The Veneto Trail is a 500km unsupported bikepacking adventure through the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Starting in Cittadella, the off road loop takes in the spectacular views & trails of the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park. I came to the Dolomites a few years ago when touring across the Alps – It rained the entire…
The Badger Divide is a 340km bikepacking route between Inverness & Glasgow in the Scottish Highlands. Stuart Allan is the brainchild behind it, taking inspiration from the famous Baja Divide in Mexicali. May is undoubtedly the best time to ride in Scotland, after the cold & wet winter, but before the heat & midge season…
Inspired by Huw Oliver’s film at Kendal Mountain Film Festival, Amy & I agreed there and then we needed to go bikepacking the Cairngorms Loop. There’s this really magical period in the UK around late April/early May where the trails are dry but not overgrown, the days are warm, with over 12 hours of daylight…
The next chapter in my roam home series this summer was bikepacking the Lakeland 200. Branded as a rite of passage for Lake District mountain bikers, it’s a fiendish 200km loop that has just about everything, from quiet back lanes, smooth gravel, technical climbs, bog slog, high mountain passes & super fun singletrack. The route…
Straight off bikepacking the spine of England along the Pennine Bridleway, what better way to continue my summer of UK exploration than to jump straight back on the bike & set off bikepacking the Yorkshire Dales 300?! In all honesty, I told myself on Sunday evening on the way home from the Pennine Bridleway I…
2020 is looking like the year of roaming home. With restrictions being gradually lifted, multi-day bicycle trips are back on the agenda – first up, bikepacking the Pennine Bridleway. Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic this summer, I’m swapping a ‘round the world bike tour’ for a summer of UK exploration – it’s a good thing the…
So I probably couldn’t have picked a darker, colder, wetter time of year to head out on a 3-day adventure, winter bikepacking in the Scottish borders. After a pretty hectic end to year, I set out with the sole intention of addressing my work/bike balance. I ride to work every day, but work a lot…
So I’ve finished work for the year & to celebrate I’m heading off on a winter bikepacking adventure in Scotland to address my work/bike balance! Do I feel prepared, absolutely not! But then again, I didn’t when I began my bikepacking adventures this summer. A few people have taken interest in my bikepacking adventures this…
How do you celebrate another year closer to arthritis? By heading out bikepacking in the Lake District! In a summer that has seen me graduate from university, ride my bike across the Alps & add my name to the Everesting hall of fame. There is one adventure that stands out from the rest – a…
Low winds, clear skies & the calling of the Yorkshire 3 peaks. With the glorious forecasts ahead of the 2019 Yorkshire 3 peaks cyclocross race, it seemed rude not to head out bikepacking the Yorkshire 3 Peaks route beforehand! With the Yorkshire 3 peaks being as popular as they are, mountain biking the 24 mile…
Linking together bikepacking and bothies in the Scottish borders has been on my hit list for some time. Like most, I’ve always driven straight past the Scottish borders in search of adventure in the highlands. I mean it’s not exactly on the way to anywhere is it! Rumour has it, the gravel trails of Kielder…
Bikepacking the Austrian Salzkammergut, the final leg on my journey of one thousand miles! From sunny Slovenia, I was greeted by rain and thunderstorms in Austria. The objective was Vienna. From Villach, Vienna was a pretty reasonable distance. But I didn’t come to alps for reasonable distance. I came to the alps to explore. I’d…
My traverse across the Eastern Dolomites brought me to the foothills of the Julian Alps, where I was to begin bikepacking the Soca Valley. I’d experienced remoteness and isolation for the first time on this journey of one thousand miles. I’d ridden in thick clouds, through apocalyptic rain, getting further and further from civilisation. Having…
Part 2 of my journey of one thousand miles, bikepacking across the Italian Dolomites, started in spectacular fashion. Camping at high altitude, not far from Livigno. That night was the night the weather was due to break across the alps. TDF stage 19 had already been abandoned and the bad weather was due to move…
Part 1 of my journey of one thousand miles, across the European alps started in Switzerland. My plan was to ride across Switzerland through the Bernese Oberland & Graubunden, aiming to cross the border into Italy near Livigno. As crazy as a journey of one thousand miles across the alps may sound, it was a…
With a full weekend of sunny weather, I loaded my bike and kit and headed north for a 3 day Lake District bikepacking epic. After the success of my recent midweek mountain bike micro adventures, followed by getting my first 100 mile day ride under my belt, I figured the next step on my big…