Watch: Christopher Blevins in “The Long Traverse”

Christopher Blevins may be one of the fastest men in North America right now, but his passion for mountain biking extends well beyond the race course. In The Long Traverse, the U.S.A. cross country star shares how riding helps him connect to the land, and how that informs his thoughts on conservation and climate action.

The venue for Blevins’ meditation on riding is the 128-km Los Padres Traverse, a route he helped develop with Dillon Osleger of the Sage Trail Alliance. Blevins, who brought home the first U.S. men’s elite World Cup win in over two decades in 2021, sets a FKT, but also meditates on the simple joy of riding while on the route.

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Christopher Blevins: The Long Traverse

What’s Specialized say about The Long Traverse

A film by Stilspoke, filmed and edited by Keenan Desplanques, directed by Keenan and Christopher Blevins.

The Long Traverse is about learning from, and loving, the landscapes we ride in. Through the story of an iconic 80-mile, 11,000-foot ride, Christopher Blevins and Dillon Osleger consider the history of a landscape and our place within it, grappling with the realities of forest fires and extraction, while letting the bike show us all we can appreciate and learn as people on the land.

The Los Padres national forest spans the Central Coast of California, from the Pacific Ocean to the fringe of the Mojave Desert. This land of many uses hosts world-class biodiversity, the endangered California Condor, 350+ miles of trail, and a multitude of Chumash cultural sites. The Los Padres Traverse route is not only an incredible ride, but it highlights the intersection of recreation, conservation, and climate. Through the trail stewardship and advocacy work of Dillon’s nonprofit Sage Trail Alliance, Christopher established the fastest known time (FKT) along the route. And throughout this process, Christopher learned more about caring for the places he gets to ride in and the communities along the way. Whether you’re trying to complete the traverse in six hours or taking three days to bike pack it with friends, the Los Padres is a place to visit. Likewise, whether you’re a World Cup racer or a Weekend Warrior, we can use the bike to understand our responsibility to take action to better our planet, and we can all dig during trail restoration days.

Learn more about the Long Traverse project at www.stilspoke.com where you can buy magazines and merch to support Dillon’s trail restoration efforts at www.sagetrail.org