Our Editors’ Favorite Rides of 2023

This year, we thought it would be interesting wrap things up by asking our editorial team and several contributing editors about the rides that stood out to them this year. From single-day rides to fully loaded tours, find nine of our favorite rides from 2023 below.

Logan Watts: Grand Old Dirt Tour, MX

I’ve had plenty of good rides this year, including a few great local overnighters and a top-five singlespeed finish in the Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race, something that’s been on my to-do list for nearly 20 years. However, it would be hard to top the “Grand Old Dirt Tour” for best rides of 2023. In January, we gathered a group of friends in the city of Oaxaca de Juarez to commemorate a milestone birthday and try out one of our flagship bikepacking routes, the San José del Pacífico Grand Dirt Tour. The Oaxaca Valley stands out as the perfect setting to embrace the beauty and inexorable passage of time, and we couldn’t have picked a better ride for this occasion.

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I have had a love affair with the Oaxaca Valley for going on 12 years, but this was my first time riding this route that Cass released a few years ago. This exceptionally well-crafted loop proved to be not only a great bikepacking itinerary, but a dynamic, living textbook that offered abundant learning opportunities throughout the 244-mile loop. There’s a deep sense of history in the Oaxaca Valley, and riding the San José del Pacífico Grand Dirt Tour is akin to participating in an immersive course on the biologically, linguistically, and culturally diverse region, and the time-sculpted places that it weaves together. The exceptional dirt road riding almost seems secondary. I was happy to experience it for the first time with a great group of friends, camping each night in the star-filled desert with laughter and great conversation. Find a recap here.

Lucas Winzenburg: Sagres, Portugal

My favorite ride of the year was a quick morning spin in Portugal that turned into something much more. My friend Ryan from Totem Cyclery in Denver was visiting, and we wanted to cap off his time in the Algarve with a ride to the lighthouse and fortress in Sagres, the southwesternmost point of continental Europe. Through a combination of minimal planning and tired legs, our morning ride ended up taking nearly the whole day, and it was full of surprises.

It was a beautifully warm, sunny day with blue skies, perhaps the nicest of Ryan’s trip. Our route took us along an undulating mix of narrow roads and dirt tracks, including some bushwhacking through an enchanting little stretch of forest with occasional views out to the coast. We rode winding byways through lush green fields and into a handful of villages, where we loaded up on pastries and espresso. Finally arriving at the fortress, we walked through the gates and out to the outer walls along the coast. There, we sat and soaked in the distinct “end of the world” feeling while gazing out at the calming Atlantic.

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En route back to the apartment I was renting in the historic seaside town of Lagos, we stopped at a restaurant for a late lunch and had one of the best meals of my whole time in Portugal, enjoying soup, several courses of local seafood, and a couple of incredible desserts. We were even slower on the ride home than we’d been on the way out there, but we both wanted to enjoy every last minute of what had turned into an unexpectedly perfect day out on the bikes.

Virginia Krabill: Vuelta A Los Pueblos Mancomunados, MX

Although my top pick might also be the Grand Old Dirt Tour, we did a short weekend trip in Oaxaca that was equally amazing. Perched high above the city of Oaxaca and nestled in the verdant and biodiverse Sierra Norte, the Pueblos Mancomunados alliance of villages presents a remarkable eco-tourism infrastructure. The Vuelta A Los Pueblos Mancomunados route interconnects several of these quaint settlements via a network of quiet dirt and paved roads with designated camping areas and rustic cabañas along the way.

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Logan and I started this journey one Friday afternoon from the city and made our way through the fertile Mitla Valley, pedaling next to the prehistoric caves and the Zapotec archaeological site of Yagul. The weather was perfect, and after a quiet, star-filled night of camping, we climbed up to the Sierra Norte, rolled past the biggest maguey we’ve ever seen, and stayed in a cozy cabaña in the El Carrizal Centro Ecoturistico. We made a two-night loop out of the route and hit up the traditional textile hub of Teotitlán on the way back. It’s truly and excellent route, making it an easy pick for my favorite ride of the year.

Miles Arbour: Fisher Creek Loop, Idaho

My time in Idaho has mostly been limited to quick stops in Boise or rambling down I-85 to more southern destinations. It’s been great to get to experience the state—albeit mostly one small region—by bike. My newfound appreciation for Idaho kicked off after Tom Lilly invited me to help scout a big-mountain backcountry bikepacking route in the Sun Valley/Wood River Valley. The aptly named Sun Valley High Country Loop was probably one of my top bikepacking trips of the year, and as soon as I got home, I knew I needed to find a way to share it with Emily.

We ended up returning this fall to scout the Dollarhide Summit Overnighter out of Ketchum and enjoy a number of fantastic day rides between Hailey and Stanley. The access to world-class trails and gravel roads is almost unbelievable, and Emily was also quick to name the Sun Valley/Wood River Valley as one of her favourite memories of the year.

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One particular ride that stood out for both of us was recommended by our friend Adam Ridley. The route is called the Fisher Creek Loop, and it’s just south of Stanley off I-75. Part of the Smoke ‘n’ Fire 400 route that leaves from Boise, the Fisher Creek Loop is a 17-mile taste of riding in the valley. It follows rolling gravel roads, creeks, steep climbs, and fast singletrack descents, also offering stark reminders that the area has been devastated by forest fires. Shortly after finishing our ride, we bumped into Lawrence Dennis, a Smoke ‘n’ Fire 400 rider, and we offered him a fizzy water, although he was really hoping we had Coca-Cola.

Evan Christenson: Berlin Weekender

This was my first year trying to write full-time for the site. Although it proved remarkably and consistently difficult to find new stories with interesting angles, it was also a deeply rewarding year getting to listen and prod and question and occasionally answer “for a living.” My 2023 started by getting on a bus and riding down the Baja peninsula and returning with a pocketbook full of quotes and some 12,000 photos to sort through. I also came home with a nasty cyst I couldn’t get rid of, and which finally had to get cut out. But in the meantime, I met new friends, I chased interesting stories, and I got to move in with my ever-loving partner in Amsterdam for a while. All that said, 2023 was a tough year at times, but wow, it was a great year too. Thank you, everyone, for reading some of my pieces and leaving some really nice comments. It means the world.

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If I had to pick one ride, because Mexico is already well represented here in this recap (for good reason), then the easy choice would be my weekender in Berlin with my old internet friend and new actual real-world friend, Josh Meissner. Josh opened his home to me, and I swear we didn’t stop talking for five days straight. It’s special to find other people in the world who overlap with so many of these small niches, and those special interactions are so worthwhile to seek out. Berlin, I suppose, was nice too. Mainly the Chinese buffet.

Josh Meissner: Spain

Around this time last year, I quit my job, packed my bike, and rode off from my doorstep in Berlin. I decided I had bikepacking business to take care of in Spain, and I’m so glad I heeded that call. After crossing Germany and France, I found the sun and summer and settled into an appropriately gentle rhythm. I spent the next three months having a grand time touring the sparse Spanish interior, finding sublime solitude and easy joy with friends.

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Those four months on the road featured so many distinct and intense episodes that I’ve barely begun unpacking it all. Just before I left for Spain, I wrapped up a story about how my 2021 tour through Scandinavia really went on after returning home—an experience has no clear edges; it just keeps on rolling. I’m finding that more true than ever. I’ve got a couple of stories from Spain in the works, and I hope to head down there to pick up the trail again soon.

Joe Cruz: Serbia to Montenegro

We had camped on the roadbed—the only flat spot around and with a view of the monastery—knowing that cars had no chance of crossing the roiling river well past its banks. Morning gray onto the doubletrack ascent, I’m hoping for that equilibrium where emotions dissipate like gas molecules filling up space, maximizing free energy decoherence. I let the incline undermine predictions of the horizon. It’s why I ride.

Later, our way is blocked by hazard barriers, not ordinarily a deterrent but in this case with a whirling lights car and a genial occupant who conveys that the road ahead has collapsed into the tumult. The alternate, interminably upward, to the Montenegro border is swirling spray and diesel clouds off of truck roar, our left shoulders the bulwark against angularity. Passports stamped, she’s shaking her head, jesters on bicycles in the gelid rain.

No shops at the border, no resupply. We shrug. Far-fetched dirt roads, lush farmland, stone houses. Our track an abandoned rubble road, episodes of hip high wildflowers, sometimes a streambed, sometimes deep farm tractor cuts that have churned the way into a repeating tread pattern.

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Late, we’re numb miserable hollow satisfied determination. Then 7:30 at an otherworldly little roadhouse, nicest nonplussed old guy running it. Seats us to a delicious dinner but we don’t have any euros—strategically, we didn’t mention that when we ordered—still flush as we were with Serbian dinars. Those provoked frowns, we sheepishly proffered our US dollars of which we also had an abundance, he brightened and took them. At the end, Brian bit into a pepper that served as a kind of finale to the meal and it was cataclysmically hot, I coughed for a long time in hilarity.

Leaden dark now, pedaling again trying to retain the memory of being inside. Rumor of a guest house 10 downhill kilometers away. Blind in the cleaving rain, a stray dog leaps out startled, and I’m fishtailing locked wheels in a careering cone of light to avoid it, wondered if it was a dream. Handlebars shivering. Radiance and a bar, a young woman concernedly, but we’re long past that, asks in English if we need help. Soaked to the center. Guest rooms and yes we can pay in dollars. More beers held in tingling fingers, terrible music, raw sleep.

Neil Beltchenko: Pitkin, Colorado

It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite trip of the year. Each trip I go on offers a different experience that makes me look back and realize how lucky I am to spend time in nature, on my bike, and usually with friends. I recently went on a trip that included a few of my favorite things: ribbons of singletrack, high alpine mountains, and the seasonal transitions, all with a good friend.

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I love fall and that seasonal transition, no people, the contrast of autumnal colors, some snow-capped peaks, and cool nights. This particular trip found Eric and me getting caught in a wicked storm right on top of a mountain pass. Paired with some solid hike-a-biking, we had some quality character building. This route is not yet published on our website, but stay tuned for it next spring.

Cass Gilbert: Woods Rat Run, UK

This is going to be a favourite ride, rather than the favourite ride of the year, as I’ve been fortunate to pedal in Mexico, the US, and the UK this year, and each has its own distinct and incomparable flavour! Plus, any trip I share with my son Sage is pretty much my favourite ride, regardless. For example, in 2023, we rode in the mountains of Oaxaca on a variation of the Hebras de Ixtepeji route, spent five days looping around Mount Mansfield in the forests of Vermont, and enjoyed a few days following the family-friendly Aspen Ridge route in snowy Colorado. And I loved them all! So, with this caveat, I’d like to bring attention to Tom Farrell’s Woods Rat Run, which was an undoubted a highlight of my long-anticipated return to the UK.

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What made it so special? For one, it connects the New Forest to the Isle of Purbeck, tracing an especially beautiful parcel of UK coastline, even working a £1 chain ferry ride into the experience to set the summer holiday vibes. From a personal perspective, it loops through an area that I’m familiar with, having spent my teens growing up in Dorset. And yet, the route is so creatively put together that it introduced to a medley of woodland singletrack, tufty bridleways, and historic drovers roads and byways that I never knew existed. Of course, the fact that we were treated to a glorious window of splended weather within a distinctly damp British summer helped, and it was at the height of the stinging nettle season, which did wonders for my circulation!

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Lastly, I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Tom, co-owner of the Woods Cyclery, from where the route begins. Tom and I hit it off straight away, and whilst I invariably return home buzzing from all my bike trips, the stars aligned especially well for this one. It was a timely reminder that as much as I love to roam across distant lands, there’s little better than snaking through ancient woodlands, wild swimming in rivers, digging into pub lunches, and pedalling away until dusk on a long English summer’s day.

What was your favorite ride of 2023? Drop a note or share a photo in the conversation below!

Further Reading

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