In 2024, Ali Becker and Mathieu Leblanc set out to tackle the freshly released Great Northern Bikepacking Route, now the world’s longest mapped off-road bikepacking route. We were honored to be able to equip these riders with some of the best OR gear to be worn throughout the thousands of miles of rugged terrain and unpredictable weather. Read on for the full story from the saddle. Spending one hundred and forty days pedaling across North America on the Great Northern Bikepacking Route, (GNBR) turned out to be a great way for myself and my partner, Mathieu, to put ourselves – as well as some of Outdoor Research’s finest adventure layers – to the test. We began our two wheeled, off-road odyssey on May 18, 2024 at Mile Zero in Victoria, British Columbia bundled up from the ocean breeze in what would become our favorite, go-to layer for cool mornings, brisk afternoons and apres sunset hangs - the his and hers Ferrosi Anoraks. These amazing inventions are part jacket, part hoodie and pull over your head with effortless ease (even with a helmet on) and are smartly equipped with a zippered front stash pocket for storing everyday essentials like our Freewheel Leather Palm Bike Gloves and Alpine Onset Merino Beanies that we grab for chilly descents. It wasn’t too long after leaving the Juan de Fuca Strait on our very first day that the dark clouds hovering over Southern Vancouver Island started to look menacing. We wisely grabbed our OR rain layers - I, the women's Aspire II Gore-Tex Rain Jacket and Aspire Gore-Tex Pants, and Mat the Stratoburst Stretch Rain Jacket and Stratoburst Stretch Rain Pants - and strapped them up to our handlebars for easy access. When the skies finally opened up and poured down upon us, it was such a quick transition to grab our waterproof gear and layer up. Both of our rain pants are wisely designed with separating side zippers that run the full length of the pant leg, so we could zip them open up from the bottom cuff and slide our legs inside without having to take off our bike shoes - a real bonus when you’re in a hurry to cover up. Those sweet zippers also meant that when we started to warm up on the rainy ride, we could open up the top zipper for ventilation in order to avoid overheating, while still staying dry. And when the clouds finally moved along and the sun came back, we simply strapped our wet rain layers to our seat pack, or handlebar bag and they quickly dried out so we could tuck them back in our bags. Both the Aspire and Stratoburst layers pack down super small, taking up nominal space in our seat bags and are so lightweight that we hardly noticed them in our packs. Our rain layers got a lot of use on this ride, not only during the downpours, but as a way to keep us warm on cool, albeit dry descents, and a few times - they even doubled as snow pants. Alongside our rain gear, we were extremely grateful for all of the warm layers we had packed - like the women's Alpine Onset Merino crew and leggings - and for Mat, the men's Freewheel Long Sleeved Jersey, men’s Ferrosi Joggers and the Alpine Onset Merino Beanie - all of which we donned beneath our waterproof layers as we pushed up and over one of the highest unpaved mountain passes in Canada in what felt like the dead of winter, or as we trudged through hours of waist deep snow along Alberta’s High Rockies Trail en route to Canmore. But it wasn’t all grim skies and frozen paths on our 14,000 km / 8700 mile bikepacking journey - although one hotel we treated ourselves to in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan did get hit with a tornado and had the roof ripped off while we were waiting downstairs for our room to be ready. More often than not, we had beautiful, sunshine-y days full of epic vistas and stunning horizon lines, and long stretches of hard packed, fast rolling gravel roads – the kind that make you feel that among the chaos of the world, Bob Marley was right – everything’s gonna be alright. During the dog days of summer, we swam in our beloved quick-drying, riding layers - me, the women’s Astroman Short Sleeve Sun Shirt – which I got countless compliments on and the Zendo Shorts with a smart, stretchy waistband and deep side pockets that were handy for holding my wallet when I went into the grocery stores and cafes. Everyone wondered how I could look so cute, clean and sophisticated while grinding up the side of a gravel road in the sweltering heat – I chock it up to the thoughtful cuts and colourways of these pieces, as well as the Astroman Short sleeved shirts AirVent technology on the back yoke, and the lightweight, super breathable material that also has SPF sun protection! Mat wore his Swift Lite Shorts with a 5” inseam day in and day out - with the exception of sleeping - from the first day of our ride, right through to the end. He cycled, swam, worked out (yes, cycling isn’t enough of a workout for him!) and went to dinner in these shorts. Even though the shorts fabric is so lightweight – making it astoundingly quick to dry – it held up to the constant friction on his leather saddle and they are still going strong today! As someone who loves variety in his wardrobe - Mat swapped between the men’s ActiveIce Spectrum Sun T-Shirt, the Freewheel Long Sleeved Jersey and the Astroman Short Sleeve Sun Shirt - all of which he loved for different reasons. The Astroman was perfect for those really warm days when you want to stay cool and be covered from the sun – plus it’s just so classy that it doubled as a dress shirt at a wedding we attended midway through our ride! The ActiveIce Spectrum Sun T-Shirt was great for those cooler starts, but also performed well in the heat. The deep red colourway also added a layer of visibility for any stretches we had to cycle on busy roads giving us some added peace of mind. The Freewheel Long Sleeve Jersey was his go-to for a breathable, moisture wicking baselayer when the temperatures dropped - especially as we pushed into the fall, and made for a great layer to wear under his rain jacket to protect the membrane from absorbing oils and sweat from his skin. Being that the Great Northern Bikepacking Route was hot off the press in January 2024, we got the chance to be two of the first three people to ride the entire length of what is currently the longest, mapped, off-road bikepacking route in the world – ending at the most easterly point of North America at Cape Spear, Newfoundland on October 3, 2024. Along the way, we were in contact with GNBR route creator Matt Kadey – sending updates, feedback, plotting new points of interest, but mostly just sending him kudos for putting together such an incredible bikepacking route that took us to some really beautiful places and connected us with some really amazing people. The GNBR traverses 10 Canadian provinces and 3 United States, with over 120,000 m (393 000 feet) in elevation, all while remaining predominately off-road – stitching together forest service roads, deactivated double tracks, flowy singletracks, pre-existing bikepacking routes, loose and chunky gravel roads, rock slabs, ATV tracks and some super smooth sailing, quiet paved connectors to make it all work. Of course, all this time spent in the saddle is hard on gear – no matter how well you try to maintain it, but I must say that each and every one of our OR layers stood up to the relentless battering that the elements and the GNBR threw at it – and came out the other side looking pretty damn fresh. As for us, well, we did pretty good ourselves. >> Shop Sun Protection >> Shop Freewheel Mountain Bike Collection >> Shop New Arrivals
