BorderLands Gravel has always been about more than miles on a remote gravel road. It was designed as an invitation. An invitation to travel with intention. To slow down. To see a place that rarely shows up on a cycling bucket list.

That experience does not stop at the U.S. border.

Just steps from Douglas, Arizona, the city of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, offers a cultural counterpoint that helps define the BorderLands Gravel experience.

At 6 am, we gathered at the port of entry between Douglas, Arizona, and Agua Prieta, Mexico. The sun had not yet cleared the horizon. Months earlier, when we planned the international parade lap, no one realized how dark it would be at that hour. The air had that familiar desert chill, and riders rolled in one by one, some with lights, others trusting the street lamps to guide their way.