Fat Bikes Winter Bikepacking

[Pierre]

Anyone here dumb enough to try bikepacking in the winter? I am considering setting up for it and might give it a try. Gotta keep friends and family guessing as to my sanity however probably none of them will be surprised and none of them will join me.

 

[Tom K.]

Not me! There is a local ~65 mile "event" here every winter where a bunch of people ride over to a hot springs resort, have a party, stay in warm, heated bedrooms with showers, then ride back.

That, sigh, will probably have to wait until next winter, at which time I'll be all in! In the meantime, here's a link I posted somewhere else about a 135 mile winter fat bike packing event held in the area I grew up: https://lacemine29.blogspot.com/2009/02/a135-day-one-its-all-good.html

 

[Slim]

Me!
NE Ohio sounds like a challenging climate for winter back/bike packing. If it is your first try, watch the weather and only go out if it is going to stay well below 25F the whole time.
If the weather is likely to be around freezing, maybe just try an all-day trip, with lunch break and coking dinner, but then sleeping in a cabin/hotel/home, and going out again next day.

Here in NE MN it’s a bit easier to get good winter camping weather, so I usually just bail if the weather is bad(>30F).

 

[Pierre]

If I try it I am more likely to try it near Tricia's old stomping grounds where most of my family still is. North Western Michigan's LP. Just NW of Cadillac.

 

[firebanex]

I have never tried and don't really have the desire to either.

That said there is a few crazy locals here that will winter camp and bike but the majority of winter bike packing here seems to be cabin trips.

 

[Slim]

The difficulty with winter Fatbike packing is that winter camping gear is bigger in volume, but bikepacking bags have less volume than a backpack, and it’s split into many small, awkwardly shaped, bags.

So if your bike and route allows, a rear rack can be a big help when loading up. If there is a chance you might have to push (questionable conditions, off trail riding etc) do not use panniers, they make pushing even harder than normal. on the other hand, if you can count on being alike to ride (almost) everything, panniers make packing and unpacking a winter load waaaayyyy easier.

Especially if you do not have a full set up of super light winter camping gear.

@firebanex , there’s nothing crazy about it. It’s a lot of fun, and very pretty. No bugs!

 

[Pierre]

Especially if you do not have a full set up of super light winter camping gear.

@firebanex , there’s nothing crazy about it. It’s a lot of fun, and very pretty. No bugs!

At the moment I have nothing decent for winter camping. It's just a thought. I need to find other mountain biking activities besides running difficult single track. I can no longer safely do it as I started too late in life and do not really have the body anymore to acquire the skills so bikepacking/snow/dirt touring seemed to be the logical next step that affords lots of new things and excitement. Especially since I had not camped in a tent in nearly 35 years. When I first decided to go that route I was putting colorful adjectives in front of various pieces of kit to describe them to myself and friends.
This fall I tried bikepacking a couple of times with very good success. Better than I would have guessed. My greatest difficulty was getting dressed in the mornings in a small tent I got as a wedding gift in 1977. Stiff with a lot of pain.
I discovered a few things. The tent was still okay as it was very expensive back in 1977. The pad I bought was great. The sleeping bag was one that got left by accident at a sleepover my daughter had maybe 20 years ago and was totally not adequate below 50 deg. The other parts of the kit I had seemed pretty fit for service. The repair kit I took is way overkill and I need to cut it back. With that repair kit I could service and fix virtually anything that could go wrong on the trail. That would include rebuilding forks, dropper posts, hydraulic brakes, hubs, motor drives and batteries. It weighted 10 lb.
The first time I try winter camping will be about 5 feet from the hanger side door so I can bail into the house if necessary.
As far as the bike goes, it has a rack on the back that has a capacity of 100lbs and I always carry a small set of paniers for a day ride.

I just got a new computer today. Will be setting it up and probably be able to send a lot of pictures and such. The present computer is 12 years old and times out on many things running widows 10

 

[Slim]

Yeah, trying out winter camping with an easy bail out is the way to go.
when my girls were preschoolers, we’d winter camp in the backyard. Bailed about half the time

 

[Slim]

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