"The Distance"?

[restlessshawn]

Anyone know anything more about this?

https://www.facebook.com/KinesisUK/vide ... S_TIMELINE

Looks like you get to have a fire on a beach

[Bearbonesnorm]

Anyone know anything more about this?

No.

It says multi-day event, yet no one in that video is carrying any kit whatsoever ... must have really big pockets or summat

[Gari]

Popped up on my instagram feed too, they're all at it eh?!
Multi day (not) racing is clearly the new black.

[psling]

A 2 day event referred to as multi-day; I guess that is technically correct Kinesis is a bike manufacturer?

We've kind of already discussed on here the likelihood of more and more of this type of event cropping up as bikepacking becomes more mainstream and 'soft bikepacking' [tm] with provided facilities is the easy-in option where people will pay for the experience. The bubble will burst when the money makers move on to the next big thing. Probably.

[Bearbonesnorm]

'Soft-packing' ... can we have that? Seems quite apt

[thenorthwind]

Looks like an entry requirement is to be able to manual over a stream on a fully-loaded* drop-bar bike. They probably won't let me in then.

*for a summer day-ride, apparently

[restlessshawn]

Looks like an entry requirement is to be able to manual over a stream on a fully-loaded* drop-bar bike. They probably won't let me in then.

*for a summer day-ride, apparently

yeah I was thinking that I'd be more likely to barrel roll over the bars than manage a manual there!

Will be interesting to see what it is but I have horrible visions of baggage transfers and organised camps.

Lovely bit of the country, did the Gallop there 2 years back.

[jameso]

Dissapointed, thought this was a Bob Seger thread and I wasn't alone in my dubious music tastes.

[PeterC]

Dissapointed, thought this was a Bob Seger thread and I wasn't alone in my dubious music tastes.

Nothing dubious about Bob Seger

[Ian]

'Soft-packing' ... can we have that? Seems quite apt

Only if we can have it on a badge:

"Bear Bones: It's not f*cking soft-packing"

[jameso]

Dissapointed, thought this was a Bob Seger thread and I wasn't alone in my dubious music tastes.

Nothing dubious about Bob Seger

It may be for the others in the car when I have it on for the whole drive : )
Also disappointed that I mis-spelled disappointed again.

[boxelder]

What's the accepted Bones views on the Polaris challenge then, 'cos we were doing overnight, competitive 'backpacking by bike' trips before the internet caught on. Rigid bikes, skinny tyres and some even used drop bars.

[ianfitz]

What's the accepted Bones views on the Polaris challenge then, 'cos we were doing overnight, competitive 'backpacking by bike' trips before the internet caught on. Rigid bikes, skinny tyres and some even used drop bars.

Surely thats gone soft too. Didn't you used to have to carry over night kit back in the day?

[Bearbonesnorm]

Surely thats gone soft too. Didn't you used to have to carry over night kit back in the day?

I didn't realise that'd changed - have they got porters now?

[Kumquat]

Oh yeah polaris events.
I've done a few of those.
They were fun.
Apart from the tent carrying part.
Was that bikepacking then?
Who knew?

[ianfitz]

Surely thats gone soft too. Didn't you used to have to carry over night kit back in the day?

I didn't realise that'd changed - have they got porters now?

I think it's from a fixed camp...

[Alpinum]

test: Overlanding

[Alpinum]

Oh yeah polaris events.
I've done a few of those.
They were fun.
Apart from the tent carrying part.
Was that bikepacking then?
Who knew?

must have been overlanding


I used to call bikepacking bivybiking and enduro freeriding. Gosh, things have changed.

[Ian]

test: Overlanding

Not made it to the swear filter yet

I organised a couple of Polaris's (Polaries?) back in the day, as well as participating in a good many. I remember when we (solo competitors) were allowed to actually use a Bivvy bag instead of a tent. Those were the days

[GregMay]

I'm just going to carry on doing whatever regardless. They'll all get bored in a few years and it'll be quiet again.

[voodoo_simon]

Oh yeah polaris events.
I've done a few of those.
They were fun.
Apart from the tent carrying part.
Was that bikepacking then?
Who knew?

must have been overlanding


I used to call bikepacking bivybiking and enduro freeriding. Gosh, things have changed.

Enduro is all mountain surely?

I do like winding up customers when they tell me they 'ride' enduro*! Surely you 'race' enduros** and ride all mountain/lite free ride/etc etc


*assuming the enduro they refer to is not the marathon style!

**Yes, I'm a dick...!

[psling]

What's the accepted Bones views on the Polaris challenge then, 'cos we were doing overnight, competitive 'backpacking by bike' trips before the internet caught on. Rigid bikes, skinny tyres and some even used drop bars.

Let's face it, the internet hasn't really been around for very long anyway and stoves in saddle bags were available back in the 1930s. Not sure about the racing aspect back then though...

[fatbikephil]

I'm just going to carry on doing whatever regardless. They'll all get bored in a few years and it'll be quiet again.

Me and a mate once said that about mountainbiking. That was 25 years ago.....

The Polaris I did in the dales involved carrying a tent and all your kit. The camp site was a saturated field with a 20 degree slope....

[mechanicaldope]

Do you actually notice more people bikepacking when on your little rides out or is it mainly a rise in internet chatter and sponsored soft-packing type events? When a large part of the appeal can be the isolation I can see how a rise in popularity could be annoying. On the other hand, there wouldn't be such a lot of quality kit easily available if only a handful of people were interested so I guess it must be a bit of a double edged sword.

[ianfitz]

Do you actually notice more people bikepacking when on your little rides out or is it mainly a rise in internet chatter and sponsored soft-packing type events? When a large part of the appeal can be the isolation I can see how a rise in popularity could be annoying. On the other hand, there wouldn't be such a lot of quality kit easily available if only a handful of people were interested so I guess it must be a bit of a double edged sword.

I guess there is a difference between interest/ aspirational marketing and actually doing it.

Still don't see many people actually out, actually riding bikes with kit on. Even in the busy Peak District.

Although a friend did scathingly tell me he's seen a woman just riding down abbeydale road. With bike packing kit. ON A ROAD BIKE! The outrage.

I enquiried when and what time this was.

Turned out to be Craigie having ridden a wondering route from Oxford then stayed at ours was on her way to Leeds for a talk that evening...