12th Annual Bicycle Travel Photo Contest
This article first appeared in the May 2021 issue of Adventure Cyclist magazine.
If ever there was a year for armchair adventure, 2020 was it. And while most of us spent more time staring at photos of far-off places than visiting them, intrepid traveling cyclists managed envy-inducing rides in their own backyards around the world and on some of the original epic examples of social distancing. A heartfelt thanks to all who submitted images in our 12th Annual Bicycle Travel Photo Contest for a dose of inspiring imagery to remind us all that even in a year we might like to forget, adventure was still out there.
Adventure Cycling Route Network
Winner: Great Divide Mountain Bike Route
Just another beautiful start to the day.
Gregory Jones
Honorable Mention: Rough Rider
Western Express Bicycle Route in Hatch, Utah.
Kevin Parsons
Epic
Winner: Special Encounter Between a Car and a Bicycle
Passing a purple old-timer in the tobacco fields of Viñales, Cuba.
Karin Geuke
Honorable Mention: Winter Bikepacking in Voss, Norway
Riding into the forest after a heavy snowfall in Voss, Norway. Ready to spend a night in the forest.
Bart van Schendel
Portraits
Winner: Everything is Easier with Friends
This photo captures five cycling friends before leaving for notoriously vicious Ruta de las Lagunas in southern Bolivia. We’re posing at Cementerio de Trenes in Uyuni. We all survived the route, including two girls from Colombia on the right. It was the first time riding a dirt road for them and Lagunas is mostly sand and washboard. But as I said, everything is easier with friends (and lots of cookies).
Luba Lapsanska
Honorable Mention: Georgian Hills
On the second day of a four-day loop through the Appalachian foothills in Georgia, we cruised down — and then up — one of many steep roads we encountered. I happened to go down first on this one and turned around to see Matt, perfectly backdropped by the steep, tree-lined road.
Conor O’Brian
COVID
Winner: Eleazar’s Vacation
Corrine Leistikow, amid trees lit by a November sunrise, rides on Wickersham Creek Trail after a trip to Eleazar’s Cabin in the White Mountains National Recreation Area. Cabin trips into the recreation area, which is just north of Fairbanks, Alaska, are always wonderful, but they have been even more welcome in the days of COVID, since social distancing is easy on these trails. This trip was just a quick overnighter, but it was a wonderful break from town.
Eric Troyer
Honorable Mention: Enjoying Desert Solitude on the Grand Staircase Loop, Utah
Just as COVID became a thing in the U.S., we hit the trails for some awesome remote contemplations on the state of the world.
Carrie Thompson
