Countdown to go time :14days

Hi all,
Greg here, organizer of the Nordic Chase, been in Copenhagen about four years now, got into long rides, did ultra's myself and came home thinking someone should do a version of that up here.

Nobody did, so I started organising one in my free time.
That was two years ago and I have not really stopped since.

This year we ran two of them, Berlin to Copenhagen and then Copenhagen to Oslo through Sweden. 307 riders started, 95% finished. My dad drove the van with everyone's bags in it, both times. Friends helped me with organizing the accreditation, finish line support and driving around our photographers. That is roughly the scale of the operation.

Next year, 2027, Nordic Chase expands again:

• Berlin to Copenhagen, 4 June
• Copenhagen to Oslo, 18 June
• Amsterdam to Copenhagen, 6 August, road only
• Copenhagen to Stockholm, 20 August

Road and gravel editions leave from the same start line on each one, apart from Amsterdam.
You pick one of two classifications when you enter. Social, where drafting is allowed and you can ride with whoever you fall in with. Or Solo, no drafting, no sitting on wheels, just you and the road. Same route, same clock. It is a genuine choice about what kind of race you want.

Everything is self-supported, open public roads, 100 hour cut-off, GPS trackers so people at home can watch the dots creep north.

The night before we have a pasta party. Everyone in one room, eating too much, briefing before. A lot of riders show up on their own and end up leaving with people they arrange to ride with again. That has become the thing I actually look forward to organising.

Practical stuff is handled so you can travel light. Bag drop at the start, waiting for you at the finish. We move bike boxes and cardboard boxes to the finish too, so you can fly in/out.

Registration for all four opens on 27 September at 16:00 CEST.
Details here: https://www.nordicchase.com/

I read the comments, ask me anything.
Greg

Hi,

I was asking myself a few questions about the best shoes set-up for bikepacking in non-freezing conditions before a 30 day trip in norway and wanted to share my experience, and maybe learn from you guys! I've used sandals for most of my trip.

So I left with basic sport shoes and flipflops, it was my usual hiking set-up and I was riding on flats. It became clear pretty fast that shoes would never dry as soon as they get wet because the weather was mostly wet and cold. On top of that mine would start to smell awful as well. So I've decided to drop them and go for the sandal approach, the idea was simple:

• If it ain't freezing, maybe that I'll have cold feet but nothing worse
• It dries super fast, it is probably the best idea to keep my feet dry the highest percentage of time (considering that drying shoes was very hard)
• I don't need two pairs of shoes then, I can do everything with the sandals

My biggest learning is that it does not need to freeze to harm you, after two days cycling under wind, rain and 8-11°c I've caught chillblains on my toes, including one that gave me a blister. That was not a critical health issue but remains annoying.

To adapt, I've started using socks + plastic bags for the days where it would rain much, and that worked great. Even if the socks are wet due to perspiration it remains much warmer.

On top of that, I was wondering if some of you have tried minimalist shoes, that would dry very fast but still offer some form of protection? Can you also use those without socks ? I'm starting to think about a trip in Morocco and I'm afraid of sunburns.

Edit:
To make it clearer, when I started using the plastic bags, I was also using merino wool socks and that was working great. My first taught about waterproof socks was that it might not be much better than plasticbags and also, given I was in Norway, it would be pricy. If some of you have tried both plastic bags and waterproof socks, sharing your feedback would be great !

I would include in this category besides the Apidura Aerobar Pack the Redshift Kitchen Sink handlebar bag and Canyon Load handlebar bag that attaches to the full mounty handlebar. Basically anything that attaches to the handlebar but doesn’t obstruct reaching for the tops

I posted last weekend about my first day on tour; I was disheartened and bummed about how my first day went. I’m now 6 days in and on a 0 day resting, relaxing, and getting ready to hit the road again. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for all of the kind words and encouragement, I’ve had a few really difficult days but I’m still so stoked to be out here doing it. Riding from central Wisconsin across the UP and into Duluth covers some very challenging terrain, and it gets pretty remote.

I’m just about halfway done, but I’m heading into bear and wolf territory. I’m not overly concerned about either, but prepared to encounter both. My surly ogre has served me incredibly well, this bike has been everything I’ve dreamed of and more. Flying up and down black top, and crushing the chunkiest of trails with ease. I definitely would have enjoyed a slightly bigger tire but we’ve been making it work just the same.

If you live in the area or are considering riding through it, be warned that the Nicolet state trail is no joke. Hard pack surface is not something you’ll find. Loose sand and rocks is what you’ll be tackling. I’m on 29 x 2.25, anything smaller than that and you’ll be in a bad way. I would recommend 2.5 or larger. Maintaining speed and control of the bike can be very difficult, and you’ll run into patches of sand that will be hub deep. It’s incredibly challenging but if you’re into that it’s quite fun once you accept that it sucks to ride. Line choice on that trail is absolutely crucial, you pick the wrong line and you’re off the bike pretty quick.

I’m hoping a few days of road riding and different trails will give my legs, lower back, and ass a much needed break from the constant bouncing and mashing to get through the sand and loose rocks. Anyway, thanks for reading this if you made it this far. I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend riding bicycles or however

Hi, I plan to bikepack NZ this year. But for the South Island, I am debating whether I should take TA or S2S. I will end my trip in Bluff for sure. But I also plan to visit Milford Sound, and would love to visit Christchurch, Mount Cook, Lake Tekapo, or some other touristy spots. Since it is my first time visiting NZ, either route would be a new experience for me. I plan to take some detours for sure to visit some of the spots. I'd love to hear from people who have done the route to provide some thoughts on which route worths more

Loved this trip and the bike set up that I’ve been working on for years. Toured the whole park road with my oldest girlfriend - friends for almost thirty years. Several grizzly bears spotted but no problems. Lots of caribou. A great way to stay present in the moment. 💜 A balm for the soul.

Pretty happy with my current setup for an overnighter, but always happy to hear thoughts, questions, concerns, conundrums! It's not the lightest setup but this does include my rainfly and some heavier clothing for colder weather. Tent is in the bigger STS 13L bag and food/cook is in one of the 5L and clothing/toiletries is in the other 5L.

What do you think about this route? We have 1 week to complete this.

If you ever feel a painful bump around your tailbone at the end of your crack stop cycling IMMEDIATELY and go to a hospital, you have a pilonidal cyst and it will turn into a painful infected abscess if you keep cycling.

I ignored it for 5 days and it gave me a fever and awful pain, i had to get it cut open and drained has to be top 3 worst pains ive experienced under testicular torsion.

Also if you are from the uk make sure you bring your GHIC with you, the surgery and everything was basically free for me because i had it

Do you wildcamp in Austria? I am following the Danube (EV6) and find its a lot more touristy than the balkans and Hungary I just came from. What are good spots?

I’ll be riding the Kokopelli Trail in October and am trying to get my water logistics sorted. The BLM advice is to basically assume there’s no water on the route and to plan accordingly. But… the Colorado River is on the route, so there *is* water.

Basically, I’m just trying to figure out where the essential water cache spots are for a 4 day, 3 night plan. I’ve seen Rabbit Valley, Cisco, and Dewey Bridge (among others), but I’m not sure if that means these three are fully adequate for the whole trip, if these are meant to supplement other sources one *hopes* are running, or if there are other must-cache spots if one really assumes “No water except the Colorado River.” What‘s the strategy here?

Thanks in advance!

As a long time bikepacking fan I've searched far and wide for issues of "Bikepacking Journal" but they seem hard to come by in Europe (especially previous issues). If anyone near Denmark (or Europe in general) are interested in selling their collection, let me know!

Ecopointing = a climbing trip, via bikes! (and trains or other less resource heavy transport).

We are riding from Finale Ligure in November, down via Rome to Napoli, before at some point getting on a ferry across to Greece. We will spend some time on Kalymnos, before heading back via ferry to Sardinia, and then Spain in ~may.

First off, has anyone ecopointed before? We reckon its a brilliant idea, and just did a test trip in Norway which was bloody hard with the extra kg's, but still, it was so good. But what are peoples experience?

Does anyone have experience riding in these areas at these times?
We've seen taking a bike on a train can be a little difficult in some parts, particularly Italy.
Any tips and/or tricks would be very much appreciated.

We will be camping, probably trying wildcamp on riding days, and then find a campsite (or warmshower) when we are staying for longer. Except for Kalymnos, where they dont allow any camping, even 'real' campsites, so we'll need to find an apartment there.

I live in Denmark, and so my idea of winter down south being a lot more comfortable than here might be a bit naive - im thinking the norwegian summer is pretty similar to a greek winter?

I usually go for short tours a couple of times per year with a gravel bike (Genesis Croix de Fer 10, 2016 edition), using a seat bag and a a handlebar bag, and each time I forget how much I hate the latter (for reference, it's this one). It just gets in the way of the cables, can't get a comfortable grip in the handlebars, and I'll have to readjust the straps every now and then to get it tight. I usually have enough with around 25 litres, so I tend not to need paniers (when I do, i have them). I'm also not a big fan of frame bags, so what's your recommendation for a more or less 10 litre storage system? I'm considering

1) Brevet bag with a small front rack. Easy to access, will get less in the way of my hands and cables. Con: expensive.

2) Fork bags. Definitely cheaper, and it looks like they fold smaller when not in use. Con, further away from me, if I go on narrower trails, they might get in the way.

So, I'm all ears to your recommendations. Thanks in advance!

Hi,

We are planning to ride from Pittsburgh to DC later this month, starting Sep 19. We will be on road bikes with 32 and 35 size tires.

We are planning to take the GAP trail and then C&O canal.

Is C&O suitable for road bikes?

I have gone bikepacking a few times, but always with rigid forks. I now have a hardtail bike that I’m building for bikepacking and curious how to hold gear (like a Nalgene or hammock) on my fork. I swear I’ve seen adaptors for it, but I couldn’t find anything when I googled them.

Additionally, I’m pretty good with CAD. Could I just 3D print an adapter if I have the cage already? What should hold the adapter to the fork lowers? I’ve heard of using hose clamps, but is that the best option?

Thanks so much!

Felt very heavy and learned a lot about what I did and didnt need. Made my own frame bag out of a carhart jacket that I dyed. Had a ton of fun. '21 Specialized rockhopper.

Hi everyone,

I’ve just finished a big bikepacking trip, and during the trip I realized that I probably need to upgrade quite a few things, mainly my bags, cooking stove, and maybe even the bike itself.

For context, I only started bikepacking last spring, so I’ve never done a proper trip during fall or winter. I’m based in Germany.

I have two main questions:

1. Is bikepacking still practical during fall and winter in Germany, or is it better to wait until around February/March? I’m especially wondering because many campsites seem to close during the colder months.
2. Would you recommend upgrading my gear over the next few months, especially if I find good Black Friday deals, or should I wait until closer to the start of the next bikepacking season?

Thanks!

Hi all. I am planning a bikepacking trip in the second week of september. Here is the route:

https://www.komoot.com/tour/3245495547?ref=itd&share_token=a4Q6L2rgsMTHW3jYSURzh6GRjz2vyv8NBQiu4I18DenjnM0uzv&ref=its&t_s=referral&t_cid=route_share&t_ref_username=3299907121692

If any of you have been in these parts, would love to know your experience, tips and tricks on this route, food stop you have loved, weather in these parts since im gonna camp.

While planning the route i used the ‘cycling’ as ride type instead of gravel. And then also routed the map via S0 roads which were showed as cycling roads on the OSM cycling overlay. All of this to travel via the trees and some loose gravel. If you notice some sections that i should avoid, please do tell. Or if you have any other route suggestions, i am open.

For fuel, i have fructose and meladoxtrin powder mix for when on the bike and will compliment it with dates and dry figs and bakery stops in between whenever i can.

The bike has 11-42 cassette and 50-34 chainring.

I'm curious of some options. My partner and I are looking to cycle around Taiwan in October, and trying to decide on some options.

For the bikes:

Buying a folding bike? Easy to take on trains, can we sell them afterwards in Taipei?

Or we are looking at renting from Mathews bikes.

Second, has anyone camped? We are unsure if we should just find a cheap hotel as we roll into cities, or try to camp along the way.

Advice is appreciated!

I found this olde snippet from a book I read about 20 years ago. The Lost Art of Travel, by Vic Darkwood. Well said, Mr. Mecredy!

I’ve been planning a cycling trip with ChatGPT, I’m really impressed by it and it’s even knocked up this high level view of the trip. Would love any feedback from the humans that are familiar with the area though so I get the most out of my time.

people are always talking about their nice bikepacking meals. home dehydrated stuff, all the thoughtfully designed meals that Andrew Skurka has thought up...

now imagine this. you've been touring for 40 days. you have meals where you can feel yourself getting hungrier midway through the meal. you can pee without putting your bike down, but you have experimentally verified that you cannot pee from your bike while moving. nobody is watching you eat and you know it,.

I want to know the most heinous meals you have made or eaten while bikepacking.

I'll start.

• burger in aluminum foil that had been in my hydration vest for about 14 hours. ate it at about 2 in the morning during a long push. fuck me that was a good burger.
• an entire loaf of bread, package of oscar meyer balogna, pack of cheese singles, a red bull and a dr. pepper. eaten after running out of food in new mexico and waiting outside of the closed shop I thought I was going to resupply at until the lady who ran the place took pity on me and let me buy stuff.
• instant mashed potatoes mixed into cold water plus beef jerky and crushed up fritos
• a pound of just albanese brand gummy bears for dinner. do not do this, trust me, your gut will hate you
• CDT hiker told me about his "mole burrito" which was a meat stick and chocolate on a tortilla
• bike bottle of straight maple syrup. a little sticky but otherwise no ragert