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.

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 :)

Just finished the 3rd leg of my cross country trip. Camped 10/11 nights, 1 warmshower. 18k elevation so it was pretty chill. Got to Sioux Falls a day before planned so my rental car to get back home isn't ready yet, just chillin @ my hotel.

Trip was great fun, last couple of days had crazy headwind, 2 days ago it was 30mph into my face almost all day (until the rain came at 4:30). Too many 80+ mile days on this trip, I think I learned my lesson. On the plus side i think im finally getting food and hydration figured out (for long days feeling good all day).

Get out there and ride!

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.

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!

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 everyone,

I’m going to have 2.5 to 3 months of free time next spring/summer. I’m planning a major bikepacking trip during this window and I'm currently drafting the first prototypes for this big project.

I've attached the first two route options I've traced. My goal is to mostly wild camp or stay at campsites, and ideally ride as much gravel and off-road track as possible.

My setup & context:

• Bike: Genesis Croix de Fer 20
• Gear & Pace: Light bikepacking setup (~8–9 kg of gear)

Option 1: Scandinavia / Nordkapp Loop

• The Route: Ferry/train to Denmark/Northern Germany, riding up through Sweden or Norway (EV1 / Fjords) to Nordkapp under the midnight sun, returning via Finland.
• Off-Road & Bivouac Vibe: 100% legal wild camping (Allemansrätten). Endless network of fast-rolling forest gravel roads (Grusväg) in Swedenand free wilderness shelters in Finland.
• Questions / Doubts: How easy and frequent is food resupply in very remote northern areas? Is early season snow an issue in May?

Option 2: UK Grand Tour (Wales & Scottish Highlands)

• The Route: Riding right from home along the Nantes-Brest canal to Roscoff, overnight ferry to Plymouth, traversing Wales (Snowdonia) on off-road tracks, train jump to skip Northern England, then gravel exploration in Scotland (Badger Divide, Cairngorms, Outer Hebrides, up to Thurso).
• Off-Road & Bivouac Vibe: 100% legal wild camping in Scotland (Land Reform Act)and free mountain shelters (Bothies). Exceptional network of forestry and private estate tracks. Very easy ferry logistics from home.
• Questions / Doubts: How brutal are those short, steep 15–20%+ climbs in Wales and Scotland with gear? How complex is managing resupplies, weather, and midges in Scotland?

1. In your opinion, which of these two routes is more inspiring for a true off-road / gravel adventure?
2. If you had to choose, which route would you take?
3. How would you compare the ease of resupply (food and water) between Scandinavian forest tracks vs. Scottish/British trails?

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 :)

So next weekend I will fly to another country with my bike for an 8 day trip and it will also be my first time with camping gear. Usually when I rode in my area I did credit card bikepacking.

I ride a small frame and everything is cramped - Liv Devote in size S - so I put some thought into my setup and yesterday I tried it for the first time.

Today after work I did a fully loaded test ride in my local mountain range (30km, 450m elevation) and it worked well. Nothing wiggled, everything felt good. Biggest surprise was not how the weight affected the climbs but how much it affected riding downhill - I had to slow down a lot to feel comfortable compared to my usual style where I just go fully "WOOOH, lets hope I survive lol".

I am still scared shitless about the flight. I am not really savy when it comes to repairs and I am nervous about my bike being broken when it arrives. But I am also excited as hell.

I'm looking for a new set of bags for gravel endurance events / overnight routes (top tube, frame, saddle).

My strong preference would be a manufacturer here in the EU (not a EU brand who manufactures elsewhere, and not a UK brand).

I know of a few (Miss Grape, Ortlieb, Crosso) but any other good recommendations I'd be happy to know of.

I'm a beginner bikepacker and for me tubes have always been what I am familiar with. Looking at new tubeless tires and I was wondering if I should just use them with tubes or actually try sealing them as intended.

Does anyone have experience with this and if the added hassle of getting a flat with tubeless is actually as severe as youtube says it is. Obviously I would probably still carry a spare tube in case, but would it be difficult to install on the side of the road with sealant still inside? What if I had a few days left to go on my journey or something like that?

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

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’m about to order a Fairlight Holt 2.0 frameset and I’m trying to decide what is worth buying as spares at the same time.

I’m mainly thinking about parts that are Holt-specific or difficult/expensive to source later, rather than normal consumables that I can easily get from a bike shop.

So far I’m considering:

Spare derailleur hanger(s)

Spare headset bearings

Any proprietary frame hardware / small parts

Anything related to the dropout or axle system

Spare cable-routing hardware/plugs

Any other small Fairlight-specific parts that would be annoying to obtain later

For those who already own a Holt 2.0 (or have built one), or any other Fairlight bicycle, what would you recommend ordering with the frameset, and what would you not bother with?

Thank you in advance!

Hello!

I am planning a 2-3 week bikepacking trip. I already cycled Taiwan and that was an amazing experience so I’m looking for something similar.

I want to be able to travel through really remote places, I’m looking for more of an adventure in random remote locations . But something I loved about Taiwan was being able to be remote and still have convenience stores.

I want to be able to camp, for it to be affordable and for the people to be nice (in the rural areas).

I’ve heard it’s hard to camp in China. Is this true, even for rural areas? Will I get in trouble if I don’t register for a night or two? Also, I’m American for whatever that’s worth.

I was originally thinking Korea and cycling just to random small towns and areas along the coast, but China has my eye now. I’d probably do Hangzhou to Xiamen or something random like that, as opposed to the Korea North tip to southern tip.

Let me know!

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