(why is there no) bike touring/bikepacking section here?...

[Shebeen]

*Events on hiatus for a while and only now coming back, but at what volume?

*Gravel/bikepacking on the rise globally

*Capecycle routes gaining tracion in the WCape.

 

all points to  a lot more people advetnuring on bikes.

there's a few threads here, but no dedicated section so it is not a useful resource.

CrossCape in particular is an initiative from WCape gov, but the info there is very rudimentary, essentially just a gpx and some accom suggestions. no nitty gritty info and feedback loop.

 

 

SO. are we going to see more here or will it go to facebook/whatsapp groups?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/325007025119776/ this is pretty active, has 2k+ members

 

[Thug]

Judging by the lack of comments to your thread Shebeen, there's no interest in Bikepacking on this Forum.

We'll just have to enjoy the occasional threads that pop up once in a while.

 

Thanks for the FB link, wasn't aware that there was a local FB page.

 

[One Speed Wonder]

I think a bike adventure/bike packing/bike touring forum is a great idea.

[FootballingCyclist]

Taun has his eye on this thread

[Shebeen]

1 hour ago, Thug said:

Judging by the lack of comments to your thread Shebeen, there's no interest in Bikepacking on this Forum.

We'll just have to enjoy the occasional threads that pop up once in a while.

 

Thanks for the FB link, wasn't aware that there was a local FB page.

 

good point. wonder if @Mattwants to secure this gap in the market?!

 

CapeCycleRoutes specific, but Alan Winde seems to be too busy running the WCape to work on this project, but with the CrossCape and more taking off there's a serious need for feedback - a forum is ideal.

 

example1 - try do the cederberg circuit, if you start/finish in citrusdal there is nowhere to park your car - easily solved with some experience.

example 2 - https://capecycleroutes.co.za/accommodation

click on karoo - it's empty

click on cederberg for this one, there is a farm called allandale in massachusets listed, do some googling and you can see they were looking for this

i emailed them about this last october, 13 months later, nuthing

[KB280DT]

37 minutes ago, FootballingCyclist said:

Taun has his eye on this thread

Nah, he's still out collecting wood somewhere........

[Fat Boab]

On 11/2/2021 at 8:57 AM, Shebeen said:

*Events on hiatus for a while and only now coming back, but at what volume?

*Gravel/bikepacking on the rise globally

*Capecycle routes gaining tracion in the WCape.

 

all points to  a lot more people advetnuring on bikes.

there's a few threads here, but no dedicated section so it is not a useful resource.

CrossCape in particular is an initiative from WCape gov, but the info there is very rudimentary, essentially just a gpx and some accom suggestions. no nitty gritty info and feedback loop.

 

 

SO. are we going to see more here or will it go to facebook/whatsapp groups?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/325007025119776/ this is pretty active, has 2k+ members

 

I've always found the Routes and Trail section or just the search function more than a useful resource but perhaps a designated drop-down topic for Touring might be useful?

[Matt]

On 11/2/2021 at 8:57 AM, Shebeen said:

*Events on hiatus for a while and only now coming back, but at what volume?

*Gravel/bikepacking on the rise globally

*Capecycle routes gaining tracion in the WCape.

 

all points to  a lot more people advetnuring on bikes.

there's a few threads here, but no dedicated section so it is not a useful resource.

CrossCape in particular is an initiative from WCape gov, but the info there is very rudimentary, essentially just a gpx and some accom suggestions. no nitty gritty info and feedback loop.

 

 

SO. are we going to see more here or will it go to facebook/whatsapp groups?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/325007025119776/ this is pretty active, has 2k+ members

 

Thanks for the suggestion, it's definitely 

Admittedly, catering to the sub-disciplines and niches is something we've grappled with a bit and in its current form isn't sufficient. 

The current structure has some very general 'riding' sections to cover all disciplines.


And then specific sections for the more niche areas. It's a bit of a legacy set up as we'd added forums here and there over the years and not really ideal in 2021.

Ideally we'd want to have a structure that uses tagging or a similar categorisation to allow easy grouping by discipline / interest group. e.g. a single Routes & Trails forum with the ability to tag a topic as 'bike packing' or 'road' or 'mountain bike'. That way we don't need a separate Gear, Tech, Riding, Events, etc. forum for each discipline. But by the same token I do appreciate the need for each area of interest to have a "home" to easily filter and organise everything. 


 

[ChrisF]

Matt while you are it ..... would be nice to have easier access to the ebike threads (not that there are many at the moment).  May just be handy to have these dedicated sub-sections for the newbies, and when you quickly want to find something related to:

- MTB

- Road

- Commuter

- ebike

- sure the list could become very long .... (certainly many sub-sections to each of these above)

[Sepia]

And also, a link where we could download touring routes.  I am a noob and have no idea how to plot or download a route.  It is an age thing and I am scared I am going to come unstuck one day.  I have no idea how these things work.

[Super Sywurm]

1 hour ago, KB280DT said:

Nah, he's still out collecting wood somewhere........

He is probably in the wood selling business.

[Jewbacca]

39 minutes ago, Sepia said:

And also, a link where we could download touring routes.  I am a noob and have no idea how to plot or download a route.  It is an age thing and I am scared I am going to come unstuck one day.  I have no idea how these things work.

I'm with you there.

I tried various virtual races and trail runs etc with the GPX file share and I came unstuck a few times. I am a self proclaimed luddite with no motivation to learn how it all works properly. 

Spoon feed me or let me use good old fashioned maps..... 

[Fat Boab]

2 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

I'm with you there.

I tried various virtual races and trail runs etc with the GPX file share and I came unstuck a few times. I am a self proclaimed luddite with no motivation to learn how it all works properly. 

Spoon feed me or let me use good old fashioned maps..... 

Have you or Sepia tried ridewithgps.com? V easy to plot routes and get profiles etc. As yet, I haven't tried downloading onto a device (cos I dont have a mapping device)!

[Jewbacca]

I have not, but will give it a try when I plan to go out of town.

Thank you for the suggestion. I tried garmin basemaps and a couple of others which gets confusing. 

[Fat Boab]

8 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

I have not, but will give it a try when I plan to go out of town.

Thank you for the suggestion. I tried garmin basemaps and a couple of others which gets confusing. 

Ridewithgps is v similar to plotting a route on google maps. Very intuitive. Try plotting one of your local rides? Let me know if I can help but I'm no expert!

[Sepia]

31 minutes ago, Fat Boab said:

Have you or Sepia tried ridewithgps.com? V easy to plot routes and get profiles etc. As yet, I haven't tried downloading onto a device (cos I dont have a mapping device)!

Yip, tried it.  Have no idea how it works.  Total ignorance reigns supreme.  Need to be guided step by step.  Wish there was a course available with the basics explained to one who is not computer literate.  How it going Boab?????