Inspiration & Blog

We’re excited to introduce the new Rider’s Lens Grant! We’re giving away a FujiFilm X-T4, four Fuji X100Vs, a complete Tanglefoot Hardtack bicycle, photographic storytelling mentorship workshops, and cash to aspiring photographers who are passionate about documenting their bike travels and adventures. Find all the details here…

What does “self-supported” really mean? In this essay, Jackie Baker works to define it in the ultra-endurance bikepacking context and outlines three self-supported principles to help ensure the integrity and longevity of the sport. Find her takeaways from interviews with all kinds of racers and organizers and a massive gallery of images from some of our favorite events here…

There’s a group of more than 50 women out pedaling along the quiet roads and doubletracks of the 700-kilometer Montañas Vacías route across Spanish Lapland right now. Photographer Rugile Kaladyte was at the start to shoot portraits of all 55 riders and their rigs before they set off. Find the full gallery here…

Hosted by Ultraromance, the All Terrain Bicycle Challenge is an entertaining new game show-style series that follows five contestants as they dream up and build their interpretation of the ultimate ATB before taking on an impossibly difficult route. Watch the first episode and find details on all the bike builds here…

Paying tribute to the Transcontinental Race, Yann Moszynski and Matthieu Tober of Les Rookies put together their own mini version across the French region of Franche-Comté with a focus on authentic encounters and careless fun over speed. Watch their video, The Franche-Comténentale here…

Created to inspire folks to get out on whatever size of adventure they can, “Where Roads End” is a new video from Markus Stitz that chronicles his 200-mile journey along a modified version of Scotland’s beautiful North Coast 500 route. Watch it here…

The GranGuanche Audax is a self-supported bikepacking event across Spain’s Canary Islands. It’s 700 kilometers with 16,000 meters elevation of elevation gain over five islands connected by four ferries. Watch the official event recap video here…

“Usufruct” is a moving short film that follows three friends on an unusual bikepacking trip in colorful Colorado. Watch as they pedal through areas ravaged by fires and devastated by beetle kill to better understand the impacts of climate change on their home trails and forests…

Last month, six friends from the Steezy Collective—a UK-based group of women, non-binary, and trans riders—took on the challenging Lakeland 200 route, soaking in five days of adventure through the beautiful Lake District. Find the film they shot along the way and a written recap of the trip here…

As a newcomer to bikepacking, Josh Hicks dove in headfirst when he agreed to join for a three-day scouting ride of our new Peaks & Plateaus route in Utah as his second bikepacking trip ever. Find his 10-minute video recap and written report from the spectacular route here…

Neil recently stopped into the new JPaks workspace in Denver, Colorado, to catch up with founder Joe Tonsager and learn more about his small handmade bikepacking bag brand. Watch our video shop tour and interview here…

In this Rider’s Lens, we catch up with our spoon-carving, ukelele-playing friend Pepper Cook in Alaska, who shares her relatively newfound love of creating watercolors while bikepacking. Find a gallery of Pepper’s watercolor paintings, her thoughts on how being creative while riding adds to the experience, tips on getting started, and more here…