The Transverse Traverse
The Transverse Traverse is California’s newest bikepacking event! The inaugural event will set off on April 24th, 2026. There are two length options - a ~200 miler and a ~400 miler. All riders will start in the Coachella Valley in Desert Hot Springs. TRTR 200 riders will cross the finish line after descending from Mount Lukens in LA, and 400 riders will finish at Refugio Beach in Santa Barbara County. In travelling from the desert to the sea, riders will experience a huge variety of landscapes, ecosystems and riding terrain.
Mission
As you know, the Israeli state is currently engaged in what the U.N. along with humanitarian organizations worldwide have classified as a genocidal attack on the people of Palestine. Throughout this conflict, the U.S. has been supporting the genocide by supplying billions of taxpayer dollars worth of aid and weapons to Israel and the IDF. Palestinians are still being attacked and denied access to Humanitarian Aid, despite the alleged “ceasefire” that went into effect in October.The Transverse Traverse will offer riders an opportunity to do more than go on a bike ride for their own enjoyment; all riders will be encouraged to raise money for The Sameer Project, a Palestinian-led direct aid organization which is currently providing much needed support to the people of Gaza and the surrounding areas. There will be no entry fee for the Transverse Traverse, but riders will be required to donate/raise a minimum of $50 for the Sameer Project. By reaching out to friends and family, each rider could easily raise hundreds of dollars.The Sameer Project has multiple different fundraising campaigns happening simultaneously, including one for Central and South Gaza, one for Northern Gaza, one which is dedicated to building and supporting the Refaat Al Areer Camp for displaced Palestinians, and one which is dedicated to supplying Gazans with basic necessities such as blankets and warm clothes for the winter months. Riders and their donors can choose which of these campaigns to support, or if they are indecisive, then they can encourage donors to give to the Refaat Al Areer Camp fund specifically.The Sameer Project accepts donations through a crowdfunding platform called chuffed.org, as well as via Venmo and Paypal, and all of those are equally good options.
To donate to the Sameer Project, follow this link:
To help keep track of the amount of money each rider raises, we have provided a Google Sheets form to keep track of all donors and donations. Supporters can donate the money themselves and inform the rider about the amount they donated, or they can give the money to the rider to donate. We recommend having the donations made prior to the event, as the people of Palestine are in a dire situation, where aid is needed immediately, not months from now.Note: The following link will prompt you to make a copy of the spreadsheet, which you should do so you can keep track of the donations you personally recieve
If you would like to support the Transverse Traverse, but are not donating through a specific rider, you can donate to the Sameer project through the link above and then fill out the following form to be recognized for your contribution! Please include the amount donated in the text of the message box.
Note on the choice of the Sameer Project, and their credibility:
Due to the forced exclusion of international aid from entering Gaza, donations to large, international aid organizations are less likely to reach Palestinians effectively and in a timely manner. In contrast, the Sameer Project is based and ran from within Palestine, and is able to use the funds they receive towards purchasing and distributing goods, food and water based on immediate need and on an immediate timeline. They take donations through Paypal and Venmo, as well as through the crowdfunding site “Chuffed”.
About the Route
Start Date (Both lengths): Friday, April 24th, 2026, 7 AMStart Location (Both lengths): Desert Hot Springs Skatepark
21777 West Dr, Desert Hot Springs, CA, 92240
The Transverse Ranges
The inspiration for the event was a desire to create a route which spanned as much as possible of the magnificent Transverse Ranges. This term collectively describes all of the mountain ranges North of Los Angeles, including the San Bernadino, San Gabriel, San Rafael, and Santa Monica mountains, among others. The remarkable amount of public land in Southern California is due in large part to the ruggedness and wildness of these ranges, despite their proximity to one of the largest Metropolitan areas on the continent. They are called the “Transverse Ranges” because, in contrast to almost every other major mountain range in North America which runs North-South, they all are aligned on an East-West axis. The Eastern edge of the range is flanked on the South by the Coachella Valley and the North by the Mojave Desert, and the Western edge is found at Point Conception in Santa Barbara County.
The Route
Riders doing both route lengths will depart together at the Desert Hot Springs Skatepark in Desert Hot Springs, Ca. The first 50 miles of the Traverse will involve climbing out of the desert to Big Bear Lake, before proceeding on past Lakes Arrowhead and Silverwood towards Cajon pass. After Cajon, riders will ride up the Lockwood Valley, and climb the backside of Mount Baldy, reaching the route's high point at Baldy Notch, 7 '827 feet above sea level and 126 miles into the route. Riders will then descend the legendary Glendora Ridge road en route to the Rincon Truck Trail, high above the West Fork of the San Gabriel River. The Route will take Rincon all the way through to the Gabrielino trail, which riders will take down to Paul Little camp, then do hike-a-bike battle with the Fire Station Ridge Trail on their way to Mount Lukens, the highest point in the City of L.A., at mile 200. This is the final challenge for TRTR 200 riders, who will reach the imaginary finish line at Little Landers Park in Tujunga, near the bottom of Haines Canyon Road.For the 400ers, the ride is only half over. They will weave through the mean streets of the Northern SFV before climbing back out of suburbia up May Canyon Road. They will descend Los Pinetos and Placerita Canyon trails into Santa Clarita, and head north through town en route to the Old Ridge Route. Riders will then travel the length of the Old Ridge Route (miles 244 - 273), duck under the mighty I-5, and continue on past Frazier Park to Lockwood Valley Road (miles 290 - 318) Riders will hit the dirt again on the Boulder Canyon Trail near the Lockwood Valley / Hwy 33 intersection, and climb up the backside of Pine Mountain, before descending to Frazier Summit and the start of Potrero Seco Road. Miles 328 - 367, From Potrero Seco to Pendola Jeep Road to the start of Paradise Rd, will be some of the most difficult but beautiful miles of the whole Traverse. Climbing up out of the Santa Ynez valley, riders will smell the ocean air while riding along South Camino Cielo Ridge. Descending Refugio Road, TRTR 400 will cross the finish line by dipping their toes in the Ocean at Refugio State Beach.
In-Depth Route Description
Coming soon! Fully annotated versions of the RWGPS files are also coming soon!
Note on the Amount of Pavement Included in the Second Half of the TRTR 400
The TRTR Planning and Organizing Board - TRTRPOB, for short (which totally consists of more than just one dude) - will be the first to admit that there is a more than ideal amount of pavement in the second half of the route. Specifically, the stretch between Santa Clarita (mile 230) and the Ozena Fire Station / Boulder Canyon Trailhead (mile 318) is almost completely paved. There are multiple reasons for this.For one, the POB was intent on including the Upper Santa Ynez Valley and Paradise Road in the route, which meant passing through the vicinity of Ojai eventually. Most of the area between Santa Clarita and Ojai is part of the Sespe Wilderness, which has no through-roads, and in which bicycles are not allowed on trails. Therefore, the options were to route North or South of the Sespe Wilderness. Going South of the Sespe would have meant travelling through or along the edges of heavily urbanized areas for almost 100 miles. However, going North of the Sespe, riders will be able to ride almost exclusively on beautiful, remote backroads all the way to the Ozena Fire Station.The silver lining of all these pavement miles is that they will provide riders with a reprieve from the endless, rough, often very steep climbs that characterize the first half of the route as well as the last 80 miles.
Route Acknowledgements
This route did not get created in a vacuum! Miles 51 - 182 correspond almost exactly with the Baldy Bruiser route, originally published by Cass Gilbert, Contributing Editor of Bikepacking.com, in 2017. The only difference between the two where they overlap is that the TRTR does not climb up Cleghorn Mountain Ridge between Lake Silverwood and Cajon Pass, but instead stays on CA-138 through Summit Valley, to give riders a few more relatively easy miles.The TRTR also overlaps with various rides and races put on by Mike and Let’s Ride Cyclery in Burbank, including the Trans San Gabriel and L.A. Tourist Races. Big thanks to Mike for answering some of the route organizer’s questions when they were scouting the route this fall.
Logistics
Registration
Registration will consist of registering for the event on MAPRogress, which will be available when the start date is established in January. Each rider will pay $15-20 each to MAProgress to use their services.
Additionally, as outlined in the "Mission" section, all riders will be required to raise/donate $50 for The Sameer Project by the day of the grand depart.
Safety
This is an unsanctioned, unofficial event. Every rider will assume all responsibility and liability for their own safety and well-being along the route, and every rider should prepare accordingly. Mountain biking and road biking are both inherently dangerous activities. The best ways to mitigate this risk are by careful planning, consistent training, and conservative riding when necessary. Certain sections of this route are extremely remote, and are some of the worst possible places to get injured. Plan for the worst in terms of mechanical failures; you never know what’s going to happen out there.To ensure that everyone is prepared in case of an emergency, riders will be required to carry a personal GPS tracking device, and to register that device with MAProgress for this event. This will allow all riders to contact emergency services. A device with satellite messaging capabilities is highly recommended, to communicate with loved ones or to arrange pickup when you don’t have service, should you have to forfeit.Regardless of whether your device has satellite messaging, MAProgress will display everyone’s location, updated every ten minutes, online, allowing your friends, family, and all your fans to watch your progress in real time.
Guidelines
This event is intended to be a strictly self-supported bikepacking event. For anyone who is unfamiliar with that term, here’s what that means for this event:Riders are allowed to purchase any commercially available services along the route. This includes eating at restaurants, staying in hotels, getting a massage, stopping at a bike shop, stopping at a bar for an extended period of time, etc.The following things are, unfortunately, prohibited:
Staying with a friend or family member along the route, or sleeping in your own residence
Having friends, family, or anyone else personally bring you food or any other supplies along the route
Caching water, food, or anything else anywhere along the route
Ebikes, due to parts of the route being closed to motorized useRiders are expected to ride 100% (or very, very close to 100%) of the planned route, as shown in the RWGPS file. Riders are welcome to leave the route to get services or for any reason, but they must return to the route at the point at which they left it. Exception: If there are recent closures that were not accounted for, then riders are allowed to (and expected to) find their own detours through / around those areas, and should not worry about doing so.Riders are encouraged to approach this event as competitively or non-competitively as they desire. For anyone who is not an elite endurance cyclist and experienced mountain biker already, simply finishing the route in however long it takes is an admirable goal and a huge achievement. MAProgress will record all the finishers’ times, and they will be put up on the TRTR Website shortly thereafter. If you win, maybe someone will buy you a beer.Note: If you break any of the aforementioned guidelines, e.g., you decide to get picked up and stay with your family for a night, but want to rejoin the ride, you should by all means do so. You won’t be an official finisher, but as long as you let the organizers know, that’s totally fine. This is an unofficial event with no prizes anyway; who cares if you’re an “official” finisher. However, if you break the guidelines without notifying the route organizer during or after the event, that’s grounds for disqualification.Note about camping: For almost all of the 200 and much of the 400, there will be ample opportunities for legal, dispersed camping on public lands. There are some sections, mostly in the 400, where legal dispersed camping will be difficult to impossible. Many 400 riders may be inclined to pay for accommodation in LA after descending from Lukens, in Santa Clarita, or in Lebec, in particular. Camping illegally is in no way encouraged or endorsed by the TRTRPOB. However, it is not grounds for disqualification or penalty.
Bike/Gear Considerations
The riding will rarely be easy, and will generally be characterized by long fire road climbs and descents. Certain sections will require technical mountain biking ability. These sections mostly occur on the first half of the 400, with the major exception of miles 328-252 from Pine Mountain Summit to the Upper Santa Ynez Valley.2.35’’ or wider tires are highly recommended, largely due to the sandy roads in the first 40 miles of the route in the desert. Suspension and drop bar / flat bar choices are more personal preferences, and the combination of a suspension fork and drop bars would be well suited to this route (if you’re into that kind of thing ;) ).
Transportation
Riders are responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from the event's start and finish line. The start is 12 miles away from Palm Springs International Airport, and the finish is 15 flat miles away from Santa Barbara airport. Get Creative!
Contact
For questions about the Transverse Traverse, please reach out to Wyatt at [email protected]