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Cycling the World With McKenzie Barney Part 1

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Cycling the World With McKenzie Barney Part 1

For McKenzie Barney, cycling the world was never about chasing a record, or even adhering to all of the Guinness Book of Records parameters to qualify for an “official” time. But after an introduction to bike touring in Vietnam and learning about the 18,000-mile goal post for a “Cycle the World” completion, she was intrigued. For the next few years she planned, scrimped and saved between trips while pursuing her own Cycling the World project. Earlier this year, she completed the project after having ridden 18,000 miles, in 28 countries, and on five continents. Read on for Part 1 of her journey download, where she writes about moving from thru hiking to bike touring, gaining solo experience in Europe, and then putting it to the test on a ride from Cairo to Cape Town with her partner James. Plus, don’t miss the trailer to her upcoming self-documented, self-edited film!

Eating and Riding Italy’s TranSardinia Trail

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Eating and Riding Italy’s TranSardinia Trail

During the final weeks of October 2021, Bec and I teamed up with new friends, Tristan and Belén to ride Europe’s longest off-road mountain bike route: The TranSardinia Trail.

A lesser-known, 450-kilometre trail starting at Olbia (Italy) in the north and flowing south, the TranSardinia follows a crocheted masterpiece of natural forest trails, dusty shepherd tracks, and jagged mountain passes – eventually finishing in the city of Cagliari. With 13,000 metres of total climbing, stunning camp cooking, a broken derailleur, and some pretty gnarly descents down baby-head strewn trails, the TranSardinia Trail kicked all our asses… in the best possible way!

Gold in the Ruts: A Love Letter to Cyclocross

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Gold in the Ruts: A Love Letter to Cyclocross

The following is a love letter to Cyclocross and in particular photographing cyclocross. During the 2018-2019 season, I was blessed to attend a few races and got a chance to shoot freely and candidly with no one expecting anything from me but everyone letting me in and close. I had no idea what was about to happen to me, under the lashing rain of Overijse, a small cold flemish town, I fell in love with cycling once again, a way I never expected, cold, easy, mind-blowing and everlasting.

We get to play like kids in the mud but as adults, what else could be better?” – Rebecca Gross

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The European Divide Trail: 7.601km – 86.820m of Elevation – 10 countries

While this route is called the European Divide Trail (EDT), it’s unlike the Great Divide Mountain Bike route in North America, as this route doesn’t follow the Continental Divide, rather it crosses many different divides on its journey through Europe. These divides are economic and social, geographic and geologic, historical and cultural, with numerous languages and customs, laws and regulations, but all within the European mainland.

It has been 4 years now since Andy Cox left his home in Oxford / UK to build a tempting MTB Trail crossing Europe. Obviously, it’s a pretty spectacular venture as thousands of followers on social media have watched him building the trail during these recent years – that is until it’s finally ready to show off today!

Find out more here:

WEB: https://europeandividetrail.com/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/europeandividetrail
KOMOOT: https://www.komoot.com/user/europeandividetrail
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/EuropeanDivideTrail
FACEBOOK GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/782509809326246
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/trickyname

… and find out more about Andy Cox at Bombtrack!

Chasing Fabian Burri

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Chasing Fabian Burri

What’s a day, an hour, a few seconds, or a month?
What’s the point of time if it’s still and untouched?
Where are we now, and can it be then?

I woke up that morning from sweat and fears, dreams that fade away in the blink of an eye but a feeling that takes longer, lingers around, just for a while. I had a crash but it left no rash.
I met Fabian over a year ago, in Oman, at a race, he was wearing skinny black stuff and had a lot of tattoos, he had a mustache and looked a lot like bike messengers, or my friends from Brazil.

the Service Course: ATEG – All Terrain Exploration Gear

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the Service Course: ATEG – All Terrain Exploration Gear

The Service Course just launched their newest endeavor, ATEG, or All Terrain Exploration Gear. Included in this capsule collection are ATEG-branded Quoc Pham Gran Tourer gravel shoes, Merino Wool Socks, various t-shirts, a Belle Cycles frame, and this collaboration hip bag with maker Cordel.

The bag comes in three color choices: olive drab, black, and sage. The bag has more than enough details to merit the €165.00 price tag…

ATEG x Cordel Hip Bag specs:
-1000D/500D Cordura construction
-Fidlock magnetic V-buckle
-YKK Aquaguard zippers
-Dyneema Gridstop floating liner
-Interior zippered pocket
-Nylon webbing
-Hypalon hip-wings
-BioThane webbing
-Rear handlebar attaching system
-Aero bars attaching system
-Air mesh back panel
-HDPE rear panel

Head to the Service Course to see all the details from the ATEG launch!

Sean Conway: Europe or Bust – A Filmmaker’s View

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Sean Conway: Europe or Bust – A Filmmaker’s View

In 2017 German endurance cyclist Jonas Deichmann set the world record for cycling across Europe, fully self-supported, in an incredible 25 days. This is a 6500km journey, starting in Portugal on the Westernmost point, crossing a further 7 countries all the way to Ufa at the Easternmost point of Europe.

However, the world’s fastest cycling record is something that has eluded another endurance athlete for years. That of UK based and Zimbabwe-born, bearded adventurer Sean Conway. Sean has set other incredible records, including the first person to swim the length of Britain, and also setting a record for a full triathlon of the UK, where he cycled, ran than swam within a mile of the entire coast of mainland Britain. But a world’s fastest is something that came within his reach when he attempted the Europe crossing in 2017, the same years as Jonas’ record. Unfortunately for Sean, after just 1200km, when approaching the French Pyrenees, he had to pull out because of an injury.

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You Can Now Buy the Movie ‘Onboard the Transcontinental Race’

Antonin Michaud-Soret’s film ‘Onboard the Transcontinental Race’ is now available for VOD purchase via Vimeo. This video looks at the beauty and the struggle of one of the hardest ultra-endurance races, the TCR.

“To ride the TCR is to explore who you become at the side of a road in the Alps or the Balkans, low on sleep, lucidity, hygiene and any notion of comfort: in the saddle, rolling over rough tarmac sixteen or eighteen hours a day; finding what exists beyond fatigue and exhaustion.”

Flemish Hospitality: CX Style

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Flemish Hospitality: CX Style

I was hardly surprised when he turned us away. After three seasons battling these neon-vested, parking fascists at Belgian cyclocross races, I’d come to expect rejection.

Max and I were racing today, and we’d just tried to enter the Renner’s Parking, the exact place for people like us. Yet the gatekeeper grunted in Flemish that there was no room for our little Peugeot Partner in the lot stuffed with hundreds of camper vans and buses from the larger Belgian teams.

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Watch the Trailer for Onboard the Transcontinental Race Here!

“The Transcontinental Race is rarely a race against fellow competitors, nor against oneself. It is, primarily, a race for oneself.”

Onboard is a film that has been four years in the making, documenting the immense beauty that is the TCR. Be on the lookout for the full-length in the coming weeks!

LACK OF FOCUS AND ORGANIZATION: BFFs, Bikes, and the Alps

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LACK OF FOCUS AND ORGANIZATION: BFFs, Bikes, and the Alps

The following trip report is also available on Amazon Kindle, for ease of bookmarking…

Day 1: Wienerwald or bust!

JEN: Good decisions can be made on a whim. That’s how I found myself on this spontaneous bike trip in Europe. It all started in Vienna, Austria. My friend Bun Daniel, also from Los Angeles, was there, visiting and working with BBUC (short for Brilli Brilliant Unicorn Club), and had offered for me to stay with him. I had plans to go to Spain 3 weeks later but the space in between was yet to be determined. That space in-between turned out to be a great adventure. My bike partner in crime and fellow California Girl, Erin Lamb, flew out from Santa Barbara to meet me. We had one mission – to satisfy our appetites for some asphalt spaghetti draped on the Alps.

The Bohemian Border Bash Gravel Riding Event

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The Bohemian Border Bash Gravel Riding Event

If you’re looking to get off the beaten pack of European gravel routes and explore one of Central Europe’s most beautiful National Parks, then be sure to check out the Bohemian Border Bash. It takes place on the border between German and the Czech Republic. While the Bohemian Border Bash is not a race, it will provide many challenges as you navigate through sandstone pinnacles, gorges, streams, and winding gravel roads for as far as your eye can see.

Check out the full press-release and more information below and you can register now at the Bohemian Border Bash.

Dispatches from the Veld: On the Road to the Pontchâteau World Cup – Andrew Juiliano

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Dispatches from the Veld: On the Road to the Pontchâteau World Cup – Andrew Juiliano

Dispatches from the Veld: On the Road to the Pontchâteau World Cup
Words by Andrew Juiliano  and photos by Ethan Glading

It was just after midday in Western France when Max dragged two bike bags off the train in Pontchâteau. The 31-year old Californian had reached the end of his four-hour journey from Paris. For the past month, he’d paused his career as an upright bass player to race cyclocross across Europe. The tour had taken him to World Cups in Belgium and as far as the burgeoning Swiss EKZ scene. In two days, he’d be on the start line for the penultimate stop of the UCI World Cup circuit, right there in the small Bretton city.