2026 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

stompandgo · 2026-03-17T05:18:46-0600

Stefan Mikes said:
Last year, there were too many controversies because of the "racing" format. Like, a rider ignoring a red light or crossing a railway with the barriers closed (they were caught on cameras). Or, unsafe riding on the last segment of the race just to win or get a better place. There were controversial disqualifications. For those reasons, it is not a race (but a rally) anymore. (The racers gonna race anyway).

That's pro/am gravel racing. They do not want any rules, and they don't care about safety. They just want to race however they feel like and win. The organizers are all about "epic". They want their race to be the one everyone talks about on social media. Priority #1. So no police, very few marshaled intersections, no race officials, no consequences. It's a rebellion against organized racing. Talk to the pros who have done it for a few years and got out.

Stefan Mikes · 2026-03-17T05:57:18-0600

stompandgo said:
That's pro/am gravel racing. They do not want any rules, and they don't care about safety. They just want to race however they feel like and win. The organizers are all about "epic". They want their race to be the one everyone talks about on social media. Priority #1. So no police, very few marshaled intersections, no race officials, no consequences. It's a rebellion against organized racing. Talk to the pros who have done it for a few years and got out.

Certainly it is. Very different in Europe. Or, the extreme Moroccan race I talked about.

stompandgo · 2026-03-17T06:03:32-0600

I think it's awesome that you do these events as a rally. Yes, it's assisted, but that's a lot of miles over difficult terrain at speeds you probably don't ride every day. Stay safe out there.

Rás Cnoic · 2026-03-17T06:59:13-0600

Stefan Mikes said:
Certainly it is. Very different in Europe. Or, the extreme Moroccan race I talked about.

The Moroccan Mountain Race est 2020 is organised by the company Mountain Races along with their other long range off road races; the already famous Silk Road Mountain Race (Kyrgzstan) est 2018 and the Hellenic Mountain Race in Greece est 2023, These are all self supported against the clock and because of the long length are more like time trials then mass finish races. The distances are so large it's rare you see your competitors on the road.

The original, or at least the race that propelled the popularity of these type of long range MTB bikepacking races, is the big daddio; the Tour Divide Mountain Bike race established in 2008 along the GDMBR route from Canada to Mexico.

It's been fascinating to watch this type of racing grow in popularity from underground, bunch of friends challenging each other, to now having long distance races on most continents.

Stefan Mikes · 2026-03-17T11:05:33-0600

stompandgo said:
I think it's awesome that you do these events as a rally. Yes, it's assisted, but that's a lot of miles over difficult terrain at speeds you probably don't ride every day. Stay safe out there.

Thank you!
Sudovia (the north-easternmost tip of Poland) is just fascinating. It is an area consisting mostly of steep sand dunes, forests, lakes and farmland. There is nothing "flat" just climb/descent, and it is mostly gravel! So far, I raced there for 50 miles twice; it was very warm and sunny in 2024 but freezing and pouring in 2025. In either case, I only had a single e-biking competitor and in both cases the other rider didn't stand the difficulty.

The organiser of these 3 races insisted an e-biker should be able to do the "race" on a single battery. I had a serious discussion with him, especially as he extended the race distance beyond 60 miles with some 2,000 m elevation gain. So the man dropped anything related to the e-bike battery from the Rules and converted the event from a "race" to "rally", which makes the ride manageable.

Sudovia on the map (Suwałki is the capital city of the region). The three races combined (1,100 km) are biannual races for the Ultramarathon elite.
"Suwałki Gap": If the war with Russia ever starts, I might be the first one to learn about it

Varmia Gravel (June) means steep cobblestone roads
Great Lakes Gravel (September) is sand and cobblestones, mild climbs
Sudovia Gravel (May) is gravel and only steep climbs and descents.

While I can ride a Vado SL in Varmia and Great Lakes, Sudovia is as steep as it must be my powerful Vado 6.0 with mountain gearing!

I love riding in Sudovia just because it's not boring!

Mulezen · 2026-03-17T15:06:50-0600

Rás Cnoic said:
The Moroccan Mountain Race est 2020 is organised by the company Mountain Races along with their other long range off road races; the already famous Silk Road Mountain Race (Kyrgzstan) est 2018 and the Hellenic Mountain Race in Greece est 2023, These are all self supported against the clock and because of the long length are more like time trials then mass finish races. The distances are so large it's rare you see your competitors on the road.

The original, or at least the race that propelled the popularity of these type of long range MTB bikepacking races, is the big daddio; the Tour Divide Mountain Bike race established in 2008 along the GDMBR route from Canada to Mexico.

It's been fascinating to watch this type of racing grow in popularity from underground, bunch of friends challenging each other, to now having long distance races on most continents.

I was not aware of these type races but am not surprised. There has been a similar evolution in long distance (Ultra Marathons) in the US. writer/scientist/corvid specialist in his spare time ran these huge distances early on in dominating fashion. He did this in part to test his theory that we are man…because we can sweat. Imagining this Silk Road race…the solitude, fortitude, bush fixes etc is boggling to me…always deficient in aerobic ability.