPS map, and an elevation profile.
Please comment below with thoughts, criticisms, and suggestions. Also, if you have a great route (or better yet, several) you’d like to share, and strong, inspiring images to support it, please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.
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