What to take on a Bikepacker ride

Just like some of you who are riding our Bikepacker, i (Tom) am also new to bikepacking. So i was a little bit nervous about the full recon ride of the Bikepacker course. And of course "full recon" means that we had to strap all the gear to our bikes. In this article you can find what i took with me, where it was stored, if i missed something or took too much. Sorry, no info about the course (that's still a secret :-) ).

For the record: because i don't have a small/light bikepacking tent yet, i decided to pack as if i was renting a tent at the camping (in reality our chief course design brought a tent to the camping).

So what did i take with me and where did i put it? Because i am a relatively small guy (1m72), my frame size is not big enough to fit a frame bag. And even if i could fit one, i would probably hit it with my knees all the time.

But i did have the following places to store items:

* the saddle bag:

from left to right and top to bottom:

usb cable and battery, rain jacket, VAUDE sleeping pad, arm sleeves, socks

foldable cup, inner tube, short sleeve baselayer, sleeveless baselayer, short sleeve merino baselayer, cycling cap, tube with cable ties and duct tape

* the front bag:

from left to right and top to bottom:

sleeping quilt, long sleeve merino baselayer, shorts, t-shirt, buff

shower gel, toothbrush, emergency blanket, toothpaste, tek towel, pillow, underpants, cap

The stuff that would get wet during the day or that was still wet in the morning (towel....): i would put all together in the towel bag and strap it to the top of the front bag. If the weather was sunny enough it could then dry during the day.

Because the front bag was more difficult to access when mounted on the bike, this bag had all the things i would only need at the camping. I did put the sleeping pad in the saddle bag because there was not enough space in the front bag.

* the Lezyne stuff cady (feed bag):

from left to right:

cleaning cloth for sunglasses, chain lube, chamois cream, desinfectant gel, energy bars, a custom Dirty Boar spork

The feed bag would also have food i would buy along the route and/or the USB battery if the GPS needed charging.

* the Lezyne flow caddy (bottle with screw cap fitted in the 3th bottle cage near the bottom bracket):

from left to right and top to bottom:

tyre levers, Lezyne multi-tool, chain link, brake pad, spd cleats

tubeless repair kit, patches for inner tubes. And i also had a cloth to clean the chain but that's missing in the picture.

* jersey pockets:

from left to right and top to bottom:

lock, waterproof wallet

Lezyne compact pump

I also had the phone in my pocket but i needed that one to take this picture :-)

* What i didn't use during the recon ride:

the arm sleeves because it was already 16 degrees in the morning.

the tube with cable ties and duct tape (that's only in case something breaks)

the long sleeve baselayer, buff and cap because it didn't drop below 10-15 degrees in the tent

the emergency blanket (took it for emergencys or to put under the sleeping pad if it would get cold at night)

luckily i didn't have to use any of the inner tubes, spares or tools (i only cleaned and greased the chain at the end of the first day)

* What i was most happy about that i brought

My rain jacket and a slightly warmer baselayer. On the 2nd day we ended up in a thunder storm near the highest point of Belgium and these 2 items kept me warm during the descend.

Of course i was also happy about the other stuff but i think staying warm (and dry) is number 1 on the list.

* Did i miss something

Maybe a spare jersey and/or bibshort would have been nice.