Just joined today, Stuart says you're not fussy! Looking to start bike packing on my new Trek Stache 5. Apart from one night with borrowed gear i've not done any but got a load of mates in the lakes who do.

Trek stache 5 is a good choice!

Is yours the original Miami green one?

Welcome

Not fussy is a bit of a understatement , salt of the earth ,rough diamonds could be said but my favourite is boils on the bottom of the bike packing society ,Reg will be along in a bit with one of his welcomes welcome to the world of hardship and smellyness

MaM said it all perfectly, so not much to add here - except to echo the welcome! Like the forum name - Girl, Bike, Van, you can't be more succinct than that . The hardship and smellyness aren't actually one of the BBB T&C's (yet!) but might be an aspect that gradually creeps up on you and takes over. Whether you look on that as a positive ( ) or negative will shape what type of bikepacking you do. Some BBB-ers enjoy the "challenge/race" aspect, some are just idle tramps (ahem) and you'll find both sides well represented, some are here for the biking some are here for the bivvying and some for any point in between - slot yourself in wherever you find most enjoyment. Be prepared for the occasional possible psychological jolt though. I got back from my first WRT (not heard about that yet? You will soon ) and had a bit of a problem re-integrating back into the "real world", until I realised that actually bikepacking WAS the real world.........

See you in "Bivvy A Month" shortly hopefully then .

PS. Stu sells some special cream for those boils, but it doesn't work very well cos we're all still at it.....

Thanks for the welcome guys and gals. I have friends who have bike packed and cycle toured all over the world including races like the HT550 the colorado trail. I'm not up to that standard but fit enough for long multi day trips and don't mind being smelly! Just bought a tent and camping mat plus got some Alpikt gear. Nearly there!

GirlBikeVan has a story behind it....

The last time I joined a bike forum people were so hiddeous to me I nearly had a melt down. That was 9 years ago now and hopefully things have moved on since then.

Pat wrote:Trek stache 5 is a good choice!

Is yours the original Miami green one?

No, it's the light blue one....Unless i'm colour blind and don't know it

Welcome

GirlBikeVan wrote:fit enough for long multi day trips and don't mind being smelly!

Add into that a deep rooted motivation and eagerness to ride a certain route.
Garnished with a little luck.

About sums up what you need for a ride like the HT550.

GirlBikeVan wrote:The last time I joined a bike forum people were so hiddeous to me I nearly had a melt down. That was 9 years ago now and hopefully things have moved on since then.

We are very niche, on the fringe of cycling; although, given current cycling trends we are seemingly quite hipster.

You’ll see many familiar faces at events and the same people posting on the forum, as a group we are very welcoming; I’m fairly new to the group.

As bikepackers there is no requirement for a particular bike, or clothing (BB wardrobe notwithstanding), in fact, we generally avoid the mainstream. Ask Stu very nicely and he might add you to the jersey order.

Between us we ride it all, whether a potter on a summer’s day to a local wood, or battling the weather on some epic race. Many like to dot watch.

There is always an opinion, and banter is to be expected; however, no one is nasty (this isn’t singletrackworld). If the conversation is going that way just call for the Panda (that will become apparent in time).

Daft as it sounds, we are almost a little family, see, there are advantages to being a niche on a fringe.

Welcome

Welcome...as others have said, there's a very welcoming bunch here and certainly
quite a few 'characters' , always inviting questions and willing to share insight
Into all things cycling/backpacking etc

We are very niche, on the fringe of cycling;

Not at all. Folk have been touring around on bicycles since they were invented....

Perhaps 'special' would be more approprite in this case than 'niche'

Edit: After thinking about it, I'd say that we are actually quite niche within the world of cycling. Given the number of people who cycle (even 'seriously'), 'we' account for a tiny fraction of that number. Most cyclists let alone the non-cycling public think we're quite mad ... even the traditional 'tourers' believe us to be bonkers

Bearbonesnorm wrote:Perhaps 'special' would be more approprite in this case than 'niche'

Special as in that special kid over there with concrete snot bubbles and thread bear trousers ?

Meh. My perception is perhaps skewed by my occupation and where I choose to live, work and play. I see loads of folk touring on bikes with all sorts of loads and luggage setups. I'd say it's now well beyond niche though - certainly for the time being. As with all things the fashionista will soon move on.

Not saying niche in a bad sense; however, how many “normal” people would meet on a Friday night in some random car park then ride through the night?
Most would simply start Saturday morning.

Just one example, there will be others.

—-
As for tourers, when I did Le Jog in May I would receive shocked looks of amazement and the same question of “how can you have so little?” for 12 days of self-supported wild camping?
I would look at their bikes and ask “why do you need so much?” This question usually received a puzzled look by most.

In true boner style, next year planning on doing Jogle in 9; for no other reason than to see if I can.
Well, that and my boss said I can have the three and a half weeks off for New Zealand in 2020

—-
Actually, thinking about it, we’re all slightly bonkers in one way or another.

My perception is perhaps skewed by my occupation and where I choose to live, work and play.

I'd just thought the same Colin and wondered whether your involvement may alter your perception?

As for tourers, when I did Le Jog in May I would receive shocked looks of amazement and the same question of “how can you have so little?” for 12 days of self-supported wild camping?
I would look at their bikes and ask “why do you need so much?” This question usually received a puzzled look by most.

I had exactly the same thing while running 'bikepacking' workshops at the BSO last weekend. Many there were already riding bikes and camping but were a little shocked* by what they were shown. However, the majority could fully grasp the benefits of travelling lighter once it was explained and they could translate it to their past experiences.


*mostly in a good way.

middleagedmadness wrote:

Bearbonesnorm wrote:Perhaps 'special' would be more approprite in this case than 'niche'

Special as in that special kid over there with concrete snot bubbles and thread bear trousers ?

No. Special as in the kid in the corner who can do something extraordinary, but no one knows why they would want to do it in the first place, let alone enjoy it.

ScotRoutes wrote:Meh. My perception is perhaps skewed by my occupation and where I choose to live, work and play. I see loads of folk touring on bikes with all sorts of loads and luggage setups. I'd say it's now well beyond niche though - certainly for the time being. As with all things the fashionista will soon move on.

Where I live I see a myriad of cyclists of all shapes, sizes and bike styles but the overwhelming majority are just out recreationally or commuting. In the last year I think I've seen maybe a handful of fully loaded tourers and even fewer lighter weight bike packing setups. I did bump into burty though last weekend so it's still a small world.

Going off at a bit of a tangent but I am no longer surprised when people ask me the third of these three questions: where I've come from (reasonable), where I'm heading (reasonable) and what charity am I riding for (?)

Damn, I've been very rude in not acknowledging our new member...

Welcome to BearBones. You'll find lots of great advice on routes, on equipment and how to use it.

Stay away from the PSA, "Bargain" and "Postie" threads unless you have a decent disposable income




Back to the more existential discussion...

On Monday morning, my wife and I were out for a run near Braemar. Three folk on bikes were pedalling towards us. She saw three "cyclists". I saw the gravel bikes, the bar bags and seatpacks and thought "bikepackers". Then she told me they'd been staying at the Youth Hostel.

ScotRoutes wrote:....Then she told me they'd been staying at the Youth Hostel.

YH are good for a shower, wash clothes (whilst in the shower), hot food (usually buy breakfast), dry stuff, and recharge stuff (though now have a dynamo wheel).
All for £10 ish pounds.

Sometimes a little bit of luxury is welcome.
(It’s an odd thing when someone refers to a YH as luxury.)

[quote="ScotRoutes"

Stay away from the PSA, "Bargain" and "Postie" threads unless you have a decent disposable income

Thanks for the welcome...I'm a post lady

This ain't a dig at our lovely post ladies/men, but I thought it was insane of the bosses (maybe you're the Chief Postlady in which case I'm in deep water after all ) to replace post bikes with vans. Our town was the perfect size for bikes and the posties liked them, and now vans sit at the end of each road while posties walk the houses. Huge step backwards environmentally / congestiony / timey/ etc </rant sorry>.

Our postie parks her van at the top of the village (plus other villages nearby) and runs her entire round - bloody good training tactic