Bike Routes Worth Sharing

Here are a few bike routes we've ridden and mapped out using RideWithGPS. And further down the page, a list of longer tours. To see all of my rides, check out my Strava Profile.

Gravel Bikepacking Loops

We've mostly used our Salsa Fargos with 2.2 inch Terraval Sparwood tires for these routes. Some with full rear panniers and others with smaller mini panniers on my bike and the usual ass rocket, rackless set up for Rachel's. I try to put routes together that loop in order to keep the logistics easy. 

Del Norte/Great Divide, 4 Days Gravel Loop, Southern Colorado

We rode this loop in southern Colorado as one of our first self-supported bikepacking/gravel rides. It was in preparation for heading to Chile and Argentina in January 2020. Salsa Vaya for me, Specialized AWOL for Rachel.

Sky Island Loop, 6 days, Southern Arizona

In March 2021, we escaped the snows of Durango for a 6-day loop in southern Arizona, the Sky Island Loop. 

Here's Sarah Swallow's detailed route:

Here's our tracked route

Circle the Zirkel plus California Park, 4-5 Days, Northern Colorado

This one was in June 2021 on our Fargo's around the Mt Zirkel Wilderness near Steamboat, Colorado.

Cloud Peaks Wilderness Loop, 6-7 Days, Northeastern Wyoming

Another Salsa Fargo ramble, this one in late July 2021 circling the Big Horn Wilderness near Big Horn, Wyoming. This one is a bit more rigorous given the amount of climbing; you ascend and descend 3 times from the sagebrush country up to ponderosa and meadows of the Big Horn Range. 

Black Hills Ramble with Mickelson Rail Trail, 4-5 Days, South Dakota

July 2023, we took the Salsa's for a tour of the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Kettle Valley Rail Trail Loop via Osoyoos, 4-5 Days, Southern British Columbia

July 2024, we put Rachel's new knee hardware to work on this mellow loop via mostly railroad grade. A few sections are bumpy but never for too long. Nice mix of wild camping and campgrounds in towns. The last day is on Rt. 3 with a pretty big climb but with decent bike lanes and lots of nice view points to catch your breath.

Our Longer Rides

Below are our tracks from some of our longer tours. 

Chile and Argentina: Carretera Austral and the Lakes District

In January-February 2020, we spent 8 weeks in Chile and Argentina. 

For the first half of the trip, we rode south on the Carretera Austral from Puerto Montt, Chile to El Calafate, Argentina. Here's the collection of routes we followed.

The second half was spent riding through the Lakes District of Argentina and over to Temucho, Chile. Here's that collection. 











Great Divide Mountain Bike Route: Nederland CO to Helena MT

In July 2020, we packed up our Salsa Fargos, rode the RTD bus from Boulder up to Nederland then started riding west over Rollins Pass to hook up with the GDMBR near Kremmiling, Colorado. We spent 4 weeks enjoying the amazing Forest Service and BLM gravel roads that magically connect to make up this route. Here's that collection.





Switzerland, Italy and Austria Alps Tour


June-July 2022, we took the Salsa Fargos for a 5 week trip to see the Alps and visit family and friends: the collection. 







Japan: Hokkaido and Honshu Touring

We met some world traveling cycling friends in Sapporo, Japan in Aug 2023 and spent 6 weeks touring the northern island, Hokkaido and the northern parts of Honshu. Here's the Hokkaido route and here's the Honshu route. 












Korea and Japan

September 12- October 12, 2024. Another spur of the moment decision to pack up the bikes and head oversees. We were looking for easy and Korea's Cross Country trail seemed perfect. And it was! A relatively flat route, easy to follow with a mix of camping and cheap hotels. 

From Busan, the southern end of the route, we took an overnight ferry to Fukuoka, Japan where we strung together a fun, mostly flat route with several ferries that would take us to Nara and Kyoto, the cultural centers of Japan. 




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