Bike -Packing Adventures & information

Bike-packing - Turning a weekend into an ‘Adventure’

For a few years now I have been enjoying bike-packing adventures with friends around our beautiful country - the cycling equivalent to ‘credit card touring’.

When I say ‘bike-packing’ I am not referring to the practise of ‘cycle-touring’ where you laden up your bikes with tents, sleeping bags, cookers and everything else you can possibly ram into a dozen clunky pouches, which ultimately ruins the ride, and makes riding your bike a complete misery - not to mention those wet, miserable sleepless nights in a cold and depressing tent.

**2-day 1 night setup using Blackburn soft tail-pack**

**Sonder Camino with Tailfin Aero Pack** **with bolt through axle fitted**

**Van Nicholas Ventus with traditional quick release wheel skewer fitted (£39 Tailfin)**

Bike fully loaded with waterproof jacket at the ready if needed.

I am referring to travelling light with the bare minimum stuffed into a lightweight tail pack and then overnighting in a lovely pub with rooms, bar and restaurant which makes the whole experience an absolute pleasure.

So, what do you need?

A normal road bike with normal tool caddy & water bidon.

A lightweight waterproof tail-bag and possibly handlebar bag

Minimal overnight gear - shorts/t-shirt/ flip flops/ toothbrush/ mini chamois cream & other medication etc

A spare set of riding gear if more than one overnight stay otherwise just new socks and jersey

Waterproof/ wind proof/overshoes if rain forecast

Credit card, phone, charging leads, mini bike lock, gps device.

Top tube bag if required

How does it work?

Chose a 2/3 night out and back route (Strava premium has a brilliant route planning tool that allows you to input a start & end point chose road surface type and wether to minimise or maximise elevation, and then searches through zillions of ride data to suggest the routes that most local cyclists use - heat map tool)

Book a pub/hotel for Fri night with parking for the weekend and a pub/hotel with rooms and restaurant and bike storage for the Sat night and book a table for supper too.

Thursday night - fit bike with tail pack carrier and load up tail pack etc

**Blackburn Outpost 11ltr tail-pack**

Easy to fit, easy to remove waterproof inner bag and hard wearing stable and lightweight.

**ToPeak Front-loader bar bag 8ltr**

Easy to compress with air release valve, easy to fit between drop handlebar bars, stable and secure and waterproof for 2-night adventures

Bike-Packing evolution

As with everything in todays ever-evolving cycling scene, here is the next big thing in bike-packing, The ‘Tailfin Aero Pack’ - Stable, easily fitted and removed, lightweight (Carbon or Alloy versions) waterproof, 20ltr capacity (up to 66ltr with optional pannier mounts on arms),9kg load (27kg with panniers) and obviously as aero as can be for luggage carrying.

Obviously this kind of lightweight tech doesn’t come cheap with the alloy axle mounted version with pannier mounts and extender bar (more saddle clearance) coming in at £326 rising to £406 for the same spec in carbon.

Accessories are plentiful and equally as well made, and the additional pannier bags can soon up your capacity to 64ltrs in addition to a number of other frame mounted bags that can be added as required.

The Adventure begins…

Check the bike over and make sure it’s clean, serviceable and the tyres are pumped up

Friday - after work load up the car and drive to pub, overnight and dump travel clothes in car

Sat - cycle an enjoyable route to pub with coffee stops and lunch en route and arrive in time for a rewarding beer before supper.

Sun - After breakfast load up the tail pack and cycle back to the car on another scenic enjoyable route with coffee and lunch stops then drive home.

A mini adventure carrying the minimum of gear on an exciting and scenic route where a fully laden bike would fear to go.

Bike-Packing abroad

For those wishing to take advantage of the extremely well designed cycle network in the Netherlands (Hull or Harwich Ferry) there is this excellent A-B route planner available, this ensures you are kept on some of the safest paths in Europe.

https://en.routeplanner.fietsersbond.nl/

For those wanting to explore France there is a GPX download for all of their recognised paths

https://en.francevelotourisme.com/

For more info:

if you are interested in any of these weekend adventures or have any questions about ‘bike-packing’ please feel free to contact Damon at Pedal Lincolnshire.

Tour of North Yorkshire

Ripon to Barnard Castle via Bedale & Richmond and returning via Reeth, Leyburn & Masham

Tour of Norfolk

A fantastic circular route around Norwich and the Norfolk Broads

Rutland Water weekender

Lincoln to Wing near Oakham via Cafe Velo Verde, Belvoir Castle and Wymondham Windmill. returning via Corby Glen and Sleaford.

Tour of Lincolnshire 360

A 3-day tour of the Lincolnshire border

Tour of the Isle of Wight and Yorkshire

3-days exploring the Isle of Wight and Yorkshire

2023 Touring Rutland and the Peak District

Rebellion Way - 4 Days touring Norfolk

The Rebellion Way is a 232-mile/373km cycling adventure around Norfolk. Meandering along a mix of quiet, mostly flat back roads, byways, cycle paths and bridleways under huge panoramic skies, it’s a fantastic introduction to multi-day, on- and off-road adventuring for anyone.

The name comes from the fact that, while this ancient county is now characterised by a relaxed, timeless, pastoral charm, it has a fascinatingly turbulent history from the Iron Age onwards. Exploring the stories, ancient sites, stunning vistas and thriving wildlife of this unique area enriches every mile of this leisurely but rewarding loop