Imagine a race where the only fuel allowed is the sunshine that lands on your bike. That is The Sun Trip — an overland adventure inspired by solo sailing races, where every rider chooses their own route and the only rule that really matters is simple: never touch grid electricity. Plug in, and you are out of the solar classification.
The first edition started on 15 June 2013 in Chambéry, France and finished in Astana, Kazakhstan — a route of roughly 7,300 km. Around thirty riders from very different backgrounds took the start — and only fifteen of them made it to the finish. Riders had to pass mandatory checkpoints but were otherwise free to pick their own way across Europe and Central Asia.
The vehicles are as diverse as the people. You will see classic e-bikes with a panel on a trailer, cargo bikes with roofs made of solar modules, and low recumbent trikes carrying wide solar “wings” — like the trike pictured here at the 2026 Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes Sun Trip. Typical setups combine a few hundred watts of lightweight panels with a modest battery, and riders learn to read the sky as carefully as the map.
Since 2013 the event has grown into a real movement: according to the organisers, 18 editions, around 450 “suntrippers”, 1,200,000 kilometres and 35 countries. Recent and planned editions include a solar trans-American trip (2024), Sun Trip China, Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes and Morocco (2026), and a return to the legendary Lyon – Canton route in 2028.
For anyone in this community, The Sun Trip is proof of what is possible: with the right build, a bicycle and a few square metres of solar cells can carry you across continents.
Technical data
| Organiser | The Sun Trip, founded by Florian Bailly (Savoie, France) |
|---|---|
| First edition | 2013, Chambéry (France) → Astana (Kazakhstan), ~7,300 km |
| Origin | Bailly’s own 10,000 km solo ride from France to Tokyo on one of the first solar bikes (2010) |
| Energy rule | Sun and pedal power only, no grid charging |
| Vehicles | Solar e-bikes, cargo bikes, recumbents, trikes, often with a solar trailer |
| Typical setup | A few hundred watts of lightweight panels on a rack, roof or trailer + an e-bike battery |
| Scale | 18 editions, ~450 riders, 1.2 million km, 35 countries |
Photo (solar trike at the 2026 Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes Sun Trip): ShawnRyan1979 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Sources: thesuntrip.com · Recumbent.news (2013 race) · thesuntrip.com: History