Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
VIVID by Montanus
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Vivid, the latest film project by Montanus, follows Francesco and Giorgio on a two-day bikepacking trip to a remote hut in Italy’s Apennine Mountains retracing their first bike adventure back in 2013. Watch this stunning film here alongside a photo gallery and a writeup about the trip…
Forward by Logan Watts
Ever since 2015, Francesco D’Alessio and Giorgio Frattale have been spreading stoke through the bikepacking community with their incredible films, routes, and photos. Little did we know, their origin story began with an overnighter in 2013 when the two decided to set out into the mountains and sleep in a tiny hut at 1,900 meters above sea level. It was on that trip—aboard 26″ tire bikes with their gear stowed in massive backpacks—where they discovered a bond with the mountains and traveling by bike. To commemorate the eight-year mark, they set out to retrace that journey in Monti della Laga and the Sirente-Velino range in Italy’s Apennine Mountains. They made this incredible video along the way featuring some of the most vivid footage we’ve seen. Watch it below, then scroll down for a brilliant photo gallery and writeup.
“Eight years later, the memory of that overnighter is still so vivid…”
Words and photos by Francesco D’Alessio & Giorgio Frattale
Riding a bike is something special. It’s a way to either have fun or escape. It can be a moment of inner reflection if you ride alone, or it can be a shared experience with friends. Multi-day bikepacking trips give us the possibility to amplify all these aspects by spending more time in the outdoors. Every single trip can give you special and unique moments that are preserve in your mind until recalled—perhaps when sharing beer with your riding partners, even many years after.
This is often what happens when we remember of our big bikepacking trips. But to be honest, our most vivid memory is that of our first overnighter. It was November 2013 when we decided to take a two-day trip into the mountains and sleep in a tiny mountain hut at 1900 meters above sea level. At that time we had no idea what the word ‘bikepacking’ meant and we rode 26” enduro bikes carrying camping paraphernalia in huge backpacks. It was an incredible adventure, especially on the following morning when we found a blanket of snow outside the door of the hut. That experience marked the birth of Montanus project, so we decided to ride that route again in November of 2021.
Eight years later, the memory of that overnighter is still so vivid that it continues to feed the urge to explore wild and remote places.
More from Montanus
Find more from Montanus below, and be sure to check out their author page for additional routes and videos.
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