For me bikepacking was a logical extension of hiking.
Cycle to the hike.
It’s easier, as well, and I’m not getting any younger.
My favourite cycling vlogger is Ryan Van Duzer. This short video explains better than any other exactly the attraction of multi-day cycling trips.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Trip report by Rick McCharles
Part 2 of 3
Most of the photos you’ve seen of Norway were shot in the Lofoten archipelago.
Well above the Arctic Circle.
Distinctive scenery with dramatic peaks, fjords, sheltered bays & beaches.
Click PLAY or watch my HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO on YouTube. Shot over 2 weeks 2022 and 2023.
However, the BEST hiking video I’ve watched is from Harmen Hoek June 2023. Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I took yet another free ferry to get to Lofoten.
Welcome back. This was my 3rd visit to Lofoten.
As Lofoten is crowded with motor vehicles, I’d say cycling is the best way to travel here.
You can travel by bus — but many run only a few times a day.
Accommodation is booked long in advance. But with a bike you can set up your tent pretty much wherever you wish. And there are many good options.
Weather was mixed. In any given hour you might get sun, rain, or mist.
Nobody complains about the scenery in Lofoten, however. It’s all marvellous.
In 2022, by far my favourite campsite was Uttakleiv Beach.
That’s a private campground that cost$ money. In 2023 I went instead to the free beach nearby called Haukland. Also good, but not as good.
As parking lots are rarely level, everyone carries these plastic wheel lifters for their vehicles.
Low fog and misty rain. I decided to cycle to one of two hostels in Lofoten ➙ Lydersen Rorbuer.
Stayed 2 nights taking a break and getting some photos and video edited. Did laundry.
I had a great time in 2022. And enjoyed it just as much in 2023.
Here’s the view from the hostel. Low cloud, as you can see.
Nearby is a good store and cafe.
My most mellow day, so far.
Weather was expected to improve today. Some headed up to the main hike from here ➙ Ryten.
As I’d done it in 2022, I headed instead to a lower hike called Ytresandheia – Røren. Excellent, though I’d not even heard about it. It’s the alternative to Ryten when the peak is socked in.
Later — having finished my video editing — I took an evening hike. This photo was shot at 9pm, for example. There is no night above the Arctic Circle in early July.
Day 10 — July 10th, 2023
Next morning I cleaned and organized my gear.
There’s an impressive looking peak called FLAKSTADTIND you see out the window of the hostel. Staff told me it’s actually quite easy and popular with locals.
With the good weather, it was fantastic.
Continuing on south, I stopped to fly the drone through one of the many fish drying racks. Typically cod is hung for about 16 weeks. Much is sold to Italy and Africa.
When I rolled through Reine, weather was perfect. I knew hundreds of people would have climbed 448m to the top of Reinebringen. It would be VERY crowded.
Having done the most popular photo op in Norway twice before, I gave it a miss this time.
But here’s the VIDEO as I can’t resist posting it again. 😀
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Instead I cycled leisurely to the end of the line ➙ the quaint village of Å.
I’d hoped to hike and tent — but it’s not legal nor possible anywhere near Å. Lovely evening, however.
I had to backtrack to find a campsite. Even with this vista, I felt it was the least excellent so far in Norway.
It seemed crazy to leave Lofoten with the weather so good — but I rolled on to the free ferry to Bodø.
Farewell Lofoten. One of the best hiking destinations in the world. Know that roads are actually quite crowded and narrow for bicycles. But most of the traffic is tourists, most sympathetic for cyclists.
The scenery is amazing. Excellent and varied cycling possibilities.
One of the best areas of the world for biking adventures.
Click PLAY or watch 2-minutes of highlights on YouTube.
Ultimately, I had to quit after day 3 because of illness.
Drinking from the same hoses and standing pipes as every other cyclist, I suffered some sort of stomach problem. Diarrhea. Threw up on my shoes, at one point.
Didn’t eat for about 36 hours.
BUT if not sick I might have still quit after Siena. Completing about 190km of the 472 total.
For one thing, the afternoon lightning storms were terrifying. Even the most experienced riders hunker down in lightning. Two were killed in Tuscany as I post — both hit by falling trees.
The rain turned some trails into impassable mud baths. … Though it did soften up some other trails.
My bike is excellent for normal bikepacking — but the Tuscany Trail was far more technical than I’d expected. A mountain bike with very little weight attached is what most experience riders were rocking.
I was envious of the electric mountain bikes.
My bike was the 2nd most inappropriate rig. Worse was a 2-person tandem. Husband and wife. I wished them luck.
I was cycling with ALL my gear for a months long trip.
On one of the many downhill, rocky trails a screw came loose on my front pannier rack. So my front saddle bags were rocking side-to-side.
In Siena I took as much off the bike as possible (see photo below) and went to find luggage storage.
IF you Google “siena luggage storage” you’ll find a wealth of options.
All lies. In Siena there are only tobacco shops who hold a few bags as side income. And they only open randomly. Not Sundays. … And this was Sunday.
WHY doesn’t Siena have 24-hour lockers like most Italian tourist cities.
My theory since age-17 is that Italy is hopeless for tourists.
Nothing works. Nothing is open when you need it.
A long history of government inefficiency and corruption makes it this way.
Note that Germany and Switzerland next door are two of the most efficient nations.
There are no real enforced rules in Italy. Yet every time a tourist turns around somebody is yelling at you for violating an unnecessary rule. Yeesh.
When tourists complain, it’s explained that Italians don’t care about entrepreneurship nor efficiency because they value lifestyle over money. I don’t buy it.
Chain-smoking and sipping tiny espressos is not a healthy lifestyle.
I’d definitely return to Tuscany for cycling. But not likely the most famous ride ➙ the Tuscany Trail.
For one thing, it’s mainly a ca$h grab by organizers. They spend very little and pocket over 100 € / person. Normally capped at 3000, in 2023 they went up to about 4700 bikes. Too many for these trails and small towns.
Better, for example. is the Ganza Gravel event. October is much better weather than June. Cyclists have 3-4 different routes to choose from. Folks get together for meals in the evenings. There might even be a food festival at the end.
For those who are not really cyclists, the supported electric bike tours looked very good to me. Not inexpensive.
I’ve been researching the best bike rides worldwide. This one appeals most.
The Tuscany Trail. And I’m registered for 2023. Cost €97.
Cycling 470 km independently … but alongside as many as 3000 others.
It’s not a race. Some finish in 2 days. Some wander off and never finish. 😀
It starts 1st JUNE 2023.
I actually cycled here on a rental bike in 2010. Loved it.
From there I’d most like to head back up to the Dolomites. On to Switzerland. And north to Arctic Norway to start the LONG ride I had planned for last summer. CANCELLED when SAS Airlines failed to deliver my bike.
Here’s my PLAN for 2023.
Click PLAY or watch 2021 on YouTube.
I was inspired by Lael Wilcox to pencil in a date on my personal calendar:
That’s the start of the 2022 Tour Divide Mountain Bike Race.
It’s free. No registration. No commitment in advance. I could show up … or not.
I’d dreamed of lining up with Lael and watching her for about 45 seconds as she pedalled out of sight. 😀 Sadly Lael is not racing 2022. She’s in Europe this summer, instead.
The Tour Divide roughly follows the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) is the most recognized and important off-pavement cycling route in the United States, if not the world.
The route crisscrosses the Continental Divide from north to south starting in Banff, Alberta, Canada and finishing at the US/Mexico border in Antelope Wells, New Mexico.
I don’t have time, bike or talent to do the whole thing. But I’m hoping to ride the start down into Montana. Then divert over to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho where I broke down on my 2019 Great American Rail-Trail bikepacking adventure. Dave Adlard had to rescue me. 😀
MIGHT do some hiking in Montana. Then head for the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes.
UPDATE: In 2019 an alternative further west was announced:
This adventure is the flagship achievement of Bikepacking Roots, a not-for-profit advocacy group founded by Kurt Refsnider and Kaitlyn Boyle in 2017.
It’s less technical and easier for touring bikes than the Divide — so I may divert on to the Western Wildlands starting at Eureka, Montana. I’ll see how I’m feeling at the time. 😀
Likely I’ll end up making a loop of the two routes, returning to Calgary via Eureka.
For navigation I’ll likely be using the paid FarOut app (formerly Guthook) as it’s the most popular for both Divide and Wild West. But I hope to have backup maps, as well.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Here’s the Lael Wilcox documentary that got me started planning this trip.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
related – Lael Wilcox Is the Best. Why Does Anyone Else Bother?
If heading back to Calgary, I’ll likely take this return route.
(via Adventure Blog)
I’m adding this to my #BucketList.
I’ve hiked big sections of the Colorado Trail in the past. It’s TOUGH !
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
(via Adventure Blog)
Rebecca Rusch and Huyen Nguyen were first to pedal the entire length of the 1,800 km (1,200 mi) Ho Chi Minh Trail through Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
Blood Road, according to director Nicholas Schrunk, “set out to document an epic cycling expedition as well as Rebecca’s personal journey to visit the crash site [of her father], but we ended up uncovering something much deeper.
It’s a story about the scars, both physical and emotional, that war leaves on families, countries, and cultures, and how they still exist today.
Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.
Superb cinematography. Incredible drone footage.
I was reminded just how stupid and futile was the Vietnam War and all wars. What a waste.
I learned of Rebecca Rusch from an excellent and inspiring interview on the Adventure Podcast.
What a badass. Mountain Bike Hall Of Fame. Mountain Biker of the Year, Endurance LIVE Awards. Adventure Sport Magazine “Queen of Pain” (2004)
Rebecca says she was never much of cyclist. Climbing was her thing. But she won a lot of races due to grit, determination and pain tolerance.
Says her toughest adventure was her first Iditarod Trail endurance bike race in winter.
I’ve added this to my bucket list.
EuroVelo 6 (EV6), named the “Rivers Route”, is a long-distance cycling route that runs along 3,653 km (2,270 mi) some of Europe’s major rivers, including much of the Loire, some of the Saône, a short section of the upper Rhine and almost the entire length of Europe’s second longest river, the Danube — from the Atlantic coast of France to the city of Constanța on the Black Sea.
The EV6 traverses ten countries …
Lauren Pears went for a 3 month solo bike ride across Europe last summer – from London to Istanbul – whereby she used the EuroVelo 6 – Atlantic-Black Sea for most of the way. …
Read Lauren’s Guide To Cycling EuroVelo 6
Annapurna Circuit, Nepal.
I did the Muktinath to Tatopani ride in 2013. Enjoyed it so much that I repeated exactly the same trip in 2019.
It went better in 2019.
Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.
Read my 2019 trip report.
Here’s my trip report from 2013.
My major project of summer 2019, I finished a month long trip on August 3rd.
Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4-5 | 6-7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12-13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | info | video
One excellent adventure.
The Pacific Northwest is gorgeous. I had fantastic weather. Very few biting insects.
The theme was rails to trails. I tried to ride as many railway lines converted to non-motorized transport as I could.
HIGHLIGHTS
Click PLAY or watch a 6 minute highlights video on YouTube.
LESSONS LEARNED
I started in Nanaimo wanting to get to Lake Cowichan as quickly as possible.
Lake Cowichan is the western terminus of the Great Trail.
2. Islands to Port Townsend WA
After visiting friends in Victoria, I took the most direct route to visit friends in Port Townsend via the American San Juan Islands.
3. Port Townsend WA to Rattlesnake Lake WA
To avoid some highway miles, Doug & Diana delivered me to the Bainbridge ferry. I cycled the Burke-Gilman rail to trail and others connected to get to the fantastic Iron Horse Trail out of Rattlesnake Lake.
4. Rattlesnake Lake WA to Tekoa WA on the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail
5. Eastern Washington
Just past Ellensburg I was forced off the semi-official GART on to secondary highways and alternative trails that took me through Spokane.
I found this section of GART to be too soft and sandy for my tires. Also it was too disconnected.
I finally stopped at Plummer, Idaho. Dave Adlard picked me up. We dropped the bike at a shop for repair as I’d broken 3 spokes the previous evening. And then took an indulgent 8 days off in Couer d’Alene.
6. North to Castlegar
Dave and Jeni rode with me away from the Adlard log cabin in Athol. We headed towards Sandpoint on back roads and I later rejoined the route shown in the map below. Dave had suggested I cross the border close to pretty Metaline Falls.
6. Castlegar to Hope
For decades I’d wanted to ride the Kettle Valley Rail (KVR) Trail and the Columbia & Western Rail Trail. It’s totally wonderful. And obviously one of the great cycling routes of the world.
Hope to Vancouver and on to Parksville on the Island was problematic. There is no excellent route yet available. Cyclists I met took a number of different roads.
Psychologically finished at Hope, I managed a series of rides, buses, trains and ferries to cover the 240km in about 36 hours without sleeping.
related – compare my 23 days bikepacking Patagonia, Chile earlier this year
Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4-5 | 6-7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12-13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | info | video
Rick McCharles 