What Is Bikepacking and Why It’s Booming
Bikepacking is all about grabbing your bags, going somewhere special, all on your own steam and effort. It’s nights under the stars, huge amounts of food, and special sights. It’s adventure at its finest, and we highly recommend everyone try it at least once.
Bikepacking Vs Touring
Bikepacking vs touring are often two very different things. Bikepacking is often regarded as a short trip, like a weekend or a week, where you travel light and fast. Bike touring is more considered a long haul, where you might go away for a week or more on a bike loaded with more equipment.
Essentially, it can be whatever you want it to be. The freedom and challenge of self-supported travel is the key to great bikepacking and bike touring. Most people like to consider it all as just bike adventures.
Who Is Bikepacking For? (Spoiler: Almost Everyone)
Who is bikepacking for? Bikepacking is for everyone! Depending on the rider, it can look a little different. Here are our thoughts.
Gravel riders
Gravel bikes are amazing for bikepacking. They can go on and off-road, typically have mounting points for bags, and are strong with an extra level of comfort. Some of the best gravel paths are out in the wildness, and bikepacking between them is an amazing way to go.
Adventure cyclists
Adventure cyclists often find themselves going to places far away with very little in between. It’s about exploring further afield, and sometimes the only way of doing that is taking a little more gear for some rough sleeps.
Roadies looking for a break
It has become very popular in recent times for road cyclists to go away for a few days at a time. You can go down the route of an organised tour or just grab some bikepacking gear, sleep rough, or head from hotel to hotel with bikepacking kit.
Endurance fans and minimalists
For many bikepackers, the idea of long miles on the bike day after day is very appealing. Travelling light also gives an amazing minimalist feel to riding, where you only carry what you need and not always what you want.
Indoor Training for Outdoor Adventures
What a lot of cyclists don’t know is that a lot of bikepacking training is often done indoors. The best value for your time is often on a turbo trainer when preparing for an adventure and not on a trail or quiet road.
How ROUVY builds climbing, stamina, and pacing
When it comes to bikepacking, building power and strengthening muscles, tendons, and ligaments is key. Short high-intensity rides are often a great way to do this, and ROUVY is perfect for helping you make those adaptations.
Another great use of a platform like ROUVY is being able to monitor heart rate and power while riding and not being distracted by the road. Training indoors also gives the consistency that a lot of riders need and don’t get due to the weather.
Using structured training to prepare for terrain and fatigue
ROUVY has a lot of amazing features when it comes to how to prepare for bikepacking trips, but one of the best is the structured training. It’s not just about the single session but the whole program. ROUVY can help simulate fatigue from riding day after day.
It can also help with those big climbs and rough paths, giving you the ability to train at high power to get that extra boost you will need on steep, rough, and loose paths you might be struggling to get up on a loaded bike.
Specific ROUVY routes to simulate loaded climbs
What we are finding with a lot of bikepackers and adventure cyclists is that in modern times, they are using ROUVY to go to their favorite climbs they wish to conquer and virtually go up them to see how it is going to feel and to make sure they are ready to attack them. How to prepare for bikepacking trips? Well, go up virtually first.
How to Plan Your First Bikepacking Trip
Planning your first bikepacking trip is such a fun and exciting experience. I always start by thinking about where in the world I want to go and how I would like to get there. The finer details then follow as below.
Choosing a route: distance, terrain, elevation
A great tool for choosing a route is Komoot. You can pick a starting point and a finishing point, and stops along the way. You can choose the type of bike you are using, and then it will bring up lots of options and known landmarks. Through the application, you can even see the different terrain.
Finding campsites and places to resupply
With bikepacking routes, you always need to ensure that you can get rest and resupply. For myself, picking good campsites or hotels along the way alongside shops and resupply helps me not worry and stay focused on where I need to be at all times. You can find all you need to know from Google Maps.
Weather, timing, and backup plans
When it comes to weather, timing, and backup plans, I always recommend checking the weather before you leave, allowing 20% extra time over what you think you need, and also having a backup plan. It might be a person close to help, or multiple points on the route where you can stop early and get home.
Bikepacking Gear 101: What You Need
Bike setup: gravel, MTB, touring
The right bike for the route is important. If you are on the road, a gravel, touring, or road bike. On the trails, a mountain bike or possibly a gravel bike. Touring, you might want a touring bike, a hybrid, or a gravel bike.
Bags: saddle, frame, handlebar, top tube
On the bikepacking market, you will find lots of different bike bag options from saddle, frame, top tube, handlebar, and even rucksacks to suit bikepackers. The most convenient are the top tube and frame, as these can be easily accessed while riding.
Clothing, tools, navigation, hydration, sleep system
Riding clothes and casual clothes for each occasion. A good navigation system, such as a Garmin or Wahoo, will send you in the right direction, and a backup on your phone helps. Taking a tent or bivvy bag, a down mat, and a sleeping bag goes a long way.
Packing light vs. packing safe
As a bikepacking expert, a question I am commonly asked is about how little to take. I would always recommend the essentials and anything to do with safety, such as high-visibility clothing and lights, over anything else.
What to Pack for Bikepacking: The Checklist
What to pack for bikepacking is the most commonly asked question when getting started in adventure cycling. When it comes to a beginner bikepacking checklist, there’s quite a long list of goods you might need.
You will find many a bikepacking gear list, such as bikepackist or bikepacking list. Using these, you can check that you have everything you need.
You will also find great bikepacking tips on these websites, not just a great bikepacking gear list, but tips on nutrition and a beginner bikepacking checklist when it comes to route planning, and a gravel bikepacking setup.
Top Bikepacking Tips from Experienced Bikepackers
As a very experienced bikepacker, I love to share my thoughts and tell people exactly what they need to know. Here are my best bikepacking advice tips!
- Don’t take too much more than you need. It slows you down and makes the work much harder. Best bikepacking advice over anything: travel efficiently.
- Optimized your routine by eating and drinking regularly, sleeping as much as you can, and resting throughout the day.
- The best trips come from proper planning. Try not to just wing it and do the right preparation beforehand.
- Comfort over speed should always be your thought. Can’t go fast if you can’t stay on the bike.
- Safety is everything. High-visibility clothing and bright, long-lasting lights go a very long way.
- Always let someone know where you are and where you are going. Find my friends on your phone is a fantastic application. For very remote trips, a spot tracker.
- Try not to treat it as just a bike ride, but also a camping trip too.
Nutrition & Recovery on the Road
Nutrition and recovery are such an important aspect when you are bikepacking tips. The biggest rule to follow for nutrition is to eat before you're hungry and drink before you are thirsty.
Eating the right foods also helps. With bikepacking, it’s important to eat a bit more normally than racing. Proper meals and foods that are not going to upset your stomach are key. Focus heavily on carbohydrates and protein for the best performance.
Recovery is also an important part of bikepacking. Some days you might want to go lighter, or rest, other days you might have longer days. Managing your body and listening when to push through and when to stop makes a difference.
From ROUVY to the Real World: Building Endurance Indoors
Building endurance isn’t just riding big miles. It’s about sweet spot training and just getting consistent time in the saddle. If you do want some big indoor training for bikepacking, here’s the best ROUVY routes you need to know about.
Which ROUVY routes are best for bikepacking prep
Challenge Roth (Germany, triathlon course) Massive distance: ~177.9 km with 1,663 m elevation gain. Excellent for long-ride pacing and mental endurance.
Challenge Taiwan (Taitung, Taiwan) ~89.2 km, ~581 m elevation gain, ride time 2.5–3.5 h — scenic coastal endurance ride.
Puerto de Hazallanas (Sierra Nevada, Spain) ~13.2 km climb, ~837 m elevation gain, avg gradient ~6%, ride time 1.25–1.5 h — ideal for sustained sweet-spot efforts with steeper spikes up to 16%.
Sa Calobra (Mallorca) ~11.9 km climb, ~669 m elevation gain, avg gradient ~6%, ride time 1–1.25 h — great for threshold training.
Sella Ronda (Dolomites, Italy) ~50.6 km loop, ~1,704 m elevation gain, ride time 3–3.5 h — combines multiple alpine climbs and descents for a realistic touring simulation.
Grossglockner (Austria) ~49.4 km, ~2,437 m elevation gain, ride time 3–4 h — a massive climbing challenge for pure endurance.
Col du Télégraphe – Galibier (France) ~35.4 km, ~2,092 m elevation gain, ride time 3–4 h — legendary two-part alpine climb with relentless gradients.
Kona Dreaming (Hawaii, USA) ~180.1 km, ~1,316 m elevation gain, ride time 5–8 h — longest official ROUVY course, ideal for ultra-distance prep.
One-hour simulation workouts
Another option is to do one-hour simulation workouts on ROUVY for your indoor training for bikepacking. They are going to simulate some amazing routes to take you away and get you excited about your next adventure. For more endurance, you could do multiple rides one after the other.
How to train with bags or simulate weight indoors
Simulation of extra weight on the bike is best done outdoors. There are some options, such as adding the bags and using a rocker plate, but again, best for outdoors than anything else.
Final Thoughts: You’re Closer Than You Think
ROUVY is an excellent platform to get your training in for bikepacking. It offers the perfect rides, not just to keep you motivated and entertained but to give you that inspiration to see and experience more. Enjoy the miles!
