Hi everyone,
I'm transitioning from backpacking to bike touring and I'm already having space issues....
Big Agnes Tiger Wall Ultra Light Bikepack 2 Person tent
EE Convert sleeping bag
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm sleeping pad
Trekology Ultralight Inflatable Camping Travel Pillow
The sleeping bag and pad especially seem to take a lot of room.
Kathy
Retired
Novice bike tourer
Sending positive vibes to 'A'
Just noticed, like most backpackers, you focus on your camping equipment. What you have available for bags and therefore space depends a little on your bike - which is now an essential part of your equipment.
If you're going to take the kitchen sink, table, and chairs as do some of my stronger colleagues, then you need a frame, fork, wheels, and tires to match.
So, I should ask, what are you riding? (Or, do you have resource for a herd of bicycles for different purposes.)
I'll expand a little bit on potential knee issues, which also ended my days as a backpacker.
Fit on the bicycle becomes critical, and you might want to check with your physical therapist or a trained bicycle fitter on how to set up your position on saddle, pedals, and bars to avoid injury. Though cycling is fairly forgiving, if, as I suspect, you are a strong athlete, you can still hurt your knees, hips, back, and neck on a bike through overuse injuries.
Also, with knee pain, you'll likely want to minimize the weight of the bicycle and gear as much as possible. There are some mechanical limits to leveraging the mechanical advantage of very low gearing by which one can damage some heavily loaded bicycles while stomping on the pedals up a very steep grade. If you're on back roads or trails in the mountains with a heavy load, you might need to walk the bike up (and sometimes down) the wall. So, you might want to start light, and add luxuries as you see fit. You don't want to strain a knee struggling to walk or pound a heavy bike up a seemingly impossible grade on a rutted road or trail. All will likely agree, the general tendency in bicycle touring is to start too heavy.
Cycling also adds the possibility of "motel camping." Even in the backcountry, towns are not separated by as much time as they are on foot. On the AT, hiking 20 miles off the route to re-supply or shower is a big deal and ~6 hours. That's a distance that can usually be done in a couple of hours on a bike. As already noted, that should lighten your load of food and in some areas, water, but you might also consider how it might lighten your equipment. I have summer trips where I don't take a stove, knowing I can get a restaurant meal (or gas station pizza) whenever I have the urge for a hot meal, at lodges and towns along or near the road/trail.
I should note, that
in addition to the book I mentioned in my prior post, another source of information and philosophy with which you might identify is
bikepacking.com - "Brought to you by folks addicted to campfire smoke, chromoly steel & getting lost."
(Parenthetical aside, not quite off-topic. As you might know, the Tour Divide started yesterday. This is a self-contained race where riders eat and sleep where they can. Camping for most is at the extreme of minimalist (a bivy sack and down jacket and pants) If you need a little bit of inspiration, I see that at this time on the second day of riding, 48 year-old Jay Petervary is already more than 280 miles (>10%) of the way through this 2,450 mile ride that essentially follows the ACA Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.)
Have fun thinking about your future tours, but remember, the best thinking is done on the bike.
