Badlands

A self-supported, off-road bikepacking adventure from Granada across the only official deserts of mainland Europe, the wild coast of Cabo de Gata and the Sierra Nevada.

In the organisers' own words, Badlands was "designed from our love to gravel, self-sufficiency, bikepacking, the mountains, the deserts and the sea", wanting to "put all together at the same event". The result is one of the European references for ultra-distance gravel adventure, with riders crossing Sierra Nevada, the Gorafe Desert, the Cabo de Gata natural park, the Tabernas Desert (officially the only desert on mainland Europe) and the historical villages of La Alpujarra, before returning over Sierra Nevada and the Veleta pass.

Badlands is a set-route event: riders must complete the official track from start to finish, and if they leave the route for any reason they must restart from the point where they left it. Both gravel and MTB bikes are welcome. Pre-booking of services on the route, including accommodation, is prohibited; everything must be arranged after the start.

Following the bikepacking events tradition, the organisers are explicit that there is no prize for the fastest rider "but the honour of being first", and that Badlands "is not a race. This is a personal ride against the clock, not against others". The weather is a defining variable: riders cross the deserts at temperatures close to 40°C and the Sierra Nevada passes at night near 0°C.