Never In The Way | A Gravel Bike Escape

When cyclists choose a venue to ride, rarely would they look to the heavily trafficked roads of a big city. For bike messenger Nico Deportago-Cabrera, weaving through clusters of cars, buses and taxis via the intricate paved network of inner-city Chicago is a work week routine, one that he thrives on. Yet as much as Nico enjoys this daily dose of adrenaline, when he’s off the clock he yearns for the wide open spaces that cyclists live for. In Nico’s words: “If you’re never in the way, then you’re always right where you need to be.” Produced by Anthill Films for TREK, Never in the Way follows Nico’s first self-supported cycling trip to Arizona; more than 400 kilometres from Flagstaff to Phoenix over five days. It was his first such offroad trip of this calibre; pedaling on pavement, cornering on winding singletrack and navigating backcountry roads in every state of disrepair. All with the occasional mandatory detour to soak up the solitude of the Arizona Desert. Music: “Pay the Road” Shakey Graves