I've got my own ideas about what seperates bikepacking from touring or even off road touring ... I'm wondering if anyone else views them differently or whether you see them as the same thing?
In my mind, some of the differences are quite subtle but they all add up to making bikepacking and touring not the same thing.
Bikepacking v Touring?
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Bearbonesnorm
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Bikepacking v Touring?
May the bridges you burn light your way
Re: Bikepacking v Touring?
imo bikepacking has more of a focus on the ride than the destination.
by that i mean if i were to go touring i would have more kit and i would go to 'places' with bike packing i go for a big ride that is so long it means i have to take kit to camp out.
to put it another way a bicycle is only the vehicle in touring (you can go motor cycle touring/ kayak touring) whereas bikepacking is about a mountain bike ride with sleeps in.
not sure any of that makes sense other than in my head :?
by that i mean if i were to go touring i would have more kit and i would go to 'places' with bike packing i go for a big ride that is so long it means i have to take kit to camp out.
to put it another way a bicycle is only the vehicle in touring (you can go motor cycle touring/ kayak touring) whereas bikepacking is about a mountain bike ride with sleeps in.
not sure any of that makes sense other than in my head :?
Re: Bikepacking v Touring?
Yeh I think that's pretty much it. I cycle tour a lot, more so than any other cycling these days. Although I am definitely no stranger to mountain biking, but usually limited to the usual trail centres etc.
The attraction of bikepacking is completely different to that of cycle touring. With traditional touring I am going somewhere, with a set destination. Bikepacking would seem like a natural choice for a cycle tourist, but I am definitely doing it for very different reasons. Personally spending lots of time in the mountains is fun, sleeping under the stars is even more fun, the actual riding comes third. I would be just as happy walking, if I was actually good at it.
For my normal tours, sleeping is just something that has to occur because I can't ride 200 miles a day, it's not really part of the fun, merely a necessity.
The attraction of bikepacking is completely different to that of cycle touring. With traditional touring I am going somewhere, with a set destination. Bikepacking would seem like a natural choice for a cycle tourist, but I am definitely doing it for very different reasons. Personally spending lots of time in the mountains is fun, sleeping under the stars is even more fun, the actual riding comes third. I would be just as happy walking, if I was actually good at it.
For my normal tours, sleeping is just something that has to occur because I can't ride 200 miles a day, it's not really part of the fun, merely a necessity.