Komoot Bikepacking Collections – Part II

When it comes to travel, 2021 didn’t really have a promising start. But we keep on hoping for better days. And in the meantime, we’ll simply have to get our dose of wanderlust differently. That’s why we present to you another five inspirational bikepacking adventures across the globe on komoot.

This time we’ll virtually take you to Northern Spain, Alaska, India and Nepal, Rwanda and Scotland. Let us know in the comments below which one of these routes ended up on your bucket list! And in case you miss the first on, read it here.

Cycling Northern Spain

In the past years Tristan Bogaard and Belén Castelló have become a household name within the wonderful world of traveling by bicycle. From June 2017 they’ve been cycling together all over the world, and taking stunning photos and videos on their journeys. Be sure to check out their social media channels for some more inspiring content.

”Northern Spain is a paradise for riding. The temperatures are pretty agreeable all year round and the landscapes won’t disappoint you. Expect a lot of climbing, lush forests and encounters with plenty of cows. Of course, there’s also great food and Spanish culture-vibes in every quaint little town on the way”.

”We cycled in Asturias, Cantabria and País Vasco, and these are some of our favourite stretches”.

Lael Rides Alaska — Main Road System

Lael Wilcox is without a doubt one of the most inspiring ultra distance cyclists out there. She is not just very good at riding fast and long, she also always seems to enjoy it most of all if you look at the always apparent big smile on her face. There are several videos on the internet where Lael plays the leading role in an ultra distance ride or bikepacking race, like in the video accompanying to the Main Road System Collection.

”I am in fourth generation Alaskan. I began endurance riding in 2014, borrowing my mom’s Specialized Ruby and riding as far as I could on my two days off from work as a bartender, scouring the map to see where I could go. At the end of that summer, I entered my first race, the Fireweed 400. At that point, I realized ultra-endurance racing and riding is both something that I love and am good at. I vowed that I’d come back someday to ride all of the major roads in Alaska”.

”This summer, I’m back home in Alaska with Rue so we can ride together and she can document the beauty of the place. We’ve been revisiting my favorite roads together and extending the rides to some islands in Alaska that I’ve never visited before. As I look at this Collection, I want to connect all of the dots again. I want everyone to see the possibilities of riding in Alaska. The main idea is to encourage others to start adventures from home, dream big and feel good about the time we spend outside”.

An unforeseen incredible journey — India and Nepal

In the latest issue of Dropped Magazine Robin wrote a personal story about his ups and downs during the journey from India to Nepal. End of 2019 and beginning of 2020 Sabina and Robin rode from bustling Indian cities to the highest Nepali Himalayan mountains. Places where Robin wasn’t really fond of at first, but later on the ride turned out to be an unforeseen incredible journey.

”I have been dreaming about it for years, cycling over the most beautiful mountain passes and through beautiful landscapes. You can imagine how happy I was when the adventure finally began. Together with my girlfriend Sabina, I traveled from the Georgian Caucasus through the blistering hot desert plains in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan to the high mountains of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Unfortunately, the original idea of cycling from Almaty to China fell into the water. Winter knocked firmly on the door early in the season. At temperatures of minus 25, the comfort limit of the sleeping bags was exceeded by a large margin. Mountain passes were hit by heavy snow and roads were inaccessible”.

”Suddenly, the adventure took a completely different turn. A plan B had to be made, the route had to be reorganized. The Himalayas were also on our wish list, and a flight to India was the fastest way to get there. The contrast between Central Asia and India could hardly be bigger. Within a few hours I went from extensive Kazakh steppes to the Indian metropolis New Delhi with over 30 million inhabitants. The adventure from India to Nepal turned out to be a wild ride, accompanied by the some perilous moments. Through the crazy traffic from Delhi all the way to the highest peaks of Nepal.”

Journey around Rwanda

The bikepacking route through Rwanda (and Uganda), stands very high noted on our personal bucket list. We even had tentative plans to discover this particular area in Africa somewhere in 2020. But we all know what happened. So luckily Eleonoro took us there. The amazing photography of Nils Laengner makes us want to go to Rwanda even more.

”With lush landscapes, warm and friendly people, breathtaking wildlife and plenty of smooth tarmac roads, the Journey around Rwanda bikepacking adventure challenged my preconceptions of Africa. Far from being dry and dusty, Rwanda is green, vibrant and one of the most welcoming places I have visited”.

”The second Journey around Rwanda took place at the end of January 2021. Due to local Covid restrictions and curfews, the organizers skipped the race and transformed it into a bikepacking event. The course took the riders all around Rwanda; on smooth tarmac roads, dusty gravel tracks, technical single trails and—thanks to frequent thunderstorms—into some mudfests”.

Bikepacking Scotland’s lochs and coastline — Wild About Argyll Trail

You might know Katherine Moore as an editor at ADVNTR.cc or host of Unpaved Podcast, but she’s also collecting the best gravel and mountainbike Collections in the UK on komoot. It was hard to pick just one Collection from her profile, because she created a staggering number of 80 beautiful Collections. One of our favourites is the awesome bikepacking route through Scotland’s loch and coastline.

”Another brilliant long-distance mixed terrain route from Markus Stitz, founder of Bikepacking Scotland, the Wild About Argyll Trail takes in some 407 miles (655 km) of West Scotland’s gravel tracks, forest roads, lanes, cycle paths and singletrack.

Explore the tracks of the mainland, the Cowal, Ardgartan and Kintyre Peninsulas, the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, cross the mighty Arrochar Alps and enjoy a few ferry rides between trails, all with spectacular lochside views and far-reaching vistas to the islands of the Inner Hebrides”.

”You’ll rarely be far from water as you trace the length of both freshwater and sea lochs, hug the coastline, climb up rocky river glens and transfer between peninsulas and islands on a series of short ferry crossings. Besides the incredible landscape, there’s plenty of fascinating human history to see along the route too, including the ancient burial grounds at Kilmartin and numerous lochside and inland castles”.

Follow all our adventures on Instagram.