Weeks of Travel on The Moustache Dimanche 29 Gravel

Earlier this year, I was faced with a trio of niche events in three locations and aiming for more miles on my Moustache, I opted to bring my Dimanche 29 gravel for my more than a week of travel!

My Moustache & I departed Amsterdam by train to get to Stendal in Brandenburg by way of Berlin for my 2nd Fenderfest on 14 May, then by van down to Catalonia for some bikepacking with good friends on the fabled Camp Styrbjörn from 21 to 25 May and finally I was slated to judge at Mini Bike Fest on 30 May back in Berlin before returning back to Amsterdam. Whew!

Fenderfest Day 1 | 52km

Beyond Fenderfest's timeless builds, serene landscapes, and miles of smiles, there is a truly welcoming, kind, and eclectic community that can show anyone, young or old, how unifying the bicycle can be across age, race, gender, creed, or (lack of) speed. Fenderfest is for the people!

This third edition was a leisurely camping tour in 2 stages, culminating once again at @meerglas_frameworks’ picturesque farm & workshop in Prignitz. Night one, we slept at the area’s now 20-year-old music festival: @krankenschwesterrockt & we were treated to some incredible performances from @tor7band, @cosmonautix_official & others!

Fenderfest Day 2 | 56km

Night two was the community cookout, campfire & disco at Meerglas HQ. Rumor has it that the dance floor didn’t clear off until 4! 💃🕺

Thank you to all the beautiful & passionate fender aficionados who joined to make this unique event so magical & thank you to all the volunteers who kept things rolling so smoothly!

CAMP STYRBJÖRN Day 1 | 65km & 1,940m

Five days & nearly 400km of pure Catalonian gravel bliss over about 10,000m of climbing, daily siestas, untold cervezas with only a handful of mechanicals & punctures began on the 21st of May, 2026 near Lleida, Spain

The lore is that Staffan Widell of Ass Savers and several homies, also on this trip, had done this route years ago, first in 2017. Restarting the tradition since COVID had been harder than a hike-a-bike, and in 2026, we finally got the band back together, along with several compadres, including me, joining for the very first time!

As sublime as it looks, this beautiful and challenging tour is a reflection of Staffan's fascination & adoration for this wild region. My experience on the Dimanche 29 Gravel had never been this remote and challenging until now. I immediately appreciated the opportunities I had to creep ahead of the group and get better images of everyone. I'm not known for travelling light, but bringing an SLR, 35mm point & shoot, a GoPro with accessories and a Polaroid made sense to me, especially with a bit of extra support from the Dimanche's Bosch motor.

I had the foresight to bring an extension cable on the tour so every cafe stop, I was able to recharge my battery while we refueled on bocadillos & carajillo con Baileys.

Our first night of camping was atop el Puig de Meià. The peak overlooks the Coma de Meià valley and the town of Vilanova de Meià, within the Orígens UNESCO Global Geopark. We slept next to the ancient Castell de Meià (first mentioned in the year 1003), and the sanctuary church of the Mare de Déu del Puig de Meià.

CAMP STYRBJÖRN Day 2 | 83km & 1,540m

I had a blast touring off-road on Moustache's very capable e-gravel bike, equipped with a dropper and suspension comfort in both the seatpost and the stem. I descended more confidently than I have in ages & had a blast climbing 16% chonky gradients whilst rarely needing to dismount.

Day two brought us down from our el Puig de Meià campsite along the Noguera Pallaresa a 154-kilometre river known to be the capital of European whitewater rafting!

We arrived at Camping Collegats, a long-standing, family-run business originally founded in 1980, as the sun set. The campsite gets its name from the nearby Congost de Collegats (Collegats Gorge). Inside this gorge is a famous trickling waterfall called L'Argenteria. Legendary architect Antoni Gaudí visited the gorge and drew inspiration from the icy, natural stone structures of this waterfall for the facade of the La Sagrada Família cathedral in Barcelona!

CAMP STYRBJÖRN Day 3 | 81km & 2,100m

I loved Camping Col·legats' classic, old-school European camping charm & unlike standard campgrounds that serve typical fast food, the on-site restaurant specialises in authentic Catalan cuisine, with a large portion of the fresh vegetables and salad greens picked directly from the campsite's own private garden.

Day 3 was our biggest climb & most remote stretch, bringing us over Cap de Boumort, the highest point of the Serra de Boumort range, reaching an elevation of 2,077 meters.

I really paced myself on this climb, worried about depleting my battery before the summit. I'm proud to share that even with a steady use of the Eco mode, I made it to the top with ~30% still in the reserve.

The descent into Organyà was sublime. The suspension stem and dropper on the Dimanche, coupled with its geometry and 45c tyres, made ripping back down to nearly sea level smooth and enjoyable. Organyà is known as a world-class paragliding destination and the discovery site of the oldest known continuous literary text in the Catalan language!

CAMP STYRBJÖRN Day 4 | 62km & 1,791m

Day 4 started with another substantial climb that brought us down into the village of Isona for a many-hour siesta to beat the heat. It was Sunday, and all the grocery stores were closed. Our route has us wild camping that night, but no way to get dinner.

Our intrepid native Catalonian, Xiqui, convinced the staff of a nearby restaurant, Cal Jou, who answered their phone while they were doing prep for the next day, to pack a take-out dinner for 9 + 2 bottles of wine!

This inadvertently became the crowning moment for the Moustache and me! I had packed light enough to move all my supplies, clothes and gear into one pannier. The other pannier & my randoneur handlebar bag stored all the food!

Both the bike and I were fully charged from our siesta, so I gleefully hauled dinner for the whole gang up the last climb of our trip with a smile. Even getting 35mm snaps of the last hik-a-bike section at sunset seen below.

CAMP STYRBJÖRN Day 5 | 79km & 2,074

Did I say the last climb of our trip? lol. The last day had a soul-crushing hike-a-bike slog up to Cap del Ras near Sant Alís. Sant Alís is the highest peak of the entire Montsec d'Ares mountain range at 1,675 meters, and Cap del Ras sits just east of it along the same ridge line at 1,638 meters. And we took the hard way up. Brutal.

These portraits on the trip's final day and most sadistic hike-a-bike would not have been possible without the extra tailwind the Dimanche lent me! I conquered some brutal ~16% chonky inclines seated in my granny gear, zapping my charge to 1% when I reached the peak.

We enjoyed a largely downhill return to where it all began, with only Hahn having a plugable puncture mere kilometres from the finish.

Thank you, Staffan, for all your effort making this adventure come together & thank you to the homies for all the laughs, helping hands & memories. ❤️

And thank you for reading! Whether you'd prefer to tour old-school or with a bit of battery-fueled tailwind, your downtube is kinda like the decision of chain wax or classic lube; details are determined by each individual rider, and it's our shared sense of adventure that inspires us to go where we've never been before and keep coming back for more.