Where We Are Riding (May)
Where We’re Riding — May 2026
A monthly series from Allen
By May, riding starts to feel expansive.
Spring uncertainty gives way to longer days, lighter kits, and rides that begin to stretch toward something more ambitious. Weekend loops become all-day adventures. Travel plans turn into departures. There’s a subtle shift from building fitness to putting it to use.
If April opens the season, May lets it run!
This month we’re heading to Catalonia, the wide gravel of Kansas, and the wooded backroads of the Ozarks—places where distance becomes part of the appeal.
May: When the Horizon Gets Bigger
There’s something distinctive about May riding.
The weather is usually good enough to trust. The legs are usually strong enough to wander. And for many riders, the calendar starts filling with the kinds of events and destinations that carry stories long after the ride is over.
This month’s selections share one thing in common: they invite you to go a little farther.
Europe / Rest of World Spotlight:
Traka — Girona, Spain
(Gravel)
Few events have helped define modern gravel riding in Europe the way Traka has.
Based in Girona but stretching far beyond it, the event combines route options ranging from approachable to epic, all built around the region’s remarkable network of gravel roads and remote connectors. The terrain changes constantly—fast hardpack, rougher sectors, rolling climbs, pine forests, dry riverbeds.
What makes Traka stand out is not simply the scale of the event, but the way it blends adventure with precision. It feels serious without becoming severe.
And Girona, as ever, brings its own rhythm—strong coffee before dawn, long rides into open country, and post-ride meals that often linger into evening over local wine and Catalan food.
Explore the event here:
https://www.thetraka.com/
May in Girona feels like gravel at full expression.
Learn more about the event here: https://www.mallorca312.com/en/
April here feels like the season at its most accessible.
United States Spotlight:
Unbound Gravel — Emporia, Kansas
(Gravel)
If Traka represents European gravel’s refinement, Unbound represents its mythology.
The roads of Kansas are deceptively simple—rolling, exposed, and seemingly endless. Yet that openness is precisely what makes the event legendary. Distance is measured as much mentally as physically.
Unbound is often discussed in terms of endurance, but the deeper appeal is elemental: wind, weather, gravel, horizon. Very little separates rider from landscape.
And while the marquee distances define the headlines, the broader event has become a gathering point for gravel culture itself.
Learn more here:
https://www.unboundgravel.com/
May in Kansas reminds you how far a bike can carry you.
Lifestyle Spotlight:
Bentonville & The Ozarks — Gravel, Singletrack & Backrounds USA
(No event required)
Not every great May ride needs endless horizons. Some are better measured in turns.
Set in the Ozarks, Bentonville has evolved into one of the most dynamic cycling destinations in the U.S., but what makes it compelling is its range. Gravel roads thread through farmland and forest, quiet paved climbs connect small towns, and world-class singletrack begins almost at the edge of town.
It’s a place where one ride can blend surfaces and styles naturally. A gravel route can become a road loop. A road ride can finish on dirt. Exploration feels built in.
What also sets the region apart is how well the riding integrates with the town itself. Good coffee, relaxed post-ride meals, local breweries, and a cycling culture that feels welcoming rather than curated make it easy to linger.
May is a particularly good time to be here—green hills, long daylight, and enough warmth to feel like summer without the intensity.
And if May sparks the idea of a trip, Bentonville Bike Fest is just around the corner, returning June 9–14, 2026. With rides, racing, demos, music, and community events, it’s another reminder that Bentonville has become much more than a riding destination.
Learn more about the festival here:
https://www.
For route ideas and broader riding inspiration:
https://www.visitbentonville.
May in the Ozarks feels playful, varied, and open-ended.
The Thread That Connects Them
Catalan gravel. Kansas horizons. Ozark backroads.
Three landscapes, each inviting you to go a little farther.
May is often where cycling shifts from season to adventure. Distances lengthen. Goals get bolder. The bike begins taking you places instead of simply taking you out for a ride.
And sometimes progress isn’t measured in fitness at all—it’s measured in how far curiosity carries you.
Why May Matters
May expands the map.
It invites bigger loops. Bigger ideas. Sometimes bigger risks.
Whether you’re riding through Catalonia, rolling across Kansas gravel, or exploring the Ozarks, the point is the same:
Go a little farther than you meant to.
See what happens.
Next up: June — alpine passes, mixed-surface epics, and the pull of mountain roads.
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