Well, it seems that Summer has finally arrived, bringing the need to get out and explore, ride bikes, and camp… or all of it at once. Helping to do just that, the new 2nd edition of the Bikepacker’s Guide is available now. Brought to you by Salsa Cycles and Bikepacking Roots, this new guide has been a year in the making and expands on the OG Bikepackers Guide that was published 10 years ago.
If you are a new bikepacker looking for some guidance or you’re experienced and looking for some new approaches to what you already love, this edition offers those resources and extensive knowledge in a format that is easy to use.
The guide breaks down the steps needed to plan a trip, as well as bikepacking skills, and now includes additional resources on navigation, positive impact practices, mindset, and all the checklists you need for a successful trip.
A Quick Look on the Inside
The first section of the guide,
“Go Bikepacking: Planning addresses all the topics necessary to consider when planning your bikepacking trip in order to be set up for a fun and successful ride. In this section route planning, bike and gear planning, food and water planning, packing your bike, navigating, getting started, and Leave No Trace skills for bikepackers are presented”.
Then,
“Going Bikepacking: While Out Riding section breaks down the knowledge and skills we’ve found are imperative to developing bikepacking competency: self-care, finding and managing water, camp skills, risk management, riding solo, and the bikepacker’s mindset”.
Next,
“Gone Bikepacking: Field Reports, contributors who inspire us through their perspectives and experiences share their stories to inspire you to consider all the forms and roles bikepacking can take for us. Annijke Wade shares her powerful story of learning to bikepack as a newly adaptive cyclist. Jim Blount shares how bikepacking with his dog, Charlie, in the mountains facilitates his sense of security in his gender identity. Brooke Goudy lets the reader into the joy and sacredness of sharing bikepacking in affinity spaces. Patrick Farnsworth shows the reader how parents can bring their young children to discover the wonder of the world through bikepacking with kids. And Crystal Kovaks connects bikepacking with her family as a means to travel self-supported across the landscape to her mission to empower women to bikepack – regardless of their perceived limitations. Each of these stories enriches this guide. The knowledge and skills to bikepack are imparted in the first two sections of the guide, but these stories from bikepackers from a variety of walks of life are what help you see what is possible, and for who, through bikepacking”.
Lastly,
“The new Resources section of the guide is meant to be a quick reference of checklists for you as you prepare for your trip. From trip preparation to bike maintenance and common mechanicals, to a resupply and a camp checklist, these resources can be screenshots, torn out of your guide, printed, or jotted down as a tool for you to make sure you cover your bases when preparing for and when out riding”.
How to Get Your Own Bikepackers Guide
The Bikepacker’s Guide, Second Edition is now available in a full-color 5″x8.5″ print book as well as a digital version. The purchase of this guide supports continued route development, maintenance, and advocacy at Bikepacking Roots.
Print version: $20
Digital version: $10
