The Bikepacking Thread

“Now that I finally have a bike up to the task I’m going bikepacking! I have been pouring over my maps of the places I like to hike and am finding many, many options for doing bikepacking trips in the same areas. The State and National forests are crisscrossed by gravel forest roads. Many of the established backpacking camps are within a mile or so of these forest roads. There are many old logging roads that are so far out of the way and many of them lead to things that I wouldn’t normally get to see and explore from the hiking trail.

It has been quite some time sense I’ve had to worry about ounces and pounds gear wise but I really have to try and whittle my list down. It is amazing how just ten extra pounds over the back wheel can make a difference in the gearing choices and handling of the bike.

My first trip will be to Zeleski where I’m going to do an old logging road we took at the last shindig there. There is a side, dead end logging road that comes within a couple miles of an old cemetery that is only accessible by bushwhacking. I’m going to see if I can find this and check out some of the dates on the head stones.

Does anyone here have any experiences to share about bikepacking or know of good sources online for information?”

“I haven't done any yet but let me know how it goes for you. When I was in KY I had thoughts about doing the Sheltowee Trace end-to-end. Never got around to it. I would still like to do some trails sometime in the future. Another one on my list is the Maah Daah Hey in North Dakota, about 100 miles one way and looks really good.

This guy has done alot and has a nice packing list on his site:

http://www.geocities.com/Pipeline/9562/bike.htm

Info on Sheltowee Trace:

http://www.singletrack.net/trails/sheltowee/

http://www.biowheels.com/Home/Article.asp?PostID=233”

“I did a lot of road bike touring -

use good solid wheels with at least 1-3/8 tire widths to handle the extra load. If your doing a lot of high mileage off road consider using a cyclocross racer(cross between road bike and atb) not as tough as an atb but a lot more efficeint


use a good solid rear rack and panniers to carry your load.

try to keep the weight down to 30 lbs - not that hard since you dont need to carry food other then snacks unless your staying in back country - resupply is very quick and easy since your rarely more then a day from most towns. Also you can dump your load at camp and make a quick town run if its not to far.

carry two water bottles or a small 2l hydration bag.

a handle bar mounted bag is good for snacks and maps but dont put more then 10 lbs in it.

carry spokes, spare tube and folded tire, tire iron , spoke wrench, patch kit, 5 +6mm allens
8+9+10 mm sockets (know how to use all of this) most other repairs can wait for a shop.

for a long trip replace freewheel and chain before departure

check into a triple front chain wheel - very handy

I always road in a plain t-shirt and riding shorts and changed into jeans afterwards.

camping is pretty much the same

Add stuff to handle large scrapes in your first aid kit

cant think of anything else.”

“get a mirror that screws into the handlesbars...being able to see what's coming up behind you is a real necessity. There are also plastic fenders for the front fork that mount the same was up thru the bottom of the fork tube...(Keeps the mud off your legs and face...).

I use my hennessey hammock with a 10X10 tarp when bikepacking...gives me a place to keep the bike and the panniers out of the rain...”

“Dont know if there still availible but used to use a mirror mounted on my sunglasses....”

“Thanks guys. I have a mirror mounted to my helmet. Very small but I can make out what's getting ready to hit me. Most of my trips will be on deserted gravel forest roads and will be short trips to begin with and I can't see myself getting to do anything longer than a weekend at a time.

Here in Ohio almost all the horse trails are open to bikes too which I may try if the trail isn't one of those "trench trails".”

“You don't have to spend much money - forget the panniers. For trips on the Katy Trail, I made my own rack and plopped a day-pack on it, which has more than enough room for a weekend trip.”

“I've had the panniers for years now but never had a bike heavy enough for bikepacking. As light as I go hiking sometimes I could just load a daypack and wear it but I wanted a bit more balance and control due to the fact that I am not that strong of a biker.

That is a good suggestion on saving money though.”

“I did a lot of bike touring on my 950 Trek mountain bike between 1987 and 1997. All on State forest roads in Central PA. PA.is an excellent state for bike touring. I used to park my van at a State park unload the bikes and do a 100 mile loop for the weekend and just find an old logging road to pull off and ride up to find a campsite. It took the place of summer backpacking for me because it's cooler and lots less exposure to bugs. It's great when the weather is nice, but if it rains a lot it's not so nice. You get really wet and dirty riding in the rain on forest roads. I just used to pick out the best weather and cancel if it looked really rainy. I've broke down once too and I'm glad I wasn't solo because it would have been bad being 30 miles from my van with a unrideable bike alone. That's why I don't like going solo. It's a lot of fun though and I thought it was more fun than summer backpacking. I haven't gone since 1997 though, but I'd like to get back into it.”

“Nigal, that sounds like a blast! I did some bike touring years ago but we had support for our gear. I like the idea of a self-sufficien trip.”

“I've always wanted to do self supported rides, just can't seem to find the time. The Confederation Trail on PEI is always in my vacation plans, but I never make it.”

“Sooooooo.... just to clarify, do you wear a daypack and then put your stuff in the panniers for traveling?

I've always wondering how it would work to have a pack on while biking. As you noted Nigal, there could well be balance issues......”

“I'm planning on wearing my Soloman Raid pack with just my water hosers in it and maybe a few lose items. It should ride well. This is the same pack birch used for his adventure race and during his 30 mile...er...40-some mile ride. LOL!”

“I always used panniers on the back rack of the bike and avoided using a backpack when riding. The reason is one time I wore a backpack for an all day fishing trip and I got a bad backache and was just uncomfortable riding with a pack on. It might just be me or the fact that I had a lot of gear for the day, but since then nothing more than a lumbar pack when riding for me.”

“bikepacking

There is also another feature on bikepacking in this months backpacker magazine. I would love to do the featured story ride in Canyonlands. The dude is equiped with a cargo carrier to the back of his bike, now, thats the way to go. nothing on the back, but a camelbak and nothing on the back tire. I have painers and a decent handlebar bag, but havent' done any bike packing in over 2.5 decades. I'm thinking of putting together a ride in Jan or Feb out west...any takers?”

“Do you want to die?


LOL! :-P”

“So...... do you use your mt. bike on logging roads to get to the camp location... and then day hike? Sounds like you're talking different camps each night? I'm wondering about the set location.”

“On the Zeleski trip I'm going to take gravel roads to the first nights camp (1 1/2-2 miles) after ariving in the late afternoon or evening. The second day I'm taking a logging road about 5 miles up to the north loop and depending on how long that takes I'll set up camp and day hike the 10 mile north loop in the afternoon. The next morning I'll take the logging road back out.

I'd really like to do a trip down in Shawnee Sate Forest but there are still trees down everywhere from last years ice storm. There are 100s of miles of back forest roads down there and some 150 more horse trails open to bikes as well. The place is just a shambles though.”

“I was just looking at the latest (?) issue of National Geographic Adventure mag. For a SHORT trip, they suggested putting panniers on the front wheel. Then, making sure you have attached a "straight-out" fender to the back (or a rack), just place rolled up rent, sleeping pad and sleeping bag. If it makes any difference, they had the sleeping bag at the back (bottom), tent on the bottom and closest to the seat... and the sleeping pad on top of the "pyramid," all bungeed down.

It also showed two water bottles on the bike, a small underseat bag, and a handlebar bag which "could hold a wallet and camera."

For a ready-made "rack and pannier system," they suggested one priced at "about $400" from Jandd Mountaineering Link

Or, they suggested a BOB (not THAT B.O.B!!) Yak trailer, $289 Link. It pulls behind the bike and holds 5,600 cubic inches.

In the past, I saw mountain bikers taking the rugged BOB out on trails with maintenance gear. It followed the bike like a dream over outrageous terrain.”

“LMFAO... I guess if you had "rolled up rent"... hell, who needs a tent???!?! LOL! You could just pull out the bills and stay in a motel!!!”

“wow...i'm stunned!
























lizzy has a BOB! i have a whole new respect for ya lizzy....you're truely one of us now....”

“I read that too lizs. That is such a great mag! I already have the rear panniers to I'm not going out to buy more gear...I know, ME turning down gear. I'm planning on having my sleeping bag, tent and ground sheet on the rear rack and everything else in the bags. I'm just taking the minimal list; Esbit stove, one change of clothes, the basic list I use for summer hiking.

I'm going to load up the bags this week and go for a ride to see how she handles. I'm hoping to stay down around 15 pounds and 20 tops on gear.”

“Forgot the trailer thing...I got a lot of feedback at the other site and the general agreement was that trailers were fine for roads but suck on the trail. Besides that, can you imagine me trying to justify to my wife a $400 trailer that I would use maybe 6 times a year? Sheesh! She'd have my balls for breakfast!!”

“Yummy for her!! Too bad for you. It would put a whole new face on watermelon evangelizing! >8-O


So strat....... YOU have a B.O.B., too?? Now that's getting a leeetle strange.....”

“Ive ridden with front panniers. Hated them - you cant put much weight there or it messes with the steering.”

“and strapped the big stuff onto a back rack over the wheel. and a handlebar bag for fruit, map, camera and wallet...and other small items.

seat bag for tools and such. Been a long time, but I'd love to do a ride again.”