Cycling has always had a masochistic relationship with distance. For as long as there have been bikes, people have looked to push themselves and the human-powered mode of transport to its limits – from the non-stop, six-day penny farthing races that drew crowds to velodromes on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1870s, to the first recorded ultra-distance event, Paris-Brest-Paris, in 1891.
The latter still pits participants against 1,200km of northern France more than 130 years later, while there is a whole host of modern, road-based ultra sportives – Mallorca 312, Chase the Sun, the Dragon Ride’s Devil distance – that go way beyond the Imperial century. But this love for long-range rides certainly isn’t limited to the asphalt.
Over the last decade, alongside the growth in popularity of gravel riding and bikepacking, a new category of self-supported cycling events has emerged. In 2024, not a weekend goes by during the northern hemisphere’s summer months where there isn’t a mixed-terrain bikepacking race or rally for a hardy breed of cyclists to sink their teeth into.
But what is behind this rise? And what is the appeal of pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone – physically and mentally
