So how many bicyclist read this forum?

[John Emery]

Hi, I'm a cyclist born to tour. I just registered and I want to say I love this place! I, shamelessly, gather gear ideas to use for my long summer bicycle trips. Bicycling and ULB seem to be cousins at heart so I read and heed. I have to say, I have reduced frame weight down to about 15 pounds and I manage with two small packs over rear tire, not including spare parts for the bike.
One question I have is: How many bicycle tourists are the same as me? How many of you are two wheelers that know a hidden gem when they find one? I have found ULB indespensible for my sport.

Thanks

What I use (DIY)
Little dandy wood stove
Tarp tent (camo) great for gorrila camp
poncho modified for bike
Wal~Mart pot

[Ken Thompson]

There are quite a number of cyclists here. Did you notice the Bicycle Touring forum?

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/display_forum.html?forum=63

[Miguel Arboleda]

Bicycle traveler here, long before I was a backpacker. Done some epic tours, too.

Have you ever seen this site?

http://ultralightcycling.blogspot.com/

He's quite amazing, even for us UL'ers here.

[John Emery]

No Miguel, I didn't know about that spot. I'll have tocheck it out. Thanks

[Paul Wagner]

And I ride about 6,000 miles a year…but not with a pack. THose are day rides.

If I tour, it's with a credit card in my pocket, not a lot of gear on my bike

[Erik Basil]

Ha ha! That's the ulimate ultralight biking: build a light bike and bring a credit card! Give me my singlespeed, camelbak and a sag wagon full of steaks!

Cyclists have been UL'ers for years and there's a lot of crossover in the concepts and …religion, as it were.

[Ken Helwig]

Road cyclist here. Rode professionally in my late teens and now ride for pleasure to stay in shape

[HkNewman]

Mountain biker here; haven't thought about a touring bike but have thought about adapting my backpacking gear to a mountain bike tour of Arizona's Patagonia region ("Kentucky Camp Loop") after hunting season. Might need a small rack over my rear wheel for camping supplies but panniers are out of the question off road.

[Elizabeth Tracy]

Another road-biker here. I like to ride remote roads to a campground and back. It makes for a great winter/spring weekend trip if the weather is sunny. More interesting for me, for some reason, than winter backpacking where I live (Bay Area).

People like me, who have a roadbike but not a touring bike or a pannier setup, can just wear a lightweight pack or fanny pack. I find I need to keep pack weight under 10 pounds, otherwise my hips/back start to hurt and the extra weight throws me off both uphill and downhill. It helps to leave the tent and stove behind, and to attach weightier stuff, such as food, to the bike somehow, in an under-seat bag or bento box.

– Elizabeth

[Stephen Barber]

Long time road and mtb cyclist here. Haven't done any touring though – I use cycling as a relatively enjoyable means to maintain fitness.

[David Chenault]

Look for a three-part series here on ultralight "bikepacking" in a few months. I'm a mountain biker so the series will be dirt focused, but the ideas of modern rackless carry systems apply just fine to pavement.

The big-three makers of custom bikepacking gear are amongst the highest quality cottage gear companies around today.

[Erik Basil]

Boy, am I looking forward to your ideas and report on UL MTBikepacking! I really want to do this with Scouts, but I can't figure the smart way to get our weights and volumes down where I want them.

[Miguel Arboleda]

The big-three makers of custom bikepacking gear are amongst the highest quality cottage gear companies around today.

I know Revelate and Carousel, but may I ask what the third one is?

[Adam Kilpatrick]

"The big-three makers of custom bikepacking gear are amongst the highest quality cottage gear companies around today.

I know Revelate and Carousel, but may I ask what the third one is?"

+1 :-)

[Don Meredith]

You should check out Porcelain Rocket.

Porcelain Rocket Bikepacking Gear.

Don Meredith

lightpack.blogspot.com.

[BlackHatGuy]

Cyclist long before I became a backpacker, not lightweight though (that part is new). Toured a number of countries(Scotland, Ireland, France, New Zealand, East Germany) with a 7-pound tent (for just me) and other heavyweight accessories. Just a friend and I (except East Germany, that was solo). Loved every tour though! Did a week in Germany this past summer with much lighter weight kit (including custom cuben panniers), but ended up towing a 4-year-old pretty much the entire time (so much for the weight savings!). Had a wonderful time. Love me some bike touring.

All my touring have been on roads, no off road/trail touring.

[John Vance]

It has been a while since I toured self supported but was CAT 2 through the eighties with a brief run at MTB racing. My longest tour was U.S. 1 from Port Angeles Wa. To San Diego Ca. I have always been in awe of the RAAM and would like to give that a try…. Albeit at a slower pace.

Currently I am the typical middle age recreation cyclist that rides a bike much better than I am. I used to love going out looking for those guys on my MTB and drop them. Now I am one of them.

[David Chenault]

Porcelain Rocket is the "other" established bike-bag maker. Mr. Felter didn't invent and define the genre in the way Carousel and then Epic/Revelate did, but he's been in the game long enough to have a solid record.

[Greg Wheelwright]

I've been cycling and backpacking since I was a kid and starting combining the two after a few friends invited me on a self supported tour of the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands 15 years ago. I've been exploring Colorado and Utah as much as possible since then and have lightened and refined my gear substantially. While not one of the "big three", I make lightweight gear which has been used in the Tour Divide, Colorado Trail Race, Paris Brest Paris, and numerous other backcountry adventures.
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,2427.0.html

[Pete Staehling]

I bike tour. I try to do a month long or longer tour once a year if I can manage it. I am doing my second coast top coast tour in a few weeks.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Have done both for decades, with usual breaks for small children, work demands, etc. Went on self-supported tours through Western Europe, New Zealand, Canada, etc; then switched to road riding in Europe, staying at inexpensive inns.

I will return to Europe this May for a self-supported bike tour, which is logistically easier than staying at inns: plentiful campgrounds with hot showers, washing machines, etc. This is not the same backpacking in the wilderness, but one still crawls into one’s tent or tarp at night, etc. Although total weight does not seem as important on a touring bike as when backpacking, I do enjoy being able to use lighter weight gear when bike touring.

I am still an occasional masters road racer – renewed my license for another year – but being scraped off the pavement and placed in an ambulance makes me want to hike more than bike race.

[Lisa Frugoli]

Was an ultra-distance cyclist. Also did some bike touring.
Now enjoy lightweight backpacking, especially long distance.
I've completed all but 175 miles of the PCT in CA. Then OR & WA.
Next want to ride across the country coast-to-coast.
I'm looking forward to the upcoming articles on bike touring.

[Don Morris]

I have been backpacking and climbing for decades. Recently I have increased my bike touring. I simply transferred my tent, bag etc. to panniers and started pedaling.

[John Zahorian]

I've ridden across the US four times and have always enjoyed doing day hikes in my travels. My most recent crossing featured a two day hike in Glacier NP and I am officially enamored with backpacking. I feel the same way about backpacking that I used to about bicycle touring, it feels like a wonderful adventure and challenge that scares me in the best ways. In a month I am cycling down the Pacific coast again in order to get to Campo for a nobo PCT. Hoping to use tour time to do tons of hiking and get in really good shape for a strong thru-hike. Interested to see the differences between long distance hiking vs biking.

[rowan !]

I use bicycles for transportation, don't own a car. The only downside to not owning a car is that it makes it hard to go backpacking!

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