How to get into bikepacking

It has been said that the best gravel bike is whatever bike you own now. And in the same vein, the best way to start bikepacking is to use what you have already and plan a trip that suits. Afterall, what’s better than spending a day riding your bike? Spending two or more days riding your bike! While riders have been touring for decades, bikepacking has become a popular way to explore a little further off the beaten track, using luggage that can be fitted to almost any bike, meaning just about any route could be a bikepacking adventure.

Queensland has some incredible opportunities for bikepacking, especially with dry and mild winters and shoulder seasons. Queensland’s numerous rail trails are ready-to-go adventures in themselves, however they can also be the launching point for further adventure. Through some route planning, you can use rail trails to link to old stock routes, forest roads and back roads to make some incredible routes through the state.

Heading off on a multi-day ride might seem a bit daunting – so we’ve got a basic guide to help you get started.

Start small, ride local

We’d suggest not overthinking it early on. You can tackle a well-known route, even something you have ridden before, but break it up with an overnight stay. And remember, that doesn’t necessarily need to be camping. Bikepacking isn’t so prescriptive that you need to be totally self-sufficient. You can book a room in a pub, a hotel or a cabin in a caravan park if that suits your ride.

The point remains though, your first overnight trip should be a route that isn’t over reaching for you as a bike rider. Even if you think you can ride 70km in a day, consider that you will be carrying at least some equipment for an overnight stay. So maybe 55km is a safer bet? You can always push the distances out if you feel the need to on later trips. Your first ride should allow you to have the time to fine tune your luggage, what you need to carry (and what you don’t!) without any undue time pressures.

If you’re in south east Queensland, a trip along the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail might be the ideal place to start, given it is so well marked, has numerous places to fill up with water and has accommodation options at several towns. Just remember to book!

The ideal bikepacking bike

If your bike is off-road capable, such as a mountain bike, cyclocross bike or gravel bike – then you’re probably ready to go. Remembering that a bikepacking trip does not need to match the adventures you might see on social media – a bikepacking trip needs to match your sense of adventure, and what you have access to.

Most bikepacking trips will involve more hours on the bike than you may otherwise do – so comfort counts. Having a saddle, grips and fit that all suits you is ideal. If you have been riding for some time you will have this all figured out. Just remember that a multi-day bikepacking trip is unlikely to be the best time to try a new saddle, new bike shorts or new bike fit!

There is often a lot of discussion around whether a mountain bike or gravel bike is the best fit for bikepacking. The answer is all down to the terrain you will cover, and the luggage you will carry. Many riders find that a hardtail mountain bike can carry more, and have the riding position and gearing to suit longer, hillier routes, especially with camping gear.

Gravel bikes may be a better choice for extended rail trail adventures with accommodation – where you can travel faster with higher gears, and carry less thanks the accommodation services along the way.

Regardless of your bike choice, pay attention to gear options. Having access to lower gears will often be a leading decision maker, unless you will only tackle routes on rail trails. Tyres and wheels are another major consideration, as they will determine comfort, grip and reliability. Seek advice from your local bike shop, remembering that a more remote trip will likely have different needs to one on a frequently travelled rail trail!

Pack the gear you need – and pack it properly

The Ground Effect Cycle Clothing staff are all very keen bike riders, especially when it comes to getting out, and staying out, with bikepacking trips. They have a wide variety of resources on their website.

‘The desire to travel light, fast and far – with minimal exposure to wear ’n’ tear – has seen the rapid development of nifty bags and pockets that attach to your bike. They have quickly become the preferred choice for many on multi-day mountain bike trips…’

This is where bikepacking differs to bike touring. Touring will involve panniers, and more traditional marked routes in the countryside. Bikepacking will often spend a lot more time off-road – so taking only what you need and packing it so it stays out of harms way becomes essential.

Bikepacking luggage aims to move any equipment off your body and onto your bike, with key locations being a bar roll, plus frame bags and huge saddle bags. There are also some nifty racks that do suit full-suspension bikes. The luggage you use is very much dependant on the bike you have – with the options for fork bags, toptube bags and custom made pieces for all the little areas on different frame designs.

Bikepacking mountain bike routes are the true speciality of the Ground Effect staff. This is when weight, pack size and reliability come to the fore.

‘For multi-day mountain biking and off-road touring the knack is to travel light, but safe,’ they note on their website. ‘On technical singletrack in particular excess weight becomes quite a handicap – requiring both increased skills and effort. So pack smart.

• Lightweight bike-specific rainwear goes without saying. 
• The ‘killer app’ is a modern, lightweight, low volume down sleeping bag. The Sea to Summit Traveller has 200gm fill. An adequate rather than cosy pit for the night but weighs just 400gm in total and occupies a paltry 1.5 litres in your bag.
• A lightweight down or primaloft jacket comforts you around the hut or campsite, and extends your lightweight sleeping bag if the nocturnal temperature sinks a bit low.’

Here at Bicycle Queensland, our local bikepacking trips won’t go to the same places the Ground Effect staff get to, who can call Old Ghost Road and the Heaphy Track local trails. So we have a few other suggestions of must-have items:

• First Aid kit including compression bandage
• Water purification tablets
• 1 spare tube for each wheel (minimum)
• Proper bike pump, plus patch kit, multitool, chain links and tyre levers
• Ideally, long sleeve coverage and SPF50 suncream

Your particular route will have equipment specific requirements based on distance, terrain and the season you travel. Plan ahead so you’re equipped.

Finding a route

Andrew Demack is not just Bicycle Queensland’s Director of Advocacy, but he is a life-long cyclist who believes that life is better on two wheels.

‘What I really enjoy is the mental freedom you get when you’ve decided to say this day, and maybe the next four days I’m just gonna ride my bike.’

This, at the heart of it, is the escapism and freedom that bike riding and bikepacking offers, And Demack finds that he’s got a virtual escape as well – planning a multi-day bikepacking trip.

‘I’ve got about 10 different tours planned that I haven’t done yet that I really like the look of but I just haven’t got around to doing them yet.’

For those who want to get out and see some new places, Demack believes we’ve got better tools at hand now than ever before, thanks to online route planning.

‘You can plan a ride anywhere in the world, look at the Strava heat map and see who’s riding around there. You can have a look at Komoot or Ride With GPS and see what other routes exist in that area. There are so many resources, and I think that encourages me to go somewhere new as well. From, time to time I’ll convince myself it’s research for Bicycle Queensland!’

In terms of breaking down any barriers to planning multi-day routes, Demack is adamant that the growth of rail trails around Australia is playing a big role, getting more people on bikes, off-road, and into the great outdoors. All without needing to master a map and a compass, or even the vagaries of downloading a .gpx file. Still, there’s an element of adventure in making it all click.

‘We’ve got a perfect four or five day ride from Kilkivan back to Ipswich that lots and lots of people have done now. One of the barriers to doing it without a vehicle is working out how you get from Gympie to Kilkivan, there isn’t an easy way to do that other than the school bus, so you have to go on a school day for the school bus. Then you can ride on the two rail trails and the link trail in between. This is a tour that is achievable  by almost anybody. You don’t need to be any sort of athlete to be able to ride your bike for 60-70kms a day across four or five days. But it’s an interesting and fun tour, and a way to see some pretty rugged areas in south east Queensland.’

Here at BQ we will be adding some longer gravel riding routes to our Where to Ride page, including some routes ideal for bikepacking.

‘I think that what rail trails are great for is giving people that first go at something and then saying, “oh, I saw a trail going off into the bush near Yarraman. I wonder where that goes?” Maybe next time those riders will explore away from the rail trail. ‘I’m hopeful that we will have even more rail trails across the state over the next 10 years or so, with a network that provides these opportunities for local people all across the state to be able to have an adventure and see what’s possible for them.’