Bikepacking History and Community

The History of Bikepacking

Dan Burden and 30 other cyclists rode 3,103 miles from Alaska to Argentina in their 1972 Hemistour Bicycling Expedition. Following this journey, he wrote the article Bikepacking Across Alaska and Canada and “bikepacking” found its way into print. The term was used periodically in the 1980s for some endurance races in Alaska and then again in the mid-2000s for the Arizona Trail Race and the Great Divide Mountain Bike Race.

Growing demand for gear showed that there was interest in the new sport. In the early 2000s, Eric Parsons began making his own durable outdoor gear designed for winter racing. By 2010, demand for the frame bags he was sewing in his Anchorage garage led him to launch Relevate Designs, probably the first true bikepacking bags’ manufacturing company. 

Around the same time, Surly and Salsa Cycles broadened their brands to include bikes designed for adventure riding. They began working with Relevate to design bags specifically for their bikes. Other custom bikepacking bag makers grew their businesses and companies joined in producing bikes designed with bikepacking in mind.

Bikepacking is generally defined as multi-day mountain biking using minimalist camping gear to keep the loaded bike light and maneuverable enough to enjoyably ride rough, off-road routes from 30 miles to thousands of miles on trips as short as overnight to months. 

Parallel to this, in the early 2000s, a small group of riders who had been taking on epic adventure bikepacking rides began to collaborate. They told their stories on personal blogs and websites like Pedaling Nowhere and in print with publications like Bunyan Velo. They shared tips on how to make bikepacking gear. Logan Watts, Virginia Krabil, Cass Gilbert, Lucas Wizenburg, and Joe Cruz began working on an online map of bikepacking routes. That collaboration helped launch Bikepacking.com (still spearheaded by Logan Watts) the world’s leading online resource for bikepackers and a catalyst behind its rapidly growing popularity.

The First Bikepacking Route in Wisconsin

On my first experience “bikepacking” the Colorado Trail from Durango to Silverton, Colorado, I had not yet heard the term. But by the time the website Bikepacking.com launched in 2015, the term was part of my lexicon, and I had already done quite a bit of bikepacking on Wisconsin’s unpaved backroads and mountain bike trails. While the quality of the writing, photography, and online route map on the new Bikepacking.com website blew me away, I was annoyed that there were no pin flags for routes in the Midwest. 

With that as my motivation, I created the Tour de Chequamegon bikepacking route. I worked with Fyxation Bicycle Company to help organize a supported ride on route to promote their new Quiver adventure bike, as a fundraiser for the Bike Fed, and to plant a pin flag in Wisconsin on the Bikepacking.com route map. Since then, I have published the Valhalla Beach Party and Wisconsin Waterfalls Loop routes, both of which have won awards for best route on Bikepacking.com.

Building Bikepacking Community: The Midwest Bikepacking Summit

Shane Hitz of Wausau has developed a reputation as a meticulous route researcher. He designed the IRONBULL Red Granite Grinder gravel race route and has developed scores of great bikepacking routes in the forests north and east of Wausau. In 2022, Shane attended the New Mexico Bikepacking Summit. He was inspired to bring a similar event to Northern Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest to build community and encourage riding in the area.  

In 2023, he organized the first annual Midwest Bikepacking Summit at Jack Lake Campground just outside Wausau and 33 attendees participated: about a third of the attendees were women; and the group represented 10 states. The Friday expo was a wonderful opportunity for attendees to share their bikepacking bikes and set-ups with others. Cool regional and national vendors participated with give-aways from Tailfin, Yum Pouch, Ruby Coffee, Embark, and VeloSante Cycling Services.

Saturday’s panel discussion included an interesting mix of experts, including Noelle Battle, the executive director of Bikepacking Roots. She came to the summit after riding the 630 mile Northwoods Route that circumnavigates Lake Superior. Bikepacking Roots is a national nonprofit that advocates for and publishes bikepacking routes in and around the United States. They work at the national, state, and local levels to ensure access to public land. They also help publish both long distance routes like the Northwoods Route and shorter community routes created by riders around the country like Shane.  

Panelist Jared Linzmeier, Founder/Owner of Ruby Coffee Roasters in Stevens Point, talked about his experience racing the 2023 Tour Divide. Linzmeier finished the 2,745 mile race from Banf, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico on the Mexican border in 21 days, 14 hours and 47 minutes.

Beyond the panel of experts, it was a pleasure to talk to the many other summit attendees who were experienced bikepackers and to hear their stories. Attendee Rich Lytle has traveled much of the world bikepacking. He split off from riding the Tour de Nicolet Route to tack on the Michigan Off-Road Adventure Route as part of his Midwest bikepacking tour. 

Corey Krosner is a bike mechanic and ultra racer from Platteville who attended the summit with his 8-year-old Golden Retriever Jordi. Corey travels to events in a van he tricked out. He often brings Jordy along on his shorter dogpacking adventures in a Burley Tail Wagon trailer. I’ve been thinking about taking my older dog Cowboy along with me on short trips, so I was very interested in looking over Krosner’s set-up and learning about dogpacking logistics. For the summit, Korsner brought Jordi on the shorter Aurora Vistas route, but rode a singlespeed and pulled Jordi along in a trailer!

The 2024 Midwest Bikepacking Summit presented by IRONBULL takes place September 12-14 at the Jack Lake Campground Veteran’s Memorial Park in Deerbrook, WI celebrating how far bikepacking has come in the last 52 years.

Bonus – Northwoods Bikepacking Tips and Gear Lending Library

Looking to give bikepacking a try? You can bikepack with any camping gear you already have or can easily access. Tents, sleep systems, cook stoves, and other items designed for backpacking are great to start out with because they are small and lightweight. Even if you have to bungee a big Coleman sleeping bag to your handlebars and load panniers and a backpack with a tarp, food from the fridge, and basic bike clothing, go for it!  

Start with a short route and an overnight camp using any gear you can scrounge up. Don’t let a lack of expensive gear hold you back. If you have a good time and want to bikepack again, invest in items that will make your next trip easier and more enjoyable. Equipment designed specifically for bikepacking will last longer than items designed for road bikes. Bikepacking tents have shorter poles. Bikepacking bags and racks are designed to reduce sway and are designed to survive bouncing along rocky roads. 

If you want to take the next step but are not ready or able to invest in special equipment, consider borrowing from my Northwoods Bikepacking Gear Lending Library. Using profits from the Hungry Bear gravel race I used to organize in Cable, WI, I purchased basic gear an individual or small group would need to try bikepacking and offer it for rental. Wisconsin’s Northwoods region offers many great areas for bikepacking, head to northern Wisconsin near Chequamegon National Forest and try before you buy.  

I created this gear library to share my love of bikepacking and encourage people to give it a try. It is also ideal for those who know they like bikepacking, but only do it once or twice a year. Bikepackers can rent gear at a reasonable price rather than investing $1,000 (or more) on items that will sit on a shelf 50 weeks a year. Visit my website at Lifeaboveeight.com to view a list of items available.

The small rental fees cover repair and replacement that results from the wear and tear of normal use. I am willing to work with anyone who wants to try bikepacking, so if the rental fees are a barrier, please contact me, and we can discuss. 

In addition to lending gear, I can help curate a route in the Northwoods area that will work for you or your group. I have several routes already researched but can also advise on a route you are considering or can create a new route that meets your distance and time constraints. Find out more about the gear lending library and my routes at Lifeaboveeight.com.