Bikepacking / Bike Touring

[Jaco Greeff]

47 minutes ago, Thug said:

I'm actually leaving next week to Kyrgyzstan to do the Silk Road Mountain Race which is a self-supported bikepacking race.

Starts 22:00 on 13 August and one has to be finished by approx the same time on 28 August. It covers 1 800km with over 30 000m of ascent.

 

 

Hi There

Will we be able to follow you in some way ?

- facebook
- instagram
- twitter
- etc.

[Thug]

16 minutes ago, Mountain Bru said:

Added to shopping list.....

What do you guys do with your bike at night? Do you lock it up? With what kind of lock? Obviously it's not going in the tent, so do you do anything to keep it from getting wet? I've seen chains rust in 1 night when left outside at the coast. Can this be prevented? Any solutions for if there's no suitable tree/pole to chain it to?

Securing your bike at night:

 

 

[Jaco Greeff]

3 hours ago, AdamA said:

Just Start!!!!

I grabbed my old 26", added some cheap panniers from Decathlon, my 2 man A-frame tent and sleeping bag, camping cooker.

My first trip was 22KM to Bergsig Trout Farm in the Cradle.

Next is 50km to Hartbeesport

Then 105km to ATKV Bufflesport. 

Thanks for all the answers.

I liked this feedback.
This is exactly how I will be starting.
Same distances. First one maybe from Springs (Jhb) to Hennopspride, next day Harties and then 2 days back in some way. Or someone to pick me up.

The pic of your bike also helped as I bought a entry level bike and was worried that it is not good enough

Thanks All

[Sepia]

15 minutes ago, Mountain Bru said:

Added to shopping list.....

What do you guys do with your bike at night?

Seriously, what I do is a plastic bag over the saddle, loosen QR and fishing line to my arm or tent pole.  I also tie the bike up (untying rope or cutting the rope in the dark is not that easy) put an empty tin (if avail) with a stone in it and rest it on the saddle  Don't know if this all works as all has been good so far..... I travel alone and sleep lightly.

[Mountain Bru]

16 minutes ago, Thug said:

Securing your bike at night:

 

 

To quote this guy:
"There are some circumstances where you definitely want to bring a lock.... so I genuinely feel humans are good people, they don't wanna steal bikes". <-- Clearly never been to SA, and for his own sake, probably never should 

Discovered this youtube channel called "LockPickingLawyer" a while ago... Interesting/Horrifying to see his bike lock reviews

 

[MTBeer]

1 hour ago, Thug said:

I'm actually leaving next week to Kyrgyzstan to do the Silk Road Mountain Race which is a self-supported bikepacking race.

Starts 22:00 on 13 August and one has to be finished by approx the same time on 28 August. It covers 1 800km with over 30 000m of ascent.

 

 

that is awesome. I have seen the documentary on Youtube about the race. Looks bloody tough. Good luck

[dirtypot]

1 hour ago, Thug said:

I'm actually leaving next week to Kyrgyzstan to do the Silk Road Mountain Race which is a self-supported bikepacking race.

A friend completed the race in 2019 - he had lots of issues, including some pretty drastic mechanical problems which led to him riding with only one crank arm for quite a while.  He said that trying to traverse the ice in the dark was the hardest part though.  
Good luck!  It's not an easy race, but it looks properly amazing!  

[Thug]

1 hour ago, Jaco Greeff said:

Hi There

Will we be able to follow you in some way ?

- facebook
- instagram
- twitter
- etc.

Tracking on www.silkroadmountainrace.cc

 

 

[Thug]

2 minutes ago, copperhead said:

Can I ask why flats? Or is the picture misleading me? Awesome setup. I prefer less on the front. But I have never raced so maybe it balances the bike better. Good luck Sir. as asked... How do we follow your progress?

Thanks.

Yes, riding flats. There are a lot of hike-a-bike sections so don't need to take spare cleats. Having one set of shoes also helps weight wise.

All my sleeping kit is on the front with electronics, cables etc.

Link to tracking posted above.

[MTBeer]

Anyone want to see what this Silk Road race is about   

 

[Slowbee]

6 hours ago, Thug said:

I'm actually leaving next week to Kyrgyzstan to do the Silk Road Mountain Race which is a self-supported bikepacking race.

Starts 22:00 on 13 August and one has to be finished by approx the same time on 28 August. It covers 1 800km with over 30 000m of ascent.

 

 

I know a guy, who knows a guy, that will close your hub account if you dont post pictures and stories ! We need to see more this!

Can you share your brand of sleeping bag ?

 

[Thug]

1 hour ago, Slowbee said:

I know a guy, who knows a guy, that will close your hub account if you dont post pictures and stories ! We need to see more this!

Can you share your brand of sleeping bag ?

 

It’s a Katabatic Flex 22 quilt with an additional couple of grams of fill. 

https://katabaticgear.com

There actually is another Hubber who together with his wife rode the race in 2019.

[Eddy Gordo]

2 hours ago, MTBeer said:

Anyone want to see what this Silk Road race is about   

 

I was looking at this not too long ago. Extremely tempting!

[Gripen_85]

Following.

 

I got myself a Naturehike P Series 2 person tent for hiking. The goal is to also get into bike-backing, and it seemed to fit the bill for both. 

It is light and compact, but once pitched surprisingly spacious. There is a door on both sides, with vestibules on both sides, and lots of room inside. 

It's easy to pitch and take down.
 

Their customer service is good (my first one had a dodgy seam and they replaced it with a new tent within a week). The second one has been great, and has been tested in decent rain. I have yet to try it in windy conditions but I think it will hold up well.
https://www.naturehike.co.za/collections/camping-tents/products/p-series-2-person-tent-1?variant=22820314382417

[Dusty]

We use the Naturhike Cloudup 2 tent. Less than 1.5kg and it's properly tested in blizzards and heay rain, viz the race Thug is doing.

For the price, I don't believe that you can get better.

[Shebeen]

On 7/29/2021 at 7:26 AM, Jaco Greeff said:

Hi All

I want to start bikepacking / touring on my MTB.

ANY advice ??

- Gear
- Where to buy in SA
- Routes for starters
- Tents
- etc.

there's two (many) ways to do this.

research the FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARK out of it and get the best most perfect stuff

                           or

just go. it's an adventure. what could possibly go wrong?

 

biketouring is not new, people been doing it for yonks. I had a gap year in canada in 2004, the opportunities to go bike touring were numerous, i got all my stuff from the sports consignment store (2nd hand cash crusaders, but just for sporting goods), starting with a $25 db topanga I put the whole thing together for $100. took ferries and buses to get out of vancouver and just went to places. bike is the best way to travel and really see a place as you see all the stuff a car flies past, and you cover way way more than foot

me and the raven spirit

 

with so many accom options out there i wouldn't bother with rough camping to start. a bag and a credit card takes you to all parts of mzansi

 

recent Beerpacking the overberg trip

Edited July 30, 2021 by Shebeen
wrong pic format