BIKEPACKING
THE TOUGHEST ULTRACYCLING RACE
The Badlands Race is one of the most challenging ultracycling events in Europe, often considered one of the toughest in the world. It’s an unsupported gravel race that takes place in the southern region of Spain, primarily in Andalusia. The race covers approximately 800 kilometers with more than 16,000 meters of elevation gain.
The route takes participants through some of Spain’s most extreme and beautiful landscapes, including the Gorafe Desert and the Tabernas Desert, often referred to as Europe’s only true deserts. Riders also traverse the Sierra Nevada and Cabo de Gata Natural Park, facing harsh terrains, extreme heat during the day, and cold nights…
BIKEPACKING TRANSPYRENEES
The Transpyr route had been on my mind for a while, so when I received a message from Marti earlier this year proposing we do it this summer, I couldn’t say no. Within two hours, we had already locked in our dates. A few days later, I asked Joan if he wanted to join us, and to my surprise, he was already planning to do the Transpyr with Pere, Alexia, Bet, and Santi. Since we had everything set, they decided to join our plan.
We crafted a challenging route across the entire Pyrenees Mountain Range—from left to right, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, from Hondarribia to Cap de Creus. We planned to cover 1,069 kilometers and climb 22,090 meters in just six stages. This was going to be a massive challenge, especially since we carried everything we needed: clothes, tools, and spare parts, making our bikes 8-9 kg heavier. We weren’t racing, so we rode at a comfortable pace, taking breaks to eat and cool down from the heat. Our accommodations were pre-booked, so each day we had to reach our destination, no matter what.
Luck was on our side with the weather. We only encountered a couple of hours of rain, and while there were moments when the heat was intense, the rivers and fountains we found along the way provided much-needed relief…
BIKEPACKING JAPAN
This is what took to us to go from Kyoto to Kawasaki going from coast to coast of Honshu island: 10 days, 1.021km, +14.540m, 52:13h pedalling, 67 stops at the convenience stores, countless laughs, 17 hours suffering, 6 hours without feeling the feet, 1 flat, 150Gb of pictures, 14 lakes and 14 dams.
This wouldn’t had been possible without the ground work of Rob and PA Cycling for organising this whole trip and designing this amazing route…