Inspiration & Blog

Last summer, Canadian photographer Pat Valade headed out on his first extended bikepacking trip, a 10-day stint along the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Here, he shares images from the ride and recaps some of the lessons he learned while forgetting about his day-to-day worries and settling into life along the trail…

With the concurrent rise in popularity of bikepacking and gravel events, the two are becoming increasingly intertwined. Here’s a double feature with two videos from Bombtrack and Ortlieb featuring several bikepackers taking on their first gravel race. Plus, thoughts on the ride by Marc Maurer, Jona Riechmann, Matty Waudby, and Franzi Wernsing…

In this edition of Rider’s Lens, we catch up with French photographer Edouard Sepulchre, who we first met while bikepacking through Jordan’s Wadi Rum Desert earlier this year. Read on to learn about Edouard’s quest to seek out pieces of America in unexpected places and to assemble his own visual world from the people and places he encounters amid arid landscapes…

We’re always striving to improve the routes we publish on the site. As such, Cass Gilbert headed out to re-ride a section of the Trans Ecuador Mountain Bike Route (TEMBR) at the end of last season to work on some improvements. In preparation for this year’s season, here’s a collection of images from the journey and thoughts on what bike suits it best…

To wrap up the Baja Divide season, Cass Gilbert heads off to tackle the 555-mile Missions section of the route, considered to be its highlight. He returns with a tan, a ride gallery, and advice on the ride itself, including some logistical details for zoning in on this glorious, easily accessed part of the 1,700 mile route. If you’ve two weeks to spare next winter, start dreaming now…

Connor Hamilton and seven other students from the Outdoor Adventure Program at Algonquin College got to select their final exam. They chose to ride the Blue Ridge Wrangler, a weekend bikepacking route in Virginia’s Appalachian Mountains. Watch the video they produced to document their last test…

In August 2017, the Becker brothers headed to Italy on a pair of Bombtrack bikes to take on the 350km Romagna Bike Trail, battling high temperatures and the route’s 6,500m of climbing. They put together this short film documenting their time on the trail…

We’ve met few people who are as passionate about discovering the wonders in their own backyard as Vince Asta, owner of Omaha’s Ponderosa Cyclery + Tour. In today’s edition of Rider’s Lens, we take a look at the byways of Vince’s home state of Nebraska through his eyes…

The Crust Bikes crew pedals around Puerto Rico in search of good waves and white sand beaches, but ultimately finds much more. Read about the highs and lows of their week spent riding (and pushing) around a tropical wonderland…

Alex Hotchin’s latest hand drawn map features an incredible assemblage of backcountry bikepacking routes, races, classic rides, and places to dream about…

Patagón, a new film by Montanus, recounts their bike and packraft exploration into a remote corner of southern Patagonia. There, between the Austral Andes and huge glacial lakes, the traditional Argentine culture of the gaucho survives. Watch the film and learn about the gear they brought along…

Ryan Sigsbey first took on the Monumental Loop in 2017 and returned a year later to finish it. Find his account alongside an excellent gallery of photos in our latest Ride Gallery. Plus, notes on tire selection and the route’s difficulty…