1000 Miles Adventure

Since its first start in July 2011, the 1000 Miles Adventure has been the defining self-supported test of Czech and Slovak bikepacking: a non-stop race on your own strength, where outside support is banned and every rider decides alone where to eat, sleep and push on. It was founded by the Czech extreme cyclist and adventurer Jan (Honza) Kopka, and that spirit of freedom, humility and self-discovery still runs through it.

The classic lines run between the westernmost tip of Czechia and Nová Sedlica, the easternmost village in Slovakia, across mountains, forests and rivers and through national parks where the organisers hold special permits. For 2027 the race brings back its loop around the Czech Republic, first ridden in 2021, with northern and southern routes that cross paths and a new longest option continuing over the White Carpathians and the Beskids.

Entry is deliberately limited so that riders can still feel alone on the trail, yet the community around it is strong: compulsory daily text messages from the route are published for followers, and every finisher receives a named finisher jersey at the September afterparty, where next year's riders get first claim on a place.