Writing a Bikepacking article. What to include?

[JCarr13]

 I am writing an article on bikepacking and was hoping for a little input.
What are some important things that help explain bikepacking to beginners?
Gear choices? trip options? mental preparation? What does everyone think?

[AZTtripper]

Well there's a lot you can cover. Ultra light, mid weight, full blown bike camping, each has it's merits. UL can cover lots of ground fast, FBBC has all of the comforts once you reach a destination. Seems like there are people making the most of both and everything in between.

Duration of trips from expeditions to sub 24 hour over nighters. The guy from Rivendale who's a big commuter came up with the S24O, leave home one afternoon ride out and sleep under the stars back home in time for lunch no driving required. I see off road guys doing these when they have local mountains to hit up quick. I was going to post up something about a sub 48 hour road trip, never got around to it thou. The basic idea was that you leave home early one morning drive to someplace you want to check out do a big ride with one night out home in time for dinner the second day. These are easy to put together on a weekend with out feeling rushed.   

There have been threads on here a while back asking to define bikepacking. I think that anything having to do with paved tours has already been covered. Bike packing starts where the pavement ends if it's not dirt it's a road tour. Also I should think that the goal should be to get off road if bike packing equals backpacking on a bike then you need to get away from motorized roads as well. Not that you might not end up using roads to connect trails.

Tim

[ImAFred]

What brought me into the fold is TR's and blogs of adventures that peeps had done. Most people looking into this are probably going to be mtb's already

[joeydurango]

Jordan, the number-one thing I like about bikepacking is the ability to be outside in the backcountry for days at a time (ala backpacking), but with the ability to see so much more of it - backcountry, that is.  I really enjoy the pace of travel by bicycle.  Driving is much too fast, walking is often too slow, but riding (road or MTB) is just about perfect.  When people ask me about bikepacking, this is generally the answer I'll give.  The specifics are great, too - gear, routes, etc. - but when it boils down to it, there is a reason we're all out there.  That's my version.

[paxton coyote]

there's a nice write up in Dirt Rag mag I think it's the July/Aug issue 2010 about bikepacking from 7 different people that kind of covers the whole spectrum of it from the fast to leisurely, long trips to overnighters & high tech to low budget that is a good read

[JCarr13]

here is what im thinking:


Goals:
When putting together your first bikepacking trip, a specific goal should be established before planning and preparation begin. Is this a trip where the goal is to make it from point A to point B? Are you planning to cover a certain number of miles per day or is it more about enjoying the ride and the scenery? These are all important questions to answer before packing and planning even can begin.

These goals give a guideline for the trip, making packing and preparation much less stressful.  For most it seems like a good balance of enjoyment and challenge is the main goal, but some choose to push to either extreme. Once goals are established gear selection and preparation can begin.

Route:
Choosing a route or a destination is the next piece of the puzzle. This intricate piece may be the most difficult depending on ones timeframe and general geographic location. There always seems to be so many cool places to go it is often difficult to narrow down a feasible route. One recommendation when planning your route is to focus on an allotted time for riding each day. Remember that this will vary greatly depending on terrain, some routes allow for between 60-80 miles of riding over the course of an 8-hour day while others are much less.

It is important to take in to consideration altitude and weather when putting a route together. If your route includes sections of high elevation riding, it is key to plan camping spots accordingly. Weather above 10k feet is likely to be much colder through the night and exposure is much greater. If any of your planned camping stops are above 10k feet, more cold weather gear will need to be considered in the gear selection.
Considering reliable water sources is also a vital step, more of a concern in desert climates, but can also be an issue if precipitation has been low. Ample water will make for an enjoyable trip.

Gear:
Now that you have your goals and a route planned for the trip, it’s time for the gear selection process. If you have clearly defined the goals of trip, this process should be fairly simple. Choosing what gear to bring is often a tedious task when you are forced to pack things in to a very small area. If you have ever backpacked, a selection of gear should already be present, if this is a new concept plan to spend some time researching gear online. Help forums like bikepacking.net and backpackinglight.com are great resources with gear reviews.

Carrying gear can be as simple as stuffing it in to an expedition size backpack, which may be fine if your route features only fireroads and doubletrack. But if singletrack is a goal, one must consider bikepacking style bags or rack systems. This is where the obsessing really begins. With a wide range of bag and rack styles on the market, carrying everything you need is fairly easy, but deciding what is really a necessity can be a struggle.  

Any ideas???

[LyndaW]

FYI here is an article I wrote on Bikepack Racing
http://lwcoaching.com/?p=1157