Bikepacking

Bikepacking in the stunning Jagungal Wilderness in NSW

Do you like hiking? Do you like riding your bike? Then bikepacking is for you! Bikepacking is an outdoor activity where you pack your bike with all the overnight gear you might need (tent, camping stove, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, the list goes on...) and set off on a multi day adventure in the country. MUMC welcomes all participants to join our bikepacking trips, whether they be beginner bikepackers or already have experience.

Rainbow Rd in New Zealand: a bikepacker's dream

Victoria is a stunning backdrop for bikepacking. We have an outrageous number of rail trails scattered across the state that make for scenic weekends on the bike, including the Lilydale to Warbuton Rail Trail, the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail, and the Great Victorian Rail Trail. For a more difficult trip, there are a plethora of beautiful national parks with adventurous offroad routes, such as the Great Forest National Park, the Alpine National Park, and the Otway National Park. Check out bikepacking.com or Adventure Cycling Victoria for some route inspiration.

Luke showing that the bike is the master of land *and* water in the Great Forest National Park

How do you get into bikepacking? You can use any bike to bikepack, but some bikes are more appropriate for certain terrains than others. We generally recommend using a touring bike, mountain bike, or a gravel bike - but your commuter bike might also do the trick on some beginner trips! For offroad trips, we would suggest a tyre width of at least 30mm (however you can generally take road bikes with thinner tyres on high quality rail trails).

The Old Ghost Road in New Zealand 

Packing your bike is the next challenge. A good first setup is to attach a pannier rack to the rear of your bike, and hang a couple of pannier bags on each side. Alternatively, you could strap a few dry bags to different places on your bike, like the handlebars or your top tube. For a more advanced setup, you can get bikepacking specific bags that attach to your frame, like a saddle bag, frame bag, or a handlebar bag. Warning - it can be easy to end up spending a lot of money on bikepacking gear as it's all quite expensive. MUMC hires out most of the aforementioned gear for very affordable prices, which is a great option if you're new to bikepacking. See gear hire prices here.

Packing your bike is all part of the fun!

See some of the bikepacking setups of members of the club below:

Molly's setup

Bernhard's setup

Luke's setup

Here are some more resources to get involved in bikepacking:

• Bikepacking pack list
• MUMC Bikepacking participant guidelines
• MUMC Bikepacking gear hire rates
• Route inspiration and further tips and tricks: bikepacking.com and Adventure Cycling Victoria
• Guide on how to repair a punctured tube