A Bikepacking primer

Bikepacking isn’t the slightest bit a novel or recent idea. Late nineteenth century black and white photographs of cyclists with bedrolls and framebags heading out into the countryside or on months long trips over international borders show that the bicycle has always been for freedom and exploration. If anything is new in the current enthusiasm for bikepacking, it’s firstly that specific and optimized gear is now widely available for it, and secondly and more importantly, there is a critical mass of the aesthetic sensibility to make it within the imaginative grasp of all of us.

Gear for Bikepacking Kyrgyzstan

I don’t care about the equipment, I just want it to be perfect.

Folding Bike Touring

In Greece I toured on my Bike Friday Pocket Rocket Pro.

Theory of Dressing

A quick note to a friend going on her first cycle tour describing the theory behind minimal-ish kit: Obviously, your shorts, short sleeve top, socks, (x2) +shoes riding combo are your base outfits during the […]

Tarps & Alcohol Stoves

I aim to bikepack light. The pursuit of it can, of course, become an obsession and a laughable absurdity, but, then again, such things are also the makings of a largely harmless hobby and an […]

Bikepacking resupply shopping list

Roll off the trail into a small town to resupply for, suppose, two full days and a half until the next one. So, three lunches, three breakfasts, two dinners, and trail snacks. Shopping List Instant […]

South America Gear List

This is the gear that I had at the end of traveling in South America.

South America Bikepacking Kit update

(In the unlikely event that even one or two people care.) This is what I started with. Since saying goodbye to the backpack and its water bladder, I’ve abandoned*: – t-shirt – gore-tex shorts (no […]

Kit list for South America (every last thing)

Always the tension between thinking you need and needing, between the grudging acceptance of discomforts and the abstract knowledge that carrying less makes a difference, between not caring that you seem like a disgusting lunatic […]

Gathering Gear

Picturing the destination, half remembered images seen or interpolated from descriptions in books read while comfortable on a couch long before ever imagining I’d visit there. Reading a few other people’s packing lists and past […]

Pugsley Bikepacking Setup

Setup for a light load on demanding terrain (and just an adaptation of the 29er main bikepacking bike). Revelate Designs seat bag, gas tank, and gear sling with pocket. Jandd frame bag, modified to mount […]