For the last few years, I have been using the terms Dirt Touring and Road Touring. These are the same activity but the terrain and, as a result, some of the gear is different.
As a more old school cycle tourist I think it's great that there are more and more routes popping up. I've taken the habit of picking the best bits of local (and longer) bikepacking routes when I'm planning my tours. I'm really happy that this non competitive side of bikepacking is coming popular. Great work!
Love Bikepacking Roots and their mission. Still have my full set of Carousel Designs gear from Jeff Boatman from 2009. Much different kit than my dirt touring setup now that includes a rack and panniers. Everything evolves and gets personalized based on direction and experience.
Awesome chat Russ, Noelle, and Cricket! Great to see Bikepacking Roots getting some more exposure for the excellent work it does! All the best for 2025 and beyond! Cheers Guy
I love bikepacking roots. I did the Kofa one that was tough bring a good water filter. I did Ranchita rambler this month and put up a video it was amazing but Day 2 was a climb fest. Keep up the great work. I would like to see more what I would call Gravel tours which I have quite a few routes setup for that so that someone can get on a gravel bike and ride to a hotel then ride to a train and take that back home in sub 24 hour and easy level entry that is missing for sure.
Thanks for checking out our routes and sharing videos of your experience! We definitely hope to add more overnighters and transit accessible routes to our collection in the future.
touring (bikepacking) has been part of mainstream bicycle magazine coverage since the 1980s at least, even earlier in some cultures: in quebec bicycle touring around the province became popular with the quiet revolution. montreal is home to some of the largest bicycle companies in the world. maybe this is lost in anglophone culture.
I once spent a week at the bicycle library at Adventure Cycling and looked at nearly issue of Bicycling Magzine. Touring had its hey day in the 70s and part of the 80s but precipitously disappeared in coverage after Greg Lemond's victory at TdF. The late 80s and 90s especially during the Lance years saw little to no touring coverage. There was a HUGE and unilateral shift to bikes as racing. So while it has been "part of mainstream" coverage, it has waxed and waned and has not been consistent.
Another great video, I come from the bicycle touring days, calling it Bikepacking is still strange for me. But I am adapting and enjoy the change. Catch y'all on the road.
There is a great point here. The gear is great, but you almost need to have a guide or an overnight how to for people to know what they have and what it will do for you. It’s also important to know that there will be opportunities to embrace the suck. There is a great chance that you will encounter all levels of fun and newbies need to know their own personal limitations and how and when to bail
Great and Inspiring information. Noel and Cricket, Thank you for all you do. Donated this morning. Rec’d my PLP top cap last week too. Will be on my Wolverine.
Hi Russ, love the channel and have been following your path since 2017! I really appreciate your sensibilities for “cycling” and I REALLY appreciated all of your bike reviews! I was wondering, where I can find this podcast in podcast form, as well as your other podcast content with bike sauce? Thanks!
I have a rule against hike-a-bike. I'd rather take a route 2x...3x... 7x as long . I have very little I care about beyond that, but if I wanted to push a load, I'd get a mudda friggin wheelbarrow.
I ride mainly in my community (with an e-bike) and local rail-trails with my traditional bike - on rail-trails near us (B'more area) they are so well maintained, it's amazing, but the community routes get built, but not maintained and they need significant maintenance. Like there is a route I ride once a week to get pizza. I've been doing that for 10 years. Just this summer they made that into a designated bike path with it cordoned off with those pole barriers, but now it's awful to ride. When it was just a wide street with shoulders, cars and people would brush leaves aside and if big branches fell, they would be picked up. NOW the roads are clear, but the bike area is full of thick leaves and small tree branches. I simply don't feel safe riding it.
Hi Melissa, I am from Baltimore as well! We hope to add more search functionality to our collection that will help people filter by gravel vs mountain bike route or other similar criteria, haven't had a chance to do that yet though. Our detailed route information has that info, but I'd love to make it easier to search and it is on our to-do list.
@ great. I actually live Columbia Md and I like to ride that rail trail that goes through Monkton. I don’t get to ride much the last couple years as a take care of my MIL with dementia.
And yes - knowing HOW to connect the routes out there so that you stay off the roads is difficult. Like is a route meant more for Rail-trail riders or mountain bikers, etc. I dream of easy to find routes that differentiate the type of route it is.
Was bike packing ever actually seen as an endurance sport for elite athletes? Besides a few races that I know of I've always just seen bike packing as touring, but off-road.
Loved this interview with Bikepacking Roots! I love their mission for inclusion and diversity. I'm wondering if they're interested in partnering with a neurodiverse future Tour Divide rider!
I’m very interested in Amtrak bike travel information. I plan on using the train for my GDMBR trip this year, and so far I haven’t had much luck finding the information on the Amtrak website. I love traveling by train and would like to put together other bike/train routes as well.
I’ve taken my bike on the Coast Starlight long haul route. For that type of train route, full sized bikes go in the baggage car. Folding bikes that can fit inside a carrying case can be brought on the passenger car. The storage space (on the starlight route) is either above your seat (like an airline carry on) or in a shared alcove where you get on the car for larger bags. I think shorter regional routes usually have certain passenger cars you can bring your bike onto and lock it up and sit nearby. Also, adding on a bike for the long haul routes costs a bit extra from a seat ticket. If you go through the ticket buying process to the page with add ons (like pets too) that should tell you if you can bring a bike. Even if the station is staffed, the way your bike gets on the baggage car is by you handing it up to an Amtrak employee.
@@MattKremer Thank you for replying. I get the general gist of it all. I just wish there were an easier way to figure out which trains had bike service when selecting a route. For my GDMBR ride there is a station in Montana and in New Mexico. I know I can get from Cincinnati to Chicago on the Cardinal, I just have to piece together the rest. Ultimately I’ll just have to call Amtrak and get it all figured out. I just wish there were an easier way to just look at the map and see if it even works.
@@donnydread7631Big ditto. The information is so sparse and sometimes incorrect from Amtrak. I've even called and gotten fully incorrect information about bikes allowed on parts of routes. It's really so difficult.
I've always wanted to pair my fly fishing with my bike packing. what rod would you suggest for bike packing? one that will travel easily on the bike. thx
Seems everything where you put some stuff on a bike to go somewhere is bikepacking now. I guess it's a cooler name. It diesnt matter but originally bikepacking definately suggested mountain biking. The changes I see is fewer and fewer just go places to explore and find their way. Most everything is preplanned with exact routes to follow. That removes everything that attracted me to cycle travel.
…I’m more of a road cyclist from NM, BUT having more opportunities to get more folks on more bikes (road or off-road) sounds good to me. …Lastly, don’t be too quick to go “thumbs down” on racing. I would encourage every type of cyclist to properly prepare (in earnest) and enter at least one competitive event. …Even if you have a last place finish, it will improve your cycling. You will see ways to be more efficient on your bicycle even if you choose never to enter another race/multi-sport event. …You will be a better commuter, fitness rider, bikepacker, etc. …Thanks for your video. Peace and Be Well in 2025! 😎🚲
Exactly. However, this new term for something that has existed for a century has allowed bike touring to bounce back. I'm amazed that this whole thing happened like it did, but the facts are there: without this "revival" based on "marketing, hype and equipment, bike touring would still be a boomer thing (I'm one of them) or very niche part of the market. I've had (and still have in a way) a problem with this but after the years I've come to live with this. Bikepacking had to present itself as something new replacing old grand'pa bike touring in order to catch the attention of the younger generation. We all know that without new blood, any social group will eventually die off. The industry realized how this could create an opportunity for folks to buy (at heafty prices) new bikes and decided to pour marketing money at it. It kind of worked. I loathe this evolution where something as simple as a bike has become so expensive.; a market where wealthy people are targeted along less wealthy but politically engaged people who allocate a ludicrous amount of their hard earned cash to feel "part of a community" (what you call hipsters), being lured by marketing folks dressed in athletes, community leaders and, generally, "influencers". Biking somehow has become just so incredbly emotional that customers loose sense of real value.
Thanks Russ for having Bikepacking Roots on your channel. We appreciate the support!
For the last few years, I have been using the terms Dirt Touring and Road Touring. These are the same activity but the terrain and, as a result, some of the gear is different.
As a more old school cycle tourist I think it's great that there are more and more routes popping up. I've taken the habit of picking the best bits of local (and longer) bikepacking routes when I'm planning my tours. I'm really happy that this non competitive side of bikepacking is coming popular. Great work!
Love Bikepacking Roots and their mission. Still have my full set of Carousel Designs gear from Jeff Boatman from 2009. Much different kit than my dirt touring setup now that includes a rack and panniers. Everything evolves and gets personalized based on direction and experience.
Great chat and great work to grow bikepacking!
Awesome chat Russ, Noelle, and Cricket! Great to see Bikepacking Roots getting some more exposure for the excellent work it does! All the best for 2025 and beyond! Cheers Guy
Sure wish we had more rail trails in the southern us. Especially in Tennessee
Absolutely love this content Russ! This is an organization I knew nothing abouit. I'm on patreon for you and now I can send some money their way too!
Glad you found us Geoffrey! We love connecting with more bikepackers.
Great stuff 👍👍👍
Thanks Casey! I'm excited to continue our mission that you were a part of back in the day with Kurt & team!
Heck Yes having Noelle on!
I love bikepacking roots. I did the Kofa one that was tough bring a good water filter. I did Ranchita rambler this month and put up a video it was amazing but Day 2 was a climb fest. Keep up the great work. I would like to see more what I would call Gravel tours which I have quite a few routes setup for that so that someone can get on a gravel bike and ride to a hotel then ride to a train and take that back home in sub 24 hour and easy level entry that is missing for sure.
Thanks for checking out our routes and sharing videos of your experience! We definitely hope to add more overnighters and transit accessible routes to our collection in the future.
I just woke up but the "roots" vs "routes" is very confusing to me so far, lol!
touring (bikepacking) has been part of mainstream bicycle magazine coverage since the 1980s at least, even earlier in some cultures: in quebec bicycle touring around the province became popular with the quiet revolution. montreal is home to some of the largest bicycle companies in the world. maybe this is lost in anglophone culture.
I once spent a week at the bicycle library at Adventure Cycling and looked at nearly issue of Bicycling Magzine. Touring had its hey day in the 70s and part of the 80s but precipitously disappeared in coverage after Greg Lemond's victory at TdF. The late 80s and 90s especially during the Lance years saw little to no touring coverage. There was a HUGE and unilateral shift to bikes as racing. So while it has been "part of mainstream" coverage, it has waxed and waned and has not been consistent.
Another great video, I come from the bicycle touring days, calling it Bikepacking is still strange for me. But I am adapting and enjoy the change. Catch y'all on the road.
There is a great point here. The gear is great, but you almost need to have a guide or an overnight how to for people to know what they have and what it will do for you. It’s also important to know that there will be opportunities to embrace the suck. There is a great chance that you will encounter all levels of fun and newbies need to know their own personal limitations and how and when to bail
Great and Inspiring information. Noel and Cricket, Thank you for all you do.
Donated this morning.
Rec’d my PLP top cap last week too. Will be on my Wolverine.
Thanks so much for your support!
Hi Russ, love the channel and have been following your path since 2017! I really appreciate your sensibilities for “cycling” and I REALLY appreciated all of your bike reviews! I was wondering, where I can find this podcast in podcast form, as well as your other podcast content with bike sauce? Thanks!
Onya Team looking forward to visiting America and hitting the road
I have a rule against hike-a-bike. I'd rather take a route 2x...3x... 7x as long . I have very little I care about beyond that, but if I wanted to push a load, I'd get a mudda friggin wheelbarrow.
Great interview!
I ride mainly in my community (with an e-bike) and local rail-trails with my traditional bike - on rail-trails near us (B'more area) they are so well maintained, it's amazing, but the community routes get built, but not maintained and they need significant maintenance. Like there is a route I ride once a week to get pizza. I've been doing that for 10 years. Just this summer they made that into a designated bike path with it cordoned off with those pole barriers, but now it's awful to ride. When it was just a wide street with shoulders, cars and people would brush leaves aside and if big branches fell, they would be picked up. NOW the roads are clear, but the bike area is full of thick leaves and small tree branches. I simply don't feel safe riding it.
Hi Melissa, I am from Baltimore as well! We hope to add more search functionality to our collection that will help people filter by gravel vs mountain bike route or other similar criteria, haven't had a chance to do that yet though. Our detailed route information has that info, but I'd love to make it easier to search and it is on our to-do list.
@ great. I actually live Columbia Md and I like to ride that rail trail that goes through Monkton. I don’t get to ride much the last couple years as a take care of my MIL with dementia.
And yes - knowing HOW to connect the routes out there so that you stay off the roads is difficult. Like is a route meant more for Rail-trail riders or mountain bikers, etc. I dream of easy to find routes that differentiate the type of route it is.
Good interview. Keep it up. You used to do more interviews.
Out your front door has been doing some really cool things in Chicago
Was bike packing ever actually seen as an endurance sport for elite athletes? Besides a few races that I know of I've always just seen bike packing as touring, but off-road.
Yes. That was the origin for all tiny bags that are ubiquitous today.
Outstanding - thank you!
Did you guys mentioned the “Rails to trails conservancy “ efforts/project?
Loved this interview with Bikepacking Roots! I love their mission for inclusion and diversity. I'm wondering if they're interested in partnering with a neurodiverse future Tour Divide rider!
Yay Cricket!
I’m very interested in Amtrak bike travel information. I plan on using the train for my GDMBR trip this year, and so far I haven’t had much luck finding the information on the Amtrak website. I love traveling by train and would like to put together other bike/train routes as well.
If you have any specific questions about bikes & Amtrak, feel free to reach out and I can see if I can get you answers.
@@BikepackingRoots I’m mostly curious which trains I can take my bike on. I can ride to Cincinnati or Cleveland to start.
I’ve taken my bike on the Coast Starlight long haul route. For that type of train route, full sized bikes go in the baggage car. Folding bikes that can fit inside a carrying case can be brought on the passenger car. The storage space (on the starlight route) is either above your seat (like an airline carry on) or in a shared alcove where you get on the car for larger bags. I think shorter regional routes usually have certain passenger cars you can bring your bike onto and lock it up and sit nearby.
Also, adding on a bike for the long haul routes costs a bit extra from a seat ticket. If you go through the ticket buying process to the page with add ons (like pets too) that should tell you if you can bring a bike. Even if the station is staffed, the way your bike gets on the baggage car is by you handing it up to an Amtrak employee.
@@MattKremer Thank you for replying. I get the general gist of it all. I just wish there were an easier way to figure out which trains had bike service when selecting a route. For my GDMBR ride there is a station in Montana and in New Mexico. I know I can get from Cincinnati to Chicago on the Cardinal, I just have to piece together the rest. Ultimately I’ll just have to call Amtrak and get it all figured out. I just wish there were an easier way to just look at the map and see if it even works.
@@donnydread7631Big ditto. The information is so sparse and sometimes incorrect from Amtrak. I've even called and gotten fully incorrect information about bikes allowed on parts of routes. It's really so difficult.
I've always wanted to pair my fly fishing with my bike packing. what rod would you suggest for bike packing? one that will travel easily on the bike. thx
I’ve had success using a Tenkara rod
Seems everything where you put some stuff on a bike to go somewhere is bikepacking now. I guess it's a cooler name. It diesnt matter but originally bikepacking definately suggested mountain biking.
The changes I see is fewer and fewer just go places to explore and find their way. Most everything is preplanned with exact routes to follow. That removes everything that attracted me to cycle travel.
Great, now we have at least three activities being described as bikepacking, that should clear things up.
I made it like 12 minuets in and but not sure what this was about. is it about easier routes? finding more people to ride with? both?
…I’m more of a road cyclist from NM, BUT having more opportunities to get more folks on more bikes (road or off-road) sounds good to me.
…Lastly, don’t be too quick to go “thumbs down” on racing. I would encourage every type of cyclist to properly prepare (in earnest) and enter at least one competitive event.
…Even if you have a last place finish, it will improve your cycling. You will see ways to be more efficient on your bicycle even if you choose never to enter another race/multi-sport event.
…You will be a better commuter, fitness rider, bikepacker, etc.
…Thanks for your video. Peace and Be Well in 2025! 😎🚲
We did a whole series training for Dirty Kanza in 2017. I honestly hated my bike after that year and am still recovering from it.
Save the Porkies!
Yes! We are happy to support that campaign and will keep an eye out for any future support needed.
So, “bikepacking” is new hipster euphemism for “touring?”
It sounds like it means traveling by bicycle to a location where you pass the night which is not your home, necessitating the hauling of your luggage.
Exactly. However, this new term for something that has existed for a century has allowed bike touring to bounce back. I'm amazed that this whole thing happened like it did, but the facts are there: without this "revival" based on "marketing, hype and equipment, bike touring would still be a boomer thing (I'm one of them) or very niche part of the market. I've had (and still have in a way) a problem with this but after the years I've come to live with this. Bikepacking had to present itself as something new replacing old grand'pa bike touring in order to catch the attention of the younger generation. We all know that without new blood, any social group will eventually die off. The industry realized how this could create an opportunity for folks to buy (at heafty prices) new bikes and decided to pour marketing money at it. It kind of worked. I loathe this evolution where something as simple as a bike has become so expensive.; a market where wealthy people are targeted along less wealthy but politically engaged people who allocate a ludicrous amount of their hard earned cash to feel "part of a community" (what you call hipsters), being lured by marketing folks dressed in athletes, community leaders and, generally, "influencers". Biking somehow has become just so incredbly emotional that customers loose sense of real value.
As always, great content. But, remember, bikepacking is not defined by what Americans think it is. The world is bigger than the US.