Bikepacking for Beginners: 7 Top Tips
So I’ve finished work for the year & to celebrate I’m heading off on a winter bikepacking adventure in Scotland to address my work/bike balance! Do I feel prepared, absolutely not! But then again, I didn’t when I began my bikepacking adventures this summer.
A few people have taken interest in my bikepacking adventures this year & have asked for some top tips, so I’ve written a ‘bikepacking for beginners’ post to share some tips and ‘how to’ etc.
First of all, what is bikepacking? Bikepacking is defined as a self-supported style of lightly-loaded bicycle touring, typically on dirt roads in remote places. To me, its simply the ultimate form of adventure – bikes & exploration in the most awesome places on the planet!
This year I’ve done quite a few gravel, road and mountain bike missions over varying length and terrain. Both in the UK and overseas. The honest truth is I’m still learning – I don’t feel at all qualified to write this as I still consider myself a beginner. I’m learning on every trip.
This bikepacking for beginners article isn’t going to tell you how to cycle the most remote and dangerous parts of the world, how to survive the worst elements, how to ration food or how to deal with being alone for weeks at a time etc. I kinda know what I’m doing when it comes to outdoor adventure and knowing how to look after myself… ish. Instead I’ll focus on kit, route planning, packing effectively and just a few lessons I’ve learnt along the way.
Hopefully this’ll provide some useful info on getting started & inspiration to go experience the joy’s of bikepacking – because frankly, it’s awesome fun!
Bikepacking for Beginners: Kit
Clothing – Choose your riding clothing to suit the conditions & worst case scenario. I’ve found it useful to have a spare set of ‘off bike’ clothes. Be it for rest day, or chilling out in the evening. If you’ve been wet all day, it’s nice to switch out into something more practical and comfortable. I’ve also found leggings to be the answer for off road riding – they keep your legs clean and therefore mud out of your sleeping bag.
In the same way roadies typically wear lycra & mountain bikers tend to wear baggies, gravel is more of a cross between the two. Simply, its clothing suited to comfortable miles in the saddle, but equally looking good in the cafe!
Sleep system – Tent vs bivvy. I’ve been using a tent (MSR Hubba NX) for my summer & autumn adventures. Its worked okay, its lightweight and packable. But carrying poles can be hard work, mainly due to the section length. It also makes setting up and packing away that bit more arduous. A tent does provide somewhere to keep your kit dry overnight & for a two-week trip it’s nice to have a little shelter. For quick overnighters its hard work & I’ll definitely be switching to a bivvy in the new year for the smaller trips.
I did experiment with a tarp – probably not the most sensible idea on the summit of Helvellyn. In a better environment, a tarp or hammock could work well. More recently, I’ve been enjoying the comfort offered by a bothy. For the longer & colder winter nights they’ve made life much easier.
Whatever your sleep system, you want this to be accessible. First time I went bikepacking, I had my tent poles in one place, pegs another, inner & outer fly sheet separate. I had to unpack my entire set up – it was a ballache.
Cooking system – I rely quite heavily on my Primus Lite+ stove. Its small, compact and boils water with ease. Perfect for brews and dehydrated meals. But I’ve never used it in cold weather, where fuel needs to be pumped. For next year’s trips, I have my eye on an MSR Whisperlite Universal – it can take any fuel & allows an array of pans to be used with it. Bit bulkier, but way more flexible and functional.
Water – when mountain biking I have a camelbak with 2.5l storage. When gravel riding, I only have two cages for 2×0.75l bidons. So I do take an MSR Trailshot which can filter water from a clean-ish looking moving water source – it hasn’t killed me yet.
Re-fuelling – If your trip is longer than a duration which you can self-supply for, then you need to think about your route going via a store or re-supply point.
Food – I like to take dehydrated meals as they can be cooked in one pot really easily, Firepot being my go to. As for snacks, anything solid which won’t crush. So biscuits & Veloforte bars mainly. My diet isn’t great when bikepacking, I find myself eating a petrol station diet – fresh fruit is a rarity.
Storage – I’ve been using Apidura’s expedition packs. Expensive, but worth it in my opinion – as long as you aren’t too heavy handed with the zips! I chose the expedition series as they’re welded seams, so no need to pack everything into dry bags. Just be aware of scratching your bike frame.
Bikepacking bags perhaps aren’t the most practical by comparison to panniers. Being more a modular system, they’re flexible & I can use them on any of my bikes in any combination. That does unfortunately mean smaller spaces, so kit has to be efficient. I have been meaning to create some content to show how I pack my stuff – bare with!
Heres a quick example of how I pack: Handlebar bag (14l) compressible stuff, not needed urgently – sleeping bag & down jacket. Frame pack (7l) – tent/sleep system. Saddle bag (17l) – stove, sleeping pad, spare clothes, first aid, puncture repair. Packed with heavy stuff at the base and puncture/first aid stuff accessible. Accessory pack (4.5l) – food, torch, coffee, battery pack, wallet etc.
Electrical devices – we pretty much all rely on phones/GPS to navigate these days & lights are often required too. That’s the extent of my electrical equipment, so a 26800mAh powerpack would see me through a 3-day trip. My gravel bike has a dynamo hub to charge said powerpack, albeit slowly. I also take a small portable solar panel.
Bikepacking for Beginners: Planning a Bikepacking Adventure
How to plan a bikepacking adventure? To be honest I could write an entire blog dedicated to this! How much time have you got, where are your start/finish points, what are the POIs in between, where are your camp spots, access issues, what kind of distance do you want to ride, what kind of terrain, how much ascent… are all questions that should set you off in the right direction. Then you have contingencies, escape routes, safety etc. Think of it as a normal bike ride, then factor camping into the same equation. Simple really!
Resources: http://bikepackingscotland.com, http://welovemountains.net, Sustrans, https://bikepacking.com, https://bothiesonabike.wordpress.com, https://www.mountainbothies.org.uk
Route plotting – I use Viewranger, just as I do for hiking and running adventures. It gives me enough detail on the route i.e. gradient, terrain & scale. If you pay extra, OS maps can be accessed I haven’t tried Komoot or RideWithGPS – both of which I hear good things about. I guess this is personal preference. As a back-up, google maps is pretty reliable for telling you where you are.
Consider where your bike is capable of going, i.e. 35mm tyres aren’t great for wet & boggy ground, but they’re perfect for fast rolling over road & gravel. In the same way 2.5” high rollers aren’t great for road riding, but they’re great for riding technical singletrack. Do you need suspension? Full suspension bikes are brilliant, but for bikepacking they’re a nuisance. Frame packs and saddle packs go out of the window really.
Bikepacking for Beginners: 7 Top Tips
- The only way to dry kit out is to wear it and air it. I haven’t found a way to dry kit in a tent yet.
- Taking more than one pair of socks makes it a holiday. Fine by me – give me dry socks every day of the week!
- One luxury item only. If it isn’t keeping you alive or keeping you moving, you don’t need it – its only adding weight and slowing you down. Look for items that are multi-functional.
- Chain lubricant. I lube my drive-train excessively often, if you riding dirt/mud or even just cold, you definitely want to keep this from seizing. Kingud wet lube is my go to.
- Coffee. Strong black coffee is my ‘on’ button, I can’t function without it. It sets the day up right & is part of my routine. I’m also a snob, instant coffee is NOT for me – GSI java drip provides a pretty decent filter coffee, with minimal pack size.
- Wet wipes. Just for cleaning stuff. Preferably environmentally friendly ones – if anyone can point me in the direction of some decent ones, it’d be greatly appreciated.
- Don’t doubt yourself! Your first one will be daunting. I questioned everything & doubted myself. But nothing beats the fear of doing something the first time! Go ahead, trust yourself – you’re more capable than you know. But I can tell you one thing, nothing beats the satisfaction of sleeping in your own bed, wherever you pitch it after a solid day of exploring – knowing you’ve got another day to look forward to. Its simplistic adventure, but oh so rewarding!
So there you have it, my advice on bikepacking for beginners. I hope this posts provides inspiration to get out and pursue your own multiday cycling epic. Please do tell me about it in the comments!
