r/bikepacking

Recently rode the Olympic Adventure Route as a two day, one night trip.

Somewhat new to bikepacking, doing my first "long-range" ride this weekend. Total distance 190Km done in 2 days (95km each day)(16/kmh on average). I've been trying to research about cycling and nutrition.

Coming from a fat person who has been told to avoid carbs at all costs, this seems almost an absurd amount of food (Total cost 29,93€). The plan is to consume 1 gel, one bar and roughly 500ml of water every hour and one portion of pasta each day. My goals are to loose weight and improve health.

The route is mostly flat asphalt roads. I would like some opinions, thank you!

Very beautiful route, but tough as hell. Nevertheless, great fun.

Gear + what was inside + short review:

• Canyon grail
• Restrap race saddle bag: not the largest, but amazingly stable. Very handy that you can remove the drybag easily from the cradle. Only downside is the lack of light mount, I ended up clipping a light to the drybag clasp.
  • Naturehike 5.8R sleeping pad: warm and comfy, rolls up very compact
  • Naturehike LW180 sleeping bag: was a bit chilly at 10° C but managable. Again a very compact and light item.
  • no-name emergency bivvy: didn't use it as I found a shelter hut.
  • Forclaz inflatable pillow: absolutely essential for me, wouldn't be able to sleep without it. Packs very small, is washable and generally comfortable.
• Rhinowalk top tube bag: very nicely made and narrow enough to not rub the legs. Managed to fit all my spares and tools, sunscreen and a powerbank
• Topeak midloader drybag S: stuffed 1.2KG of high-carb mix into this one (=enough to make 6liters). Does bulge a bit when overstuffed. However, it was the only bag that fit my XS sized bike and still allowed a (small) bottle.Seems well made and was relatively cheap.

It was a light setup, but perfect for the job. For longer trips I would definitely have to add a handlebar bag.

The GDMBR Adventures begin! check me out on YouTube Wandering Eye Outdoors. cheers 🍻

I’m hoping to start getting some bikepacking in before the end of the summer. I’ve never done it but have always wanted to. I don’t have a lot of money to spend on a new bike, so I’m hoping I can snaz this one up. Does it have potential? Or am I SOL?

The bike itself can get fun and rowdy, but i also want it to bike pack with just got the SanUtil bags. I’ll get them loaded and ridden soon to see how they sit. The included Velcro doesn’t really cut it for holding that well. For some reason i have a bunch of Bob trailer rubber straps/hooks. Put a couple together and it’s easier to deal with.

Hey all! Looking at buying a used 2019 Salsa Cutthroat as my first bike but wanted some opinions on the condition. I plan on using it for light commuting, gravel/rockier trails, and bikepacking. Sizing is good. The frame looks pretty good, however, my main concern is the drivetrain. It also comes with 5 different bikepacking bags to get exploring with. Overall thoughts on the condition and value as a purchase? Thanks!!

Edit: Priced at $1400.

Started today my trip from Helsinki to Ylläs which today takes me to Lahti. From there more or less following Eurovelo 11 route until to Tornio and then following the border river between Finland and Sweden toward Ylläs.

Planning to stay either in hotels/motels/huts or tent during the journey. Reserved 17 days in total to explore Finland inclusing few rest days in between.

What could I change / improve?

Dude, I can whine. I can be a whiny little bitch about so much in life… I equally have a ton on gratitude too. I am balanced but I could perhaps use a little more discipline. I’m loose lipped, I share my opinion and sometimes it’s sharp and even unnecessary. I have a tendency to expect things to be straight forward and easy sometimes. My expectations set me up for my own failures.

When I go bikepacking, I’m doing something I love, so when my legs are screaming at me, my body is fatigued, I’m hungry and tired… I feel this overwhelming sense of euphoria and suffering at the same time. It’s work, it’s not always easy, the rain, wind or the wildfire smoke can run you down mentally. However, you press on, you know this is what it’s all about, the exposure to the elements seems to bring out a primal energy, the loneliness turns into an intoxicating sensation of peace and personal growth.

The joy through the suffering changes my perspective of what suffering actually means to me. It cycles its way into my daily life, my work, my experiences with my kids, my family and friends. I become more resilient to the pathetic things that make me a drama llama. I can find joy in discomfort knowing what It does for my soul.

It’s going to be ok. Just remember, that it’s going to be ok. Press on, pray, pedal, realize suffering is a part of this, life requires it to become a better version of ourselves.

You will become a better person through your challenges. Maybe soon, it’ll take a whole lot more to break you down. As it should, so we can rinse and repeat and do it again.

I’m so thankful and blessed to be able to experience this joy and suffering.

I wanted to share my experience from a beginners view after 14 days bikepacking trough the baltic states. I have never done a bikepacking tour before. My girlfriend did two shorter tours before.

1. routeplanning

I downloaded the gpx-files from eurovelo. We took the EV10/13 from Lithuania to Estonia but made a few changes due to timing issues. We did not fix the routing errors beforehand, since we did not know the conditions of the roads.

We planned 80km/day with two spare days (+ breakdays). That worked pretty well for us. We did two long days in a row, than a shorter day. We did not have prebooked accomodations. In our lunch break we decided how far we actually want to go and looked for campingspots in that area on different apps (google, p4n or local ones).

In total we planned 833 km and biked 911 km. So nearly 10% more. These addinitionl kms are for extra ways to campinggrounds, supermarkets, beach visits or other places of interests. I would have thought, that would be way more.

2. road conditions

On the EuroVelo website road conditions are divided into categories. From under development to developed with signs. But these categories could have meant everything... really nasty "gravel"-roads with big rocks, washboard patern surface or sand or roads, where trucks overtook us with less than 0,5m distance. I underestimated that a bit. But in the end, we overcame these challenges aswell and it was pretty fun. We were proud of ourselves after every hard section and were rewarded with great nature, smooth bike lanes and delicious food on the way.

3. nature

We all do this, because we want to be outside, move ourselves and enjoy pretty nature - and what can I say... The baltic states are perfect for this. Peaceful forrests, wide beaches, bogs and fascinating wildlife.

There were great spots in every contry, where you could pitch your tent. With great highlights in Estonia, where the National Forestry Commission provids campingspots with toilets and fireplaces for free. We enjoyed the evenings with walks on the beach, swimming in the baltic sea or bog lakes or running through forrests.

Highlights have been sightings of the first migratory cranes (hundreds), wolves and many other animals (unfortunately no mooses...)

4. Arrival and departure

We took the train to ferry terminals and went from there across the baltic sea to our startingpoint. It went pretty smooth, considering everything that could have happend. We even had to take Rail replacement service. But everything worked fine. We booked the tickets in advance and decided to drive weekdays since it is less crowded than on weekends (and cheaper).

5. packing

I wasn't fully equiped, since I have never done a tour like this before. I had a few bags that I wanted to use, so I did not have to buy everything new. My setup was: Trailsaddle bike bag, frame bag and two new gravel luggage rack bags from ortlieb. I had our tent in a 30l waterproof bag on my luggage rack. I was annoyed by the sheer number of bags. It was a hussle to attach all these bags on the bike every morning. My girlfriend had two bigger luggage rack bags, a handlebar bag and a waterproof bag on her luggage rack for our food. It was way easier for her. So this is a thing I will definitely change in the future.

List of equipment:

camping

• tent + accessories
• sleeping bag
• sleeping mat
• clothesline
• repair kit
• pocket knive
• shovel

bike

• bike (gravel and touring bike)
• spare tires
• electric pump
• repair kit
• lights
• tools
• tape
• cable ties
• bags (as mentioned before)
• lashing straps

cooking

• gas stove + 1 gas cartridge
• 1 pot
• cutlery + dishes
• 4 litres water bottles
• pre packed food for 5 days (selfmade: see below)
• towel, sponge & soap
• snacks

clothing

• 2 bibshorts
• 1 shorts
• 2 long trousers
• 3 pair of socks
• 3 underpants
• 2 sport shirts
• 2 normal shirts
• 2 sweatshirts
• 1 rainjacket
• 1 rain trousers
• 1 pair of runningshoes
• 1 pair of sandals (daily use)
• 2 towels
• cap
• sunglasses

electronics

• smartphone
• powerbank
• bike computer
• inkl. cables, adapter
• headphones (not used)

toiletries

• toothbrush + -paste
• soap
• vaseline
• first aid kit for cycling
• sunscreen
• toiletpaper

1. food

First of all: We planned with freshwater on the campinggrounds - that was not allwas the case. On many campsites the freshwater was in our opinion not drinkable. It was brown and smelly from high iron-concentration. So we bought extra water in stores before arriving.

We prepared our porridge for five morings and carried it in zipplock bags. It had oats, linseeds, hemp seeds, protein, dried fruit, nuts and oat milk powder. We drank instant coffee with oat milk-powder. Every day we bought some mueslibars, sweets and fresh fruits.

For our warm meals we prepared some instantfood. With noodles, soy protein, dried vegetables, broth, ... - we had 5 different meals. We only needed some water to cook them. On our lunch breaks we sometimes had some bread, went to a restaurant or a café.

Conclusion: We had a great time and will definitely do it again. Our packing list was fine, only my bag-management needs improvement. Disclaimer: we had perfect weather conditions: No rain (only in some nights), tailwind for 90% of the time and cosy temperatures.

Thanks for all the input that we used to plan our trip!