THE ADVENTURE SYNDICATE ATTEMPTS TO BRING PROGRESS TO BIKEPACKING BY TAKING IT BACK TO A SIMPLER, SILLIER TIME.

WORDS LEE CRAIGIE

PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR OE FARCERS AND AS CREDITED

It used to be that bikepacking races were a niche, underground affair for a tight community of feral, renegade riders united in their weird preference for staying awake rather than paying for accommodation. Having watched the birth and morph of the bikepacking phenomenon into something more commodified and sanitised, some of us decided that it's been fun but we miss the halcyon days of this dirty, elemental, brand-free nonsense that used to occur.

While commercialisation might ultimately mean that more people are more likely to get involved with the 'sport' that we love so much, there's also a danger it becomes the boring bastion of one type of rider. If we only see images of rugged white men riding fancy bikes adorned with expensive bike bags squinting, unsmilingly into cameras while the wind and rain whip at their tastefully tailored clothing, then that is what bikepacking becomes. And that, in our opinion, would be a bit boring.

Rather than moan about it (are we too late7 ) Philippa, Alice and I from The Adventure Syndicate decided to create an event that embodied what we believe bikepacking racing, and bike riding more generally, is all about: community, challenge, environmental stewardship, inclusivity and, most importantly, fun.

A better monster

We had grown tired of standing on crowded start lines of bikepacking races surrounded by like-minded people all racing the same multi-day route but only actually speaking to them at the end once the racing was over. We were tired of the sleep deprivation and the discomfort of putting wet clothes back on in the fug of a soggy biwy bag at 4am and eating crap food from petrol stationswhile riding. We still craved the physical challenge oflong days on the bike travelling through wild places butwe wanted to come back together with our friends in the evenings, eat proper food and dry our pants on radiators ready for the next day. So we devised a monster four-day route around the north-west of Scotland with optional mountain missions and ending each day at some of our favourite highland hostels. In our wisdom, the three of us decided we would also race our bikes while directing the event so we roped in Becky Waters to handle the daily logistics and be on hand for any emergencies.

As in the lesser-known Tour de France, the Tour de Farce would be four races within a race, with jerseys to be won. The jerseys awarded would depend on what we could find in our local charity shop, and would be redistributed each evening on the podium-but would remain unwashed ...