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Improvising in the Aladağlar

Reportage

Improvising in the Aladağlar

I rolled into the small village of Çamalan. There was a lone shop at the main intersection of town that had a steady flow of locals driving up in their cars. Typically they’d grab bread from the cupboard outside, maybe some Ayran from the fridge, and (most likely) a few packs of cigarettes. These are the Turkish staples.

It was almost dark and I had no clue where I would spend the night.  This is a fairly typical situation for me at this point. I’ve grown comfortable with the feeling.  That’s not to say it can’t be stressful, but when you’ve felt that uncertainty dozens of times before, it gives you more confidence that you’ll be able to make it work out somehow.

Stiletsi & the White Crane: Oregon Timber Trail’s Newest Tier Loop

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Stiletsi & the White Crane: Oregon Timber Trail’s Newest Tier Loop

In the early 1840s, John C. Fremont undertook several exploration missions for the U.S. government. The Oregon Territory was disputed and claimed by both the United Kingdom and the U.S.A. Just to the south, California was still a part of Mexico. Fremont’s mission was to assess the American West and determine how well it was defended by these other nations. Of course, all this land was already—and still is—Indigenous land.

The Westfjords Way: Bicycle Touring One of Iceland’s Most Remote Areas – Part 03

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The Westfjords Way: Bicycle Touring One of Iceland’s Most Remote Areas – Part 03

There’s a place to get soup at the halfway point. We’ll stop there. They might have some dried fish and rugbraud to pack for dinner– traditional Icelandic bread; dark, dense, and sweet. In the past, the locals dug holes and used the heat from geothermal water to bake the bread. We pack a sandwich to go, throw a leg over the top tube and let the wind carry us down the way. When the wind is your friend, there’s no feeling like it.

Radar

NORTH COAST: A Cycling Film by Restrap

In July 2020, a group of five friends had planned an epic tour of Europe, but plans changed. A new tour was cobbled together in a week, and the new destination was set: Scotland. The group would ride the famous North Coast 500, a legendary route along the rugged Scottish coastline, and then onto the Highlands. ‘NORTH COAST’ chronicles the reality of touring through harsh conditions, relentless weather and the challenges faced with a country fresh out of a pandemic lockdown…

Some Sort of Rhythm: A Bicycle Touring Story From the BC Epic Route

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Some Sort of Rhythm: A Bicycle Touring Story From the BC Epic Route

“Oh, shit is that a skunk? I’m pretty sure that’s a skunk”. This sentence can always cause a moment of trepidation on any trip, multiplied in this case by the tough day of pedaling we just had. When my partner Alycia uttered those words, we were already a few hours past the time we both would have preferred to stop for the night, and dinner was a distant memory.  Alycia’s DSLR had recently hit the eject-from-bike button and taken an un-dignified crash through the dirt and rocks.

The Westfjords Way: Bicycle Touring One of Iceland’s Most Remote Areas – Part 02

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The Westfjords Way: Bicycle Touring One of Iceland’s Most Remote Areas – Part 02

The table has a basket of homemade hot rolls; some with dried fruit, some with seeds, all with a bit of salt. There are two loaves of hot fresh bread, wrapped in towels and a plate of cheese– local paprika and pepper sheep’s cheese, brie, gorgonzola, sliced Havarti with labels for different percentages of fat. There’s sliced ham and salami, hot scrambled eggs with herbs, bacon, and butter. There are sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, red bell pepper and pickled fish, a plate of fresh fruit– slices of melon, pineapple, grapes, apples, and oranges, all perfectly ripe. There’s thick Icelandic yogurt, a carafe of coffee, and containers of juice. There’s cereal and milk and homemade jam.

Join Bikepacking Roots and Win Big!

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Join Bikepacking Roots and Win Big!

Why join Bikepacking Roots during this summer membership drive?

Because summer isn’t over quiet yet, and we’re giving away some rad prizes – a complete Xtrada 7 mountain bike from Polygon Bicycles, a Revelate Designs bikepacking bag package, and a set of Cane Creek titanium eeWings cranks! And for a limited time only, you could get a Bikepacking Roots T-shirt, too!

Your contribution will help Bikepacking Roots . . .
-continue creating exceptional and impactful bikepacking routes and guidebooks for new adventure opportunities
-support more equitable access to the bikepacking experience through the expansion of our BIPOC Bike Adventure program
-develop community-building and educational initiatives like our new Go Bikepacking! event series
-broaden our advocacy engagement capacity for bikepackers and the places we ride

How do you enter the contest? Simply join Bikepacking Roots as an annual or monthly member, or make a donation. Each $10 of your donation/membership gets you an entry (up to $100)! New monthly donors will receive 2 entries, and all our existing annual/monthly members will receive 3 entries.

Let’s continue together to support life-changing bike adventures. Join today!

Cycling Westfjords Way: Bicycle Touring One of Iceland’s Most Remote Areas – Pt 01

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Cycling Westfjords Way: Bicycle Touring One of Iceland’s Most Remote Areas – Pt 01

Wind in your face, wind at your back, pockets of light, sideways rain, hot springs, wild blueberries, glaciers, Arctic fox, sheep laying on the thermally heated roads, waffles and whip cream– this is the Iceland I’ve seen from the bike and we’ve only been here for three days. I’ve heard about a volcano erupting in the past year, polar bears floating on ice from Greenland to the north coast of the Island in the past ten years and a pregnant cow that swam 2km across a fjord to escape the slaughterhouse. The substance of legends, these stories are actually true. This place is dynamic. Volcanoes and lava create new land. The wind and rain create new lakes. This place is constantly changing and you feel it while you ride through it.

Radar

36 Hours in Kitsbow: The Mysteries of Saint Anthony

Just minutes north of Harrisburg, Stony Valley is part of the second-largest roadless wilderness tract of land in Pennsylvania. Originally called Saint Anthony’s Wilderness, the land is marked with remnants of an industrial haven from coal and lumbering industries, where more than 2,000+ people lived along the mountains of this beautiful valley in its heyday. After recently moving to the area, a mom and daughter venture out to explore their new backyard, and uncover some of the valley’s hidden gems along the way.

See more at Kitsbow!

Radar

My Kona: Gretchen Leggitt

Kona Ambassador Gretchen Leggitt is paving the way to greatness with an endless bounty of creativity. Gretchen is an artist, muralist, entrepreneur, and bikepacking enthusiast. She’s pedaled thousands of miles across some tricky terrain all in the name of adventure and inspiration. What she derives from her rides she infuses into her artwork that is taking the world by storm. Whether painting murals the size of football fields or creating new artwork for her Hydrascape Sticker company, Gretchen uses her Sutra LTD to get her to the places that bring her dreams to reality.

Seven Days  Mountain Bike Touring Across the Uncompahgre Plateau Along the San Juan Huts Telluride to Moab Route

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Seven Days Mountain Bike Touring Across the Uncompahgre Plateau Along the San Juan Huts Telluride to Moab Route

The idea of a true-to-form vacation, or holiday, is pretty foreign to me. As someone who’s spent their entire adult life living, breathing, eating, photographing bicycles 24/7, it’s hard to leave work, i.e. a camera, behind. A few years ago, right after Josh posted his Reportage from the Durango to Moab route along the San Juan Huts network, we put a reservation in for the Telluride to Moab route. Then the pandemic hit, delaying the trip indefinitely. We finally agreed upon a week this year and began planning. I hadn’t been on a week-long tour in years and with work seemingly stacking up, I was glad to disconnect with seven other riders touring across the Uncompahgre Plateau from the San Juan to the La Sal mountains. We all began packing, preparing, and the excited chatter resonated through my email inbox daily…

Squid Bikes Took their Gravtron Gravel Bikes from Reno to Sacramento

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Squid Bikes Took their Gravtron Gravel Bikes from Reno to Sacramento

Today we’ve got a special bit of Reportage from the crew at Squid Bikes showcasing their new handmade in Taiwan steel gravel model, the Gravtron. Read on below for a look at the owners’, Chris and Emily, personal Gravtron builds as well as a friend Nick’s bike loaded down for a trip from Reno to Sacramento with a trip report by Emily. Check it out below!

Tailfin’s New Mini Panniers

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Tailfin’s New Mini Panniers

Tailfin, makers of ultralight carbon and aluminum bike racks, just announced their new Mini Panniers, which work with both their racks and other third-party racks. These new roll-top panniers are long and slender, in a 5L ($85) and 10L ($110) size, and feature a new X Clamp aluminum mechanism designed to bring the ultimate clamping power. These panniers are shipping August 24th, so head on over to Tailfin to see more information…

Big Agnes’ Bikepacking Collection is in Stock

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Big Agnes’ Bikepacking Collection is in Stock

Big Agnes’ Bikepacking Collection features lightweight tents that pack up into stuff sacks that fit perfectly on your bike’s handlebars. These tents feature shorter poles and have tons of details specifically-designed for bicycle touring and bikepacking. After some production delays, the entire Bikepacking Collection is in stock at Big Agnes, including this impressive Tiger Wall UL3 3-person tent. See the full Bikepacking Collection at Big Agnes.

Babad Do’ag Backroads: A Sonoran Desert Sampler Bike Touring Route

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Babad Do’ag Backroads: A Sonoran Desert Sampler Bike Touring Route

Babad Do’ag, roughly translates to “Frog Mountain” in the O’odham language. This mountain is now commonly referred to as Mt. Lemmon, named after botanist Sara Plummer Lemmon who studied the botany of the mountain in the late 1800s. The imposing profile of the sprawling mountain range that lines the north and east sides of Tucson is impossible to ignore. While the paved road up into the range is the stuff of road biking legend there is a huge spectrum of unpaved roads that circle the mountain as well. While Patagonia, AZ has been an epicenter of gravel cycling in Southern Arizona, I wanted to bring some attention to a route that was more Tucson-focused.