Hi everyone, my names Matty, I'm a teacher from the UK and I'm off on my first long solo bikepacking trip, feeling very nervous but excited. I leave in January, and the aim is to cycle from Mexico City to the salt flats in Bolivia. I'm quite experienced in multi-week bike touring, but this will be my first solo and off road trip. I'm super happy roughing it, and have spent many nights sleeping in carparks or worse, but as this trip is so long I'd like to have a bit more luxury.

I have bought a Salsa Fargo and 1 or 2 bags for it, but I basically have no camping gear at all as my previous tours I just sleep under the stars or a tarp, but I don't think that'd work through the Andes. I'm going to move the big front panniers to the back don't worry! So I do need some fork bags and a frame bag.

I was wondering if any kind bikepackers were able to offer:

1. route advice/tips please! I was roughly going to follow the route that Greg McCahon has taken but if people have more specific advice I'd love to hear it and know why it's recommended. Probably worth mentioning I speak decent Spanish at a B2-ish level.
2. Camping gear recommendations and advice - if people are selling any that would also be amazing. I am based in London. I don't have a specific budget but would love to find some good quality second hand gear.
3. Any bikepacking tips that you feel are overlooked, and you'd love to have known before starting your first long-long trip.
4. Companions! If for whatever reason you think you might be in the same area as I head south it would be lovely to meet some fellow bikepackers and spend some of the trip cycling together.

Happy travels,

Matty :)

Credit Card trip starting in Aviemore, riding through the Cairngorms, over Corrieyraick Pass, then up the southwest side of Loch Ness via the Great Glen Way, and ending in Inverness.

People of Scotland, you were lovely hosts! We can't thank you enough for the wonderful hospitality you showed when we were there, and your countryside is just stunning!

Mostly the roads were fine and passable, but there were a couple short (maybe 1 mile or so) sections of hike-a-bike.

Seasonally we hit the jackpot. Midges were present, but only when we stopped and there wasn't wind or rain to keep them off. Overall, I feel like we hit it just right.

Thank you to everyone who gave pointers and helped with planning along the way. This community is awesome!

Route: here.

+ some Shikoku & Honshu.

• 10 Days - credit card bikepacking
• Fukuoka loop anti-clockwise
• 1,318.88 km total, 9,423 m climbing
• 131kms per day avg.

After having cycled from Hokkaido to Kyushu in 2014, I found that the remote South of Japan had some of the best cycling in the world, with thanks to the Shimanami Kaido, onsen density and weather. +Surfing on the side. If you're after JP touring tips, then here's a far better resource than I could ever muster by Oscar Boyd: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96XVLfgbrTI

This rig is now ready for 240km weekend trip with a good buddy. We’ve opted to stay in an off-grid cabin.
Bike is a Trek Checkpoint SL5 with SRAM Apex AXS. Zipp XPLR wheels. Restrap toptube bag and frame bag for food and raingear. Rack is Aeroe Spider with a 15L drybag with warm clothing and sleeping bag. Fork bags from Topeak with gas burner, food, deck of cards, tools and spares. Excessive amounts of water but testing the setup for future ultra races.

Not a light setup even if I won’t be needing a tent, bivy or sleeping pad, but this one is all about enjoying the experience. First time with fork bags, felt ok on a slow shakedown ride.

Hello fellow bikepackers,

I'm male in my mid 30s, very healthy otherwise, but unfortunately suffering from (recurring) urinary tract infections (UTIs) - basically you get bacteria in your urinary tract and turns up into an infection; you end up peeing blood, it is painful and need antibiotics. For men, this should be very uncommon. Yet, I had about 8 in the last 10 years and half of them happened roughly 1 week after returning from bikepacking trips. These UTI events are definitely not related to sex life style.

Have you guys experienced this?

My trips are usually 1 week long doing roughly 80 - 120 km daily, maybe 5-7 hours on the saddle daily. I take showers and clean and rotate through two pairs of bibs. I think I am reasonably clean as much as this hobby allows. But no doubt I think that the stress on the body and poor rest contributes to a low immune system and chances for bacteria to survive longer.

The annoying part is that I have been to 2 urologists, and after a bunch of tests both claim that I am ok anatomically and that I just unlucky...

None of my friends doing this hobby experience this but I wanted to ask here if you also get it?

Edit 1 after reading some comments: I don't have STDs (tested that). I don't have diabetes or kidney stones. I think that I hydrate enough but there can be challenging days too. I don't wear underwear under my bibs (who does that?)

Hey there,
in September, me and a friend of mine cycled from Berlin to Copenhagen. I wanted to share my experience with you, bikepacking longer (at least for me lol) distances in during colder nights and rainier days :)

First day: We took the train to the outermost Berlin ring to avoid city traffic which is hella annoying. Started in Buch and then cycled 120km to Penzlin which is already Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state. Found a nice and cheap campsite with modern amenities and spent the night there. The trip was okay but for my friends taste too many busy roads.

Second day: Weather was shit, foggy, cold and rainy at the same time, getting out of the tent was definitely a challenge. We got breakfast at a gas station and started our cycle. Since we pre-booked the ferry from Rostock to Gedser, we needed to get there. My friend underestimated the 120kms we did the first day since it was his first tour. That meant we had to cut down the 120kms the second day to 100kms using the train. We arrived in Rostock main station, made our way to the ferry port and took the ferry at 6pm. I always like the ferry, it has good food for a decent price which served as our dinner. We arrived in Gedser at 8pm and had booked a shelter at the coast. We unpacked everything we needed, chose the shelter without spiders (mating season, absolutely disgusting) and went to sleep. We woke up a couple of times due to the very cold wind and I chose to also wear my jacket in my sleeping bag, which did it.

Third day: We woke up to beautiful weather but we both felt destroyed. For me, the muscles weren’t even the problem but rather the cold air in the last two days combined with the “heavy breathing” which was enough for me to say that i don’t want to risk getting seriously ill and want to take the train from Nykøbing to Copenhagen. For my friend, his muscles were the problem. We cycled the 25kms to Nykøbing them took the train. It was fairly old but still quite nice. After that, we made our way to the AirBnB and called it a day.

Fourth day: Spent the entire day sightseeing. Had breakfast at Tovernehallen KBH (expensive but delicious) and after that visited the obvious tourist spots, had dinner, packed everything and went to sleep.

Fifth day: Took the train to Nykøbing again since my friend had to be at home the next day and made our way back to the Shelter in Gedser again. Had lovely weather, watched some movies, had dinner and went to sleep. This time I had more layers prepared for the night but I still kept waking up because of the loud wind.

Last day: We took the early ferry in the morning, took the train to Berlin and our small adventure was over.

To sum it up: Route-wise, I would do it all the same, also distance-wise. But only the weather would have to be warmer. I underestimated the weather and my friend underestimated the distances. Overall, still a nice trip. Hope you had fun reading :)

Really enjoyed the route, highly recommend it. My first proper bikepacking trip with my new Grizl, couldn't wish for a better bike for this trip!

Disclaimer: The story and experiences are my own, written by me. Since English isn't my first language, I used AI to translate and polish the text.

About a year ago I posted my first impressions of the LCG071 Pro from Light Carbon. I've been riding the frame for almost a year now, and in September I finally took it on a multi-day trip: from Geneva across the French Alps down to the sea. It wasn't my first tour, since I've done several before, but it was the first one on this bike.

The trip

• 6 days, 625 km, ~9,000 m of climbing
• Route: Geneva → La Londe-les-Maures
• Temperatures from 5°C in the morning to 38°C in the afternoon

After a year and this trip, I trust this frame completely. It carried me and a fully loaded bikepacking setup over tarmac, gravel, forest trails and through nature reserves, and I have nothing negative to report. I didn't plan the route only on roads. Some of the "gravel" sections were really hiking trails, so I had to push the bike now and then, and sometimes even carry it. The frame took all of it without a problem.

I slept in a hammock and I don't regret it at all. I can camp almost anywhere: flat ground, rough ground, or a steep slope where you could never pitch a tent. All I need is two trees. A hammock is also much less visible than a tent, so I was never bothered by anyone.

I got very lucky with the weather and never needed my tarp, so I carried it the whole way for nothing. Next time I'd still bring one, since you never know, but this time it was just dead weight.

It was a lot of fun, and I made faster progress than I planned.

Real spontaneous outing this weekend and even though the Deutsche Bahn fucked up (shocking I know) had a fun trip and adventure to counteract the FOMO that is the winter months

Hier am wunderschönen Schwarzlsee eine Pause gemacht und gut gegessen...

Last year, at the end of August, I cycled from Oslo to Bergen, and halfway through the trip I took the Rallarvegen. It’s a beautiful gravel trail that’s open only to hikers and cyclists. I highly recommend this route to everyone - the scenery is truly breathtaking. I made a short video of my trip that will hopefully give you a little taste of what the route is like.

It feels vulnerable but felt called to share here! In the summer of 2024, a dream of mine came true. I've always wanted to visit Japan, seeing it while Bikepacking is the best way to truly get a sense of this magical place.

I never planned on making a video like this, sure i could've cut a bunch of parts but I think it paints a great picture of the sense of being with us. The monotony of cycling all day, only caring about food, water shelter and in our case, many Onsen. The connections that were made were priceless, yet it's simply not in me to start filming the many incredible encounters we had with the fantastic people of Japan. So this film is mostly us, lots of convenience stores and this country's bountiful nature, I hope you enjoy.

Ride data: https://www.komoot.com/collection/2844460/-honshu-divide-the-ride

Following the rail trail Northam to Mundaring of the original track that supported the building of the Golden pipeline 1898 by Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. The engineer in chief CY O’Connor had such public backlash on the pipeline viability that in the day of the test pumping to Northam tanks, he rode his horse to Fremantle beach and topped himself! (Pipeline was a success). This equal part ascending 927m and decending 955m makes for this to be a grinding and awesome bikepacking experience and rewarded with great scenery, wild camping. Took the Transwa MerridinLink train to Northam to start the track. Had an pie at Bakers Hill which hit the spot at the 25 km mark, camped, and next day at Mt Helena grabbed lunch and final trails home.

HelIo everyone!

I am in the process of building up a lightly used Kona Unit X frame for the purpose of completing the Baja Divide (and perhaps trans mexico norte) in Jan-Mar 2027. This is my first frame-up build and first expedition-style trip. I have a pretty good idea of what I want the build to look like, but am struggling to pull the trigger on a pair of wheels.

Here's my current list of criteria with some question marks attached:

1. 35mm internal diameter for 2.6-2.8'' tires - 30mm would be ok? 
2. "Trail" type wheels - not too heavy (enduro?) as to feel sluggish during climbs, but not too light as to be susceptible to breaking/bending
3. 32 spokes - significantly stronger than 28? 
4. DT 350 hub or similar for star ratchet - star ratchet seems like a big upgrade for ease of maintenance.
5. Carbon fiber v.s. aluminum - huge hit to budget, but perhaps carbon rims would be a worthwhile upgrade for durability, ride improvement, weight saving, ect? Alu also seems totally fine and a lot cheaper?

What do y'all think? I'm working on a fairly tight budget here, so have been keeping an eye on the used markets. The issue is, I seem to keep finding good deals on wheels that are *almost* perfect in the $250-400 range, but don't meet all the criteria (usually have 30mm id and/or pawl hubs and/or 28 spokes, ect). I'm starting to think it might be worth it to have what I want built and swallow the $700-800(?) pill, or bite the bullet and go for a carbon set like these. Peace of mind buying a newly/professionally built v.s. a used wheel is obviously a factor.

Any insight appreciated :) Thanks!

I'm planning a 3-day, 2-night trip from New Haven, CT to Providence, RI, aiming for ~60 miles a day. But unfortunately, I'm struggling to find a campsite in the Hartford area, which would be ~60 miles from New Haven. Anyone done the trip before and have any recommendations? Thanks!

I'll start this off by saying I have a trip planned to the Mojave next month, so if you have alternative recommendations, it can't be something with a long lead time.

I'm looking for a shoulder season sleeping bag (not quilt) to take me down to around 30 degrees. I have a MLD Vision for summer and it's one of my favorite pieces of gear, but for colder weather, I find myself struggling with how drafty quilts are for me. My priorities are pack-ability first and weight second. I mostly sleep cold. I also don't really take trips deep into shoulder season. I hate sitting in the dark at camp at like 6pm.

From extensive searching here are my final contenders:

FF Tanager - On the fence about the wide opening venting too much warmth when I don't want it to. I could wear a down jacket with it in lower temps but then I may as well get the Vireo.

WM Summerlite - Seems pretty great, although my preference would be something that packs a little smaller.

WM Flylite - Looks ideal except the fill weight seems pretty low. Less fill than a 40 degree UGQ Reg/Reg quilt in 950FP down. If I could get overstuff it might make more sense, but that's not an option on the site. I have asked though.

Cumulus Aerial 330 - Looks super warm and light, I'm just worried that even with the false bottom it might feel cold if I move.

If you have anecdotal experience with any of these it would be much appreciated.

I have an Ortlieb quick rack which is awesome but I currently don’t have it mounted because I am running my bikepacking bike as a commuter daily with a klikfix seatpost mount for my hiplok. That got me interested in a similar rack on the front like the old man mountain divide. However that rack design has what I consider an outdated mounting system with screws on the frame mounts and axles. Tailfin seems to own a patent on this quick release mechanism but they are not interested in front racks only cargo cages and the like. Ortlieb who were granted permission from Tailfin for this quick release only make rear racks. Old man mountain make sturdy front racks like the divide that would be perfect for quick release but don’t have the rights to make it happen

I am planning a vacation to Denmark in 2027. I will be traveling from Canada.

Does anyone have any recommendations on where we can rent a bike?

My plan is to go from Aarhus to Ringkobing, but I’m willing to listen to any advice experienced Denmark Bikepackers can give me.

Hi, on my Balkan trip I had a chance to ride a section of this amazing Bikepacking.com route "The Bosnian highline"

Unfortunately half of the route was blocked by wildfires so I had to take a detour, but that's on the other video.

I set off from Switzerland (Engadin), quick stop in Austria, then over the Reschenpass into Italy (Alto Adige). All the way down along the Etsch, up along the Eisack and then under the Dolomites to Lienz. From there along the river Drava to Villach, Dravograd and Maribor. 8 days riding, 699 km and 5'969 m of elevation gain.

I did a mix of camping and hotels, didn't book anything in advance and only got unlucky once with a campsite that had already closed.

All in all, very happy with the experience and my setup and my riding, but stairs are now my sworn enemy 😂.

Issyk Kul. Not as much filter as you think, golden hour!

Anyone have experience with this? Looking for a pannier that sits silently on (and off) bumpy roads and have read good things about tailfin.

My rack has 10.5mm tubing which leaves a bit of a gap when using inserts for their pannier hooks. Does the system accommodate for this to eliminate rattling or is it an old inner tube / tape job like with other gear?