Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?

According to psychology, human development enters a new stage roughly every seven years. The transition is continuous, of course, but about every seven years the personality renews itself.

KLND started seven years ago, in 2019, as Bikepacking Hungary. Since then it has become KLND and grown into an identity of its own. It has core pillars, shared values and shared memories. It has had experiments, successes and failures. From the very beginning, KLND's personality has been shaped by a community, and like any personality, people see it in many different ways. One thing, however, has always been its defining quality: being a community. This is what we now want to put front and center.

Seven years, 37 events

We started gravel and bikepacking events in Hungary, and by autumn 2026 we had organized 37 events. 24 of them were single-day gravel events, including 3 National Championships and 11 Hungarian Cup rounds. The KLND Gravel Series ran every year for five years, starting in 2022.

Now another renewal is coming, or more precisely, a shift in focus: KLND is closing the Gravel Race Series.

This was not an easy decision. Gravel, as a discipline and as a way of life, is written into our DNA. But we see it as a spectrum that runs from racing all the way to the coffee brewed next to the tent. So the new goal is not really a new direction at all. It amplifies what was already there at our foundations: gravel, bikepacking and Hungary.

We know events matter to the community, so of course they are not going away.

As a result of the change, there will be more KLND events in 2027 than ever before, just in a different form. What disappears is the one day gravel racing. What arrives is even closer to where KLND originally started. It is no coincidence that KLND's two flagship events are the Hungarian Divide and Tour Horizont.

These events are the KLND personality traits that are not being replaced. In fact, they will keep evolving!

The resources we have spent on race events so far will be redirected to strengthening the community, advocacy and education, because we believe this community is now capable of more than running individual events. We are adjusting how we operate accordingly and resetting our compass.

Together with our active members, event participants and followers, we represent a community that spends a huge amount of time out on the trails. We are the ones who see and experience what it is like out there in every season and at every hour. It matters what kind of environment we ride in, how safe we are, and how we can coexist with the forest, its wildlife, its managers and other forest users. As we see it, KLND is currently the only organization in Hungary able and willing to take this issue on in a meaningful way. Let's work together to keep a place for us in the forest!

What will the KLND community focus on from next year?

There are reasons behind the numbers

To support the new direction, today we are launching our 2027 membership campaign. Our goal is to grow: from the current 396 paying members to 700 by the end of 2027, and to 1,000 in 2028.

This is not megalomania. A larger membership also means greater advocacy power. When we negotiate with forestry, authorities or other organizations, it matters how many cyclists we are speaking for. More riders have a louder voice.

“We have been organizing events since 2019, and along the way a community was born. From 2027, this community also wants to represent everyone who explores nature by bike, in front of forestry authorities and decision-makers.”

– said Marcell Gangel, founder of KLND, responsible for the club and the community.