solo bikepacking badlands

in the beginning of 2024, I made a promise to myself to get back on the bike. specifically, bikepacking.

my life priorities shifted after my last bikepacking trip, finishing a +10,500km, seven month journey. while my travels haven’t at all slowed down since the end of that tour in 2017, other adventures took place. I lived in places like Japan, Indonesia, Guatemala, Colombia, Mexico and Costa Rica. I started guiding much more heavily in trail and ultra running. I went for my 200 hour yoga teacher training in India, then my 500 hour training in Colombia. I took on other personal adventures in Nepal and Peru. I’ve continued to travel extensively and follow my deep-seated curiosity of the world, through the natural world, culture and human powered adventures. I became a full-time international trail running guide and haven’t had any sense of a home base since before my bikepacking trip in 2017. it’s been a wild ride and I wouldn’t change any of it.

but in truth, I’ve missed the bike.

which is why, after my last stint of guiding in the Atlas mountains of Morocco, I headed to southern Spain to head on my a solo bikepacking adventure. having heard of the infamous ultra bikepacking race, Badlands, traversing through Andalucía, Spain, I pieced together several GPX tracks from the various course iterations and made the loop starting and finishing in Granada. claiming to be the wildest gravel ultra bikepacking race in Europe, I cycled roughly 800km through the various landscapes - covering deserts, forests, the Mediterranean coast, and high mountain passes.

I had no idea how long I was going to be out there and other than the GPX file, a loaded bike with camping gear, food, and water, I went out to explore, stay curious, sleep in the dirt, cycle my little heart out, and having a freaking fun time doing it. and from beginning to end, I can confidently say it was such a simple, beautiful, and life-giving adventure.

all of the experiences, tracks and trails, finding camping spots each night, route planning, sunrises and morning coffees, big climbs and fun descents, daily encounters with people en route, dreamy gravel and shitty sand, scraps and bruises (for both my bike and me), moments of utter bliss and lows along the way, seeing places no car could go, unending appreciation for this body, shit headwinds along the coast, daily problems to be solved, deep curiosity, the excitement of village fountains and resupply stops, ongoing attempts to keep devices charged, reading and journaling in my tent each night, epic sun exposure, the descents that feel like you’re literally flying, and several good cries for the beauty of this life.

making the loop back into the hustle and bustle of Granada, I was filled to the brim with gratitude and the purest joy from the previous days adventures. with a longer break from bikepacking after my last big tour, this scratched the itch and has me deeply knowing I’m only just getting started again.