Bikepacking is a way of traveling and seeing the world, often involving less asphalt and more dirt/gravel. It’s about riding somewhere with enough gear to spend the night outside. The intersection of cycling and backpacking. For the sake of one’s spine, all gear is strapped to the bike in one way or another, often forcing a minimalist approach and creative solutions. Bikepacking is much slower paced than driving, allowing for one to really take in their surroundings. It’s also faster than hiking, making it possible to still cover great distances each day and maintain a sense of momentum. The perfect happy medium. It takes traveling from point A to point B and turns it into a nimble, self-supported, and connected adventure full of discovery.
A bike provides an immensely connected experience to one’s surroundings. I vividly remember many places I’ve ridden because of their terrain and the situations I found myself in there. Much more than I ever could behind the wheel of a car because I was truly experiencing the location and what it had to offer. Every detail of the craziest hills has carved its place into my mind with each pedal stroke. This sounds miserable, and it can be, but type 2 fun is simply more memorable than type 1. It’s far easier to recall Jake, Georgia, and I carrying our bikes as we waded through a swamp along a flooded snowmobile trail as opposed to recalling the days when everything was easy and went right (those rarely happen).
While on a bike, I’ve found that one is much more approachable to those in the communities passed through. They see a sunburnt and tired soul on a bike loaded with gear and get curious. Maybe for a moment, they can live vicariously through your telling of the adventure past or yet to come. Maybe they can provide their own tellings of past adventures, stories of the community, advice for the journey ahead, or simply some much-needed conversation and human interaction. Many of these offhand interactions have become the most prominent memories of my adventures. A few of these interactions are as follows:
-From a man who looked like he was straight out of an 1800s mine, learning the history of a lake that used to be an open-pit mine
-An impromptu tour of Bob Dylan’s childhood home
-An introduction to the baker that has made the best roadside caramel rolls for ~20 years
-A tour of the sewing room at a prominent bikepacking bag company after the owner saw the homemade bags on my bike
-So many conversations at bars where I’m welcomed as just another regular (WARNING: Regulars often like to buy tired bikepackers beer, drink responsibly)
Most of these probably seem pretty insignificant and like they could easily be accomplished by driving somewhere. They certainly could. But it’s a completely different feeling to drive to a roadside bakery than to have been riding in the rain for a couple of hours and suddenly see a massive sign reading “CINNAMON ROLLS” (she made caramel rolls when I was there).
So why go bikepacking? It’s an avenue of type 2 fun that allows you to explore great distances while still taking in the views. It brings a feeling of uncertainty to each day making anything possible and instills an intense level of self-confidence. Bikepacking provides a degree of approachability that allows for the most memorable of connections and experiences.