Welcome to the Bikepacking Forum - roll call

[francois]

I think the time has come.

Who are you and what do you want to see in this forum?

[SelfPropelledDevo]

Devian Gilbert
2010 (i think) Banff to Butte, MN in 7 days at my attempt for the Tour Divide.
I've done a fair amount of "bike packing", etc...
my ride of choice is a custom Hunter 29er

what to see in the forum?

gear is always a hot topic.

actual domestic places to ride and camp is a commodity worth highlighting, especially in these economic times.

explicit and tacit knowledge of the craft.
this is to say- explicit: technical data and specific procedures of how to use.
tacit: the experience of the "doing".

a lot of bike packing comes down to being able to actually use the gear, knock out the miles, not get hurt, and crunch the numbers to achieve the goals.

however... the tacit side of the craft is your own personal inner journey. I suppose an analogy would be something like... do you really need to carry a tent and thermarest inflatable mattress. Maybe your own personal being can be such that "the yoga, or asana" that you can engage, is such that you can simply lay on the ground and go to sleep.

maybe you don't need to carry a stove because you are proficient in micro-twig fires, etc...

francis: good on you for bringing the Bike Packing Forum to MTBR!

in the world of bicycles, we have touring.
in the united states we have the Tour Divide.
out of the bike packing world, I firmly believe that "touring" will never be the same.

devo

[AZ.MTNS]

Here to learn, hopefully make some worthy contributions. Ride the Divide is the goal. Thanks for the forum Francis.

[SlowerThenSnot]

5 time divide starter... yet to finish

done most of the ctr just not in one wack

KTR

lotsa dirt road exploring in AZ, CO, UT, WY, MT, NM

Most of the time ride fixed

Just love being way out there weather its dirt roads or single track

happy to share my .02

[nubcake]

Chris Murray

Aspiring CTR racer for this year and maybe TD next if CTR goes well. Also hope to do an extended family tour in a few years. I just like the long slow burn.

I just hope to learn from those who have been there, done that.

[sfuller]

I'd be interested in hearing about camping, cooking and survival skills. Gear is good to, but how to travel light and still be able to survive, eat, and handle emergencies t is something I don't recall seeing a lot of discussion about.

[Outsider]

Finally the forum that has been missing for so long. This will probably be the most interesting forum, along with the fatbike forum, for me.

I'm a forty year old, from Finland on the top of Europe, an ordinary weekend warrior with thirty nights out last year.

Trip reports, techniques, gear and general subject related discussions will probably be the main contents of this forum and that is fine by me.

[ranier]

ranier - currently in Germania but heading back to CONUS this year

I did a couple weekenders with a tarp and lightweight sleeping bag. Very bare bones and only in nice weather (read: no rain). Looking to glean some knowledge from other experienced bikepackers.

Thanks for the new forum francois!

[ImaFred]

Las Vegas, Nv for me. I've only been doing this for a few months (3 outings so far ) so really looking forward to the discussions on gear and the trip reports especially the ones from az, ca, nv, and ut.

[rusheleven]

Here!

Ready to see some gear reviews and setups.

Hoping to learn lots and provide what I can.

[woody.1]

Originally Posted by AZ.MTNS

Here to learn, hopefully make some worthy contributions. Ride the Divide is the goal. Thanks for the forum Francis.

Same as above.
I will be at the start June 8th, 2012 for 'The Tour Divide Race". I am a 53 year old rookie and I have been reading everything I can find on it so keep it coming.

I have done worldwide bike tours; Tibet, Northern India, Nepal, and Peru.

My ride is a 2010 Moots Mooto-X Ybb.

Gear reviews with photos of bike setup would be great as well

And again thanks Francis.

Woody

[rockcrusher]

Awesome! My riding buddies and I have always bandied about the idea of an overnighter on the AZ trail, which being family guys is always a bit difficult to coordinate and being in AZ means summer is out of the question but perhaps I can learn from this forum enough to get us all out and back!

I subscribed to the entire forum. See what I can learn, thanks FC!

[TobyGadd]

I'm here to learn, share, and otherwise delve into the joys of bikepacking. I'm a 2010 CTR finisher, a 2011 CTR non-finisher, and a 2011 Kokopelli 24-hour finisher. I'm never going to win a bikepacking race, but I train and ride for the adventure and enlightenment that can be found by pushing hard into the unknown. Thanks to Francis for opening up a new forum!

[kray]

I would be interested in knowing some weekend warrior type places to go, including "must-see" spots. Also, some family friendly (i.e. can tow a trailer with a youngin') spots. I move around a lot and want to raise my kids in the outdoors.

Maybe a best locations by region type of thing?

[DenisVTT]

Denis aka Ze Diesel.

- Bikepacking adventures:

- 2011: Tour Divide. From Antelope Wells, NM to Banff, AB. Finished 2nd of the northbound race. Pics here: https://picasaweb.google.com/dchazel...011Day1ToDay13 and here: https://picasaweb.google.com/dchazel...1Day14ToFinish

- 2009: Cross the French Alps. 500 miles, 10 days. Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/dchazelle/Alps2009

- 2008: Cross the Jura Mountains and the French Alps. 800 miles, 17 days. Some pics here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/dchazel...heAlpsDay6To10
https://picasaweb.google.com/dchazel...TheAlpsDay1To5

- 2007: Southern part of the Great Divide route, from Antelope Wells, NM to Cuba, NM. 600 miles, 10 days. Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/dchazel...ivideNewMexico

- 2005: Cross the Central Mountains of France. 500 miles, 10 days. We had some car support so I'm not sure it qualifies as pure bikepacking.

Bikes:

- Niner MCR (aka Froggy). Was my TD bike.
- Ventana El Rey
- Gary Fisher Rig

Currently living in the MD burbs of Washington DC. Gnarly, rocky east coast riding whenever not bikepacking.

PS: used to be a longtime semi-lurker under another name but this new forum got my interest rekindled.

[Go Kart Motzart]

First, I want to thank Francois for creating the new forum. Second, thanks to bikepacking.net for drawing so much attention to the sport and creating a venue for me to learn and live vicariously through others adventures the last few years.

I've only done two quick overnighters but I hope to expand on that this year but even if I can't, the planning and daydreaming are pretty fun, too.

[Stosh (Canada)]

Francois Thank you for the new forum.

Only a couple of overnighters back in the mists of time Before Children. But a desire to read and learn for the future when the children have left.

Stosh

[plantdude]

Never done any off road bikepacking (but lots of ultralight backpacking). I often do day-long adventures and want to lengthen them into multi-days trips. I'm Interested in places to explore this "discipline" within reasonable distance from the bay area.

Given the surge of interest in events, bikes/gear, and threads, it seems like a good time to start this forum.

[campredcloudbikes]

Jeremy Cleaveland (jeremy11 over on bikepacking.net)
Some adventures and custom bikepacking bag stuff can be found through the link in my signature.

CTR is high on my radar for 2012... but we'll see... gotta work up to that one or just start and see what happens. I did the last 120 miles in 39 hours last August. Hardest ride of my life...

Nowadays I'm just into Mechanical Enginerd school about neck deep.... but am a daily bike commuter (14+ miles/day).

This should be a fun forum. Trip reports, gear setups, etc.

[dream4est]

This forum has been overdue since 2004, when the coverage here of the Great Divide Race basically started the sport.

We have Bikepacking.net, and now we have an MTBR forum. Great. I feel this forum will be the most popluar one here before long.

Finished the CTR twice. AZT 750 once. AZT 300 once.ITT'd the CT in 2008. Failed in the CTR once. Failed the Grand Loop three times. A lot of practice runs and overnighters as well.

My store in Idaho Springs, CO sells the only all-natural mineral oil-free chamois cream on the market (Geronimo Pain Cream). It doubles as a super strong pain cream. It was specifically designed for bikepack races.

I am planning to finish the AZT 750 again in April. It is a very rare jewel and as hard a race as one can imagine. The Grand Canyon hike is off the charts difficult.

[donmeredith74]

Glad to see we finally have a dedicated forum. I'm looking forward to seeing and sharing adventures!

HSH.jpg

bikepacking!.jpg

[willapajames]

Long time backpacker (AT thru-hike in 2000), even longer-time cyclist (did my first mtb racing in the early 90's), but oddly enough, only combined the two on a few short occasions, many years ago. Time that ought to change!

I'd like to see local trips. I live in Vermont, and I've been trying to think of some fun multi-day offroad trips, but there just aren't that many long stretches of trail up here. Plenty of dirt road though... need to do more exploring this year...

[pimpbot]

Originally Posted by francois

I think the time has come.

Who are you and what do you want to see in this forum?

Is.

AWESOME!!

Thanks for building this forum, Francois!!

I was checking out bikepacking.net, but seem to always forget it's there.

I nominate SelfPropelledDevo for moderator, if he's willing.

Me, I've never done an overnight bikepacking trip. I've just been reading, gathering info, and I did a couple of fully loaded test rides. Cinderella in JMP is a blast when loaded up with 20 pounds of gear, no suspension and rim brakes, I'll tell 'ya.

I'm hoping to do an overnighter from home to Mt. Diablo when the weather warms up and the trails dry out a bit. When I gain more confidence, I'll do a multi-nighter.

Here's one of my test runs, grossly overpacking

[Wild Wassa]

G'day. My name is Warren Hudson, I'm from Oz.

Exploring where I live on the Southern Tablelands, I find most enjoyable. In this neck-of-the-bush it is reasonably hilly. I've no concept of what riding long distances on flat ground is like because I cant see over the Great Dividing Range.

One day I might make it into the desert, which covers about 3/4 of the Continent of Australia. Until then I'l keep hiking the bike along the old trails of the Divide.

My set-up is designed for unsupported touring, for up to 8 weeks at a time. This has come about because there tends to be (for much of the time) no where to adequately resupply. One of the joys of off-road touring here is that there are few people. I always tour solo because I enjoy doing photography ... photography takes time.






What would I like to see on the Forum? ... what you guys see.


Warren.

[grandsalmon]

More thanks Francis for getting forum up!

Mr T. Henderson here, and I am a Bikepacking, Bike Expedition nut:

As I have said before, it is actually pretty natural to add some extra gear, and spend a night or two+ on your mountain bike. I live right on the border of Tahoe National Forest, between two rivers, and have spent many an overnight- either along the water or up on a ridge, or both. There is virtually no limit to the distance I want to ride. When in another country, I just look for the same thing- what a way to see new places, and cultures. Adventure always guaranteed, and never a question on how I am spending my time on this Earth.


One of my favorites was a single nighter on the Tiger Leaping Gorge Trail China.
I'll never doubt my wanderlust ever again.


Back pack is filled w only my 2.5 lb sleeping bag, and my down jacket, lazily unstuffed. Just in case you thought that was a huge load; too many lbs will just kill your shoulders-



Looking forward to everybody else's bikepacking experiences!