Three years ago, I asked my husband if he had any dreams that he hadn't accomplished yet. One year later, we packed up our stuff in boxes and boarded a plane to Argentina. My fault for asking, really :)

21 months ago, we started riding from Ushuaia, and we've just finished our ride in the interior of Alaska. The initial draw was the adventure, cycling across incredible landscapes and getting to know different cultures. But it's true what they say: It's really the people that shape your journey. Faith in humanity: restored ✔️

Bikes: Surly Ogres

Tires: 29 x 2.6 (sometimes 2.4 or 2.5 was the maximum we found in South or Central America)

Drivetrain: 1 by 10

Brakes: Started out with Avid BB5, but brake pads were difficult to find and we ended up swapping to hydraulic brakes.

Biggest struggle: Headwinds. Going north to south makes more sense in that way :)

Budget: We averaged $1000 / month for the two of us- sometimes more, sometimes less.

Inspiration: So many! Pedals and Puffins have an incredible blog about cycling the Americas, the videos of Greg, Tristan, Dan and Iohan are sublime, the books of WeLeaf and Martijn Doolaard... and honestly, each and every person we met along the road was inspirational in their own way.

One of the biggest lessons we've learned is that you can totally make your trip work with what you have! We never had the perfect setup due to losing our luggage at the beginning of the trip (LOL) and budget constraints, but it still worked out just fine. We rocked a $15 pannier for 6 months, used a laptop bag instead of a handlebar bag, and just switched stuff out along the road. Half of our stuff is from Decathlon and it worked great!

Day 9:

Slept good and finally this time it rained but the floor didn't get soaked. After a rainy night drying my tent seems nearly impossible though, does anyone have tips for that?At least today there was no rain, just a cloudy day with some sun.

Hey everyone. Currently on the tail end of a cycle trip from Scotland to Morocco. I have flights out of Marrakesh on November 17th, and I have recently read that it can be very difficult to find a bike box in Marrakesh.

With this in mind, I am wondering if anyone is out there who is flying in around that time with a bike, and if we could arrange a box-swap. Of course, tips for finding a box would be greatly appreciated as well (and more plausible haha). I have read a few other threads on this, but more info is always appreciated. Thanks!

Let me know!

Found a used (but exellent condition) Brezer Thunder for sale for 700 eur.

Show me your bikepacking setups with Thunder to get me inspired! :)

Would also consider Kona Unit X but cant find used ones in EU.

I’ve been modifying my old MTB for bikepacking, and just finished a custom rear rack. Also included a couple pics of my frame-mounted front rack. Next up are 3-pack mounts on the seat tube and a pair of top tube bosses for a gas tank.

If you could modify your bikepacking rig’s frame, what would you add/change?

so my stem is failing 😭

contacted several bikeshops in Istanbul and no luck to find a new one so far..

can someone help me with this please?

the one i am using is for 35mm handlbar and 90mm long and sits on a fox float 34.

different length would work as well!

please help me out!

Day 7.

Had a beautiful trip through the forests of Ede.

I stopped there in the city because I dropped my Jetboil and the plastic bowl broke. I bought some dried food packages and a collapsible bowl. Also stopped at a bike store to fill up my tyre. High pressure makes it roll like a dream. Flew through the city at 35km/h because the wind was good. Then slept at a nice hotel and had a good meal to rest up and wash my clothes.

Day 8.

Had to take a ferry to cross. It was cold, but no rain, so I can't complain. Eventually I saw a huge dark cloud and was looking everywhere for shelter while cycling but it moved away from me. I've been having good luck with the weather on this trip. I had a flat tyre halfway into the ride. Had to swap the tube, there was a small thorn that made its way through the casing. Was back on the road in 15 min, this bike is super easy to work on. Ate some fries and chicken at a cafeteria and set up my tent at noon for wild camping. Its starting to rain pretty bad, but I'm laying cozy, dry, and warm, with rain noises in my ear.

Hallo is there someone with experience with this long-distance bike?

How does the 1x12 work o long touring an steep climbing?

For me, planning is just as much a part of the adventure as riding a bike. I like to be on dirt roads and single tracks, but so far I have mostly used Komoot. Now, however, I want to plan routes where I am over 90% off-road - Komoot is not suitable enough for me when planning. Do you have any ideas which tools/apps are suitable for something like that? For example, through presets or satellite images or something?

Not crazy distance but got to start somewhere.

I'm now in Western Sahara and I'm a bit scared for the next part through Mauritania up to Senegal.

Is the vibe the same as Western Sahara?

I've read that kids can be horrible and everybody is just trying to rip you off...

Hello everyone!
I wanted to share a recap of a trip I recently took with my wife and our 13-month-old son. When we were planning, we couldn't find much online about other parents attempting bikepacking with a baby, so I thought sharing our experience might help or inspire others!

We crossed the Alps from Munich to Venice without e-bikes, using a mix of wild camping, established campsites, and hotels. It took us 10 days, covering over 500 km and 3,000 meters of elevation gain. It was easily one of the best experiences of my life—challenging, fun, exciting, and deeply rewarding for us as a family.

Our Setup & Gear
Bikes: Two gravel bikes (Stevens Prestige and Scott speedster gravel 10)
Trailer: Thule sport single-child trailer
Bags: Saddlebags & bikepacking bags
Camp Gear: 3-person dome tent, 3 sleeping pads, sleeping bags, and gas cooking equipment
Kid Gear: Daily essentials (clothes, diapers, baby gear), toys, a first aid kit, and a child carrier backpack (which was definitely our most unwieldy piece of luggage!), lambskin for the trailer

Life on the Road with a Baby
Daily Pace: We rode roughly 4 hours each day, split up with regular breaks. The longest continuous stretch our son spent in the trailer was about 2 hours at a time.
Trailer Life: He adapted very well! His sleep schedule aligned with our riding rhythm, so he slept through most of the motion. The trailer actually became a comforting, familiar space for him. Whenever we wild-camped, he would wander back to the trailer to play inside and around it.

The Real Challenge & Highlights
We unfortunately didn't weigh the trailer loaded with all the backpacks, gear, and our baby, but it was heavy.
The hardest part wasn't the cycling itself, it was arriving at the destination! Once you stop, you can’t just collapse and relax. Your baby is fully rested after napping all day and ready to play, all while you still need to set up camp and cook dinner. Excellent teamwork between partners is an absolute necessity here!

The Route: The trail was beautiful, incredibly diverse, and very well-signposted.

Traffic & Safety: We were most nervous about the Brenner Pass section, where you have to ride on a busy main road (Bundesstraße) for the last few kilometers. We pushed through that stretch as quickly as possible. In hindsight, most drivers were actually very respectful, and we felt relatively safe overall.

All in all, it was a truly incredible family adventure. We made the return journey using local public transport. It went surprisingly well, and after 9 hours and 3 transfers, we made it back to Munich.

I bought a Salsa Journeyer Flat Bar Deore 700c a year ago. Due to family commitments, I’m riding almost exclusively in the city now and won't be bikepacking for the next few years.

I want faster/smoother city riding and am considering switching to a drop bar and narrower road/commuter tires (e.g., 700x32c–35c).

A few questions:

1. Is this conversion worth the cost/effort on this frame geometry, or am I better off selling it to buy a native drop-bar bike?
2. If converting, what are the best budget-friendly drop-bar hydraulic shifters/levers compatible with a Deore 1x10 rear derailleur and Tektro hydraulic calipers? Or would alternative handlebars (like Surly Corner Bars or inner bar ends) be a smarter move?
3. I handle basic maintenance (chain cleaning, brake pad/rotor replacement). Is a full hydraulic hose, bleed, and drop-bar recable something I can reasonably tackle at home, or strictly shop work?

Hello Guys,

Wanted to share a lil bit about my dream bike and some touring experiences.

Due to Knee Problems last year and a followed Arthrosis Diagnosis in my right knee I decided to travel light in future.

This year unfortunately my granny experienced a stroke and I needed to visit her with my mother. I decided to take my bike with me and try to escape the situation a little bit cause two weeks without activity and the sad situation would have been bad for me and my mind.

Packed the carbon bike for 2 flights into south eastern Turkey (Kurdistan), to Mardin Airport. Mom me and my dream bike arrived safe and 2 days later I started the first trios around grandmas village and the are I didn't visit for 12 years.

Highlights where some long tours next/close to the mountains and a 2/3 day trip to Zaxo and Duhok in Kurdistan. I had some plans in my mind to go to Kurdistan by bike but Granny didn't turn better except the last 4/5 days and fortunately I met a nice Danish bikepacker on a crossroads with the car and talked to him. He was heading to Kurdistan and the next day I followed him :)

As a Kurd it was unreal for me to head into Kurdistan by bike and the first time ever. Seeing ma waving flag made me happy and seed the same time. And riding beneath a sign directing towards Bagdad was sooo crazy

Riding on Turkish/kurdisch/Iraqi highways was so crazy and also engaging. The heat was so high, 40-46°C in the shades and up to 58 in the sun. Tarmac up to ~70C

Managed the heat by a scarf around my neck and chest, wetted it every 30mins and the headwinds cooled me down. Refill breaks every 1-1,5hr and drinking hot cola became a standard I've never forget, we called it cola soup. Eating was not really possible in the heat in the bike.

The heat, the headwinds up to 40/50kmh the hills and the scenery was so epic, and I was in my home lands on my dream bike:)

After the two weeks I managed to pack my bike again for another 3 flights, nothing hurt hehe

In the end if September I decided to ride to Vienna/Bratislava from southern Germany where I'm living.

Headwinds again and a hurting back/hip made me struggle a little bit. I took some trains here and there and reached vienna and Bratislava after 4/5 days. Ate the best wiener Schnitzel in my life in Vienna and the best gulash in Bratislava.

Was the first trip for me riding on my own and for a week.

Did my first 200km and the first 300km on one ride, with a heavy night in Linz Mainstation with a shirt nap and another one in the train. Was so hard to keep riding in the morning but I managed to get my 300km in the afternoon and just one more nap haha

Changed to tubeless one month ago and for over 1200km without any trouble.

Tubeless on Reverse 32GR wheels with Schwalbe one (nonpro), the tires are nice and feel quite fast and comfortable in 32mm

Got a 11cm stem on the bike for over 2500km and guess it's more a road bike rather than a gravel right now but I love it.

I'm open to any questions :)

Hello!

I have been planning to ride this route this November for the past few months now. I have some concerns about the route post fire that burned through part of the area this summer.

Has anyone ridden this route since the fire? My main concerns are the road being open and free of fallen trees and finding camping Day 1 that isn’t surrounded by fire weakened trees. I am considering pushing to Ashwood Day 1 (although I was trying to keep this as easy and beginner friendly as possible) or biking it counter clockwise and pushing through the burn scar at the end.

I am also open to other route suggestions found within the PNW that are a similar length and beginner friendly. Please let me know if you have been through this area post fire and if it is still worth it/accessible!

Hi all

Planning my 3rd multi-day cycling for the route in the title.

First and second trips were from Hamburg > Denmark and Amsterdam > Hamburg.

Cycling an avarage of 100km a day.

This time I want to try something very different and picked this route without much knowledge about only the fact it sounds cool to do it! I will have 10 days in May and I would like to enjoy it as much as possible.

Has any of you done this route and have any tips about it ?!

Also I'm not fixed on only camping or only hostels/hotels. Very flexibel on places to stay but btter when cheaper ofc.

*edit to include how many of days.

For the better part of a decade I've been dreaming about riding the GDMBR. Well in the summer of 2026 I made it happen. Here is my story. Day 1 Banff to Spray Lake Campground Day 2 Spray Lake Campground to Canyon Campground. These 2 days would bring absolutely stunning scenery and some incredible Bikepacking. Cheers

Hello fellow bikepackers!

I’m planning to ride all the way to Nordkapp, not in one go, but over several holidays. I’ll be starting in Belgium and gradually making my way north.

For my first trip, I’m planning to ride the Limburg Divide (Geile Strecke) from Maastricht (NL) to Nijmegen (NL). I’ve already ridden the Green Divide, so from Nijmegen I’ll make up my own route through the Veluwe, finishing in Zwolle.

Now for my question: Does anyone have any tips or recommended routes for the stretch between Zwolle (NL) and Bremen (DE)?

We both ride gravel bikes, so off-road routes, gravel paths, and scenic detours are more than welcome!

Thanks in advance for any tips or recommendations.

This summer i rode alone from Regensburg (Germany) to Athens, across the Alps and the Balkan. Here are some pictures for all of you!

I started my trip in early/mid September and finished after ~3000km/41000hm and 24 riding days in early October. My route was mostly off the coast, through the national parks and scenic roads in the backcountry. The balkan countries, especially off the coast, are one of the few places in europe where mass-tourism has not arrived yet: I can only recommend them for cycling. I would estimate that my route was 80% road and 20% off-road, less gravel than i initally planned due to weather. I slept mainly on campgrounds or wild-camped. In bosnia, albania and mazedonia i also slept in some airbnbs, because it was quite cheap (20-30€) and nice in bad weather.

Originally i wanted to start my trip earlier in late August, but just before the planned start date i got a nasty infection, which delayed my departure 2,5 weeks into sepember. Fortunately, I was not really bound to rigid time window as my university doesnt mandate attendance, so i just postponed everything.

For most of my trip the weather was great for cycling: not too hot, not too cold, always inbetween 15-30 °C. Only in the mountains above ~1500 m you could feel fall approaching, e.g. the durmitor national park in Montenegro was quite windy and a little cold. Originally i planned for some more higher-altitude gravel sections in Albania and northern Greece, but due to the temperatures and some rain fronts i replanned for some lower altitude, paved alternatives (I got a little PTSD from some especially muddy gravel roads in Montenegro after some rain, it was basically a 5h hike-a-bike). Greece was nice, but quite windy in the final streches to Athens.

After arriving in Athens and spending some days sightseeing there, i rode along the cost to Patras to take a ferry to Venice. There I took a flixbus (in my experience easier with the bike than train) to munich and back home. Initially, I thought about flying home from athens, but I didnt like the prospect of searching for a cardboard box, getting it to the airport alone and so on, so I chose the more lengthy alternative with no bike box. Its also better for the environment than flying.

Before the question comes up: I had only few encounters with dogs, most of them in greece. Apart from one dog that chased me in bosnia i had no issues until the greek border. There, i had 3 separate incidents where dogs chased me on rural roads, all of them in a single day. Yes, when it happens its scary, but imo the region is too beautiful to completely avoid it because of that. My tactic against them chasing me was to just angrily shout at them off the top of my lungs, that worked most of the time to scare them off. Generally, nothing happens when they catch up to you, they just continue barking, but its scary nonetheless. If you consider a trip (especially in northern greece) and you have doubts because of the dog situation, maybe bring a spray or a ultrasonic dog-repelling device, i think its good for peace of mind. I might bring something like that on a future trip.

After having many problems with my gear on last years trip i had absolutely nothing (!) this time: no flats, nothing mechanical, no broken camping gear. I got some issues with saddle sores, which was something new to me, I didnt have any issues on my previous trips. I bought a new saddle and didnt properly test it with multiple, consecutive riding days. Learn from my basic mistake, test your saddles and bike fit properly before your trip!

if youre interested in the route, here is the gpx: http://www.mediafire.com/folder/0stbsaekxksf34u,07lvwsvevwhv59i,x206qs7c2pl78tc,7kaogic0zphnbpb,eqgps4imtg69k9e,4t4ga6zjcplzs5w,z6i23c5extw3472,fj1hwavqhqvg4t1,79q86ij36pqn2cp,1y37wgpv241ykh6,qvdrxr5us0vs9a6,8vo7xgsx1ygv7xe,jk4avxx07t7deh5,01if3mact90bgy5,nk1ptoei2n6xjzq,6zqlkan7yk2u2m8,btbyzjpsle4xzq2,meypgfnqpyxs7sx,cad82t8f8mxje7b,qrrf0dklgn7xuci,bi6f3unxlv62c6t,uqm909gnlh54sk3,el2rjensaxsy848/shared

Have a nice Weekend!

For my graduation gift, I want to bikepack around Europe. Expected dates june20- sep15. My partner and I are experienced bike packers and have friends all over Europe. Since we can travel into the schengen zone for 3 months (90 days), we'll probably just stay for that duration.

Between visiting friends I want to do fun bikepacking trail. Which do you all recommend? Which are the best?

If it helps our friends are in slovenia, sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and France. And I also would like to explore the Balkans.

TL;DR I'm looking for a versatile bike that is comfortable for long rides, feels fast on the roads, can be used for multi day touring, can ride in gravel. Was thinking of Cervelo Caledonia, now reading Cervelo Aspero might be a good option. Looking for recs from those with experience.

Lifelong cyclist, but for the past 10 or so years, I stopped doing long rides to focus on mountaineering/alpinism and ultra running (but have continued to ride frequently with bike commuting). 3 knee surgeries later, my knees are far too arthritic and trashed to do long days in the mountains. I've decided to return to cycling to scratch the endurance itch.

I'm interested in long road rides (vast majority of riding), possibly tours or bikepacking, but I'm also really curious about combining cycling and mountaineering: more days out, get to climb a bit, but less time really trashing my knees.

I live in Seattle, so riding from my home to the mountains involves mostly pavement, then riding up forest roads to trail heads. I would need to carry my climbing and overnight gear, which i have dialed into a lightweight set. These events would likely not be frequent though, no more than a handful of times a year.

So, I'm looking for something fun to ride on the roads, but capable of riding on gravel with overnight gear. I am saving up to buy something nice this spring, but can only invest in one nice bike.

It seems the caledonia can take a rear bike rack for these instances. It sounds near perfect for my needs, until I started reading about the aspero. I've read some say if you have two wheel sets, a road dedicated and a gravel dedicated, the aspero can be excellent for both: about as good on the road as the caledonia, but better on gravel. It's not clear to me the aspero can take a rear rack and carry gear though. Or, are there other options of a similar vein to recommend?

Please let me know your thoughts, thanks!

Hi! This summer I would like to go on my first bikepacking trip. I love the world of cycling, but so far I've only ever ridden city or hybrid bikes because that's what I could afford. I'm working and saving up money specifically to buy a bike for long-distance trips. How do you suggest I approach this world? Which models should I look at? How should I choose? I'm a 1.83 m (6'0") woman, do you have any general advice as well? What specifics should I look for when searching?

Thanks to anyone who answers!