{"id":69767,"date":"2024-10-02T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/7660b702-959a-4997-adf1-b589208a2c2d"},"modified":"2024-10-02T17:25:28","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T15:25:28","slug":"going-the-distance-inside-the-rise-of-mixed-terrain-ultra-distance-cycling-events","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/going-the-distance-inside-the-rise-of-mixed-terrain-ultra-distance-cycling-events\/","title":{"rendered":"Going the distance: inside the rise of mixed-terrain ultra-distance cycling events"},"content":{"rendered":"

We find out why this cycling sub-culture is exploding in popularity <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 02 October 2024 at 14:00 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Cycling has always had a masochistic relationship with distance.<\/p>

For as long as there have been bikes, people have looked to push themselves and the human-powered mode of transport to its limits \u2013 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.<\/p>

The latter still pits participants against 1,200km of northern France more than 130 years later, while there are a whole host of modern, road-based ultra sportives \u2013 Mallorca 312, Chase the Sun, the Dragon Ride\u2019s Devil distance \u2013 that go way beyond the Imperial century.<\/p>

But this love for long-range rides certainly isn\u2019t limited to the asphalt.<\/p>

Off-road self-supported rides such as Girona\u2019s The Traka are hugely popular. <\/figcaption><\/figure>
Over the last decade, alongside the growth in popularity of gravel riding<\/a> and bikepacking<\/a>, a new category of self-supported cycling events has emerged.<\/p>
In 2024, not a weekend goes by during the northern hemisphere\u2019s summer months where there isn\u2019t a mixed-terrain bikepacking race or rally for a hardy breed of cyclists to sink their teeth into.<\/p>
But what is behind this rise? And what is the appeal of pushing yourself outside your comfort zone \u2013 physically and mentally \u2013 for days rather than hours?<\/p><\/div><\/div>
New horizons<\/h2>
$\"Aqueduct$
The 500km Rapha Pennine Rally is a true test of endurance. Daniel Monaghan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u201cThere\u2019s an opportunity in gravel cycling and bikepacking because they\u2019re newer disciplines \u2013 they\u2019re slightly less constrained by the culture that exists already in road cycling or mountain biking, which can be a bit off-putting to newer riders,\u201d says Louis van Kleeff, Rapha\u2019s UK activation manager and organiser of its annual Pennine Rally \u2013 a 500km mixed-terrain ride from Edinburgh to Manchester.<\/p>
\u201cRoad cycling is always performance-orientated; mountain biking is slightly less, so but the pinnacle of the sport is racing.<\/p>
“Touring and audaxing have existed for decades but they are tied in \u2013 audaxing especially is an offshoot of cycling clubs, which, again, has a culture in and of itself.\u201d<\/p>
Van Kleeff believes the self-supported scene is a chance to build a new narrative that is more community-minded, while the off-road nature of events adds a spirit of adventure and escape in a way that\u2019s less combative because you\u2019ve got less traffic.<\/p>
$\"Lone$
Mental toughness is vital when you\u2019re on your own for long periods. <\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u201cYou\u2019re in beautiful places in the middle of nowhere \u2013 it\u2019s a great way to discover bits of the country that you wouldn\u2019t otherwise touch. It\u2019s slightly more appealing than the idea of turning yourself inside out on a road somewhere,\u201d he adds.<\/p>
The Pennine Rally isn\u2019t a race, and van Kleeff believes the name pitches it at the more accessible end of the adventure spectrum, setting it apart from challenges such as the 800km Badlands in Almeria, Spain, or the 850km Seven Serpents<\/a>.<\/p>
\u201cI wanted to make something that filled the interim step \u2013 you\u2019re interested in long-distance bikepacking and wild camping, but you probably don\u2019t feel like racing it yet,\u201d he explains.<\/p>
\u201cPennine Rally is hard, but you feel more able to do it because you know there\u2019s other people \u2013 not the organisation, but riders \u2013 who will be there to pick you up.\u201d<\/p>
$\"Bike$
Being self sufficient is often a big part of the challenge. Daniel Monaghan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>
In ultra-distance racing<\/a>, the rules around self-sufficiency can make or break a ride.<\/p>
In the 2022 Transcontinental Race<\/a>, a primarily road event across Europe, winner Christoph Strasser and second-place finisher Ulrich Bartholmoes were given an hour\u2019s time penalty when Strasser bought Bartholmoes a can of coke at a mid-ride stop after his credit card was declined; last year, third-place finisher Anatole Naimi was removed from the GC after riding with another competitor for a section in the Alps, six days before he reached the finish.<\/p>
\u201cI respect the choice, but the self-reliant aspect stifles the support that riders can offer one another,\u201d adds van Kleeff. \u201cKnowing that you could make friends, ride with new people, and someone will help you get out of a jam lowers the bar.\u201d<\/p>
$\"Cyclist$
Empty roads are a real draw for Mountains of the Merfynion riders. <\/figcaption><\/figure>
The Pennine Rally also has gender parity. Rather than selling tickets, entry is run via an application process. \u201cIf you allow anyone to buy [tickets], 85 to 88 per cent of the audience is men, so those tickets go very quickly and there\u2019s not even the opportunity,\u201d he says.<\/p>
\u201cHaving more women in the event changes the vibe unbelievably. It\u2019s more friendly, people are more willing to talk to one another and it\u2019s pretty devoid of the machismo that comes in when something is around speed or winning. That\u2019s not to say that there aren\u2019t incredibly fast women who take part and put down ridiculous times, but the vibe is much more influenced by that [feeling] of \u2018we\u2019re all going to get there together\u2019.\u201d<\/p><\/div><\/div>
Self-sustainable survival<\/h2>
$\"Female$
Never miss an opportunity to fill up your bottle with water. Daniel Monaghan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>
One rider who experienced this first-hand is Jade Lau. Prior to 2021, the 35-year-old PhD student had only ever ridden a maximum of 100km in one go but decided to try ultra-distance cycling after being inspired by the work of the Ultra Distance Scholarship (UDS) \u2013 a charity that aims to increase diversity in the discipline by supporting riders with kit, mentoring, coaching and race entries.<\/p>
\u201cI love the idea of trying to be self-sustainable,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit weird but the ultimate vehicle in an apocalypse would be a bike and even though ultra-distance cycling isn\u2019t really like that, I like the idea of surviving on your own.\u201d<\/p>
A successful applicant for the UDS\u2019 2022\/23 intake, she took on the 2023 edition of the Pennine Rally.<\/p>
\u201cThe way that it\u2019s planned [meant that] at the end of the day you\u2019re bound to see someone so you\u2019re not just on your own \u2013 most [riders] stop at a campsite that\u2019s kind of pre-planned. I felt very included and I think [the gender equality] gives a different dimension.<\/p>
\u201cI also prefer gravel to the road because you feel like you\u2019re in the middle of nature, and there\u2019s nothing around. Even though it was tough, you could look up and be like \u2018wow, I\u2019m suffering, but this is okay\u2019.\u201d<\/p>
$\"Using$
Being resourceful can save you time and energy in ultra events. Daniel Monaghan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>
This sense of adventure is common among mixed-terrain events, where routes designed with gravel and mountain bikes in mind enable riders to venture deep into the heart of national parks and areas of natural beauty.<\/p>
But with most courses using public roads and free-to-access bridleways and trails, do you need to spend hundreds of pounds to take part?<\/p>
\u201cIt makes it easier,\u201d laughs Pete McNeil, whose ultra-distance palmar\u00e8s include top 10 finishes in the Highland Trail 550<\/a> (HT550), GBDURO [an off-road British end-to-end] and Silk Road Mountain Race<\/a> [through the mountains of Kyrgyzstan].<\/p>
\u201cYou can sign up for a race and know it\u2019s going to be an adventure \u2013 there will be some stories that come out of it and some hardship \u2013 but it\u2019s handed to you on a plate.<\/p>
\u201cGiven my lifestyle, I can turn up to something, give it two weeks and have this challenge, which if I was to try and do it myself would take up much more time.\u201d<\/p>
The 38-year-old mountain bike guide was inspired to take on his first ultra \u2013 the 2017 HT550 \u2013 after spending two-and-a-half years riding from the UK to New Zealand with his wife as their honeymoon.<\/p>
\u201cEveryone was very impressed that we cycled 20,000km, but I think our average was about 50km [per day]. I had these nagging questions in the back of my head: \u2018How far could I actually go? How far could I push myself? What am I capable of?\u2019. The ultra-distance scene answered that.\u201d<\/p>
$\"Group$
There can be great camaraderie in events such as the Rapha Pennine Rally. Daniel Monaghan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>
On entering the race, McNeil thought if he finished he\u2019d be \u201cvery pleased and probably not need to do anything like that again\u201d.<\/p>
But on the last of his five-and-a-half days, all he could think about was how he could have saved time.<\/p>
\u201cI guess that was it \u2013 the bug bit,\u201d he says.<\/p>
He returned the following year, shaving almost 24 hours off his previous year\u2019s effort to finish fifth, before embarking on the Silk Road Mountain Race \u2013 a brutal 1,700km event, where only one third of the 100 participants finished; McNeil placed eighth.<\/p>
Family life and Covid lockdowns saw him take a back seat from ultras for a few years, but he got back in the saddle in 2023.<\/p>

Off-road self-supported rides such as Girona\u2019s The Traka are hugely popular. <\/figcaption><\/figure>
Over the last decade, alongside the growth in popularity of gravel riding<\/a> and bikepacking<\/a>, a new category of self-supported cycling events has emerged.<\/p>
In 2024, not a weekend goes by during the northern hemisphere\u2019s summer months where there isn\u2019t a mixed-terrain bikepacking race or rally for a hardy breed of cyclists to sink their teeth into.<\/p>
But what is behind this rise? And what is the appeal of pushing yourself outside your comfort zone \u2013 physically and mentally \u2013 for days rather than hours?<\/p><\/div><\/div>
New horizons<\/h2>
$\"Aqueduct$
The 500km Rapha Pennine Rally is a true test of endurance. Daniel Monaghan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u201cThere\u2019s an opportunity in gravel cycling and bikepacking because they\u2019re newer disciplines \u2013 they\u2019re slightly less constrained by the culture that exists already in road cycling or mountain biking, which can be a bit off-putting to newer riders,\u201d says Louis van Kleeff, Rapha\u2019s UK activation manager and organiser of its annual Pennine Rally \u2013 a 500km mixed-terrain ride from Edinburgh to Manchester.<\/p>
\u201cRoad cycling is always performance-orientated; mountain biking is slightly less, so but the pinnacle of the sport is racing.<\/p>
“Touring and audaxing have existed for decades but they are tied in \u2013 audaxing especially is an offshoot of cycling clubs, which, again, has a culture in and of itself.\u201d<\/p>
Van Kleeff believes the self-supported scene is a chance to build a new narrative that is more community-minded, while the off-road nature of events adds a spirit of adventure and escape in a way that\u2019s less combative because you\u2019ve got less traffic.<\/p>
$\"Lone$
Mental toughness is vital when you\u2019re on your own for long periods. <\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u201cYou\u2019re in beautiful places in the middle of nowhere \u2013 it\u2019s a great way to discover bits of the country that you wouldn\u2019t otherwise touch. It\u2019s slightly more appealing than the idea of turning yourself inside out on a road somewhere,\u201d he adds.<\/p>
The Pennine Rally isn\u2019t a race, and van Kleeff believes the name pitches it at the more accessible end of the adventure spectrum, setting it apart from challenges such as the 800km Badlands in Almeria, Spain, or the 850km Seven Serpents<\/a>.<\/p>
\u201cI wanted to make something that filled the interim step \u2013 you\u2019re interested in long-distance bikepacking and wild camping, but you probably don\u2019t feel like racing it yet,\u201d he explains.<\/p>
\u201cPennine Rally is hard, but you feel more able to do it because you know there\u2019s other people \u2013 not the organisation, but riders \u2013 who will be there to pick you up.\u201d<\/p>
$\"Bike$
Being self sufficient is often a big part of the challenge. Daniel Monaghan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>
In ultra-distance racing<\/a>, the rules around self-sufficiency can make or break a ride.<\/p>
In the 2022 Transcontinental Race<\/a>, a primarily road event across Europe, winner Christoph Strasser and second-place finisher Ulrich Bartholmoes were given an hour\u2019s time penalty when Strasser bought Bartholmoes a can of coke at a mid-ride stop after his credit card was declined; last year, third-place finisher Anatole Naimi was removed from the GC after riding with another competitor for a section in the Alps, six days before he reached the finish.<\/p>
\u201cI respect the choice, but the self-reliant aspect stifles the support that riders can offer one another,\u201d adds van Kleeff. \u201cKnowing that you could make friends, ride with new people, and someone will help you get out of a jam lowers the bar.\u201d<\/p>
$\"Cyclist$
Empty roads are a real draw for Mountains of the Merfynion riders. <\/figcaption><\/figure>
The Pennine Rally also has gender parity. Rather than selling tickets, entry is run via an application process. \u201cIf you allow anyone to buy [tickets], 85 to 88 per cent of the audience is men, so those tickets go very quickly and there\u2019s not even the opportunity,\u201d he says.<\/p>
\u201cHaving more women in the event changes the vibe unbelievably. It\u2019s more friendly, people are more willing to talk to one another and it\u2019s pretty devoid of the machismo that comes in when something is around speed or winning. That\u2019s not to say that there aren\u2019t incredibly fast women who take part and put down ridiculous times, but the vibe is much more influenced by that [feeling] of \u2018we\u2019re all going to get there together\u2019.\u201d<\/p><\/div><\/div>
Self-sustainable survival<\/h2>
$\"Female$
Never miss an opportunity to fill up your bottle with water. Daniel Monaghan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>
One rider who experienced this first-hand is Jade Lau. Prior to 2021, the 35-year-old PhD student had only ever ridden a maximum of 100km in one go but decided to try ultra-distance cycling after being inspired by the work of the Ultra Distance Scholarship (UDS) \u2013 a charity that aims to increase diversity in the discipline by supporting riders with kit, mentoring, coaching and race entries.<\/p>
\u201cI love the idea of trying to be self-sustainable,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit weird but the ultimate vehicle in an apocalypse would be a bike and even though ultra-distance cycling isn\u2019t really like that, I like the idea of surviving on your own.\u201d<\/p>
A successful applicant for the UDS\u2019 2022\/23 intake, she took on the 2023 edition of the Pennine Rally.<\/p>
\u201cThe way that it\u2019s planned [meant that] at the end of the day you\u2019re bound to see someone so you\u2019re not just on your own \u2013 most [riders] stop at a campsite that\u2019s kind of pre-planned. I felt very included and I think [the gender equality] gives a different dimension.<\/p>
\u201cI also prefer gravel to the road because you feel like you\u2019re in the middle of nature, and there\u2019s nothing around. Even though it was tough, you could look up and be like \u2018wow, I\u2019m suffering, but this is okay\u2019.\u201d<\/p>
$\"Using$
Being resourceful can save you time and energy in ultra events. Daniel Monaghan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>
This sense of adventure is common among mixed-terrain events, where routes designed with gravel and mountain bikes in mind enable riders to venture deep into the heart of national parks and areas of natural beauty.<\/p>
But with most courses using public roads and free-to-access bridleways and trails, do you need to spend hundreds of pounds to take part?<\/p>
\u201cIt makes it easier,\u201d laughs Pete McNeil, whose ultra-distance palmar\u00e8s include top 10 finishes in the Highland Trail 550<\/a> (HT550), GBDURO [an off-road British end-to-end] and Silk Road Mountain Race<\/a> [through the mountains of Kyrgyzstan].<\/p>
\u201cYou can sign up for a race and know it\u2019s going to be an adventure \u2013 there will be some stories that come out of it and some hardship \u2013 but it\u2019s handed to you on a plate.<\/p>
\u201cGiven my lifestyle, I can turn up to something, give it two weeks and have this challenge, which if I was to try and do it myself would take up much more time.\u201d<\/p>
The 38-year-old mountain bike guide was inspired to take on his first ultra \u2013 the 2017 HT550 \u2013 after spending two-and-a-half years riding from the UK to New Zealand with his wife as their honeymoon.<\/p>
\u201cEveryone was very impressed that we cycled 20,000km, but I think our average was about 50km [per day]. I had these nagging questions in the back of my head: \u2018How far could I actually go? How far could I push myself? What am I capable of?\u2019. The ultra-distance scene answered that.\u201d<\/p>
$\"Group$
There can be great camaraderie in events such as the Rapha Pennine Rally. Daniel Monaghan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>
On entering the race, McNeil thought if he finished he\u2019d be \u201cvery pleased and probably not need to do anything like that again\u201d.<\/p>
But on the last of his five-and-a-half days, all he could think about was how he could have saved time.<\/p>
\u201cI guess that was it \u2013 the bug bit,\u201d he says.<\/p>
He returned the following year, shaving almost 24 hours off his previous year\u2019s effort to finish fifth, before embarking on the Silk Road Mountain Race \u2013 a brutal 1,700km event, where only one third of the 100 participants finished; McNeil placed eighth.<\/p>
Family life and Covid lockdowns saw him take a back seat from ultras for a few years, but he got back in the saddle in 2023.<\/p>