Lead photograph by Jeanne Lepoix In La Ruta Mala, filmmaker Jeanne Lepoix captures the essence of bikepacking across Cuba, from the eastern coastal city of Santiago de Cuba to the tobacco plantations surrounding the picturesque town of Viñales. Lepoix and Xavier Tipa take on the 860-mile (1,384-kilometer) route over 17 days, passing through farming communities, past sugarcane…
The Frozen Road :: Video of the Week
While American novelist Jack London is best known for The Call of the Wild and White Fang, he is also inextricably linked with the Canadian Arctic. So, when British filmmaker Ben Page ventures north, he seeks an adventure of solitude spurred by London’s assertion that “any man who is a man can travel alone.” But the romanticism of the Arctic can…
Great American Rail-Trail Aims to Link Both Coasts
Rail lines offer a unique opportunity for building trail networks since they bridge urban, rural, and wilderness landscapes in ways other infrastructures don’t. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) has been converting disused and abandoned rail lines in the United States into footpaths and bicycle trails since 1986. There is likely a Rails-to-Trails project near you as…
Video of the Week :: Bicycle Touring the World with Kamran On Bike
“When you are on a bicycle, you feel the wind, the rain, the heat, and the cold. You feel the slightest slope. You feel the smallest bump. You become one with nature,” Kamran Ali narrates in his video, “Why Bicycle Touring to Travel the World?” Currently in Saudi Arabia, Ali has cycled 50,000 kilometers in…
Chasing Singletrack in Utah
The trip began with a bust; a crunch, rather. I’d slung a nifty laundry tube from Radius Outfitters over the headrest of the driver’s seat in my Ram Promaster, wedging it carefully between that and the kitchen wall behind me. But when I hopped in the van for the first leg of an autumn journey…
Interview :: Heike Pirngruber, Solo Overlander
Heike, a German national who considers herself a global citizen, has been traveling solo around the world for the past nine years, first on her bicycle and then, more recently, walking with a pushcart and her adopted Mexican dog, Butch. Heike first found herself cycling from Germany to Australia in 2013 after leaving her job…
Over-The-Counter :: Medicine for Travelers
As travelers prepare to return to international travel, many will likely forget to pack their over-the-counter and prescription medicines. Many more will forget to check the international rules and regulations for common medicines easily obtained in their home countries—but possibly not allowed overseas. Trip-takers consistently list “forgetting to pack prescription and over-the-counter medicine” as one…
The Great Gravel Boom :: 4,000 riders expected at Garmin UNBOUND Gravel 2023
unbound adjective un·bound | \ən-ˈbau̇nd\ 1: having no limit The gravel race that began with 34 participants in 2006 will boom through the scenic rolling hills of Kansas’ Tallgrass Prairie in 2023, with thousands of cyclists clamoring for a lottery ticket to ride. Although participants will hit blacktop roads in smaller sections, the vast…
Brat Class 2 E-bike Coming from Volcon
Volcon ePowersports, the first company to make all-electric off-road powersports machines, announces a new Class 2 electric bicycle they call the Brat. The single-syllable moniker follows the lead of their Stag UTV, and the fat-tired, two-wheeled, go-most-anywhere Volcon Grunt, reviewed by Scott Brady. Volcon states the Brat is built “for any adventure, on or off…
Destinations :: Paradise on the Gulf of Mexico
The sand along the sea coast stretching from San Destin to Rosemary Beach, Florida, glistens like crystallized powdered sugar. Beyond these beaches lie the crystal clear and intoxicating Aegean-colored waves of the Gulf of Mexico. There is no other sand like this wind-weathered quartz which originated in the Appalachian Mountains hundreds of miles away. Over…
Expo Gear You Will Want to Explore: Savvy Creations for Outdoor Comfort
Amid massive builds with habitat boxes, larger-than-life bumpers, rooftop tents, and overlanding gear at this year’s Overland Expo Mountain West in Loveland, Colorado, the displays of homegrown and sustainable-minded companies punctuated the landscape. These are the companies and products that always garner my attention for their creative ability to meet industry demands and emerging markets….
Making it Out Alive: Learn to save your own life or the one you love
Fieldcraft Survival and TacMed Solutions, companies providing industry-leading medical, simulation, and protection solutions for combat military personnel and first responders, collaborated on this comprehensive trauma kit, the MTK (Mobility Trauma Kit), with everyday mobility, off-roading, and overlanding in mind. The kit includes everything you could need in a life-threatening emergency: a tourniquet, modular bandages, combat…
Stopping the Bleed: Yes, it Can Happen to You
Kevin Henson has been answering calls to horrific accident scenes for at least 34 years. The trained paramedic and retired fire chief still grimaces a little when thinking about the worst accidents he’s attended. Many of them involved motorcycles. But there’s one item he never reached for in a trauma event: a first-aid kit. When…
Bulbag USA: The best little bag on the planet
UkoalaBag has undoubtedly grown in popularity since its inception in 2013. The multi-pocketed pouch bag has become a favorite among outdoor enthusiasts because of its ability to carry a wide variety of essentials while being effortlessly strapped to the hip of its wearer. And now, with the release of Bulbag USA, the Georgia-based company is…
Off-Road Cycling Endurance, The RAD Dirt Festival
Rad adjective slang Extremely exciting or good. Excellent; wonderful. Radical. The terrain They call it an “untouched plethora of gravel unlike any other,” that southern Colorado plateau laden with impressive mesas, paths that will bear the churning of hundreds of bike wheels on October 8 as riders compete for the top finisher in the RAD…
Trail Fire Grill, High-Elevation Cooking the Campfire Way
I knew I liked the Trail Fire Grill when I saw creator Mark Ritchie demo it at the Overland Expo in Flagstaff, Arizona, this past spring. He had made a bacon and eggs breakfast for me and showed me how this camping grill serves as a barbecue, wok, and oven. I took the grill home…
Remembering Irish Adventure Cyclist and Author Dervla Murphy
Buying a bicycle is a momentous event, akin to marriage: you are acquiring a partner. – Dervla Murphy, South From the Limpopo It was no surprise to anyone, including Dervla Murphy herself, that a case of dysentery confined her to bed in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The previous week’s endeavors exposed the Irish cyclist to numerous perils…
Modern Explorers :: Chris Burkard
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Winter 2021 Issue. Chris Burkard is best known for his work as an adventure photographer. But in more recent years, he’s built a warranted reputation as an ultra-endurance athlete. In the summer of 2019, he set a new solo record on Iceland’s WOW Cyclothon, completing…
The Legacy of Cyclist Kittie Knox
Photo courtesy of The Referee & Cycle Trade Journal, v. 15 May-Oct. 1895 via the Smithsonian Archives Between the busy streets of Broadway and Binney in Cambridge, Massachusetts, lies a tree-lined path nestled aside red-brick buildings of Harvard University. A sign at the Broadway Street entrance dedicates the paved walkway to Kittie Knox, “…an African…
Tumbleweed Bikes
The bikepacking boom has brought a new era of bikes and components appropriate for the road less travelled, and the Tumbleweed Prospector is one of the very best. Daniel Molloy, the owner of Tumbleweed Bikes, shares a story that is nothing short of extraordinary and provides an inspiring insight into what’s possible when you tirelessly…