The bike touring / bikepacking thread

Seems to me it would be beneficial to have a touring / bikepacking thread show off touring setups, discuss gear choice, and most importantly talk about good trip routes not too far from home. I have finally reached the point with my touring rig that I'm happy to stop upgrading it and just use it for a while (that said, I would like a full Revelate pack setup for off-road).

The big question now is where to go - I have some ideas, but there are surely so many good tours around southwestern BC that I don't know about. I'm thinking the bike equivalent of going hiking through Garibaldi would be sweet - big mountain alpine, but close to home. I'd love to find some 60 - 100km alpine trail routes that could make an easy weekend getaway.

The Surly Ogre:

And my previous touring rig (well, still have the frame, rest went to the Ogre) on a 3 day Gulf Islands camping last year (not a tour so much, as the mileage was low, but fun camping):

I would love to see other folk's touring rigs and hear about their past trips. Being that we all likes bikes and like being outdoors, I'm sure I'm not alone in the bike touring / camping hobby.

Pretty standard Long Haul Trucker, with the requisite fenders, racks, lights, and saddlebags. I bought it in Bellingham, WA and rode it to LA and through the desert to Las Vegas.

Haven't done any other big trips since then (February-March 2010), but it has been used extensively for over-night trips and as a commuter in town.

My love affair with bike touring started in 2005 when my girlfriend and I load a bunch of camping gear onto our commuter bikes and set off for Seattle, by way of Whidbey Island. Here is the mongrel of a bike I was on at the time.

We decided to do a few more long weekend trips, either in Wa. or the SSC, before finally setting our sights south to Mexico. So in the summer of 2007, we embarked on a 3,300km journey. I was riding a Kona Hoss, towing a BOB Yak trailer. She was on a Kona Cindercone, which she still commutes on 5 days a week.

I loved that bike, and trailer, but when we decided to go tour in Europe for a month in 2011, wedding a lot of research and test ride sin order to buy the touring bikes that would last us forever. Steel is real dontcha know, and that is how wended up riding matching Kona Sutras from Amsterdam, NL toToulouse, FR.

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I distinctly remember, in the fall of 2007, asking my boss for 3 months off the following summer so that we could ride our bikes across Canada. My boss shook his head "No" and said tome, "Andrew, you will have lots of time to ride your bike when you retire. I can't give you that much time off, so you'll have to wait until then." Then there were a few times during our travels in France when we wondered if maybe we just wanted to ride bikes all the time. Fast forward to now..we have jobs that pay well enough, but our hunger to see the world while we are young enough to enjoy it by bicycle seems to have won out over sanity. We have decided to take my boss up in his advice and retire to ride around the world for 10 years and then re-settle back into daily life.

When we first started talking about our trip, it was something far off in the future, yet close enough to seem like a reality. No one came out and called us nuts, in fact most people seemed encouraging, the kind of encouragement you give to a 12 year old building a spaceship out of cardboard in your backyard.

It has quickly gained momentum in our own minds. What seems light years away quickly became years, maybe months, perhaps just days away. We kept secretly praying for a golden handshake at work that never came. So instead we opted for what we coined, "early retirement."

We aren't rich, we didn't inherit any money. Instead we are selling everything we own, our home and our possessions, and will pack what is left onto bicycles. Our condo went up for sale last week, when it sells we'll be that much closer to realizing our dream.

Here is the first draft of our planned route:

In the summer of 2007 I bought a BOB and embarked on my first tour. I was riding a 1981 Sekine, converted to fixed gear, which I still own and ride as a beater/bar bike. One of my knees objected to a 170 km day ending on Salt Spring Island, so we spent the next day relaxing and installing a freewheel on the bike so I could get home with only stand up pedaling.

In 2008 the trailer served mostly hauling duties, as well as carrying my ghetto blaster on long group road rides.

In 2009 I was all about the mileage. The first exploits would count as randonneuring more than touring, but there were a number of single day rides on that Cyclops worth mentioning. Coquihalla summit out and back.

Later that summer some good friends organized a group trip through Washington State for 13 days. Victoria, Olympic Peninsula, Stevens Pass, Wenatchee, Winthrop, Washington Pass, and home. Concluded that attempting to keep a 100 km / day average is not a fun way to tour.

1400 km logged in the 13 days, my friend Rob did the entire distance with the "hay bale". He was seeking god, or at the minimum a religious experience for his suffering.

2010. Out and back to Kilby Park with the scandium Romax CX bike.

I also did a fair amount of unloaded distance on that bike.

2011 was my last real tour. Hardtails with touring tires and knobbies in the trailers. 9 days on the road, riding trail in Roberts Creek, West Sechelt, Cumberland, and Roberts Creek on the way back. 60 km days felt long on this one.

Didn't bother to take the Marathons off for a lap of Cunning Stunts…

Late 2011 I BOBbed lunch down to the Dales trail day, and followed it with an Aftertaste. Dumbest thing ever.

In 2012 my BOB went on tour, but not with me. And in early 2013 I finally started building my Salsa Fargo frameset, which I hope to get "out there" on this year with the guy who started this thread and whoever else is up for adventure. The Squamish – Indian Arm route has been on my radar for quite a while and I think this is the year for it.

coworker of mine did a lot of touring down in latin america.

if anyone is planning on going down there.. checkout his page

http://elpedalero.com/

Gotham, that trip you're planning looks awesome!

Longest trip I've done was maybe 1200km in 8 days. Crossed South Korea diagonally, then went up the east coast. Will be doing more/longer trips.

I prefer a pretty minimalist setup. I don't like large panniers with lots of room full of unneeded stuff that adds weight and bulk, and am refining my setup every trip I take.

I've actually been thinking of building a new touring bike up pretty soon. I've designed it specifically for touring, so it'll have mounts for Anything cages, and use a Rohloff rear hub/dynamo front hub setup. Fuck derailleurs, and having to stop someplace to charge up my GPS tracker.

i'm not a big fan of touring - part of that i think is that i've always had the wrong tool for the job. i rode across ontario with otesha in 2003 on a 53cm marinoni road bike with tubeless sew-ups (i'm 6'2"). i rode the dempster highway from dawson city to inuvik on a brodie sovereign with a gatorblade (ouch) and a flight saddle (megaouch). now i've got a perfectly serviceable touring bike (surly traveler's check) and no urge whatsoever to tour beyond summer camping trips on the gulf islands :lol:

The Squamish – Indian Arm route has been on my radar for quite a while and I think this is the year for it.

we tried that in reverse on june 6, 2006 (the 666 ride - full report here). our beta and planning was pretty lacking; there was a lot of this

after hours of bushwhacking in the coquitlam watershed we got sold out to the rangers by one of our crew and had to call it. i'd be up for trying the reverse/route you suggested this summer

I'm not into biketouring but getting more and more in to bikepacking. I have a few idea for this year and trying to set up something with a friend. Last year I did the Sunshine coast, rode from home and back on the weekend (good fun fr a weekend). This year it's a major focus for me. Here's my setup.

I distinctly remember, in the fall of 2007, asking my boss for 3 months off the following summer so that we could ride our bikes across Canada. My boss shook his head "No" and said tome, "Andrew, you will have lots of time to ride your bike when you retire. I can't give you that much time off, so you'll have to wait until then." Then there were a few times during our travels in France when we wondered if maybe we just wanted to ride bikes all the time. Fast forward to now..we have jobs that pay well enough, but our hunger to see the world while we are young enough to enjoy it by bicycle seems to have won out over sanity. We have decided to take my boss up in his advice and retire to ride around the world for 10 years and then re-settle back into daily life.

When we first started talking about our trip, it was something far off in the future, yet close enough to seem like a reality. No one came out and called us nuts, in fact most people seemed encouraging, the kind of encouragement you give to a 12 year old building a spaceship out of cardboard in your backyard.

It has quickly gained momentum in our own minds. What seems light years away quickly became years, maybe months, perhaps just days away. We kept secretly praying for a golden handshake at work that never came. So instead we opted for what we coined, "early retirement."

We aren't rich, we didn't inherit any money. Instead we are selling everything we own, our home and our possessions, and will pack what is left onto bicycles. Our condo went up for sale last week, when it sells we'll be that much closer to realizing our dream.

Friends of mine are just finishing that, they would be more than happy to talk to you about it, supper cool guys. Here's their site http://solidream.net/

Gotham, that is a total /thread post, amazing. I have tons of respect for your commitment.

Thanks guys for the stories and photos, lots of really cool trips so far.

I haven't embarked on any really long tours but I know from my two rides to Seattle (260km, 2 days ea) that my limiting factor would be my knees. A mix of lower and higher km days would hopefully help. Tour Divide is a possible end goal in a couple years.

My pannier setup is perfect for weekend camping trips with friends, but I too would like a minimalist bikepacking setup for more rigorous (alpine, likely) adventures.

I haven't embarked on any really long tours but I know from my two rides to Seattle (260km, 2 days ea) that my limiting factor would be my knees. A mix of lower and higher km days would hopefully help. Tour Divide is a possible end goal in a couple years.

If you are having problems with knees on two day, high mileage trips I wouldn't get too frustrated. I know that my first three days of touring are usually the toughest and I typically don't have a good stretching routine down at that point. Off the couch, 260km in two days, fully loaded touring would be a brutal way to introduce yourself to a long tour. Be okay with the idea of slowing down and having shorter days and longer lunches.

I know for myself, I was/am insanely competitive and needed to prove that I could do huge days on the bike, day after day. I met some Columbians along the way and they taught me to slow down, take photos, and relax while on tour. In exchange, I taught them how to get out of camp before noon, I think we all benefited from the exchange of style.

Whether it is backpacking or touring I find that after a week or so I am able to do longer days without too much downtime. I still schedule an off day at least every 4 days and I have a session of yoga each night. Stretching makes a HUGE difference in my comfort when getting back on the trail/road after a long day.

I'd also look at your shoe/pedal situation and how you can change up your gearing. When you are on your bike for a month plus the science of bike fitting can be the difference between bailing and completing a tour.

Where are you guys getting your bikepacking packs from?

Here is the first draft of our planned route:

I see some problem areas (South Africa, Australia, etc) with your route. I presume you'll be packing one of these to deal with those zones?

For bikepacking bags/packs, a couple major players are:

http://www.revelatedesigns.com/
http://www.porcelainrocket.com/

And for packrafting I know these guys are pretty well respected (no personal experience):

http://www.alpackaraft.com/

ito - thanks for the feedback, yeah I went into the last Seattle ride (it was the Ride to Conquer Cancer) with virtually no long distance training, and, you're gonna laugh - on flat pedals. I know, I know - that's why my knees hurt. Also I think my saddle was maybe 0.25" too low. So lesson learned. Funny though, I did the same ride in 2009 on a fixed gear with 49x17, toe clips, and front brake only and had no pain and finished faster. Go figure - must have aged a lot in those 3 years. I plan to stick to shorter, slower days on future tours.

All this thinking about touring has led me to wonder if I'd rather get a Surface frame (got a full 29er kit on my Bandit ready to swap) and sell the Ogre for true bikepacking. Then I could use it as my XC / AM hardtail when not kitted out. Hmmmmmm. And I'd build a cheap/ugly 26" LHT to take the panniers for heavily loaded trips (and be my townie). So many thoughts.

All this thinking about touring has led me to wonder if I'd rather get a Surface frame (got a full 29er kit on my Bandit ready to swap) and sell the Ogre for true bikepacking. Then I could use it as my XC / AM hardtail when not kitted out. Hmmmmmm. And I'd build a cheap/ugly 26" LHT to take the panniers for heavily loaded trips (and be my townie). So many thoughts.

I ride my bike for EVERYTHING, XC races, north shore (stunts included), Whistler, Pemberton steeps, big epic trails, bikepacking… all I change is pedals and tires. I find it fun to see how many different things I can do with it.