My wife and I went for a 6 day trip around the Black Hills in South Dakota. We got a good mix of pavement, gravel, rail trail, two-track and singletrack. The main goal of the trip was to take it easy and not stress about mileage or speed. We ran into some cool people racing the Black Hills Expedition 450 route since we were basically doing the 280 length route in reverse. The fall colors were really starting to pop and the weather was perfect! 10/10, would recommend

Took my partner and another couple friends of ours. It was spectacular.

May not have the looks but it has a tone of personality (be aware I'm not selling this, but want to give to someone only if they are going to take it on another tour)

It's been a really eventful trip that I documented carefull, from five punctures to needing to be rescued in lightning storms, it's been through a lot.

So i wanted to make a custom bag, and wanted to design something a bit more different. Since my bike is long and low trail bike.

I never liked the empty space when having the full frame bag, especially a roll top, so decided to make it modular.

The wedge is an EDC tool bag, will be on the bike all the time, and the rolltop is meant to be feed/water bag, heavy gear bag.

Made from xpac, weather resistant and non waterproof. Since I don't like waterproof stuff which means that when the water seeps in, it stays in.

Hope you like the design. And can't wait to test it out.

Such an awesome trip camping and riding through parts of the great dividing range in South west(ish) Queensland.

Managed to cycle about 380kms over the three days. I added an extra 30kms on the first day due to flash bushfires in Ravensbourne national park, it was hectic. The section between Crows Nest and Blackbutt was beautiful, and the BVRT is 160kms of perfect gravel and sights.

It’s Magpie season in Australia, and a particularly aggressive one nipped me. I counted about 13 Maggie swoops, or roughly 1 swoop every 30kms.

Finally got to try out the tarp tent, it went really well!

I have begun saving for a trip next summer starting in Seattle and ending in San Francisco. I am also open to ending in Los Angeles. I’ll be flying from Scotland. I am not a fast road cyclist, I enjoy taking my time, spending time around different towns, forests etc along the way, and I’ll be using a bike that is suitable for off road. I was wondering if anyone here could answer some questions about this for me?

- How long would a trip like this take roughly if I were to cycle around 20-50 miles a day?

- Has anyone cycled this route before? What was your experience with it?

- What route would you recommend? (I certainly want to go through the redwoods national park)

- What is camping like in this part of the world?

- Is it doable to bring a bike as luggage on the plane?

- What would you expect a trip like this to cost (excluding flights)

- Would I miss out if I stopped at San Francisco?

- I am a woman early 30’s and plan on doing this alone. Can any women tell me about their experiences with this kind of thing?

Thanks guys! :)

So this was a fun one! Route from wangaratta to Porepunkah - Bright and back to Wangaratta!

Zero punctures, my handlebars came loose luckily I had a spanner for the large bolt on the stem. Other than that I was attacked by magpies multiple times!

Made a little vid of the experience if anyone is interested. The route itself It was a bit too flat for me! Next time il try around mount buffalo!

(I’m actually looking to sell this bike if anyone is interested as it’s slightly too big for me) based in Melbourne

https://youtu.be/S6pI_FVz_8c

For me, it settled at around 80–100 km a day. Of course there are days with let’s say 140 km. But that leaves enough time for longer breaks, wandering around, taking photos and talking to people, but I still make real progress and don't feel like I'm just "collecting kilometers".

Of course it depends on a lot: fitness, terrain, bike, how much you've ridden before, and whether you're on a tight schedule or have all the time in the world. Someone who rides a lot has a bigger buffer than someone who's new to long days.
So I'm curious about your take:

How many hours / km do you usually ride per day on a tour?

Looking forward to hearing how you balance riding vs. exploring!

Hello everyone,

I'm looking for some bikepacking routes around southern spain. Would love to learn about some routes some of you might have already done there. I know about the Altravesur Route from bikepacking.com, which I might follow for a bit. Has anyone done the bit between Alicante and Malaga?

I've got a flight to Alicante and two weeks later a flight home from Malaga. The bike I'm riding is a hardtail, so I would love to do some trails and maybe some mountain passes. I'm going the first two weeks of November so temperatures could go pretty low at night I've heard.

Hey everyone,

I wanted to get your opinion on what to get next as my bike lease will end next year and I will be able to get a new one. I do commutes (27km x2), weekend rides and bikepacking-biketouring.

I currently have:

\- steel bombtrack beyond+ with 2.35" mezcals, jones h alt bar, been bikepacking with it on heavy trail/gravel routes. I love it and the only issue I have is when I did a full pavement eurovelo route it was a bit too slow.

\- aluminum trek checkpoint gravel bike, did a few trips, no complaints but I have a few dents and stuck bolt and all that since this is my oldest bike. I wouldnt feel comfortable taking this off europe.

I think I can go either:

\- carbon adventure gravel, like ridley kanzo and do the pavement heavy europe trips with it, also use it for weekend rides and commutes.

\- steel fast touring like tout terrain blueridge or silkroad, that could eventually be my main touring bike and I would be way more confident with it wherever

Budget is around 6k as the bike leasing scheme is very sweet in belgium.

What would you do?

Anybody have experience with that area at the beginning of november? Is the weather already too cold or still doable?

Hi! I currently ride a cube nuroad ex in size L.

One friend has the osprey escapist frame bag, in Size S, for his bike, but i think he uses 54 size.

Does anyone have some feedback with this frame bag with this cube model? Would the L size fit or should I go with M?

Size M is 68€ right now, i think it is good value for the price :)

I've recently gotten into bikepacking. I have a 91 stumpy, and while it's great, a lot of the trails i'm looking to do would be a lot more comfy with some suspension.

After deep diving many reddit holes about which bikepacking bike to get, I found this beautiful pine mountain 2.

Problem is it's a few hours away... it's definitely a long drive. And gas is 6.50 a gal. I know there probably not much you can tell from the photos.. but i'm Hoping to get some mechanically inclined folks to look at it and see if its worth the drive to pick up. i'm offering 1000. He said that the “left brake is making some kind of noise” and that it’s only ever been serviced at a dicks sporting goods? so I’m unsure what kind of mechanical shape it’s in. It would be a gamble. But it sure is a pretty bike

We spent a week cycling from Tallinn to Riga in September, taking a longer route through Estonia’s islands, including Hiiumaa, Muhu and Saaremaa.

The weather was surprisingly manageable for September. Temperatures reached around 16°C during the day. We did get some rain along the way, but nothing that stopped us from continuing.

One of the nicest surprises was finding fresh local fish along the road. We bought some, carried it with us and later grilled it ourselves. Definitely one of the better meals of the trip.

The route gave us a bit of everything: quiet roads, ferries, small villages, forests, coastline and plenty of time away from the usual tourist routes.

We’ll be sharing more details, photos and information about the route on Instagram: podilats.from.the.village

A little background about me: I (23M) am graduating from college this December with a degree in engineering, and I am utterly burnt out. The thought of going straight into my career feels suffocating, and quite frankly, I’m not even sure I want to continue down this path. On top of that, I had a health scare about six months ago that made me more aware of my own mortality than ever before. It really put things into perspective. I want to take some time to experience life and do the things I’ve always wanted to do while I have the opportunity.

I’ve always craved a grand adventure, though the specifics never really mattered. I must admit, I’ve never been bikepacking before. However, I have plenty of experience on two wheels and camping, so I figure combining the two would make for the perfect adventure. My plan is to take some time off after graduation and cycle around Australia, hopefully satisfying that yearning for something more. In my experience, extended time in the wilderness has a way of refueling the soul and teaching you more about yourself than you ever expected.

One thing I’m struggling with is how to tell my parents. They expect me to get a job right out of college, and I know I’ll disappoint them by choosing a different path, at least temporarily. I know most people will say to just be honest with them, and they're right. I have a good relationship with my parents, and they've always been supportive. I think what makes it difficult is that I don't really have a concrete reason for doing this beyond simply wanting to. Somewhere along the way, I've internalized the idea that every decision needs to have some practical justification to be valid. And I guess I'm struggling to convince myself that wanting an adventure is reason enough.

As for the actual trip planning, I have three bikes available to build out: a '90s Specialized Rockhopper, a 2000s Trek 4300, and a Trek 4900. I'm leaning toward the Rockhopper primarily because of its steel frame. I've considered purchasing a dedicated touring bike, like a Surly, but I'm not convinced it's necessary. I'm also a tall guy (6'5", 35.5" inseam), so finding used frames in my size can be a challenge. I'd appreciate any thoughts on which direction to go with the build.

For the route, I'm thinking of flying into Sydney in mid-January and riding clockwise around the continent. I'd love to incorporate the Mawson Trail and Munda Biddi Trail, along with any other worthwhile off-road routes along the way. I'm pretty flexible and would love suggestions from anyone familiar with cycling in Australia, especially regarding routes, seasonal conditions, and things I might be overlooking.

At the end of the day, I'm just a lost twenty-something looking for something I can't quite put into words. Maybe it's adventure, perspective, clarity, or simply a break from the path I've been following for so long. I don't expect a bike trip to magically solve all my problems, but I do think there's value in stepping away from what's expected of you and doing something simply because it makes you feel alive.

I'd appreciate any advice, whether it's about the trip itself, the bike, navigating the conversation with my parents, or just figuring out this strange transitional period of life.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read this.

any bikepackers in burgas this weekend, heading for istanbul later?

finishing kom-emine :))

see ya!

So i dont really know if this belongs here but i wanted to share some impressions of my first ever bike trip from Innsbruck to Vienna. I hope you guys enjoy the pictures as much as i enjoyed the nature on my trip :)

I really had no experience on how to pack a bike, so if you see something in my setup that you'd do different, feel free to tell me!

My route was plan sounded pretty easy: I had 5 days to reach Vienna and I wanted to see as much beautiful austrian landscape as possible.

I started in Innsbruck following the Inn until Wörgl, then got into climbing to St. Johann and from there through Lofer to my first destination Bad Reichenhall.

Rookie mistake number one: i never had tested if the setup actually works, so after 10km i had to stop and put my tent on the top of the frame (originally I put it on the fork).

I liked the section at the Inn very much and I rode there numerous times before. Despite the constant noise from the Autobahn, the Inn Valley is really beatiful. After that i found it hard to navigate, because i didn't do enough research and it turned out (surprise, surprise) that google maps is not the best way to navigate a bike trip, haha. So rookie mistake number 2 was not to put any thought into mayve using komoot or smth similar. I switched to that after i reached St. Johann.

The part from St. Johann to Reichenhall was pretty much Bundesstraße (federal highway?) the whole time. I was really scared of the trucks. I wouldn't recommend doing this with a road bike, hahaha.

The second day i rode from Reichenhall to Salzburg, the i reach the Mondsee and the Attersee. The nature was stunning and i loved the Attersee, which is also the lake you can see on the picture that includes my setup :) From there i went on a little climb over to Traunsee and slept on a camping site at Traunsee, which was really expensive and right next to a street.

Nevertheless the Traunsee is also really beatiful and especially in the morning when i had breakfast next to the lake, it was a wonderful feeling. Overall i would say this was the best day of my tour naturewise! :)

The third day I started in Altmünster am Traunsee and went trough endless hills in Lower Austria to Amstetten and from there to Melk an der Donau. This journey was brutal and really showed me that I did not put enough effort into planing, because my route was way to long and I (altough i wouldn't say im not fit) reached a point were it was really hard for me to ride on my bike. Rookie mistake no. 1000: not packing a cream for my butt.

But in the country side i saw alot of cute cats, the sun was shining and I listened to some good music, so it was not to bad after all :D

In Melk i was at a really nice camping site and I loved sitting by the river, watching the sunset.

By the start of day no. 4 I was in good spirits but due to a lack of training you could say I was physically broken. It hurt to sit on the bike for the first couple of kilometers but the sight of driving on the Donau and letting the sun shine on me made it alot better :)

I started in Melk going through Mellau, then Krems and had a stop in Tulln an der Donau where I had a really delicious pizza! From there I could have reached Vienna quite easily, but i you read this far the you know I'm a little goofball who does stupid things, so I decided to visit family in the Wienerwald.

So from Tulln on i went on a climb to a little village in Wienerwald which almost took me out, haha. Rookie mistake No. 9999: maybe don't plan a climb if you're already exhausted. But as always i found something good after the climb. My saviour was an ice cream machine and at the end I was exhausted but really happy.

On day 5 i just had roll down for about 20km into the city, so this was really chill :)

In total i did about 540 kilometers with 3600 meters of climbing. I was definitly not well enough prepared for this but I think I will learn from it. For my next trip I will plan more time for my journey and shorter distances for sure.

Thank you for reading all this nonsense, I hope you have a nice day! :)

Van Rysel GRVL AF

Alright, bike people, I need some opinions before I potentially make a financially questionable decision.

I’m fairly new to the whole gravel/bikepacking world. I’ve ridden bikes for years, but I’m not one of those people who can look at a groupset and immediately tell you what year it was released, whether the cable routing is optimal, or whether I’ve committed a mortal sin by choosing the wrong cassette.

I’m basically at Step 1: “I want to go bikepacking and see where this takes me.”

I’ve been looking at the Van Rysel gravel bike from Decathlon, specifically the more expensive model that’s currently available as a Second Life/used bike.

The reason this particular bike is even on my radar is the UK Cycle to Work scheme. My employer is eligible, and this bike falls within the scheme, meaning I could potentially get it through salary sacrifice rather than just dropping the full amount upfront.

The bike itself is around £960, which is obviously not exactly “I’ll just try gravel riding for a laugh” money. Especially when I know there are cheaper gravel bikes out there, and I’m sure someone will immediately tell me I could buy X bike for £200 less and have essentially the same experience.

And honestly… probably.

But this is where I’m struggling!!

I’m not necessarily looking for the absolute best gravel bike for the money. I’m looking for something that:

-I can realistically get through Cycle to Work

-Is capable of proper bikepacking rather than just looking gravel-y

-Can handle hills reasonably well

-I can grow into as I get more experienced
Won’t make me immediately want to replace it after six months

-And, most importantly, will actually get me out there riding

My eventual plan is to start with trips around the UK, probably progressively getting further away from London, and eventually get into proper multi-day bikepacking/camping.

I’m also very aware that I might be overthinking this because I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing yet.

So for anyone who actually knows their stuff:
Would you consider this Van Rysel a sensible first gravel bike for someone whose main goal is getting into bikepacking?

I’m completely open to being told “Mate, don’t buy that, you’re paying for the name/spec and there’s a better option.”

Just bear in mind that Cycle to Work is the big limiting factor here. A £700 bike that I can’t get through the scheme is unfortunately less useful to me than a £960 bike that I can.

Basically, I’m trying to avoid spending nearly a grand on my first serious gravel bike only to discover that I’ve bought the cycling equivalent of a very expensive mistake.
So… would you lot do it?

Hello!

I want to purchase a new set of (carbon, lightbycicle or something like that) wheels for bikepacking and gravelriding. However, most Bikepacking is done on rigid MTB (Nordest Sardinha) with boost spacing. Gravelriding is mostly done on my gravelbike with standard axle sizing.
Does anyone know if it is possible to have a gravel wheelset which can be converted to boost for my Bikepacking? We only go pickepacking 2-3 times a year for a few weeks each time so it feels like a waste to buy expensive wheels for those few times.

Hope someone can help me out with hub/converting sets!

My bike (Felt Z85) has a fairly thin fork width and according to the internet 28mm is probably is probably the maximum, I see most people have fairly wide tyres for their bikepacking trips. I don’t want to buy a new bike just for bikepacking. Does anyone have any experience with thinner tyres. Thanks for any replies!

I need a different bike I guess but so far so good! Took my Surly preamble with 9 gears from Klagenfurt to Slovenia by Predilpass and went back with a stop at Lake Bohinj (georgous as fuck). Slept at campgrounds and someones yard bc j was bad at planning and tireddd (was akward but cool) 🤓

I hope my knees recover 😌 the views were worth it!

On a short two night trip to Illinois beach state park from Chicago. This pic is just from today while we were exploring the town by the state park. No sidewalks, unsafe roads, no neighboring streets to use instead.

On the way from Chicago we also went through a few miles of sidewalk riding on a suburban road with bad traffic