Bikepacking for NOOBs

[RedRider3141]

So, after watching a YT video, I got an itch to try backpacking. I already have a bike, backpacking gear, dry bags how hard can it be?

Wow, sooo many choices for setups/gear. I guess when you have more than just your back to store it it kind of broadens the options. I've already given into buying a rear frame rack but I'm debating/circling how to proceed.

I'm hoping to start with a shake down ride this fall with a Lake Georgetown overnighter (10-15 miles/day) just to keep it simple and local. Ideally I'd like to spend <$300 to get the bags/gear I need to do this. If all goes well, I'll consider investing more for longer routes. 

What are y'alls recommended setups?

[St.Bernardo]

Will be keeping an eye on this.  Wanna try it as well, but life.......

[AntonioGG]

Paging @GFisher

[bradtubgin]

This is the setup we used at big bend.  We basically used a small backpack, front roll and my bike had a tail bag.  The frame bags had the heaviest stuff with the water getting as low slung as we could get away with.  Keep the front bag lighter.  

[CBaron]

Back in the HH days, some customers (who were friends of mine), would have occasional gear-gatherings.  They'd show up to the shop (which sat on a 1/2 acre) with their bike loaded down with their setup.  It was a show and tell of sorts to help newbs and each other with ideas and best practices.  Addtionally, I know that frequently their shake down rides would consist of heading out 'into the wild' of Austin trails and simply spending the night somewhere...CP, BCGB, etc..  

I've not really done legit bikepacking (even though I followed the sport closely), but on a few occasions my teen son and I would throw a hammock into our pack, grab a burrito and muffin and ride off into some of the 'unmentionables' to spend the night on the side of the trail in some obscure spot.  We'd setup hammocks, eat burrito, talk about stuff, sleep, wake up, eat muffin, and then take the scenic route home....it was essentially a basic S24O with my son.

@sherpaxc @Mattlikesbikes@GFisher

 

 

[WhoAmI]

On 8/15/2023 at 8:06 PM, RedRider3141 said:

 

I'm hoping to start with a shake down ride this fall with a Lake Georgetown overnighter (10-15 miles/day) just to keep it simple and local. Ideally I'd like to spend <$300 to get the bags/gear I need to do this. If all goes well, I'll consider investing more for longer routes. 

 

 

Have you ridden The Goodwater Trail before?  Regardless, I don't think you'll likely be riding trails as technical as LGT when bike-packing....but maybe you will.  A good shakedown at LGT would be riding from Tejas Camp on the north side of the lake until you reach the technical climb about 5 to 5.5 miles in then turn around and ride back.  

 

 

[RedRider3141]

On 8/19/2023 at 10:17 PM, WhoAmI said:

Have you ridden The Goodwater Trail before?  Regardless, I don't think you'll likely be riding trails as technical as LGT when bike-packing....but maybe you will. 

No... I did hike it From Cedar Breaks Park to Cedar Hollow; so I am familiar with the south side technical bits , it's one of the reasons I wanted to try it on a bike. 😅

I was hoping to go from Cedar Breaks Park to Tejas, Tejas to Cedar Brakes, clockwise around the Lake. Optional would be to cut it in half depending on how the techy part goes. Cedar Brakes to Cedar Hollow, then Cedar Hollow to Tejas. I'm already planning on being dropped off/ picked up so that's not a problem. The big thing I'm figuring out is packing strategy. The gear isn't new to me but I'm used to putting 100% of it on my back. 

Long term I'd like to find single track bikepacking but that may be wishful thinking in this state. 

[June Bug]

Last year we were in SW Colorado for several months.  I'd had my eye on a dirt road in the Dolores River canyon bottom for an inaugural bikepacking trip.  

We had pre packed, so we unloaded fully packed bikes and  started in late afternoon.

We had so much water -- bottles on fork, two liters in the frame pack, maybe a liter in a feed bag on the handle bars.

And off we go in the late afternoon sunshine.  It wasn't too hard to pedal a loaded bike.  

And then we hit the first giant mud puddle.  This one has just  barely enough room to squeak by along the edge. 

Every 75 yards or so there was another giant puddle and some had no way to get by. We tried bushwhacking. The oak brush was thick and it wasn't a satisfactory solution. 

Then, I tried riding around the edge of one last monster puddle, my front tire slid down into the soup about 2 feet from the end.  It was so deep and there was so much ooze at the bottom that I couldn't pedal out. I put a foot out, and the water and ooze were almost knee deep.  

After that, we pedaled on a bit, found a nice campsite and settled in for the night and slept well. 

In the morning we pedaled back to the car. The puddles had receded just enough that we could ooch around the edges so got back to the car without too much trouble. 

We're in the same area now so there will be a Round Deux in three weeks or so.  The monsoons have been much more moderate this summer, so the road should be mostly dry.

The start of this ride is only about a 40 minute drive, so we'll probably do a recon for the first few miles before we return with loaded bikes. 

Edited August 22, 2023 by June Bug

[June Bug]

If you're not on tight singletrack with a lot of vegetation, I really like the rear rack with panniers.  So much easier to pack and unpack.  I have two smallish Mountain Smith panniers that are ancient but still completely serviceable; YKK zippers last forever and the fabric is still good.    Mr. June Bug bought them for some long ago bike touring trip before we were married. He uses a seat bag. 

Since last fall, I've bought the ZinBivy 25 degree Core Quilt -- light weight and compact. 

Relatively local in the state, BikepackingRoots.org just posted the 280-mile  Pine Curtain Loop.  The north end is just south of Palestine, heads south between Crockett and Lufkin, through parts of the  Davy Crockett and Sam Houston National Forests and as far south as Point Blank on Lake Livingston.  Looking at the map, it seems like the route could be cut in half (north loop, or south loop) by cutting over just a few miles on Hwy. 7 in the middle of the route.  On google maps, Hwy 7 is a two-lane highway with a good shoulder each way. 

What's amazing and quite impressive is that there is 11,000' of cumulative climbing along the route.  

Really local is the 105-mile Texas BBQ Tour Overnighter, starting and ending in Lockhart with an overnighter at Palmetto State Park.  Gravel roads and chipseal. 

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by June Bug