BoC Escapes

BoC Escapes is the travel and events division from Band of Climbers. Since 2016 Band of Climbers has been inspiring others to ride the world's greatest climbs. In 2018 our first Escape was born, and we've never looked back. Our Escapes are deliberately small, exclusively limited to just a handful per year, and they give us a chance to ride with passionate cyclists from all over the world, and make lifelong friendships along the way.

2018 - The First BoC Escape

Band of Climbers began offering weekend Escapes in the French Alps back in 2018. We ran three successful 4 day Escapes in June and September of 2018.

2019 // Demand Grew Fast

In 2019 our 6 day format was born. After riding with guests from Australia, the US and the Middle East, it was clear that longer Escapes were favoured by long haul travellers, so we switched to make our Escapes 6 days long. With global cyclists joining us from day one, we knew we had something special.

2020 // The Dolomites

Despite Covid-19 playing havoc with the travel industry in 2020 we sucessfully ran our first Dolomites Escape in September of 2020. Opening the door for future Escapes in Italy's most stunning cycling location.

2021 // Instant Sell Out

In 2021, 2022 and 2023, all of our Escapes sold out in minutes. Demand blew us away. Guest feedback was incredible, and so ever since then, we've added at least one new Escape or event format to the calendar each year.

2023 // 3 New Locations

2023 was a huge year for BoC Escapes. We introduced 3 new locations. The Pyrenees, Mallorca and the Stelvio. We added more dates, with 6 Escapes taking place across Europe from June to early October. Every Escape was an instant sell out.

2024 // Gravel Escapes

In 2024 we introduced a whole new challenge, with the first ever Gravel Escape in the French Alps. Rough and wild, no-one does Gravel like the Alps. Think of gradients way steeper than Alpine Cols, where nature roams free and riding gets technical.

2025 Onwards // Point to Point

In 2025 we created our first point to point event, ALPRAID. With a completely unique route designed by BoC Founder Stu, ALPRAID is the biggest and toughest event of it's kind in Europe. This was quickly followed by a point to point gravel event in the Italian Alps.

  • Stuart Anderson

    Band of Climbers' Founder and head guide. After turning to cycling back in 2010 to lose weight, Stuart found a love of climbing Europe's highest Cols, and lost more weight the more he climbed. He now aims to inspire others to follow his journey into the mountains.

  • John Brown

    BoC's financial guru and lead guide. John is a highly experienced rider and loves nothing more than a long winters ride in the rain and wind. A fan of all things Italian, John will usually be found brewing an espresso or tinkering with his vintage Fiat 500.

  • Claudia Striekwold

    A Dutch native, Claudia brings so much energy and good vibes to our Escapes. She's a content creator, ride guide, and is also a sports massuse, and content creator and will be sure to capture many images and videos of you as you ride across the Alps.

  • Adam Kolarski

    Adam is a Polish cycling guide who spends his entire year guiding riders across the mountains of Europe. A very talented photographer, Adam is our gravel guide and all terrain expert.

  • Gwilym Thomas

    Gwil is our content creator, photographer and videographer as well as our support driver for many of our Escapes. His incredibly positive spirit and amazing humour bring every Escape to life, and make sure you come away with so many memories on film to look back on.

  • Luke Edinburgh

    Luke is our Pyrenees expert, living and guiding in the region. He knows every elite cafe, climb and switchback in the area like the back of his hand. A native Aussie, he speaks fluent French and brings a calmness to every Escape.