Touring the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Photo: John Watson
With 2022 drawing to a close, I decided to ask the riders here at TPC to recount some of the best bike rides they've done in the past year. We got stories about epic bikepacking trips, amazing races, and unplanned after-work cruises. These rides were special to us because they moved us emotionally, tested us physically, or they were just plain fun.
We bet you had some great days on the bike this year too. Make sure to tell us about them in the comments. Hopefully, our riding highlights inspire you and get you stoked to ride your bike next season!
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Ride to the North Sea
Rider: Ellie Horn, Marketing Coordinator and Creative Project Manager
If you live in the US, visiting the Netherlands feels like entering an alternate reality where bikes have usurped cars. There’s a good reason why so many top pro riders come out of this small European country. Ellie got to experience it all on her trek from the Dutch capital to the North Sea.
“I started in Amsterdam and was able to experience the biking infrastructure in the city of Amsterdam all the way to the rural roads outside of Haarlem," Ellie said. "Not only was this ride really beautiful, but it was really impactful for me to see the way that infrastructure has allowed cycling to be the main mode of transportation in this region. A culture of movement and freedom to age without giving up independence was inspiring to me.”
Climbing and Descending Mt. Elbert
Rider: Owen Halseth, SEO Strategist
Mount Elbert is the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains and the highest point in Colorado. For hikers, it’s a must-bag 14er. But did you know you can ride a mountain bike up it too? It’s definitely not easy. The air is thin, the trail is steep, and reaching the summit requires a lot of hike-a-bike. Riding back down isn’t much easier. You’ll have to navigate loose scree fields and technical corners that aren’t built with bikes in mind.
The challenge didn’t phase Owen though. “It's such a sick adventure,” he said. I guess with epic views and a completely unique riding experience, it’s worth the effort!
A Week in Italy
Rider: Anna Rischitelli, Product Manager
For me and many others (ever watch Breaking Away?) Italy is the heartland of cycling. It has terrain, scenery, culture, and food that make it a cycling paradise. It was the perfect place for Anna’s amazing week-long honeymoon adventure.
“Una settimana di ciclismo in Italia!” Anna said. "I convinced my husband that the best way to spend our honeymoon was on a bike We traveled to Italy and spent six days riding in two regions of Tuscany — Chianti and Val d'Orcia. Complete with incredible food and vino, we rode a total of 208 miles with 20,125ft of climbing through vineyards, walled cities with medieval towers, and golden hillsides lined with cypress trees. A week I will never forget!”
Bikepacking the San Juan Hut System
Rider: Mary Metcalf, CRM Manager
The San Juan Hut System provides isolated mountain huts that are connected by singletrack trails throughout Colorado and Utah. This lets mountain bikers, hikers, and skiers travel light while exploring some of the most amazing backcountry terrain in the country. Mary and a small crew took full advantage of these huts during a five-day bikepacking trip from Telluride to Gateway.
“I bikepacked with five of my closest MTB lady friends,” Mary said. “We covered 150 miles (five days, four nights) with a sweet weather window through the San Juans and out onto the Uncompahgre Plateau before descending into the canyon lands of Gateway. With spectacular views, wild riding, and fun nights of horseshoes and storytelling, it was a trip to remember.”
Touring the Grand Staircase on the Aquarius Trail Hut System
Rider: John Watson, Director, Content and Special Projects
We had two riders pick hut-supported routes! When the Aquarius Trail Hut System was announced last year, John’s exploratory interests were piqued. This rugged area of southern Utah is home to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and it is one of his favorite destinations.
This fall, John lead a group of bikepackers on a six-day, 200-mile adventure from Brian Head to Escalante, Utah along the Aquarius Plateau. He reviewed the entire trip over on The Radavist, where you can find a lot more details and breathtaking photos.
Highline Canal Trail
Rider: Ethan Martin, Product Manager
The Highline Canal Trail is a historic 71-mile trail just south of Denver. Traveling West to East, you’ll ride through canyons, foothills, woods, and prairies, getting the full Colorado Front Range experience. It’s considered a “linear park” and is one of the longest continuous urban trails in the country. If you manage to bike, walk, or run the entire trail, you’ll even get a medallion and sticker for your accomplishment. Ethan needs to claim his.
“It’s pretty epic,” Ethan said. “The trail winds its way through Denver in a very serpentine manner, following an old irrigation canal. The vistas, surfaces, and environments are really diverse and it made for a great day on the bike.”
Snow Biking & Fly Fishing in Iowa’s Driftless Area
Rider: Mark Moser, Sales Associate
The Driftless Area of the midwest is so-named because it was never covered by ice during the last ice age. It lacks the glacial clay, silt, sand, gravel, and boulder deposits commonly known as “drift.” The landscape is amazing, but even better is that the streams are filled with trout! Earlier this year, Mark rode his bike through the snow to try his luck.
“A buddy of mine owns a cabin outside of the Yellow River State Forest which is surprisingly hilly for the area,” Mark said. “They have spring-fed creeks stocked with trout there that don't freeze over. We put studded tires and pogies on our mountain bikes and carried fly fishing gear out to the creeks. Over the course of three days we didn't catch a damn thing. But we still had a ton of fun just riding snowmobile trails through the hills in a beautiful part of Iowa that I had no idea existed!”
Mini Bike Tour in California
Rider: Alex Bostic, Customer Experience Representative
As a tree nerd, I’ve long dreamed of riding my bike beneath California’s Giant Redwoods and then visiting the beach straight after. Someday I’ll get my chance. For now, I’ll have to live vicariously through Bostic’s lens, and dang, I’m jealous.
“I did a seven-day mini tour from Arcata California down to San Francisco,” Bostic said. “The northern chunk was by far my favorite. Humboldt county is beautiful and I had always wanted to see the Redwoods, which I did when I got to ride through Valley of the Giants. Diving out of the Redwoods straight onto the ocean coastline was one of my favorite experiences I've had on a bike.”
Trestle Bike Park
Riders: Elizabeth Wilcox, Photographer/Videographer & Carlos Buitron, Intake Technician
Every summer, Winter Park Resort transforms into Trestle Bike Park, the most popular downhill bike park in Colorado. It has fast and flowy trails, tons of big jumps, and enough techy gnar to keep every level of rider occupied. Every year, TPC takes a company trip up to Trestle, and Elizabeth and Carlos both had the time of their lives.
“Going to Trestle is always a great time,” Elizabeth said. “This year I brought my own MTB with me, which was very fun. I even explored some new trails I hadn't done before and got through the whole day without any crashes or injuries. That is a win in my book!”
“Trestle was the best biking experience in my life,” Carlos said. “Just all the different views when going down the mountain, the different trails available, and the mega hill at the end of the green trail. The Gondola was a game changer. I’m definitely going back next year!”
State Game Lands, Pennsylvania
Rider: Megan Schmidt, Sales Associate
Pennsylvania’s State Game Lands were established over a hundred years ago to protect local wildlife after it practically disappeared from overhunting. Now it houses 1.5 million acres reserved for hunting, trapping, elk viewing, hiking, and you guessed it, cycling. Megan knows these parts like the back of her hand, though be ready to pedal hard if you go out there with her!
“I did my favorite State Game Lands loop,” Megan said. “I went with my partner and our good friend. It was his first time riding out that way. It's 40ish dirt road miles from pristine Pennsylvania hardpack to rocky jeep roads to a few sections of freshly dumped riprap (a fun bonus). It was the perfect late spring day, with porcupines and pine trees. You feel immersed in this sacred place — a rare fracking-free zone in that county. Just a great reminder of how you can share so much with others through a sense of place, self, and movement. Bikes are really everything.
“Plus, after the sustained 10% grades I neglected to mention, our friend said with a smile when we got back to the car, ‘Remind me to be busy the next time you invite me here’ — always the best compliment I can get on one of my routes!”
Bikepacking from Buena Vista to Boulder, Colorado
Rider: Steve Gardner, Warehouse Manager
Steve is the rider you want with you on epic backcountry adventures. His mind houses an encyclopedic map of every trail on the Front Range and he always has tools and spares on him. But according to him, you don’t need to plan out every little detail to have an amazing adventure.
“The best ride of the summer had to be my five-day bikepack from Buena Vista to Boulder,” Steve said. “I knew the approximate distance I would be covering, but I didn't pick my exact starting point until the afternoon that I got dropped off. I didn't bother researching campsites and re-supply points — I knew there were enough mountain towns and flowing streams to keep me stocked up.
“The route was a combination of the well-traveled Colorado Trail singletrack and some rugged dirt roads including the epic Corona / Rollins Pass from Winter Park to Nederland. It was liberating to move through the mountains at my own pace with everything I needed to get by. I found a new appreciation for mountain ranges that I had previously passed via automobile, and somehow managed to dodge the monsoon rains that had been hammering the high country all summer. The trip was a great reminder that bikepacking doesn't have to be limited to specific established routes... any two points on the map will do!”
Our First E-Bike Ride
Rider: Travis Erwin, Head of Purchasing
It turns out that E-bikes are a ton of fun. Who knew? Travis told us his story of how a pair of E-bikes transformed his wife from a skeptic into a believer.
“I recently purchased two commuter-esque E-bikes in the hopes of facilitating a more cycling-centric lifestyle,” Travis said. “The next day I presented the bikes to my wife in our driveway. I circled around our prized possessions like a gangly Vanna White, showcasing the intuitive features and thoughtful ergonomics. I was proud of our purchase but my body language and confidence were completely lost on my wife. We've been married for 15 years. She's seen every episode of this song and dance and has never been impressed. Ever.
“I realized that her doubts would only be silenced once she took it for a spin. Together, we exited the driveway and I thought we would have a relaxing introduction to familiarize her with her new E-bike. I was so wrong. She ripped out of the driveway at full speed, leaving me in her wake. As I struggled to catch her, I could hear her cackling like a witch on a broomstick just looking for trouble. She glanced back at me and I clearly recognized that competitive stare. It said, ‘You'll never catch me.’
“After several minutes above my lactate threshold, she finally eased off the pedals and allowed me to catch up. Once I eventually joined her, her expression was drastically different. She was radiant — full of joy. She couldn't stop talking about how fun her new bike was and all the ways she planned to get out and ride. (I'm going to chalk this one up as a win for me.)”
Lenawee Trail
Rider: Carl Sechrist, Master Technician
Sometimes our best rides are spur-of-the-moment adventures. With an unexpected day off work, Carl joined a group of TPC riders to explore one of the toughest trails in the Colorado high country.
“An early morning power outage at TPC wasn't going to be resolved until mid-afternoon, so we all got sent home,” Carl said. “It was the end of July and the weather was incredible, so obviously a mountain bike ride was called for. After consulting with a few colleagues we decided to head into the mountains to hit the Lenawee Trail, which starts at the top of Arapahoe Basin and ends in Keystone. I had no idea what I was really getting into. I just knew that it was supposed to be a great trail. Boy howdy did it deliver!
“After a steep three-mile access road climb we crossed the ridge and dropped into the singletrack descent. Traversing the bowl above treeline, I was properly puckered and it was a struggle to focus on the trail and not fly off the mountain due to the difficulty, the views, and the lack of close reference points. Eventually, the trail took a turn and dove back into the trees. From there it was a classic steep and chunky Colorado downhill, thoroughly testing my brakes and my bike's 120mm of suspension. I don't run CushCores and more than a couple of times I wished I did. All in all, the Lenawee Trail is hand's down the best way I've ever spent an unexpected day off work and it was all completely unplanned.”
Hagerman Pass Road
Rider: Abby Reinholt, Controller
Getting back on the bike after an injury and feeling like yourself again is one of the best feelings. (Though never getting injured in the first place is preferable!) Abby recently came back from a knee injury that required surgery. She decided the best way to test out her recovery was to go big... really big.
"I rode from Leadville up and over the Continental Divide via Hagerman Pass Road — a moderately rocky road rising up to 11,925 ft," Abby said. "I had never been over Hagerman Pass before, and I was curious about what it looked like on the other side in the Frying Pan wilderness. After crossing the pass, the mountainous road eventually turns to pavement, climbs up and around Ruedi Reservoir, and spits out into Basalt which is way down at 6,611 ft. That meant I had a lot of climbing to do to get back home, which I did over the next two days via Aspen, Independence Pass, and Twin Lakes, back up to Leadville.
"It was an exciting ride for me because it was my first big adventure after having knee surgery five months earlier. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to complete the full 141-mile loop in the three days I had scheduled, but I made it and it felt so good to be completely tired out."
Brother’s First BMX Race
Rider: Phillip DelaTorre, Customer Associate
Phillip’s riding story is technically from 2021, but after losing his brother (in blue) this year, this might actually be the most important ride of his life. His memory of this ride has been a key part to healing in 2022, so it’s worth sharing.
“I race BMX and tried to get my younger brother, Loren, to race with me for years,” Phillip said. “I finally talked him into racing a season with me and was so excited to get out on track with him. It was something I have always wanted to see. We hit up a couple of local races and he did okay but never gave up.
“Then, it came time for The Colorado State Qualifier in County Line BMX — his 1st big race. We had practiced and were ready! When the day came, we drove to the track and were just talking and laughing and had a good time. We got our tent and bikes set up like only brothers could, constantly giving each crap for not doing it right.
“Loren raced hard and did the best he had ever done, getting 2nd place in his class. (I did well also, grabbing 1st in both of my classes.) I was so happy for him. The look of accomplishment on his face was so awesome to see. The result was something I had wanted to see for the longest time: THEM BOYS holding up the HARDWARE from a hard-earned race!
“My brother passed away this year, but I will always remember that day, and how much fun it was just spending time with my brother out on the track and racing our bikes! By far my best ride ever with my bro.”
Tour of the Moon
Rider: Nick Martin, TPC Founder
Grand Junction, Colorado might be better known for its mountain biking, but it’s also home to the legendary Tour of the Moon road race route. The Tour of the Moon was made famous in the 1980’s Coors Classic and later in the classic cycling movie American Flyers. It climbs into Colorado National Monument and features magnificent views of some of the most epic rock formations in the world.
If you don’t know, this is actually where the story of TPC began. As an aspiring pro racer, Nick was surviving on a shoestring budget, living out of his vintage VW bus in Mesa County and selling parts on eBay. Colorado National Monument was his next-door neighbor. Returning to the roads where he lived and trained during his formative years clearly had Nick feeling sentimental .“It’s hands down the best road ride in Colorado,” he said.
Unbound Gravel 200
Rider: Bruce Lin, Senior Writer
I’ve always been scared of the Unbound Gravel 200 — scared of the distance, the difficulty, and the heat — but I knew I would do it one day, and this year was finally the year. The only problem was I didn’t have a gravel bike! Fortunately, our friends at Orbea loaned me a Terra. I managed to get it set up and had one of the best performances of my mediocre cycling “career.”
My main goal was beating the sun (finishing before sunset), which I did, but I also managed to hit my stretch goal of finishing in 13 hours or less. I definitely got super lucky with the weather. Thunderstorms kept the temps low so I could push harder. Also, the sticky mud that developed in the last half of the course actually suited my abilities. Overall, with the borrowed bike and cool conditions, my Unbound story was one of serendipity.
The event itself is simply amazing too. The cute little town of Emporia explodes during race week. The main drag and all the back roads are filled with gravel riders. You meet dozens of new people every day who are absolutely stoked about cycling. And there’s just something special about lining up with 1,200 other riders and pedaling into the sunrise. In my opinion, Unbound definitely deserves its place as the world’s premier gravel race.
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