In a first since fall of 2020, I undertook another solo bikepacking trip. This time, in Spain, on the small but marvelous Maestrazgo Loop. This route was made by Ernesto Pastor, who also created the famous Montañas Vacias route. The Maestrazgo loop sits a little east of MV and offers a similar experience in discovering the ‘forgotten’ towns of the rural Spanish countryside. The rough terrain and altitude made it a challenging ride in the fall season, and the result was an introspective grind for the mind. Watch the video to discover the story…

If you’re Spanish, this name may ring a bell! ‘Via Verde’ is a sort of greenway, usually stemming from the removal of an old rail track, that gives cyclists and pedestrians an attractive and car-free way to see a particular piece of countryside. The Via Verde de Ojos Negros is special, since it’s a very long version of this: over 200km of near-continuous gravel track between the town of Ojos Negros and Sagunto. Belén, her brother Horacio and I set out to ride it on a long weekend, from Teruel to Sagunto. The result was yet another wonderful sibling experience!

In the fall of 2023 Belén and I got to explore the Sierra de Cazorla natural park in Spain, after the GR247 route sparked our interest in the region. Initially, we planned to follow this existing route, but quickly diverged from it upon discovering it mainly used forest singletrack through many climbs and descends. Instead, we created an adaptation of the route with mixed pavement; asphalt, gravel, dirt. Either way, we got to discover the pastoral beauty of this area, cycling through the many olive groves, patches of dense forest and dry, higher altitude plateaus.

Throughout 2023 I got the chance to meet many friends and acquaintances within the bikepacking community, and this sparked an idea: so many of them have a special story to tell within their own niche of the field, that I should create a (video) podcast on their stories. And so I did, each time I had the chance. In the playlist of the 1st season, you’ll find 5 episodes with equally inspiring life stories and lessons from Erick Cedeño, Jonas Deichmann, Alee Denham, Nelson Trees and Sofiane Sehili. Enjoy!

During our fourth long visit to Kyrgyzstan, Belén and I set out to create a new bikepacking route close to the capital city, with a length that makes it suitable for a journey of just 3-5 days. It’s a loop, meaning that you can start as well as end in Bishkek, which makes the whole thing pretty convenient. En route you’ll see why we gave it this name, for just about 50km away from the city lies wild and spectacular nature, in the shape of high mountain passes, verdant valleys and traditional yurt settlements with summer pastures. Will you ride the Bishkek Spectacular?

A spicy way to start off 2023? You tell me. Our friends from the Sardinia trip return to join us in the desert, and we set out for our take on the Baja Divide. This route meanders for 2800km through the Baja California peninsula, starting in San Diego and finishing in Cabo San Lucas. We started further south and finished further north, from Ensenada to La Paz, totaling around 1000km on the track. We found enchantment in the multitude of cacti, camped under crystal clear skies and discovered what goes behind one of the most famous bikepacking routes in the world.

It’s not often that we get to travel with family members. Most find what we do a bit of a mystery, or feel as if it’ll be too uncomfortable for them. So when Belén's brother asked us if he could join one of our bikepacking adventures, we didn't think twice! He always wanted to see the Dolomites but didn’t think he could do it by bike. That’s where the first e-bikes from Tout Terrain came in handy. With the Skane fully geared up with the necessary equipment in some bikepacking bags, it was time to show Horacio what it’s like to travel by bike. Wanna see?

Once we made our return to Europe from a long summer in Kyrgyzstan, we started an exciting project: discovering what’s behind the doors of the partners we’ve worked with this year. How they design, make and market their products and who does so in the first place. We were able to meet the incredible teams of Universal Transmissions, Hebie Group, Pinion, Ortlieb and Tout Terrain on a journey that took us from Berlin all the way down to Freiburg, by train and bike. This project was supported by Interrail, your best choice for any train travel in Europe!

Continuing our 2022 visit to Kyrgyzstan, Belén and I set out to create another looped route in addition to Expedition Alay. This time, we wanted to create something that is manageable for most riders, even those with double racks and bigger panniers. In fact, the latter is kind of a perfect setup for this route due to its lack of shops for food fill-ups. As the route loops around the At-Bashi mountain range south of Naryn, we call it the At-Bashi Circuit—now viewable on Komoot. If you want solitude, vast views and epic wild camping, this one’s for you!

During a 2-month visit to Kyrgyzstan, the country Belén and I fell in love with back in 2018, we set out to do something rather different than the last time we cycled there: create an adventurous, expedition-like bikepacking route in a part of the country that is underrepresented when it comes to cycling. We created Expedition Alay, now downloadable on my Komoot profile, to provide a looped route through wild spaces highlighting the beauty of the Alay region. On your next visit to Kyrgyzstan, you should give it a go! For now, here’s a preview of what it’s like…

Starting out 2022 and after years of riding independently, Belén and I received our new bikes through a key partnership of ours: Tout Terrain, Pinion and Gates all got together and sent us the updated Outback Xplore, equipped with a Pinion C1.12 gearbox and Gates Carbondrive belt. To test out what we refer to as our ‘adventure tanks’, we cycled the four Balearic Islands off the east coast of Spain. With plenty of elevation gain and steep climbs, these gorgeous islands were the perfect playground to get familiar with a revolutionary drivetrain!

As our last ride of 2021, we linked up with our friends Sam @adventuresbycycle and Becky @becbycycle to ride the once glorious TranSardinia. You read it correctly: the TranSardinia hasn’t quite been looked after since its creation in 2009. With ten days, four bikes and our bellies full of coffee we rode this magnificent Italian island and successfully created a more updated, yet personal version of the TranSardinia route, that you can now watch and download over on my Komoot profile. A new friendship flourished from this trip, and we love these videos dearly!

We’ve cycled islands before, and know that they’ll usually offer a completely different riding experience than mainland, even if it’s the same country. Corsica proved this concept whilst we rode what we call ‘The Corsica Crossing’, a beautiful route created by the one and only @belletoscan and visible in a likewise beautiful collection over on my Komoot profile. Our route will help you navigate the tricky Corsican terrain, via a collection of roads that the GT-20 island cycling route also utilizes.
A worthy route for those who like to stay on asphalt!

To those considering to cycle the Wolf’s Lair, I will say two words: do it! This spectacular bikepacking.com route is one you’ll forever remember, and might even consider riding twice—which is exactly what I did by bringing Belén along in 2021, after not quite riding the entire route back in 2020. Seeing the route with a fresh sense of adventuring, better weather and my beloved partner alongside me gave a completely different perspective to this trip, hence the videos came out wonderfully. And hey, I’m already considering riding it a third time!

The Kamnik-Savinja Alps are a lesser known part of the long Swiss, Italian, Austrian and Slovenian Alps chain that lies in the north western part of Slovenia, just east of the West Loop route. Belén created a looped route here, that you can find over on my Komoot profile, with additional GPX files for every single day we cycled there. This incredible route offers a more rural riding experience and quieter look at a usually overlooked region of Slovenia, together with a cable car and ski lift experience you won’t soon forget… Have a look, and enjoy!

Following our Italian Asiago Loop adventure, we took trains to Slovenia to ride the famous bikepacking.com Slovenia West Loop. This route is situated in the north western part of the country and shows a plentitude of high mountains, green hills that almost always have a picturesque church built upon their tops, crystal blue water in the Soča river and deep, mysterious caves. It’s one of our longer rides of 2021, and therefore it has become a three-episode series. Hit play to find out if the Slovenia West Loop is your next bikepacking trip!

During the first week of July of 2021, Belén and I were able to cycle the Asiago Loop, a relatively new route on bikepacking.com and part of the larger Veneto Trail network, taking the rider across a pretty and rural plateau north of Vicenza, Italy. It has low lying hills and mountain scenery at just over 2000 meters, many patches of forest and farmland, and there’s almost no free-flowing water to be found on the entire (karstic) plateau. A challenging ride with a tranquil edge, just waiting to be experienced by those visiting Italy. Hit play to find out if you’d like it!

In late October and early November of 2020 (while Belén was in Spain working on a future project of ours), I had the chance to do a solo ride from Bologna to Napoli. Since Covid was around, I had to stay flexible, so I decided to cycle what I call the ‘Trans-Casentinesi’ route, and ‘The Wolf’s Lair’. The latter can be found on bikepacking.com, the former on my Komoot profile. I wanted this video series to be able to transport you along with me on the journey, temporarily away from any struggles you might have. Hence, these episodes are quite relaxing. Ready to witness the quiet side of Italy?

2020 has been a weird year — we all know that by now. What Belén and I didn’t know was that northern Spain is an utter gem to cycle through, and when we got the chance to visit this part of Belén her home country, we jumped at the opportunity. This video series has a different style than other videos, that is much more focussed on making you feel like a fly on the wall, traveling along with us and immersing yourself in the fog, sunshine and oh so gravelsome roads.

In June and July of 2018, Belén and I cycled the famed Pamir Highway, after a challenging ride through Kyrgyzstan. Half a year earlier, an idea for a video popped into my mind, and ever since I tried to collect all the needed material - which is now finally complete. By meeting over 60+ cyclists on our way through the Pamirs, and gaining perspective into WHY people are traveling by bicycle, I was able to finish the video I'd dreamt of presenting to you, and those who wish to do their own bicycle tour. Whatever you do, it's always possible.

Far south of Spain’s mainland lie a group of islands, all seven of them very different, in the Atlantic Ocean. Belén and I flew out to Lanzarote with our Sequoias to cycle these seven gems and discover their diverse nature, culture and infrastructure, to show you how great they really are for a bike ride. We planned a week for each island and traveled in between them by ferry. Flights are complicated, similarly priced to ferries and… possibly more polluting (ferries transport cargo from island to island). Follow along our tropical adventure!

Chasing down the route that is the dream of all cyclists (who know of its existence), that is what Belén and I set out to do when we landed in Kyrgyzstan. Our Sequoias ready to go, luggage dialed in, mindset on the mountains and a hunger for the unknown as a guide. Little did we know that cycling here would drastically affect our outlook on the live we live in Europe and the US, and make us fall in love with the purity of these countries.

If you’re curious about our ride through Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, feel free to take a look at the playlist.

In January 2018, Belén, my brother Oliver and I cycled across Portugal from Porto to Faro. A near 1000km journey, executed in little less than a month, to discover Portugal's rich culture, foods, landscapes and, of course, bicycle infrastructure. We were surprised, on all of the above, by finding a country that, besides a still thriving petrol-car (and cigarette smoking) culture, contains some of the more beautiful trail systems we've seen in Europe - as well as delicious coffee, an emerging understanding of the environment and some of the greenest bike-friendly hotels of the continent. Watch to find out more!

What started it all…

The OG of bike tours, even before my European solo ride, is the ride I undertook from New York to Los Angeles in the summer of 2014. It’ll soon be a ride that took place 10 years ago, and will always be what sparked my interest in bike travel. This two episode series shows the journey (and my novice video skills…) that started it all.