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GRVL / ADVNTR

Adventure Tours On Unsealed Byways

Exploring the path less travelled on unsealed byways is where PaintedRoads' roots lay. Unsealed roads are an excellent way to see a country in a way not accessible to regular tourists, whilst at the same time avoiding motorised vehicles and enjoying the wonderful soundtrack of crunching gravel.

Not to be confused with technical mountain biking, our gravel cycling tours are ideal for the new and ever-growing breed of grave/adventure/all-road machines. 

NB Our Gravel Tours spend between 50% and 100% of our riding time on unsealed roads, tracks, and trails. 

Our Tours in category "GRVL / ADVNTR"

  • Thailand Gravel Roads.

    1000 kilometres on the road less travelled - a multi surface adventure tour

    Dates: December 2024

    Gravel bikes, All Road bikes, Adventure bikes - whatever you wish to call them these bikes are fantastic, and, allowing a brisk pace on road whilst still being supremely capable off-road they open up a wonderful array of possibilities for the adventure-seeking to explore the path less travelled. 

    A little know secret of Thailand is its network of unsealed roads. Gravel, grit, dust, and dirt trails spread out across the entire nation like vines, but generally, remain unknown and untraveled by all but the local farmer.

    Slowly these roads are being sealed, meaning that quiet rural blacktop byways and concrete lanes link these unsealed gems and provide those with time to explore the opportunity to enjoy a unique adventure and see a Thailand a world away from the tourist land that 99% of tourists experience.

    Drawing on a long-held passion for exploring the roads, tracks, and trails less travelled, we have woven a route from Chiang Rai in the country’s far north, to Ayuthaya, the ancient capital less that one hundred kilometres north of the nation’s present capital, Bangkok. 

    If you enjoy adventure cycling, gravel roads, byways light of traffic, and seeing the side of a country seldom experienced by the vast majority of visitors then this really could be just your sort of tour.

    Total Days: 13 | Cycling Days: 10 | Difficulty: 6/10 | Daily Average: 105km | See more information, dates & prices »

  • Mongolia Khangai Mountains

    Cycling with nomads on the Mongolian steppe

    Dates: July 2024

    After an incredible day of cycling imagine relaxing outside your tent beside a babbling stream when a herd of yak appear over the hill and wander down the valley to drink close to our camp. Two riders approach on horseback, one wears a drab brown robe, the other a vivid blue gown tied around the waist with a sash, and we watch as the two youngsters corral the herd to the safety of their nomadic camp for the night. 

    To visit Mongolia on our fully supported cycling holiday is not just to visit a far-off land in distance, it also feels like travelling to a different place in time. Mongolia is a land of ger dwelling nomads who spend the year tending their herds and moving on to fresh pastures. And for nine wonderful days, we live amongst this wilderness, cycling through the vastness of the Mongolian Steppe, and spending our nights' camping in the valleys of friendly and ever hospitable nomadic herders, whose way of life has changed little over the centuries.

    Join us in Mongolia for a truly memorable cycling adventure.

    Total Days: 13 | Cycling Days: 9 | Difficulty: 8/10 | Daily Average: 40km | See more information, dates & prices »

  • Northern Laos

    The Mountains of Lao

    Dates: February 2025

    Despite pockets of the country seeing much economic development over the last two decades, Laos remains a country somewhat lost in time. It is a mountainous and tranquil land, where for much of the time the only sound heard by travellers is that of bird song. 
    This cycling tour is an adventurous loop through the north of the nation, passing through ancient jungle where tigers roam, agricultural land that is home to minority groups, past mysterious prehistoric archaeological sites, and the craters and bombshells of a more modern era that bring home the stark horrors of war. 
    The byways on which we ride are quiet, winding, hilly, and tranquil, and the towns at which we stay vary from the back of beyond to tourist comfort. 

    Total Days: 14 | Cycling Days: 9 | Difficulty: 8/10 | Daily Average: 87km | See more information, dates & prices »

  • Cambodia Gravel Roads

    Exploring Rural Kampuchea

    Dates: November 2024

    With a predominantly agricultural population, and an economy still faltering following a tragic recent history, Cambodia’s road infrastructure remains predominantly unsealed and rural. Whilst this may not be an ideal situation for many people, foreign and Khmer alike, for those amongst us who like to explore a country on traffic-free gravel roads, Cambodia offers an increasingly rare opportunity.
    Cambodia’s relatively diminutive size also means that, despite being able to explore the land and meet the people far from the tourist hordes, we are never far from a town boasting accommodation usually exceeding the comfort one may expect of a nation lacking in the material luxury of the West.
    And as we cycle through the beautiful flatlands of Kampuchea, meeting Khmer people, it is the cheery nature, ever-present smiles, waves, and shouted greetings that will likely leave an even more profound impression that the dramatic Angkorian era architecture. It is, however, this architecture that is, with good reason, Cambodia’s number one tourist draw and is the starting point of our adventure. And as if all of this is not enough, the French colonial legacy of fine dining and drinking, along with the local cuisine, make Cambodia perhaps the best nation in the region for hungry cyclists.

    Total Days: 13 | Cycling Days: 9 | Difficulty: 6/10 | Daily Average: 77km | See more information, dates & prices »