The Self Sufficient Bike Camping Thread.

LPG

likes thicc birds
Lpg fixies are not as hard to jump as you would think. While you are in the air, you don't have to pedal. You just have to ready to start pedalling as soon as the back wheel hits the ground.
Makes sense but it still sounds awkward. I take it you can't use your legs to absorb the shock of the landing so much on a fixed gear or does it somehow work out alright.
 

Peter650

Likes Dirt
Seriously it's not that hard. You just need to pedal at a jump soon as you get in the aiyor set your pedals for the landing as you land the back wheel will start to turn and so will your pedals. If you normally land left foot forward that is how you will land on the fixie just don't have to much weight on your right foot so the right pedal can come up as soon as you land. To recap i comedat e off the jump and get my weight over the left pedal which is pointing towards the front wheel the right pedal facing the rear wheel has very little weight on it. LAND WITH SOFT KNEES
 

LPG

likes thicc birds
Lpg fixies are not as hard to jump as you would think. While you are in the air, you don't have to pedal. You just have to ready to start pedalling as soon as the back wheel hits the ground.
Seriously it's not that hard. You just need to pedal at a jump soon as you get in the aiyor set your pedals for the landing as you land the back wheel will start to turn and so will your pedals. If you normally land left foot forward that is how you will land on the fixie just don't have to much weight on your right foot so the right pedal can come up as soon as you land. To recap i comedat e off the jump and get my weight over the left pedal which is pointing towards the front wheel the right pedal facing the rear wheel has very little weight on it. LAND WITH SOFT KNEES
You've convinced me, I won't avoid jumping a fixie if presented the opportunity.

Now can you ride technical descents? :brick:

Feel free not to answer that one :)
 

creaky

XMAS Plumper
Seriously it's not that hard. You just need to pedal at a jump soon as you get in the aiyor set your pedals for the landing as you land the back wheel will start to turn and so will your pedals. If you normally land left foot forward that is how you will land on the fixie just don't have to much weight on your right foot so the right pedal can come up as soon as you land. To recap i comedat e off the jump and get my weight over the left pedal which is pointing towards the front wheel the right pedal facing the rear wheel has very little weight on it. LAND WITH SOFT KNEES
Video or I call bullshit (please please please film a road gap)
 

Elbo

pesky scooter kids git off ma lawn
RapidRob, sorry I can't help with personal experience, but I have a few friends who have toured there/are from Tassie. What did you want to know? I can always pass on your questions, or see if they're happy to get in touch.

On another note, is anyone doing Tour Divide in the USA this year? I'm biting the bullet and putting my name in the hat. I'll be in Europe beforehand, so figured it would be the perfect opportunity to come back via Canada and the States. I'm shitting myself at the prospect, but pretty exited to give it a crack too.
 

RapidRob

Likes Bikes
Bikepacking in Tassie

Hi Benny,
What do you use for reference, or do you just look at maps and make up a route from scratch? I was given a couple of Sven Klinge books a while back, including one on touring on dirt roads in Tassie titled "Cycling the Bush", are you familiar with it? I'm curious to know how much of it is still current or close enough. I'm not kitted up or clued up for touring yet but would like to explore by bike, especially Tassie.
Cheers
 

Benny Storer

Likes Bikes
"Cycling the Bush"
The 'Cycling the Bush' book is pretty out of date. Most of the dirt roads are current or former Forestry Tasmania roads.. they change like the wind, bits added, bits in disrepair. Take a long hard look at LIST Map https://www.thelist.tas.gov.au/app/content/home and eyeball routes on there. Use the transport tab and the land tenure tabs to see who is who in the zoo. I've dozens of dirt routes planned here https://ridewithgps.com/users/205452/routes that might give you some ideas. Anywhere you specifically want to ride?
 
RapidRob, sorry I can't help with personal experience, but I have a few friends who have toured there/are from Tassie. What did you want to know? I can always pass on your questions, or see if they're happy to get in touch.

On another note, is anyone doing Tour Divide in the USA this year? I'm biting the bullet and putting my name in the hat. I'll be in Europe beforehand, so figured it would be the perfect opportunity to come back via Canada and the States. I'm shitting myself at the prospect, but pretty exited to give it a crack too.
Did this happen ..? I've never fixed you to a real name...
 

Elbo

pesky scooter kids git off ma lawn
Looking back on this thread, it's crazy to see how big 'bikepacking' is now and how foreign the concept of 'Self sufficient bike camping' seemed 7 years ago.
 
Forgot about this old thread.... and yes what an amazing growth in the bikepacking toys ... I haven't had a Christmas wish list as long as this years for 40 years..:)

OK boys and girls ... entries open January 1. You still have time to get fit for this...

Starting 15 September 2018. From the tip of Australia at Cape York finishing at the bottom, Wilson's Promontory in Victoria. Just you and your bike, no support, the clock runs non-stop... off road. You'll end up a bit grubby on the outside but you will cleanse the mind and cleanse the soul .... do something that's possible that you thought was impossible.

"All men dream: but not equally.
Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was all vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible."

T.E. Lawrence, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom

Everything you need to know is on the website ...

https://www.terraustralisbikepic.com
 

carpetrunner

Likes Dirt
2/3 of Attack of the Buns

I attacked Nowra to Bungendore from 17~19-feb solo. Firstly, it was fantastic.

Gear
Ride wot u got - weapon of choice is an old xc race bike, a dualie sworks epic 11sp - 28 x 10-46
A custom frame bag from #bikebagdude, for tent poles, billy, gas, aeropress, coffee, tools/spares and random stuff.
Two 750ml biddons mounted on the forks and voile-ed into the cages, all pretty solid.
A 6L saddle bag for the naturehike tent and nemo sleeping mat.
Mont prolite 150 sleeping bag, a change of nicks and pub clothes in a 10 litre Apidura bar bag.
I had a toptube/seatpost bag (gastank?) for day 1 but that was super annoying so I moved stuff around.
Food, 1st aid and PLB in a mt500 enduro backpack with back brace.
A SP-PD8 generator hub wired to a klite USB charger to keep the garmin and phone fed.
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Day1: Ride to central, 4:40am train to Bomaderry. Nowra to Piercys was a very big day. The climb from the Shoalhaven to the plateau is very steep, where the bogans can access it's cut up, where they can't, it's loose, almost single track. The tops are fast with sections of very slow slurry of quartz ball bearings.

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By the time I hit the Braidwood road I was out of water and needed to go down the hill to Tainjara falls - lunch at the lookout.
The Endrick River firetrail was fast until after the NP gate, then deteriorated, the fires have hit hard, its a bit of a moonscape with mud.
The descent from Red Jonnys to Endrick River was pretty special, kinda not quite in control, surfing the mud through a tube of overgrown grass with a facefull of spider webs.
Piercys clearing wasn't so I camped on flattened grass on the Red Ground side after wading the swollen Endrick river. Absolutely stuffed and needed a nap before cooking dinner. The backcountry Nasi Goreng didn't meet expectations - although it did improve as I dug deeper - maybe I didn't mix in the flavouring enough. The fire maple titanium gas burner worked well. The Aeropress was a standout producing a fantastic coffee.
The NatureHike tent performed well in drizzle and light rain, the nemo is the most comfy mat I've ever used, and the Mont sleeping bag is the first time I have been comfortable in a bag in summer conditions.

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Day2: The Red Ground fire trail up from the Endrick river is non existent a plantation of 2m weeds for about 500m in all directions (picture below taken holding phone above head). The garmin route is accurate, so just follow the triangle pushing the bike through the weeds and pop out on reasonable dual track eventually.
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The cliffs to the east are amazing - even moreso with all the treecover missing.

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Nerriga pub Cafe was open and adequate. Road bash was uneventful, maybe one too many B-doubles. Charlies Forest road into Braidwood was very slow and sticky, the logging trucks had made a mess of the wet clay for around 8km. Arrived in Braidwood just after 2pm, in time for everything except the pie shop to close. While murdering a potato pie I met the lady from the tourist info, she was very interested in my little adventure. When I said ai was going to Mulloon camp she exclaimed "over the Palerang?" err I guess so... I may or may not have ridden past a National Park closed sign, then the relentless climb to Palarang, I had a little cry and walked for 15min on a perfectly good gravel road.

I narrowly avoided a road closed sign on a quick descent to Mulloon camp. The area may (or may not) be closed due to bushfire damage. From what I could see the dangerous trees were cleared, but the area is a mess and needs work to make it presentable - I can confirm there was paper in the composting toilet. I may (or may not) have ignored all signs. Dinner was most excellent, a pouch of mexican tuna and beans on flatbread.

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Day3: A short climb and a long decent to Hoskinstown during which a fork failure became evident, and an uneventful roadbash to Bungendore with the fork on the stops made me more aero. Traded a long story for the loan of a shock pump from the bike shop at Bungendore and took the long way to Canberra - avoiding certain death on the Kings and Captains Flat roads. If only you could transit the Magura army training area like in the old Capital Punishment days, you could ride a great mix of firetrails and singletrack from Canberra to Bungendore.

I definitely need to do more of this bikepacking stuff.

-matthew
 

SummitFever

Eats Squid
Sweet. When we did it in the opposite direction we did exactly the same thing and went down to Tianjara Falls for water and lunch. It's an excellent spot for both.
 

stirk

Burner
@carpetrunner cool story, I'd love to try something like this one day.

Had me laughing with this comment!

" I had a little cry and walked for 15min on a perfectly good gravel road."
 

Calvin27

Eats Squid
There are a few trips that I am considering that would be mad with a dually (goldfields for example). You have inspired me!

Question though, does the rear suspension actually work with all that on there? My bike is a bit more of a conventional vertical shock so no chance I'm getting any triangle bag in there. But should be able to make do with your setup minus the triangle bag switched out for a 20L backpack.
 
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