Anyone strayed into bike packing?

[ggorgeman]

I hope this is an appropriate question for this forum, but it seems that bike-packing has seen growth over recent years. Interested if any died-in-the-wool walkers are mixing bike-packing (particularly bush trails/tracks) into the mix?

[safari]

Nearly, kinda.
I grabbed a steel framed gravel bike during the lockdowns and do a hybrid bicycle touring type thing with panniers and roll bags on gentle long distance rail trail/ C roads/ anywhere away from heavy traffic. Longest journey was Melbourne to Kangaroo Island and then up to Port Wakefield and the Walk the Yorke trail. Heading to Japan and Korea in March for a couple of weeks of easy cycle paths around Fukuoka and Nagasaki and the 4 Rivers Trail in South Korea.
I still spend far more time walking and running but the change in pace and use of different muscles is an occasional treat. Much on my lightweight hiking gear can be utilised when cycle touring which is a bonus.

[Biggles]

Bikepacking (or packing light for a quick bush trip by bike...) never has made any sense to me. It does have its adherents who go belting around the Bogong High Plains (not exactly on-track either) in their hybrid ROH-equipped monster bikes. Do it properly: go hard and the full kit (panniers_ or stay home. And keep to trails, not destroy alpine grasslands. That applies to the arrogant fellow whipping around Pretty Valley bushland early in January.

[nezumi]

I'm happy doing either. Bikepacking gives me reason to focus on compactness of kit (more critical than weight in the circumstances), and allows me to "go further faster". I associate heavy, laden pannier touring with road based riding or paid accommodation, as opposed to tent camping for bikepacking (I haven't tried, and have no plans to try, the full-on adventure racing style bivy only camp option).

A few rides that I would love to do if time permitted:
https://bikepacking.com/event/victoria-divide-550-2023
https://hunt1000.huntbikes.com/
Mallee Blast 1000 https://www.facebook.com/groups/718792992058188
https://bikepacking.com/event/great-div ... -gdt-2022/

[norts]

I have left bushwalking, right knee is no longer up to it.
After surgery on it my Doc said I should not do anymore ultra long walks . I had already done the AT, PCT and injured it Montana on the CDT .
I then read about the GDMBR and decided I would give this bikepacking a go. Working my way up to it I have done the Tassie Trail, BNT with an extension up to Bamaga, Mawson Trail and the Goldfields trail.
I am booked to fly to Jasper to do the GDMBR in June so yes I have strayed.

[Biggles]

@nezumi
I associate heavy, laden pannier touring with road based riding or paid accommodation, as opposed to tent camping for bikepacking (I haven't tried, and have no plans to try, the full-on adventure racing style bivy only camp option).

The association you are making is not correct at all, and even sounds to me a very outdated assessment, sort of retrograde YHA-ish — back in the 70s and 80s.

How touring cyclists are kitted out does not necessarily associate them with paid accommodation (like anybody else, that can be an option), but camping, in a tent, in the wilds — anywhere at all as I have often did in the Vic HC and Flinders Ranges. The same logic applies to bikepacking. Touring cyclists, like bikepacking cyclists, are also not confined to on-road riding. Definitely not.

The bikepacking trend stems from endurance events that came about in the mid 2000s. It does have its mad adherents (the camping style is considerably more basic to keep with the minimalist loading = more speed, and offers nowhere near the salubrious comforts (like gin and lamingtons!)of full-bore touring. Ortlib was founded on the principles of bikepacking.

[GBW]

Yes I've done a few 3-4 day rides of 300km+ without support using basically the same gear as bushwalking plus the extra repair gear required for the bike. I stay on the gravel back roads to avoid cars. This is my setup...

[norts]

This is my rig heading north out of Rockhampton with 7 days of food and about 8 litres of water. Yes it was heavy to pedal.
I use mostly my camping /cooking gear I used bushwalking plus tools/parts for the bike.

[Camminata]

Have done a few trips over the years also

[Nuts]

Oo, bikes leaning against stuff
Huckleberry Pass on the GDMTBR:

It's a great way to see country (even if the best bits are out of bounds)

[madpom]

Prefer the dry-bag on the top of the rack, front and back, plus a handlebar-bag for the tent poles and a frame bag for tools and snacks. Way easier to manage when you're hauling up steep rocky tracks or lifting over stiles / fences, or on narrow tracks winding between trees than side-panniers.

Bluff to the Cape mid-winter was my sole real dive into bike-packing. On doctor's orders (see topic on knee injuries).

A good mix of highway, gravel back roads, and bike / walking trails including:
South Island: Round the Mountains, West Coast Wilderness, Heaphy, Rameka, Maungatapu.
North Island: Hutt River, Rimutaka railtrail, Wairarapa beaches, Motu, Pakihi, Twin Coasts, Omataroa, 90 Mile Beach.

34 days to travel 3400km. Sounds easy when you work it out per day! And yes, I know the sign post says only 1400km in a straight line. Lets say I wobbled a bit!.

Maybe 10% huts, 20% tenting, 70% cabins / caravans, 10% friends.

[Trundlers]

We are venturing slowly down the bike-packing road. We still want to do bushwalking (Multi-day stuff) for as long as we can, but will also start including shorter bike-packing adventures.

Luckily we live in a rural location, so finding quiet back roads to ride down isn't a problem. Finding suitable places to camp whilst on a trip is the potential issue - stock route reserves (not necessarily legal), State Forests and large areas of road reserve/road corridor seem to be some of the few options if not camping in a designated camping spot. We prefer to bush camp.

Guess this is work in progress.

[ggorgeman]

I'm finding there's a big cross-over in terms of similar/same gear and, to some extent, routes (or part thereof). The cycling part adds an interesting dimension and variation on the walking. Lots to like.

[ZacSc]

I hope this is an appropriate question for this forum, but it seems that bike-packing has seen growth over recent years. Interested if any died-in-the-wool walkers are mixing bike-packing (particularly bush trails/tracks) into the mix?

Personally, I mostly ride my bike. It allows me to cover more distances and see more interesting things

[Aushiker]

I'm happy doing either. Bikepacking gives me reason to focus on compactness of kit (more critical than weight in the circumstances), and allows me to "go further faster". I associate heavy, laden pannier touring with road based riding or paid accommodation, as opposed to tent camping for bikepacking...

This was my setup on a 3,000 km bicycle touring ride from Perth up and through the Gascoyne and back. I did stay in a 'room' at the Mt Augustus Tourist Resort. My one night of luxury. The trailer was taken because, for one stage, I needed to carry 35 litres of water and 20 days of food. Where possible, my route took me off the bitumen.



More recently, my bicycling touring has morphed into bikepacking using my Salsa Mukluk fat bike, which I built up myself. The next three images are from a ride from Esperance to Albany, which followed the coast (read beaches) as much as possible. I have also walked at least part of the same ride a few years earlier over eight days when it was still very wild (no established walking tracks then).


Barker Inlet - Day 2-07 by Andrew Priest, on Flickr


Track, What Track? by Andrew Priest, on Flickr

Yes I went down to the beach.


Next Stop Bremer Bay - {Day 08-08} by Andrew Priest, on Flickr

This image is from a less adventurous ride of the Holland Track, which I did a year or two before the Esperance-Albany ride. It shows an earlier setup of the bike, which, BTW, has changed again since the Esperance-Albany ride.


Holland Track Day 2: Salsa Mukluk at Granite Rock Outcrop by Andrew Priest, on Flickr

My point is that, like bushwalking, bicycle touring/bikepacking is what you want to make it. I like bikepacking/bicycle touring because it allows me to travel further, preferably off the bitumen, explore more, and do it in a manageable time frame. That said, I still also bushwalk but no longer do week-plus walks.

[climberman]

I hope this is an appropriate question for this forum, but it seems that bike-packing has seen growth over recent years. Interested if any died-in-the-wool walkers are mixing bike-packing (particularly bush trails/tracks) into the mix?

Yeah quite a bit.

I did a truncated version of Attack of the Buns last Fri/Sat/Sun - Bungendore to Nowra. Have also done a lovely Dalgety-Delegate-McKillops-Suggan Buggan-Snowy River-Barry Way-Dalgety mix of pub and camping, and plenty across the NSW Snowy Mts, as well as a completion of the Monaro CloudRide in 2015.

Great fun, LOTS of variation can be had in terms of bikes and gear - it's one area of bikes that hasn't seen a complete conversion in style yet.

[climberman]

I'm happy doing either. Bikepacking gives me reason to focus on compactness of kit (more critical than weight in the circumstances), and allows me to "go further faster". I associate heavy, laden pannier touring with road based riding or paid accommodation, as opposed to tent camping for bikepacking (I haven't tried, and have no plans to try, the full-on adventure racing style bivy only camp option).

A few rides that I would love to do if time permitted:
https://bikepacking.com/event/victoria-divide-550-2023
https://hunt1000.huntbikes.com/
Mallee Blast 1000 https://www.facebook.com/groups/718792992058188
https://bikepacking.com/event/great-div ... -gdt-2022/

Try AotB as a teaser.
https://bikepacking.com/routes/attack-of-the-buns/

I've some friends who rode the Hunt1000 route and loved it. They are doing the Hunt Syd to Kozzie route this week

If a bit more suffering is part of the consideration look at the CloudRide prologue (500km) or the CloudRide 1000.

[nezumi]

I'm happy doing either. Bikepacking gives me reason to focus on compactness of kit (more critical than weight in the circumstances), and allows me to "go further faster". I associate heavy, laden pannier touring with road based riding or paid accommodation, as opposed to tent camping for bikepacking (I haven't tried, and have no plans to try, the full-on adventure racing style bivy only camp option).

A few rides that I would love to do if time permitted:
https://bikepacking.com/event/victoria-divide-550-2023
https://hunt1000.huntbikes.com/
Mallee Blast 1000 https://www.facebook.com/groups/718792992058188
https://bikepacking.com/event/great-div ... -gdt-2022/

Try AotB as a teaser.
https://bikepacking.com/routes/attack-of-the-buns/

I've some friends who rode the Hunt1000 route and loved it. They are doing the Hunt Syd to Kozzie route this week

If a bit more suffering is part of the consideration look at the CloudRide prologue (500km) or the CloudRide 1000.

It doesn't work so well as a teaser if it's an 8 hour drive/11 hour PT trip to get home from the finish - and even more to get to the start due to it being less direct for PT from Melbourne.

I've already done a couple of overnighters, as well as a decent 3-day ride in the hills north-east of Melbourne and out towards the Yarra Valley, which were good - I just need a more robust bike for further adventuring.

[sbm3]

I've done a couple of trips.

I reckon, personally, plain old walking gets you more interesting places. If the terrain is "interesting" you will slow down a lot, and will end up walking anyway. I joked that the MTB might as well have been a wheelbarrow. Even when you're riding, it handles awfully (unless you have really expensive kit maybe). You end up following fire trails a lot which are usually boring and sometimes very steep and corrugated.

Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed ON road bicycle touring. It turns out country roads aren't so bad to cycle compared to the city - cars are infrequent, sometimes only a couple an hour, and have plenty of space and time to overtake. On a sealed road you can cover a really satisfying distance and it feels like a journey.

[Camminata]

Sneaked down to French Island for an overnighter and riding, covered around 40kms approx, feels a million miles away from Melbourne but yet so close, second visit and enjoyed it just as much as the first.

[Aushiker]

Nice .... Camminata. Fatbikes are fun!

[Camminata]

Nice .... Camminata. Fatbikes are fun!

First fat bike , am used to riding my road bike and gravel bike, its definitely heavier and slower being on fat tyres but yes agree its fun rolling over sand etc... with no issues

[Burnsy]

Rode from Perth to South Aust border with two mates in 2021 via the Trans Aust line and then followed the boarder south to Eucla. Had a ball, epic trip, people in the middle of the Nullabor couldn't believe there were three lunatics out there on bikes, word got around and we met heaps of great people.

[farefam]

I like the look of madpom's bike packing setup.

As I normally do trips on my own, I have in the last few years been using my mountain bike to get to my starting point on some bushwalking or packrafting trips (leaving the car at then end).

Sometimes I use the bike to more quickly get to start points on the Bibbulmun track (not on the track itself of course), for shorter in and out walks.

When going up hills a loaded bike is certainly a lot more effort than walking, but it is considerably faster overall.

Hopefully in future years I might be able to some long distance pure bike packing trips, such as along WA's Munda Biddi track. But I may need to get a lighter, more compact sleeping bag first.

[Wollemi]

In summer of 94/95 I cycled alone to the N-E-S most points of the mainland.
Cape York - cargo ship back to Cairns - Byron Bay (cycled 99km from Kyogle in pouring rain the day before - Xmas Day) - Wilsons Prom. Then went on a 4 day walk with a day pack, carrying my sleeping bag in hand. I took no shelter whatsoever on this trip - but only got rained on heavily once in western Queensland. I boldly walked up to remote house near Wee Waa / Narrabri to ask to sleep in a shed to avoid an impending storm.
On my arrival home, I went on a group bushwalk down Devil's Hole, and had been on an overnight walk over Mt Solitary shortly before flying to Cairns months before.

I currently have one bicycle - a CX (drop handlebars). The first thing I did on buying it 6 years ago, was cycle the length of The Putty Road in a day. 177km in 14 hours from Singleton (after three long train trips and a pub stay) in the upper Hunter Valley to Windsor in Sydney's NW.

This week, I swapped out the light carbon forks on this Trek for steel Marin forks with many eyelets - 5x the weight. But did fit a low-rider rack as well. I do not understand frame bags, with alot of weight on the handlebars, and seemingly travelling light enough that they MUST sleep cold every night, even in summer.
Today, I removed the Compact 34-50t crankset, and fitted a 22-36t crankset to manage heavy touring yet to come.

[ggorgeman]

I do like the idea of taking a light(er) pack on a bike packing venture for a hiking diversion. Lock the bike up and maybe camo it and go on foot for a bit.

[Camminata]

In summer of 94/95 I cycled alone to the N-E-S most points of the mainland.
Cape York - cargo ship back to Cairns - Byron Bay (cycled 99km from Kyogle in pouring rain the day before - Xmas Day) - Wilsons Prom. Then went on a 4 day walk with a day pack, carrying my sleeping bag in hand. I took no shelter whatsoever on this trip - but only got rained on heavily once in western Queensland. I boldly walked up to remote house near Wee Waa / Narrabri to ask to sleep in a shed to avoid an impending storm.
On my arrival home, I went on a group bushwalk down Devil's Hole, and had been on an overnight walk over Mt Solitary shortly before flying to Cairns months before.

I currently have one bicycle - a CX (drop handlebars). The first thing I did on buying it 6 years ago, was cycle the length of The Putty Road in a day. 177km in 14 hours from Singleton (after three long train trips and a pub stay) in the upper Hunter Valley to Windsor in Sydney's NW.

This week, I swapped out the light carbon forks on this Trek for steel Marin forks with many eyelets - 5x the weight. But did fit a low-rider rack as well. I do not understand frame bags, with alot of weight on the handlebars, and seemingly travelling light enough that they MUST sleep cold every night, even in summer.
Today, I removed the Compact 34-50t crankset, and fitted a 22-36t crankset to manage heavy touring yet to come.

Would be nice to see a photo.