In May 2022, Marie was lucky enough to get one of 50 places for the Komoot Women's Rally. A fantastic initiative started by Lael Wilcox, who is one of the pioneers within ultrarace carpacking and a huge inspiration for both of us. Her heart beats to get more women to try bikepacking longer distances and have the opportunity to try it out in a safe community where it's about everything but race. Therefore, Lael has teamed up with the navigation platform Komoot, and together they have developed the concept of the Komoot Women's Rally. It is a very simple concept, where the participants are responsible for everything themselves, but you drive the same route for the same period.
This time the route was in Spain. It is called Montánias Vacias, and is a 680km long loop with 13,000 meters of altitude and start/stop in the small town of Tereul. It is a beautiful route with varying scenery and small cozy towns along the way.
Marie was overjoyed, but was also excited about what it would be like to be with 50 women for a week. It was a huge success! There were women from many different countries, different backgrounds and experiences, but all incredibly sweet and inspiring to spend a week with.
Route:
Link to day-by-day route description:
https://www.komoot.com/collection/1535393/-2022-women-s-montanas-vacias-bikepacking-challenge
