Bikepack Racing 101: presented by Adjunct Professor Ted King
ad·junct | ˈaˌjəNGkt | adjective • (of an academic post) attached to the staff of a college in a temporary or assistant capacity
** Forewarning: I am a bikepacking novice. Not entirely a rookie, but take my advice with a grain of salt. **
In a recent conversation with VeloNews’ Betsy Welch for this article, I was deep in the throes of packing for the upcoming Arkansas High Country Race. Packing was already months in the making and despite such an extended period of time dedicated to diligent squaring things away, I still ended up leaving for Arkansas a half-hour behind schedule thanks entirely to the time it takes to obsessively prepare. Betsy, experienced in bikepacking far more than yours truly and hearing just a touch of my angst on the phone made the point, “Half the adventure of bikepacking is the packing.”
I have a hard time seeing bikepacking becoming a preeminent genre of cycling, however taking the current pulse on the world at large (read: a global pandemic) and seeing more and more interest in this burgeoning side of the sport as a way to escape and seek adventure, it’s growing like gangbusters. I therefore thought I’d offer up some of my bikepacking tips, tricks, and lists in hopes of helping you explore even more on two wheels.
Packing
Do you have an event on your long term horizon? Tip number one: start packing.
Bags:
Real estate is at a premium. While you may want to bring your espresso maker and favorite down pillow, the reality is you’re going to have to fit it all into some tight spaces. Converse to overpacking, when you have a fully weighed down bike, you’ll quickly remember you actually want to toss out most of your belongings. Pack efficiently and pack light.
I used Apidura’s lineup of Expedition packs to store all my goods. I had the Handlebar Pack, Frame Pack, Top Tube Pack, and Saddle Pack. These are waterproof so you can rest assured your gear is dry, plus they have some great air venting features that allow you to pack down your gear as tightly as possible. There are good guides on Apidura’s site to help you pick the appropriate sizes, plus the customer service department over there is top notch and very willing to help.
Sleeping Gear - Bivy:
A bivy is your overnight homestead. Call it a personal tent for one. If you’re new to this and are thinking that you’re just day-tripping your ride with the very very outside possibility of having to spend the night out in the elements, then an emergency bivy can literally be a lifesaver. S.O.L. is the ironically named go-to in this instance — no, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t stand for $#it out of luck.
I wanted something a bit more robust, so after a good deal of internet sleuthing, I opted for the Helium Bivy by Outdoor Research. Its combination of light, packable, waterproof protection made it a rock solid choice. There are good reviews of this bivy online which helped me say yes to it, plus it doesn’t entirely break the bank. There are far more solid models that double in price from the Helium, but they seemed more than I needed.
Sleeping Gear - Sleeping Bag:
If it’s warm, then you can get away without a sleeping bag. Heck, you could get away without a bivy if it’s really warm enough. That said, if it’s warm enough then it’s probably summer, so good luck with insect protection. Get a bivy.
During our James Bay Descent, warmth was mandatory with moisture regulation a close second. We slept in a massive tent, not a bivy, but we used sleeping bags with overbags made by the craziest outdoorsman I know, Dan Timmerman of Timmermade. Given temperatures expected to be in the 30s overnight in Arkansas (as opposed to -40 in Canada), I opted for my Timmermade Overbag as my sleeping bag. The synthetic insulation means it won’t be weighed down by moisture that inevitably collects overnight. It packs down tight, although not quite as small as a true down bag. It was terrific.
Sleeping Gear - Clothing:
When the sun was up, we saw temperatures range from high-40s to upper-60s. As soon as the sun sets, though, those deep valleys of the Ozark Mountains quickly drop into the 30s and even 20 degree temps along the cool streambanks. Your body is a furnace while working, but as soon as you stop, you need to be thinking of temperature control. When it was time to call it a day, I’d immediately throw on a down jacket and since I’m a sucker for LLBean, I opted for my 850 down jacket.
The Alpine Hat by UnTapped kept my head toasty. Bibs off, because that just seems more sanitary, and I’d toss on some superlight sweatpants.
Hardware - Cycling Tools:
Pump. Mandatory. I brought my Lezyne Road Pump which is the pinnacle of lightweight efficiency since there’s no lost air seeping out with each pump.
I brought two CO2s which are entirely unnecessary weight. Maybe helpful if your event comes down to a sprint, but that’s unlikely in a multi-day event.
Multi-Tool. I have a Cannondale multi-tool that has longer than average allen tools. The last thing you want, as pointed out to me by Jay Petervary, is a side of the road mechanical at which point you discover your allen tools are too short for the job. This particular multi-tool I brought has a chaintool in the event you need to break and/or reattach a busted chain. You’re totally up a creek without a chaintool, so be sure to have one.
I brought 2 tubes and a patch kit. I didn’t use any of my tubes nor patch kit, but you can rest assured if you don’t have it, you’ll need it. This is an area I’d rather overpack than be walking for miles on end.
I’m prone to frigid cold hands. I can usually muscle a tire off my rim without tools, but if it’s cold and you’re tired and your hands and arms are worked from riding 20 hours per day, you might benefit from a simple tire lever. Not necessary, just a thought.
Cutting down a tree with a paperclip is not simple, so in order to out-equip MacGyver himself, I brought a Leatherman. Never used it, but I don’t regret this decision.
Lube. There’s no rule of thumb, but let’s say that your ride is more than two days and/or in wet conditions, I’d suggest you bring lube. Put it in a plastic baggy so you don’t lubricate all your gear.
Electronics - Lights:
Thanks to some terrific guidance by Bobby Wintle, here’s how we went about the powerplant that is my bike. I went with a SON Dynamo Hub laced up to a stunning set of Zipp Firecrest 303 wheels. This is then partnered with a Cambridge, Massachusetts based Sinewave Beacon light, which is so darn smart that it has a USB port in the back for charging.
The other pro move if you’re a Garmin user is to get the Garmin external battery. You then plug the Beacon into the external battery, then battery is constantly being charged, it’s constantly charging your Garmin so the GPS is topped off, and best yet, you have an addition port to use from the external battery to charge everything else — your phone, your other lights, your eTap battery, whatever.
I brought a single spare eTap battery plus the eTap battery charging station. I brought two spare 2032 batteries in case a powermeter or shifter needed some electronic TLC.
iPhone cord, USB cables, multi-pronged wall block so you can charge all these things ASAP when you do find an AC wall outlet. I also had a GoPro. Standby for video content.
A headlamp is pretty key, especially in the late fall when sunlight is in short supply. I went with the Fenix PD-36. Long battery life, decently lightweight, easy to use, it’s a great tactical light that I ended up relying on a lot.
Food/hydration:
My dear friend Buck Miller pointed out that when you wake up in the frigid cold after three hours of sleep, the first thing you’re going to want is a hot cup of coffee. Realizing the truth to that, at the last minute I went out and bought a JetBoil Flash. By extension, you’ll also want a coffee cup of some kind plus coffee. Starbucks Vias are my tried and true, but more and more companies are making tasty instant coffee.
I suggest you get your hands on pouch of the Backpackers’ Pantry Three Cheese Mac & Cheese. Outside of some luxurious macaroni and cheese that was topped with lobster, I’ve never had better mac and cheese in my life. Seriously. Give it a try and please report back.
A lengthy camp spoon is critical. A bowl is helpful if you’re toting along oatmeal or other food. You’ll always want a cache of maple syrup, whether it’s for your oatmeal or for your maple mac & cheese. Clearly no better product exists in your entire packing list than Maple UnTapped. No such thing as too much of a good thing in this arena.
On a trip like this, we were sporadically pedaling in and out of small towns. Stores may or may not exist in these towns and depending on the time of day, they maybe closed even if Google Maps tells you they’re open. So having a safe supply of food to keep you plugging along is mandatory. Here are my favorite nuts with the added boost of carbohydrates. One of humankind’s greatest achievements, so long as you’re not vegetarian/vegan, is beef jerky.
If you find yourself thirsty out on the trail, then a water filter is pretty darn important. I carried a Sawyer Mini, which is a fun tool to have with you on any ride that doesn’t even go over 24 hours.
Clothes - Kit:
Obviously your specific attire will change depending on when and where you’re riding, but the basics are foundational.
I’ve worn a lot of kit in my life and in my humble yet experienced opinion, Velocio makes the best kit on the planet. In particular, they’re renown for their exceptionally comfortable chamois, which is a rather important piece of the puzzle. Any of their bibs will suit you well. I went with Concept Bib Shorts.
Given the temps, I had a sleeveless as well as long sleeve Merino 160 baselayer.
Given the fluctuation of temperatures and since I love wool, I opted for the Merino Concept Jersey. It’s not the first time I’ve declared it my favorite jersey of all time, so I’ll say it again: it’s my favorite jersey of all time. Supremely soft and comfortable, wool makes it an un-stinky piece of attire even after hours of wear time; bonus, it just looks great.
Standard arm warmers and leg warmers were my go-to (although if you look super duper closely in this photo, my right arm warmer is a bit janky. That’s because it’s a sock. I somehow lost my right armwarmer around the same time that I realized I had two pairs of socks while only one pair was necessary. So I rejiggered one sock into an armwarmer). I figured knee warmer were overkill and it was never going to be the case where my mid-calf was over or under-heated.
I had a Signature Long Sleeve Jersey, which in combination with the long sleeve baselayer plus my Ultralight Rain Jacket, I was golden if it ever were to precipitate and I was very well protected and toasty for the cold parts of the day.
I had a Wind Vest in fire red which is pretty darn hi-vis.
Gloves are something I’d highly suggest given you’ll want some handlebar vibration dampening as the hours you’ll log approach hundreds. Additionally you’ll want to keep you noggin warm, so anything in the cap and glove department will be a benefit to you.
ROKA makes a wide variety of sunglasses. I considered a pair of daytime sunnies and a nighttime set of clear lenses, but for simplicity I’m glad I went with a spiffy yet easy set of GP-1x with a photochromatic lens.
Anything else?
Vitamin I: ibuprofen came in handy with some niggling pain now and again.
A travel toothbrush and toothpaste.
Maps of the route. You don’t want your GPS to conk out, but you really don’t want your GPS to conk out and not have the appropriate map.
Earplugs. Ignorance is bliss, so it’s nice to hear nothing than the coyotes howling nearby to you at night.
Chapstick. My lips got fried out on course. It wasn’t particularly dry nor windy, so I think it comes down to endless exposure and chronically being just a touch dehydrated.
WHOOP. I loved tracking my data and seeing how hard this dang ride was. But it was also insightful in terms of sleep and daily strain. (And if you’re interested in trying it, then use this link.)
Electric tape.
Garmin inReach or other tracking device. It was the rules to have one out on course. You don’t want to hit the SOS button, but you don’t want to have to hit it and not have one.
Hand sanitizer. ‘Cause that’s 2020 in a nutshell.
Full disclosure, some of these aforementioned companies are sponsors of mine while many of them are not. It’s both convenient and a blessing that I work with the best companies in the biz and so in hindsight, I don’t think I’d pack anything more or less… except those CO2s.
Just a little bit more
For my very own King of the Ride podcast episode that covers the Arkansas High Country Race with question submitted by you and hosted by my wife Laura, click here for any type of player, or here if you’re an Apple user.
Some articles were penned up on the event: