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VIDEO: Belén Solo Winter Overnighter

After her first solo overnighter in Kyrgyzstan, Belén Castelló decided it was time to push herself once again but this time in a winter camping environment. Watch as she rides in the forests of Teruel in Spain, where she also shares her thoughts and realizations during this adventure…

Joe’s Mason Cycles RAW Andean Touring Rig and a Colombian Overnighter in El Cocuy

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Joe’s Mason Cycles RAW Andean Touring Rig and a Colombian Overnighter in El Cocuy

It’s always great to get a chance to cross paths with internet acquaintances on the road and there are very few places like the Boyacá region of Colombia that enable that, thanks to Dean and Dang’s classic “Oh Boyacá!” route. I was heading north along the track while most are aimed southbound, which found me crossing with long and short-distance tourers on a daily basis while grinding up these infamous Colombian mountain passes. I spent some miles with two UK riders and, of course, we talked gear. Read on for a recap of our overnighter around the El Cocuy National Park and a closer look at Joe’s Mason Cycles RAW Andean Tourer.

An Overnighter in the Santa Fe National Forest

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An Overnighter in the Santa Fe National Forest

The myriad of trails feels endless here in Santa Fe. With the town butting up against the National Forest with its multiple trail networks all interwoven, and a very popular downhill trail, tying a lot of them together, the possibilities for quick overnighters or bigger backcountry loops feels limitless. It wasn’t until this week that I tapped into its overnighter bicycle camping potential.

Into the Caldera: the Bishop Volcanic Tablelands Overnighter

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Into the Caldera: the Bishop Volcanic Tablelands Overnighter

Long Valley, the Volcanic Tablelands, Lake Crowley, Mono Lake, and in general, the graben known as Owens Valley hold timeless stories beneath the silty soil, sage, and rabbitbrush. This area has long intrigued me, looking past its main attractions: Instagram-famous – or infamous – hot springs and world-class fly fishing. The landscape is rugged and steep, with unsuspecting silt traps enveloping your wheels up to the hubs as winds flex their prowess as shape-shifting forces spanning eons. Yet its magnetism, beauty, indigenous, and geologic history make it prime for bikepacking, touring, gravel riding, and road riding. It will take some planning, the right equipment, and some determination.

Sonoran Overnighter

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Sonoran Overnighter

Sonoran Overnighter
Words and Photos by Spencer Harding

It’s easy to get lost in the dreamy imagery of bike tours to exotic far-off lands. I’m always making myself feel like everything has to look like a crazy-ass skid backlight by a Kodachrome sunset at the end of the world…but let’s be real in a world of unreal imagery.

Pepper and Sam came down to Tucson to start their trip on the Sky Island Odyssey. Pepper was in from Australia after being away from the states for many years on her way up to a new job in Seattle.  Sam, running from the winter on Prince Edward Island and needed no excuse to come down and get sunburnt. Monique and I had been talking at the shop about going camping for a few weeks without any plan coming to fruition. We decided to take Pepper and Sam on a little shakedown ride into the mountains near Tucson before sending them down south on their odyssey. Colin, fresh off getting an OK from the doctor to do some light pedaling after he tore his Achilles, joined us until the route turned uphill!

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Overnighter in Porkkala

Sending high fives to the cyclists in Finland for this one!

“YV-leiri is a bike touring and camping concept ideated last year on Finnish online cycling community Yksivaihde.net. Since then people have packed their bikes and gathered around campfires almost every other month and the next camp is already being planned. The idea is not a group ride but just agreeing on the location and people keep popping up there with their tents, hammocks, sausages and beers all from their own directions.

A slingshot competition has been held many times but otherwise there are no has-to-do’s, agendas or anything forced. Just breathing the fresh air and doing anything you want in the wild.

Last weekend a group of eight guys spent a spring night in Porkkala. Ice and snow were almost totally gone and sea was open. Check the awesome sunset on the video “Overnighter in Porkkala”‘

Steel and Rubber’s Sunshine Coast Overnighter Gallery

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Steel and Rubber’s Sunshine Coast Overnighter Gallery

Words by Morgan Taylor. Photos by Geoff Campbell.

A couple weeks back I shared a set of rider portraits from a trip we took out of Vancouver and across Howe Sound to the Sunshine Coast. It was a simple winter overnighter, mostly on rural roads, with a great group of friends. Geoff and Pat, who are preparing to ride the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route this summer, keep track of their rides at Steel and Rubber with route data, travel stories, and great photos.

Check out a selection of Geoff’s photos below and head to Steel and Rubber for the gallery and story!

Santa Cruz to Big Basin Overnighter – Brian Barnhart

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Santa Cruz to Big Basin Overnighter – Brian Barnhart

Santa Cruz to Big Basin Overnighter
Words and photos by Brian Barnhart

I agreed to this trip before I knew where we were going or what we were doing. I recently moved to Santa Cruz from the east coast and take any chance I get to explore the area with friends. I’m primarily a BMX rider / commuter who does the occasional tour, as is my friend Mike who invited me on the trip. Our friend Chris, on the other hand, rides trails every morning and gets a kick out climbing a long steep hill. Finding out on Friday night that we were about to climb 6000 plus feet was a bit painful sounding, but we were up for the adventure.

Trek’s New Checkmate SLR, Checkpoint SL Gen 3, and Raw Lithos Project One Paint

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Trek’s New Checkmate SLR, Checkpoint SL Gen 3, and Raw Lithos Project One Paint

Today, Trek introduced two new gravel bikes; The all-new Checkmate SLR is the brand’s first-ever gravel racing bike and the Checkpoint SL Gen 3 is for improves on the previous model with increased comfort and storage capacity, an improved fit, and all-around carbon performance for long gravel rides and overnighters.

While you’ve no doubt seen this information elsewhere on the web by now, the thing that caught our collective eyes, however, is the Raw Lithos Project One paint design, which is specific to the Checkmate SLR…