There’s no shortage of quotes on change, and probably the most famous of these came from a Greek philosopher named Heraclitus - “The only constant in life is change.” There’s really no other option but to accept this as true and try to implement maybe the only other quote that could be more famous about change from a fella named Gandhi and “be the change you wish to see in the world.” Which is why we’re launching this new 3-part series to introduce our people to the concept of Bikepacking.
It seems like the landscape of cycling is changing - the equipment is obviously changing with
modern geometry and the introduction of totally new styles like gravel bikes and e-assist, but the less obvious is the psyche of the new(ish) type of rider, the person looking for more adventure. In the last few years, there seems to have been an explosion of people a little less concerned with making faster times and clocking in longer distances in exchange for sports like Bikepacking.
Bikepacking is still relatively new, so if you don’t know what it is, that’s fine. It’s essentially a mash up between backpacking (taking all your camping gear in a backpack and spending some amount of days hiking) and bike touring (a multi-day ride traditionally on roads). What you end up with is all of your camping gear loaded onto your bike for multiple days at a time, typically riding mostly gravel or fire roads, and/or single track mountain bike trail with some regular roads to connect it all, usually in pretty remote areas. It comes with a sense of freedom that nothing else I’ve experienced can come close to.
So in the spirit of change, we are organizing our first Bikepacking experience geared toward getting people introduced to doing self-supported multi-day cycling adventures. There will be 3 separate events geared towards teaching people how to get started with little or no experience doing overnight trips, but somewhat comfortable riding a bike 20-30 miles at a time and we’re also encouraging all experience levels to participate. The first part is what we’re calling the “Brain Dump” - we’ll have plenty of examples of gear, equipment, and even food where you can get an idea of what to bring. The second part will be called the “Dress Rehearsal” - we will all load up our gear on our bikes and go for a test ride so you will know if you want to make any final changes to your setup, and finally, it will be time for the “Real Deal”. We have a place lined up to camp in Pfafftown with a route TBD, but will include a mix of surfaces, and ride back to the start the next day.
It’s going to be a ton of fun, and I’m so excited to share this with everyone! Please use the links below to get tickets, we will need a headcount, and please consider donating some sweet cash to help out with costs. I hope to see you there!