What is bikepacking? In a nutshell, a mountain bike, gravel bike, cyclocross bike, or a specifically designed bike, can be used to carry around gear for minimalist camping. People riding loaded touring bikes have been doing this for years, but modern bike designs have greatly opened up routes and adventures to the gravelly roads and tracks less traveled. Ride, enjoy the scenery at a leisurely pace, and hopefully, have a lot of fun along the way!
JOM of Gravel Cyclist is not a bikepacker, but thought he would give it whirl, as an adventure to help celebrate a recent milestone birthday of sorts. Where he differed from true touring cyclists, bikepackers and so on, is the lofty time and mileage goal he set for himself, which may have been a wee bit unrealistic? That in itself may have stonkered his grandiose adventure plan.
The Misguided Bikepacking Adventure Video?
In this video, JOM shares his adventure along the way, with retrospective commentary about points of interest, things learned, and more. This is a long video, but hope you garner something from it just as JOM did! Massive kudos and respect to those folks who truly love touring, bikepacking, or the crazy world of self-supported adventure racing over multiple days!
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Links of Interest:
- T-Lab X3 Titanium Adventure Bike Review
- Tailfin Cycling S One & X One Rack System Review (including Trunk Bag & Panniers)
- Garmin Varia RTL 510 Radar Taillight Review
- KaiVenture Bags – http://kaiventurebags.com
- Astral Cycling Wanderlust (coming wheelset review) – http://astralcycling.com
- Son Deluxe Dynamo Hubs (part of the above wheelset) – https://nabendynamo.de
- Sinewave Cycles Beacon Headlight (paired to the wheelset above) – https://www.sinewavecycles.com
- Apidura – http://apidura.com
- Vee Rubber Company – http://veerubberus.com
- Riding the C&O Canal Towpath Trail including the Amtrak Auto Train & Washington DC – Part One
- Riding the C&O Canal Towpath Trail including Amtrak & Washington DC – Part Two
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JOM, 150 miles in one day? As someone who’s done a bit of bike touring, GAP/C&O, 50 miles in one day is a lot of miles while carrying your luggage and a steel frame bike is preferred over today’s exotic frame materials, steel is real and no camping, credit card only. An entertaining video nonetheless.
Definitely overly ambitious on my part.
Hi JOM,
Enjoyed you video, and the walking aside narratives about the pros and cons of your journey.
Curious about why you did the ride in winter? Would it have been better weather spring or fall? And in hind sight could you have stopped earlier to set up camp along the way, so you weren’t so knackered at days end? Will you try again knowing what you know now?
Looks like great riding area and a well done effort on your part.
Thanks for sharing.
From the west coast.
T.S.
Hello Todd,
The Florida winters are very mild for the most part, but that particular weekend was rather cold. As I work a regular job + GC, I chose a weekend with a public holiday (Martin Luther King Day) tacked onto the end, to hypothetically give me three days. My plans to stop early were derailed by having to re-route a few times, but in hindsight, I should have chosen a spot to camp out while daylight was still about the place. But, I got caught up in the goal of making Valdosta by the end of day one, and the wheels promptly fell off.
With all that said, very happy with my ride considering the weight of the bike, temperature, wind, etc. I would try again, but break the trip into four days and likely stay at a hotel each night. I much prefer the higher performance aspect of a lighter bike, vs chugging along with 47lbs.
Thank you for your questions.