While everyone else is talking about the Tour de France, we here at Atlas Obscura are focused on the off-beat cycling competitions you’ve probably never heard of, from the all-uphill 30-second sprint of the George Hill Challenge in Worcester, Massachusetts, to the sleepless nights of the 1,155-mile Silk Road Mountain Bike Race through the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. The Quirky Victorian Invention That Inspired a Risky Race by Indi Bains “It’s a combination of flying a helicopter and riding a mechanical horse,” says Melissa Eisdell. She’s getting ready to mount a…
