We see gravel as a freedom of spirit, a tool for exploring and arriving by paths less traveled. By telling our stories, we want to encourage all intrepid souls to experience their own bike adventures. Here you'll find our tales along with ample kindling to stoke your own fires of motivation to surpass your limits and ride outside the lines.

Upcoming Gravel Rides

We've created a series of social rides to unite gravel lovers and provide a space to share off-road experiences inspiring new adventures. Check out our upcoming rides here:

Discover the wide world of Gravel

A gravel bike opens the world of riding possibilities to barely touched, hardly explored new paths. In turn, these can help you unlock untapped stamina and courage as you venture into new terrains and territories. Find even more inspiration in our Pachamama Episodes.

Gravel as a means of reaching new places also brings you closer to the local cultures and traditions. These unique adventures leave you touched by the experience and yearning for your next trip.

We've planned a series of unique Gravel Rides to inspire and challenge you to new paths, different goals and to unite you with others with exploration and superation in mind. Plan your next ride with us with all the details below.

Discover the Orbea bikes featured in the Pachamama episodes

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The Wolf Man

57º52’11” N - 4°37’60” W

Scotland used to be a wild land, where you could find bears, wolves and bobcats, all of them part of a perfect food chain.

But over the last 500 years, wars, industry and uncontrolled ranching and farming have turned this place into a desert.

Paul Lister was 40 when he woke up to reality, after his father had a stroke. He decided it was time to move to action.

In 2003 he bought a 23,000 acre Victorian Estate deep in the Highlands. This place formerly dedicated to sports hunting is now, with dedication and hard work, the amazing Wilderness Reserve of Alladale.

Paul believed that you cannot just sit down and wait for the changes to come.

It’s been too many years of abuse. Taking the pressure off the land and letting it bounce back is just the beginning.

With the help of the reserve manager Innes MacNeil, a million native trees have been planted and both big and small species have been brought back.

But he original motivation to buy Alladale was the idea to bring back the wolf. The majestic wolves are the food chain managers and there is not a real balance if they are absent.

Gain

Opting electric for your gravel rides means more time on the track and more energy to enjoy the ride.

Lister and MacNeil strongly believe in education, in teaching people how to love the land.

Hundreds of children have visited the park over the years and some of them are now working at the reserve.

It is practically impossible to walk through Alladale and not love it, to spend a day under the shadows of these trees and not want to protect it.

How can you hear the gentle sound of your wheels on the gravel paths of this paradise in the Highlands and not want to stay?

Terra

Terra is ready for whatever comes up on the path with stable gravel-specific geometry and ample drivetrain options.

Paul has always loved cycling; there is no better way to connect with wild nature.

The tracks in the reserve are not too demanding, perfect for any cyclist, whatever the level, age or fitness.

Enjoy the route

  • 113 km
  • 1.390m+

23,000 acres, two rivers, five hills and around 30 miles of tracks later we are not leaving Alladale empty handed.

After riding this reserve we learnt that the future is bright, that humans are not a problem if they are part of the solution. We learnt that if we want to leave a better place than we found it, we just need to go out there and love the land.

Get to know the bikes from this Pachamama

A great scenario to put to the test our bikes of choice: Terra M21E Team 1X which suits any road and Gain M21E 1X which suits any level.

Wandering Spirits

38º0’16.3224”N - 107°56’46.644”W

You can discover the most amazing things on a gravel bike. Vast landscapes and geological wonders of the world unfold before your very eyes.

From the snow capped mountains of Colorado to canyon-laced red desert landscapes, we follow three women from three very different cycling backgrounds on their five-day adventure.

What is your next adventure?

The journey takes these women through the San Juan Mountain range along a series of remote backcountry huts weaving along the continental divide trail.

The San Juan Huts were built 30 years ago and provide year-round solace for outdoor adventure enthusiasts to escape to the mountains.

The route contains all types of gravel, from double-track roads to technical single-track and plenty of climbing.

The sheer magnitude of the mountains is mind-blowing. With the route topping out over 3,800 meters and more than 1,200 meters of climbing for five consecutive days, this route was no easy task.

Each day getting to the next hut was a completely new adventure.

Get to know the bike from this Pachamama

Terra M21e Team

Terra excels in the light bikepacking category. The progressive geometry bike cruised along smooth roads and technical single-track for the entirety of the 253 km hut trip.

Although each cyclist comes from completely different backgrounds, gravel and a sense of adventure is what brings them together.

The journey is the reward.

Inspired by our insatiable thirst for adventure, gravel evokes freedom along the road less traveled.

Through high alpine, scorching deserts and raging river crossings, the Terra will rise to any challenge.

The definition of gravel riding may change by city, state or country, but the Terra is one of the most versatile gravel bikes available.

Terra M21e Team

Clever integration and features adapted to your needs, and the extremely rideable gravel geometry is comfortable and precise no matter where you go.

The gravel bike-packing movement follows the philosophy of "leave it better than you found it." To preserve the natural state of the landscape for future generations to enjoy.

These adventures come with a responsibility of having as little impact on the land and surrounding communities as possible.

Just the tool for the job, the Terra will always deliver the adventure you crave.

Whether you're a triathlete or mountain biker looking for something new with cycling, gravel is a burgeoning sport with endless routes to discover.

Co-existing with animals, navigating mountainous terrain, withstanding harsh weather and many more obstacles - gravel is not for the faint of heart.

Enjoy the route

  • 232 km
  • 13h:03m
  • 2.640m+

The Candy Bomber

52º28’25”N - 13°24’06”E

Memory is such an important thing. To remember the past to ride that path towards future. To be thankful for this present and not to repeat old mistakes.

To connect the three dimensions, just like Gunnar Fehlau connects the air and the ground. Turning a painful past into a bright and inspiring present.

Or is it the other way round?

The story of Gail Halvorsen, just three years after the end of the Second World War inspires this uncertain present.

The three years following 1945 were not actually easy, years when even the Allied countries coexisting in Germany started to show irreconciliable differences.

Berliners were starting to give up hope, the roads were blocked and the only connection for the city was the sky. Planes, planes and more planes were soaring through the sky night and day, following just three different routes.

One day something happened, a very important something, a something which would change many lives. One day, a bunch of small parachutes landed in Mercedes Wild’s schoolyard.

There were packages attached containing something way more valuable than all the gold in the world: chocolate.

A small detail can become a movement, anyone can make history, History in capital letters.

Gunnar knows well how much details mean.

Get to know the bike from this Pachamama

Terra M20i TEAM

Adaptable for every stretch of the 640km Candy B. Graveller route. Terra glides over the ageing concrete and is agile enough for the deepest, root-filled forests of the region.

Inspired by History, Fehlau came out with a gravel route to follow, on the ground, just the same trails left by those planes in 1948.

Through forests, roads and dust, just Terra could rise to the challenge.

The definition of gravel riding may change by city, state or country, but Terra is adaptable and ready to go.

Terra M20i TEAM

Clever integration and features adapted to your needs, and the extremely rideable gravel geometry is comfortable and precise no matter where you go.

Gunnar is proud of the small movement which has emerged.

Now, anyone who follows his route replicates Gail’s feat: everyone carries a small package with chocolate and candy for the little Berliners.

A perfect bike for the Candy B Graveller, a tribute to History, to hope and to small details.

Gail died last year, and he is deeply missed. Mercedes and the postwar kids will never forget the American who brought hope. Gail would be proud of Gunnar, his spirit remains.

If only in this uncertain future the only bombs landing on our backyards were Candy Bombs.

Enjoy the route

  • 669 km
  • 51h:38m
  • 6.040m+

Bikepacking buds

51º33’27” N - 3°42’20” W

How amazing it is to be scared, how cool it is to think you are not brave enough, not strong enough, not adventurous enough. How good it is to think you can’t, when a spark says you maybe, then “okay I might try”.

How great it is to have barriers to jump, walls to break and fears to overcome.

1.5 degrees. Air frosts every night. The average minimum temperature in the South of England in January would push no one into camping out in the forest.

In the first month of 2022, Saoirse ran into a crazy challenge on Instagram: she asked for people to join and more than twenty showed up to sleep out in the deep depths of winter.

After this amazing experience, four women got together to get together.

Bikepacking Buds was born to share the sense of achievement which comes from breaking barriers. It might take time, but you will finally get there.

How amazing it is to be bold, how cool it is to feel you are brave enough, strong enough, how good it is to be intrepid.

How important it is to have buds.

Get to know the bike from this Pachamama

Terra M20i

The carbon version of the Terra was another important companion in this overnight exploration. The carbon frame offers the perfect combination of weight, comfort and resistance to perfectly accompany Itzi and Saoirse on this trip.

They make bikepacking trips and give tips. They have a blog and a podcast where they share their experience to all those who ever thought they would, but they couldn’t.

Everybody can join, no matter their fitness or their experience, they just want to make everyone feel what they feel when they are on a bike.

Nature is in the heart of the project, as it is here at Pachamama.

Terra M20i

And we think there’s no better bike for long adventures and pure bikepacking than Terra M20i.

Cat, Itzi, Saoirse and Liv do a great job taking people out, making them connect with the air and the ground:

“You only protect what you love, and you only love what you know”

These women own the moment, they own themselves, they own the earth.

Enjoy the route

  • 103 km
  • 10h:02m
  • 1.450m+

Wine Paths

42°33'18.5" N - O2°35'12" W

Many people spend their lives searching for a job or occupation for which they were born to do.

Many others experiment with different hobbies, looking for a new pastime that makes their hair stand on end and shakes up the monotony of every day.

Javier San Pedro is lucky. His passion was written when he was born. His family's wine runs through his veins and he works hard so that his lineage is chronicled here on earth.

The red soil of his native Rioja Alavesa. The ocher, burgundy, purple and vibrant colors of Rioja Alavesa.

This chameleon-like landscape, full of winding paths created by the area's wine production, also introduced him to his hobby.

Touching the earth and shaping it with his hands was not enough; pedaling on it became a good way to honor the soil where he was born.

Not so many years ago, the vines in this region were irrelevant, they grew on farms where grains did not grow, which was the main crop in the area.

It was the same with gravel biking, which until very recently was not only irrelevant, but was rather non-existent; an obscure discipline for which there was no need for a bike.

Now Javier travels through the Rioja Alavesa on his Orbea Terra. Up, down, flat.

The undulating countryside is full of vines and steep terrain, with abrupt grades and long, flat plateaus that punish the legs and require a bike that rolls smoothly across the rocky ground.

The days are long at the winery, and Javier often leaves work after the sky has lost its color, when the vibrant ochers, burgundys and purples melt to black.

As Javier says, Rioja Alavesa was a buried treasure.

But for the most discerning palates, those who know how to enjoy the pleasures of life—wine, air, bikes and land—this region has already been discovered, and no one is ready to forget it.

Get to know the bike from this Pachamama

Terra M20I Team

A carbon frame, SRAM Rival 1 Dub Wide 40t single chainring, Zipp 303s wheels and G40 XPLR tires from the same brand accompany Javier after a demanding day of work as he paves his legacy.

Enjoy the route

  • 109 km
  • 10h:00m
  • 1.350m+

Antico Mangano

43º03' 48" N - 12º26'41" E

Was it the instinct what took little Alfonso to keep the ancient machine away from fire? The Marchi family really needed firewood for warmth in the worst days of war. Maybe it was not a matter of instinct, it was maybe pride what lead him to fight for the mangano, pride for his father’s job, the same pride that keeps the Stamperia Marchi up still today.

Wasn’t it love? Nothing else but love can explain what Alfonso’s daughter and son still feel for the fabrics printing studio where they grew up. Love? Maybe it wasn’t love. It was magic! It was definitely magic!

Nothing else but magic can make it possible. What else can make a big wooden wheel capable of moving tons of weight with the strength of just one man? Alfonso recalls how he, along with instinct, pride, love and magic, prevented the mangano, the calender, from becoming lost and forgotten, forever. And thus, the magnificent artifact, a Mesopotamian prodigy, an enormous wheel improved by Leonardo da Vinci in 1633, has survived to this day.

The quest for the antico mangano took us through all kind of surfaces. And so, the main part of the route goes along pure dirt and compact gravel paths.

The first part of the journey is easy and pleasing with a fair number of paved segments, but once we leave Vía Santarcangiolese, towards Franzolini, the first concrete two-digit walls appear before us.

These walls on the way to the beautiful and cobbled medieval village of San Leo, and one last climb to Monte Benedetto, were the perfect exam to test the agility of the new Terra geometry.

Alfonso’s successors, Gabriele and Lara, keep the studio running in the awesome Italian Romagna.

The stamperia exists around the big wheel, the stamperia where the Marchi family stamps fabrics with wooden molds, just the way it was done three millenniums ago.

Alfonso loves this land and bursts with pride as he tells us about a magical territory. After all, this is love. What else would make us want to get lost without being sure of what’s coming around the corner, just in the quest for the unknown.

After all, this is what magic does: the spell brought us to Santarcangelo, on the back of another prodigious artifact, on the back of a bike.

In this trip to the heart of Romagna the new Orbea Terra had a perfect reaction at all times. One single Terra can be many bikes.

Terra M21eTEAM 1X M Custom

It is extremely adaptable and ready for everything; its tire clearance is compatible with multiple wheel and tire options and it gives a wide range of drivetrain possibilities without compromising tire clearance. We enjoyed the climbs, and even more the descents, especially when the paved roads became gravel paths. The lower BB of this new geometry made us confident descending on rough surfaces.

There is, without a doubt, a bit of pride in all this, the pride of a centenary tradition. The same pride of tradition moves Orbea, just like the Marchi’s, to never stop exploring.

Alfonso Marchi is absolutely sure that tradition leads to wisdom, and wisdom means freedom, ability to invent, to create and to lead the past, the present and the future.

Enjoy the route

  • 96,5 km
  • 08h:36m
  • 1.870m+

Get to know the bike from this Pachamama

Terra is our most capable gravel option, perfect for all types of terrain and adventures. Discover Terra and get ready to explore new horizons.

Les Pavés du Nord

50º29'25" N - 3º06'44" E

1919, Versailles, near Paris, World War I was brought to an end, and to the north, not that far, a journalist from L’Auto opened his eyes to see the devastation of the bombing. The fruitful crops had become barren wastelands, and all that was left of the farmhouses were just stones. Some say this reporter described this aftermath scene as the hell of the north.

Fact or fiction, this anecdote adds one more cobblestone to pave the road to the legend of the most challenging and most violent race of all time.

"Terra adapts wonderfully to cobblestone and offers a perfect combination of weight, comfort and resistance. "

Nothing else can be said about these familiar places that have become synonymous with black and white images reviewing the more than 125 years of noise and fury of riders beating up the polished stone of these roads used by trucks and tractors throughout the rest of the year.

The same noise and fury were shown by a brave group of people who one day decided, 45 years ago, that those cobblestones were a heritage for Roubaix just as Notre Dame was for Paris, determined not to have the hills in their flat razed by asphalt and massive housing.

Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix have fought since then to preserve the race against the will of politicians who were set on pouring sand over the cobbles just to prevent the event's celebration. Which, in their opinion, would show a negative picture of poverty and degradation they did not want to admit.

It was a huge battle for these proud men and women who work unpaid with the sole reward of saving the land where they had skinned their knees since they were kids.

Gli orgogliosi membri hanno lottato molto senza nessun’altra ricompensa che la conservazione di una terra dove si sbucciavano le ginocchia quando erano bambini.

The deep respect for their elders, who cut every cobblestone one by one and by hand, drives them to replicate the old traditions.

The deep respect for their elders, who cut every cobblestone one by one and by hand, drives them to replicate the old traditions.

Lia chose the Terra H30 1x to tour the "Hell of the North." A perfect option to cut through the pavé, thanks to its fork with longer arms and its rigid crown. Damp, rigid and adaptable to the terrain.

Year after year, the Amis remove the stones, lay a new solid foundation, then a new base for proper drainage, and put the cobbles back again.

Year after year the Amis work hard for a “queen they can’t see, a queen in their minds”, in the words of François Deulcier, the president nowadays.

The group comprises more than 350 proud members from 17 countries. The older members teach the offspring, and the future seems assured. The road has been exhausting. Roubaix, La Pascale, La Reine, and we expect nothing less.

However, every time we set our foot on this sacred land, which belongs to all, let’s not forget that it belongs to them, to the proud dwellers who would never allow anyone to pour any sand on their Hell of the North.

Enjoy the route

  • 123 km
  • 05h:39m
  • 220m+

Get to know the bike from this Pachamama

Terra is our most capable gravel option, perfect for all types of terrain and adventures. Discover Terra and get ready to explore new horizons.

Seriously Gravel

52.5200'º N - 13.4050ºO

When we were kids our bike laid down at the door waiting to go out exploring, waiting for your mum to send you to the groceries, on a mission that could be just accomplished with skills and speed, cruising the streets, jumping here and there, sliding and drifting and scrapping your knees.

But we all grew up and started to take bike and life much more seriously. We all? No. In the heart of Berlin, a group of indomitable still wait for the bell to ring and jump on the bike to fly.

“Some of my friends sometimes say that I should take things a bit more seriously or whatever. But that’s my style”

This is "The Gravel Club", and this is Sasha, who found out one day that there’s no better bike than a gravel bike to enjoy like a kid.

“Well, the gravel bike offers so much freedom. The world is yours”

And it turned out that he wasn’t alone. It was during the lockdown that Sasha decided to share on social when he would be riding, thinking that, maybe one day, someone would show up.

And it turned out that he wasn’t alone. It was during the lockdown that Sasha decided to share on social when he would be riding, thinking that, maybe one day, someone would show up.

“Wanted to build on it a bit like the Hell's Angels. There's a chapter everywhere, large groups gather, without any crime of course. But they shouldn't be nervous, because we welcome everybody”

“And what's the worst that could happen?”

Your new Terra is now available

The perfect companion for endless exploring and overnight adventures. There is a wide world out there and Terra is ready to explore it with you.

Forged in solitude

43º10'28" N - 2º16'57" O

Luis Ángel Maté, a professional cyclist from Euskaltel-Euskadi, rests his head on the refuge offered by the trail, calming the tension, the chaos, the ruggedness of the race with the softness of the mountain, the earth, the rain and the water.

There is a wide world out there and Terra is ready to explore it with you.

Like Maté, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, a warrior and knight at the service of the Catholic Monarchs and Emperor Carlos I, also chose to embark on a trail to find his soul. A war wound left him bedridden, while reading showed him his destiny, but it was the trail that taught him peace.

Born in Loyola, Guipúzcoa, he was shot by a cannon while defending the fortress of Pamplona. During his convalescence, he read about the lives of saints, reading anything that fell into his hands, whatever was available. And there began his transformation.

Saint Ignatius was a warrior, a fighter, a thug and a seasoned knight.

And so he began his journey from his hometown in Manresa, where he lived for a few months before taking a ship to Jerusalem.

But Jerusalem is another story. Let’s go back to where Iñigo embarked on his journey — a physical journey that was as much a mental pilgrimage. All his journeys were inland. Ignatius of Loyola discovered new worlds, but he discovered them within himself.

Likewise, Maté has been on his own quest: the noise and the fury have disappeared, the hunger, the competition and the chaos have stopped, as if the sea itself has paused and embraced peacefulness.

"Why do you want to win the world if you lose heaven?"

Juan Bautista Mendizabal knows this well, passionately inviting us to recreate the path that Ignacio de Loyola traveled in 1522.

It’s a path full of beauty, from Loyola to the grandiose Arantzazu Sanctuary; from the fascinating Laguardia to the mountains and Basilica of Montserrat, until ending in Manresa.

Terra M20iTeam

Luis Ángel Maté made his trip with a Terra M20iTeam, the perfect companion for endless exploring and overnight adventures.

Fermín Lopetegui was the first pilgrim officially recognized to have completed the Camino, back in 2012, and has already traveled it nine times:

"Life is a backpack and when you have spent some time on a pilgrimage, you know what you have left over and how little you need"

So it is that, sometimes, the only way to forge ahead is to forge in solitude.

Your new Terra is now available

The perfect companion for endless exploring and overnight adventures. There is a wide world out there and Terra is ready to explore it with you.

Tears of Joy

38º24`8’’ N - 96º11’29’’ O

At this point, most people know the lasting impression that gravel cycling has.

Under a gravel mindset , we seek to have fun, discover new and incredible places, lose ourselves and find ourselves. But is there a place for competition in this very experiential and burgeoning discipline? The folks of Emporia show us that there is, and teach us how to blend gravel around a local community.

Gravel Territory

Emporia (Kansas) is a small town in the Midwest of the United States. At first glance, it seems like a quiet town, where calm normally reigns, but when June 4 hits, the town transforms. Hundreds of gravel enthusiasts flood the streets to enjoy Unbound, one of the largest, most diverse and dignified races that you can find in this discipline. It breathes all things gravel.

The town fills with colour when the event arrives. People of all regions come together to enjoy the wonderful, natural spaces that Emporia and its surroundings have to offer. There’s no better metaphor for what gravel means than what Unbound has represented for 15 years: people of different ages, nationalities, cultures and physical skills pedaling on the same path, enjoying biking.

Emporia is gravel, and gravel is diversity.

Gravel as a way of life

Adam Kachman is crazy for bikes, and after participating in Unbound, he’s fallen in love with the sensation of racing again. Lelan, Kristi Mohn, Yuri Hauswald, Zander Ault, Marley Blonsky and Heidi Rentz are great examples of other people who attest to events like Unbound; it feeds the spirit and uncovers an excitement that you haven’t felt in a long time.

Adam Kachman is crazy for bikes, and after participating in Unbound, he’s fallen in love with the sensation of racing again. Lelan, Kristi Mohn, Yuri Hauswald, Zander Ault, Marley Blonsky and Heidi Rentz are great examples of other people who attest to events like Unbound; it feeds the spirit and uncovers an excitement that you haven’t felt in a long time.

The Unbound Faces

“Gravel cycling is for everybody”

Zander Ault – Passionate gravel rider

“It’s the shared passion for being out on the gravel road”

Marley Blonsky – Cycling Influencer

“Anyone can feel comfortable in a gravel family circle”

Adam Kachman – Professional cyclist

“It’s the unexpected things that make it memorable”

Heidi Rentz – Professional cyclist

Your new Terra is now available

The perfect companion for endless exploring and overnight adventures. There is a wide world out there and Terra is ready to explore it with you.

Elkano: First Time Around The World

38º24`8’’ N - 96º11’29’’ O

Five-hundred years ago, a basque sailor named Juan Sebastián Elkano wrote a chapter in history that’s worth remembering.

Born in the town of Getaria in 1487, Elkano was the captain of the first circumnavigation of Earth in 1522 aboard the Victoria carrack. Along with a crew that included illustrious explorer and sailor Ferdinand Magellan, Elkano left Spain in 1519 with five ships in search of spices throughout the Indian Ocean via an unknown and unexplored route.

After many hardships and the death of Magellan, who was the original captain of the expedition, they managed to cross the Pacific for the first time and reach the Philippines under the command of Elkano.

To enter the sea, you need ambition or curiosity.

From this moment on, Elkano went on to lead the expedition and managed to take the survivors of the journey to their destination: the Moluccas, in eastern Indonesia. Once there, he made the decision to return to the southern Indian Ocean, opening a new route and, in this way, confirmed that the planet was, indeed, round.

Five-hundred years ago, this adventure contributed to the beginning of the Modern Era, connecting lands and civilizations around the world.

This milestone had global relevance and was a turning point on a cultural, geographical and human level: it questioned the established order and drew new lines in every way. Elkano laid the foundation for a global reflection 500 years ago, introducing the world to new ways of thinking and understanding.

In a way, when we get on our bike, we channel Elkano’s sense of adventure. We become explorers, and the need to discover takes over.

The bike is an ideal medium for discovery, both indoors and outdoors. Not only does it take us to unexplored or remote places, but the bike forces the body to move. And when the body moves, the mind resets. When we’re on a bike, our ideas grow, and we travel further in every direction.

We can conclude that cycling is not the destination. It’s the means; to discover new places and rediscover ourselves.

And just as Elkano chartered new lines across the world by ship, the bike accompanies us everyday on new adventures within our environment, whether that’s outside or within.

We must learn to explore from within, unlearn from ourselves.

Your new Terra is now available

The perfect companion for endless exploring and overnight adventures. There is a wide world out there and Terra is ready to explore it with you.