This is the list of races I have attended. Not everything below was an official race. For bikepacking events, it’s more about who thinks it’s the race. On the contrary, when it is a race I usually just fight against myself. And you could say fight for saving a few days of job holiday.
Tour Divide is the grand-grandfather of all bikepacking races. I have heard a lot of stories about what can happen on the route. I came to Canada with a great sense of humility. Riding trough vast and remote areas will be a big challenge. But before the race started I found myself in much bigger trouble.
This is the story of how I came the last one. This is not a report of how I rode, slept or ate. It’s about how to survive in winter without high-tech gear. And it’s about motivation and how important it is to have the “Why”. Read more
Bohemia Divide is a race with a tradition that ends the bikepacking season in the Czech Republic. Not that you couldn’t ride your bike anytime you want, but this is the last time that a large group of bikers will ride through the country day and night in pursuit of finding every bit of mental power in their head. It stretches from south to north of Bohemia and riders will traverse distance of 800 kilometres.
Hope 1000 is a 1000km long event in Switzerland. Every participant must climb 30′000 metres of elevation. I took part in the 8th edition, which was influenced by a massive heatwave, which pinned me down at massive uphills. It was really hard to embrace the struggle and find the “why” am I doing this.
Slovakia is great. I fell in love with a country at the 1000 Miles race, and that’s why I’d like to experience all unsupported races that are held there. It’s necessary to bear in mind that forests here are a bear territory, and there are no movement restrictions at night to prevent encounters. Read more
In 2019 Carpatia Divide was my second big event of the year and my first race abroad. Poland is a neighbour country and the language is similar, but I had a difficult time understanding the locals. As always it was harder than I expected. It didn’t rain, but the route was muddy and the terrain so hard I had to walk a lot.
1000 Miles Adventure is a very well known Czech bikepacking race. A few hundreds people are at the starting line every year and all places are sold out in a few minutes. Don’t be mistaken, it’s not easy. You have to go from the most eastern village in Slovakia to the most western village in Czechia. You won’t see many flat roads on the way as it follows rough mountain bike trails with insane gradients.
