Regular followers of our Tiling Tales series will recognise Jürgen Knupe as an avid tiler who is renowned for his Panamericana Bikepacking Trip.
Out of the gate in 2026 Jürgen already has a story to tell completing his ‘Spanish cluster corridor’, resulting in him taking top spot in the MaxClusterSpan Leaderboard.
Uncover the story behind Jürgen’s adventures and get inspired for the season ahead with our Q&A.
VV: When we last spoke to you at the end of 2025 you set yourself the target of connecting Spain, did you expect to complete this so quickly?
Jurgen: Yes, indeed I had planned already in December to come back to finish my cluster corridor to Spain in February. I had already completed a large part of the corridor by then, leaving only a few gaps. However, one of these gaps already contained a tile track from a previous bikepacking trip, so I only had to collect tiles around that track. I had two days of riding planned along the Ligurian coast and four days in the French Provence. Unfortunately, the weather thwarted my plans, so I wasn’t able to complete the last two rides in Provence until the very end of my February vacation. Spain is now the 12th country in my cluster.
VV: How challenging was it to claim the top spot of the MaxCusterSpan Leaderboard and increase your cluster tiles?
Jurgen: As I mentioned in December, I wanted to extend my cluster within Spain and connect it to the mini-cluster around Dénia that I had set up in December. Since I was already familiar with the Spanish coast and knew that it mostly climbs straight into the mountains from the coast, and that the road network isn’t nearly as dense as, for example, in Germany, I was prepared for plenty of gravel sections. Therefore, I brought my titanium 29er, which I had converted into a more off-road capable gravel bike last year with drop bars and 29×2.35 gravel tires. Many of my day trips had up to 30% gravel sections, including MTB-like terrain and hike-a-bike segments, and of course, plenty of elevation gain. So it was really challenging. But I had a lot of fun, and apart from one rainy day in Barcelona, the weather was great.
VV: To achieve your goal did you do back-to-back days in the saddle?
Jurgen: On the Spanish coast, between Figueres and Vinaros, I had to cover 1000km and climb 13,500 meters of elevation to connect the clusters, which I accomplished in 11 days without a single rest day. Afterwards, I treated myself to a rest day and drove with my car to Dénia. Together with my friend Howard, I then rode for another 7 days to extend the cluster corridor from Torrevieja to the latitude of Aguilas (760km/5400m), which significantly increased my MaxClusterSpan and put me onto P1. The entire Corridor from Alassio (Liguria) to Aguilas (ESP) added 2100 new tiles to my Cluster.
After that, I really didn’t feel like constantly checking tiles while cycling (to see if I’d actually ridden into the required one), so I flew from Alicante to Seville. From there, I did a wonderful 8-day bikepacking tour back through Tarifa, Gibraltar, and Almeria to Alicante, mostly on asphalt, along the coast, enjoying the early summer and the Spanish food.
I also took a look at the terrain inland and have to say: I certainly won’t be extending my cluster corridor all the way to Tarifa; the proportion of hike-a-bike segments is too high for me. I’ll leave that task to Elmar Hogenboom! The corridor to Sicily is still on my list. I might even manage a few day trips for it this year.
VV: Did you complete this riding solo, how do you manage long periods on your own in remote riding areas?
Jurgen: Apart from the seven days with Howard, I rode all the other stages alone. I have no problem riding alone; in fact, I really enjoy it. You have plenty of time to think about all sorts of things in life and on this earth. I only occasionally listen to a podcast, and only if I’m riding through a boring area. Otherwise, I prefer to enjoy the sounds of nature rather than music. To motivate myself, I only need simple goals. For example, the construction of a corridor, or a destination B that I ride from A.
