I couldn’t help but be enamored of the concept of bikepacking: heading out into the backcountry, riding my bike for days on end, carrying everything that I need to survive, with nowhere else I have to be and nothing else I have to do besides eat, drink, and ride my bike. And apparently, thousands of mountain bikers around the nation, if not the world, are falling in love with the same ideal–bikepacking participation and gear choices are exploding!
Consequently, one of my main goals for the year was to start bikepacking. While a torn ACL over the winter and subsequent recovery hampered my timeframe, during the first weekend of October I was able to finally #rideloaded and venture out into the mountains, hauling all the gear along with me that I needed to survive.
I had the privilege of embarking on my first trip with three friends, all of whom were more experienced bikepackers than I. And two of them are supremely qualified: Neil Beltchenko (who has set four bikepacking course records this year… so far…) and Lindsay Arne of Bikepacker.com. Naturally, I picked up a lot of great tips and tricks along the way. Here are 15 valuable lessons I learned on my first bikepacking trip:
1. Run what you brung: You don’t need a special bike.
As I planned my first trip, I obsessed too much about my bike choice: do I have the optimal bike for bikepacking? What’s the perfect bike for the terrain we’ll be covering? Should I get a different bike for this trip?
At the end of the day I chose my fat bike, because it had more space in the main triangle for bags, and because it’s what I had. Was it the ideal bikepacking rig? Maybe, maybe not–but it did just fine, and I had a great time on it.
The most important thing is just to get out there and start riding!
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This was an awesome article! It seems weird that you would choose a fat bike, but after reading the whole article at actually seems like the best option. Without all the suspension you have way higher reliability and more frame space for bags. On Jeep roads the fat tires are more beneficial than suspension as well, which has got to be a huge relief when spending that much time in the saddle.
Well, like I said in point 2 (or something like that), you just gotta use what you have. It was down to either a fat bike or a full suspension enduro bike, and I decided that this would be the best option. I switched my hardtail 29er to singlespeed earlier this year, and while a hardtail 29er would have been great, a singlespeed would not!
Going forward I would love to have a rig that’s more optimized for bikepacking, but until then I’m not going to let it stop me!
Congratulations, Greg, on your first bikepacking experience. I think you mentioned every possible aspect that new bikepacker might encounter on his first trip.
And I know from personal experience that packing skills come as you go.
What your next trip would be?
That’s a great question! I currently am planning a loop over near the Buffalo Creek area of CO that I hope to tackle sometime this fall before the weather gets too bad. Then maybe Moab or Arizona over the winter, and then next summer, more riding in the Colorado high country!
Great article, Greg!
I’d like to get into bikepacking as well. I’m currently stuck on #3… Just need to bite the bullet and invest in some more bags!
Good article. Wish I’d known this culture a few years ago when I decided to gravel tour because I wanted to avoid the traffic and crowds of road tours. Bike choice is a consideration as you noted on the piece about single track. A bike suited to the most dominant terrain is helpful, if not a deal breaker, for many routes. Tubeless setup is also a great benefit when you ride rim bashing tracks. I have ended up with a 27.5+ bike that’s light with full suspension. Rear suspension is usually locked out but there when needed and the tubeless 2.8″ tires are simply wonderful – rollover of a 29er with the protection and traction of a fat bike! And it doesn’t weigh any more than my Chromoly rigid 700 gravel bike. Also, even if you don’t wear a loaded backpack, having a small one along with a bladder can help get through sparsely supplied longer routes.
Nice article, I’m in the early planning stages for my first pack trip and always looking for tips. Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it!
Good thoughts… I especially like the seatbag compression tip. I just did my first bikepacking trip this fall too. Would be interesting to hear your daily distances and more importantly daily climbing. We did section 22-25 of the Colorado Trail. Spring Creek Pass to Bolam Pass. Much of that is above 12,000′ which definitely adds to the difficulty. We averaged 5,000′ of climibing and 25 miles per day. Not too bad on a 60lb rig! I’m amazed at how fast the weight adds up on your bike. Hoping to trim it down into the low 50s for the next trip. Interesting that you took your fat bike. I was considering taking my Kram-pug, but ended up opting for my trail bike (Yeti SB-95). Less room on-board, but more comfortable on rough singletrack. Also, I need to figure out how to keep eating better on the trail. I was bonking hard by the end of each day. Any food tips? What did you eat while on the bike? Cheers!
How many calories did you eat daily? With that heavy bike and so much climbing you need roughly 6000-8000 calories per day.
Honey, cheese, butter, peanut butter are high-calorie and compact.
Guessing I was only eating around 3,000 calories per day so I know I was in a deficit. The burger for lunch in Silverton helped, but I almost refunded that one on the climb up Molas pass. I found it hard to stomach more than 3000 cal/day. Definitely something pretty personal and I will need to experiment with it, but I always like hearing what others eat for new ideas. Maybe some chia and pinole like the Tarahumara runners? Appreciate the tips on the calorie dense food. I was telling my buddy that rendered bacon fat had the highest calorie density at 250 cal/oz, but that’s hard to stomach. Olive oil is 220 cal/oz – good to add to pasta! I’d like to find something I can eat while riding though… Cheers!
I was eating three freeze-dried meals (from Sierra Trading Post) with 1/4 stick of butter in each per day and cheese and honey with sweet hot tea. In addition I was trying to eat at every town just to get variety in my diet.
And sometimes summer sausage – you can carry it for days without refrigeration and it’s a good source of fat and protein.
You’re absolutely right about diet being very personal thing and the only way to find out your favorite is to experiment. Good luck on future rides.
Nice write-up with some great tips. As a newbie I’m going to be doing most of my bikepacking on a fat bike too (with Maxxis Mammoths…what PSI range do you recall using?). Also was fortunate to meet Lindsay and Neil at the recent Canmore Bikepack Summit and picked up lots of great knowledge there too. Happy trails.