As we prepare for our company’s first ever bikepacking experience, we have been having some interesting discussions with people who have a variety of opinions about bikepacking, cycle touring and everything in between. We also learned in our annual survey (we summarized the results here) that almost 80% of people that follow us have either bikepacked or are curious to try it.

So what is bikepacking? Cycling Weekly described it as “a multi-day tour by bike, completed on mixed terrain or entirely off-road with the rider carrying their equipment on their bike.”

Bikepacking.com  – one of the best resources for finding routes, learning about gear and being part of the larger bikepacking community –  explains the sport in The Rise of Bikepacking, A Manifesto:

“While bicycle touring has existed since time immemorial, bikepacking has come to define a style of travel favoring routes that are predominantly off-pavement, sometimes featuring significant components of singletrack. Routes that by their nature tend to demand lighter weight setups than the traditional four-pannier bike touring setup — at least to be enjoyed to the fullest…Ultimately, we’re fans of bike touring in all its many incarnations and tribes, so we’re the first to acknowledge that there’s often a lot of overlap and shared stoke, however you choose to camp out on a bike, and whatever bike and setup you choose.”

How We Define Guided Bikepacking

So that leads us to the question of what exactly is a guided bikepacking trip? Well, it’s everything that people love about bikepacking but with some backup and guidance. That means you can expect:

• Small groups led by an experienced guide
• Challenging routes deep in the bush
• Carrying all your own gear but with emergency vehicle on standby
• Navigating along a GPS track provided by us
• Sourcing and carrying food along the route

Craig Dalton and Ben Shillington (our guide for our first bikepacking trip) also discussed this on The Gravel Ride podcast…

Many bikepacking purists will see the guided aspect as a bit controversial. Should companies like ours be making packaged bikepacking tours? Does this take away from bikepacking culture or enhance it?

Our opinion is that a guided trip opens up bikepacking to a wider range of people who may feel too intimidated to plan and execute their own trip – making the experience more inclusive and welcoming to all. Bikepacking stories continue to captivate all of us. Our first trip through Quebec will try to stay true to the idea of bikepacking by getting deeper into the wild, away from public roads and car traffic, being self-sufficient, and experiencing the joy of discovery.

Just as there are guided kayaking and skiing expeditions, we hope this new offering allows more and more people to try their first bikepacking trip. As we develop this new idea, the structure and support may change over time as we learn what works best and what creates the most enriching experience for all participants.

Our annual calendar of tours will still consist largely of supported cycling tours on public roads but we hope that these new bikepacking experiences can get even more people to try a big bike adventure – traveling further and longer then they might have in the past or on their own. Part of our mission has always been to enable regular people to take on big memorable trips that enhance their lives – and guided bikepacking trips are another way we can achieve that.

What are your thoughts? Do you consider yourself a bikepacking enthusiast or a cycle tourist or neither? Do guided trips appeal to you or should bikepacking remain as a independent / do-it-yourself culture? We would love to hear your thoughts. Leave us a comment below.

If you are interested in participating in our first-ever guided bikepacking tour and pioneering a new kind of group bike travel, come join us in Quebec this August. Details here.

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“The rocking chair is not for me – I am going Bikepacking…”

Henry on the 2019 Trans-Himalaya

I don’t know about you, but for me, staying in good shape during these mentally challenging times has been difficult. Even if gyms were open, the last time I used one was two years ago when I was busy preparing for our Trans Himalayan Cycling Expedition.

The only reason I forced myself to work out was because, at the age of 67, I really wanted to cycle over high Himalayan passes which topped out at over 5,000 metres. It was the thrill, the novelty that gave me the motivation to at least attempt to be in reasonable shape. Age was not on my side, but I did it! I cycled the mountain passes, one by one. Of course, I wasn’t the only one who did and was not even the oldest cyclist on the tour. Some riders were much better athletes, some much more prepared and others were just physiologically more capable than me. However, we were all united in one area. We had a strong desire to be doing what we were doing.

Two years have now passed and I have just had my first shot of COVID-19 vaccine. Suddenly, I realized that the only way I am going to get myself in shape is to give myself a new thrill and try a new kind of adventure. Some will ask, ‘At your age? Isn’t it time for the rocking chair?’ Others will say they would love to go but then recite half dozen or so reasons why they can’t do it.

Henry on the 2003 Tour d’Afrique

I have heard this before, and often. After all, I was already old, in expedition terms, when I organized the first ever Tour d’Afrique, an 11,000 km cycling expedition from the top to the bottom of Africa. At fifty, I was past the age of what was acceptable for breaking physical and psychological barriers. But I wasn’t interested in breaking barriers, I just wanted to do something exciting, something that would stir my soul.

Seeking thrills may be associated with young people but aging well is what is on the minds of most people when they reach the lovely age of 50. There is a whole science out there that instructs people on how to live a long, productive, good life. One of the ideas that separates those who age well from those who don’t is seeking out new challenges and stimulation along with maintaining an active mind and body. This is the secret magic potion available to those who are willing to use it.

I am a convert. I decided a long time ago that no matter my biological age, I would go and seek out new adventures wherever I could find them. In these COVID-19 times, our company, TDA Global Cycling, is, for the first time, offering a new type of tour – Bikepacking Quebec or, as I like to call it, an alternative route from Canada’s capital Ottawa to the capital of Quebec, Quebec City. It will be a challenging cycling adventure, largely on remote forest roads, where participants – me being one of them – will carry their own camping supplies. There will be an experienced guide and regular food drop offs. After all, some of us will be completely new to this type of cycling.

On the route of Bikepacking Quebec

Am I apprehensive? You bet I am! However, if an 80 year old can climb Mount Everest, if a 77 year old can fly into space, when a 73 year old can swim across the English Channel, when a 104 year old can cycle 27 km in one hour to break his own world record established at the age of 100, then really, what is cycling 80 km a day on dirt roads carrying a light tent, a sleeping bag and a bit of food? To quote Helen Keller, “Life is a daring adventure or nothing else“.

One last comment. Bikepacking is widely perceived as a young person’s adventure. If there is one thing that our company has accomplished, it has been to create a supportive infrastructure which allows an adventurous person of any age or gender to cross a continent on a bike. We believe that by providing a basic support system, bikepacking can also be a wonderful and enjoyable adventure for cyclists of any age or gender.

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For nearly 20 years TDA has been creating trans-continental bicycle tours. Some of these tours are by far the most complex bicycle journeys organized on the planet. Over the last few years we found ourselves discussing a back-to-basics type of tour, that would still be at the forefront of bicycle adventures, but in one smaller region of the world, reaching further into natural settings, and less dependent on vehicle support. And so we are introducing our first ever bikepacking adventure, from Ottawa to Quebec City.

Bikepacking is in essence a new sub-genre of cycle touring, but focusing on areas further from vehicular access: using forestry roads, double-track, or even single-track trails through all matter of terrain, including portions where pushing your bicycle instead of riding may be the best option. The rapidly growing interest in bikepacking in recent years has led to the development of new products for carrying your gear on your bike. So instead of the classic cycle touring panniers, bikepackers use a wide variety of smaller bags. These are most often strapped directly to the frame of the bicycle, maintaining a lower profile, and increasing durability and maneuverability for off-road riding. Bikepackers also draw on the ultralight sleeping and cooking equipment often used by hikers. This ingenuity has allowed people to travel farther into nature by bicycle, opening new realms for exploration, adventure and enjoyment.

Bikepacking in remote natural areas, where resources can be scarce, requires planning, preparation and specific equipment. While there are many bikepackers who joyfully head out on their own, there are also many cyclists who would like to try a bikepacking adventure but would like to do it with guidance and support, as well as help with pre-tour planning and equipment preparation.

And so we see bikepacking as a perfect opportunity to connect with nature by exploring the more remote, rugged, and lesser-traveled routes of the world.

Bikepacking Quebec

TDA’s goal by creating our first ever guided bikepacking tour is twofold. First, we want to create an amazing experience journeying through the backwoods of Quebec, and second, we want to introduce a new audience to bikepacking, by providing in-depth instruction, both pre-tour and during the tour, as well as logistical and emergency support. We also believe experienced bikepackers will love the route, the group experience and the extra support provided compared to solo rides.

Why did we choose Quebec for our first guided bikepacking trip? The ability to start in Ottawa, the nation’s Capital, and finish in Quebec City, the Capital of Quebec provided city highlights to start and finish the tour, and easy access for arriving and departing. The space in-between is an incredible and rugged wilderness that few people get to experience. We will ride through wildlife reserves, national parks, and endless forest, creeks and rivers. The route also provides a glimpse into the remote small towns of Quebec and its proud peoples and culture.

Part of TDA’s mission has been to encourage and enable more people to get out and explore the world by bike. In the future we plan to add more bikepacking trips to our existing calendar, in many destinations around the world, opening ourselves up to an even wider range of cyclists. We look forward to experiencing this new adventure with you in August of this year.

So click here for all the details of this exciting new tour, or visit this page to learn more about the guided bikepacking experience.

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