Credit Card Bikepacking - Does Money Make Bikepacking More Enjoyable?

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Күн бұрын

There are two main types of Bikepacking, one, is the Nomadic style where you're completely self-reliant, detached from civilization. You cycle each day with complete flexibility on when and how long to stop. Then we have the Credit Card Bikepacker. This is not truly authentic bikepacking, but a bit of basic luxury is nice at times. Which is better? If you're planning on bikepacking but unsure how to do it then perhaps this video will help with your decision.
Next week's video: The follow-up and race report from Bikepacking Around Norway - Look forward to sharing that with you! If you missed the first installment: • EUROPE'S HARDEST ENDUR...
Bike in this video: faracycling.com/models/All-Road
Visit www.cyclenorway.com for more information about cycling in Norway. The website will be updated in the coming months.
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Пікірлер: 41

@compassionsix 3 жыл бұрын

I like to mix it up. Primarily camp, but use a hotel every few days to shower, do wash, and eat a meal without prep work.

@sirprancealott2003 2 жыл бұрын

Agreed. On a typical trip of 2/3 weeks it's much better to have a mix

@casperandersen5836 3 жыл бұрын

I just finished a 2500km ride from Alta to Bergen, huge inspiration from you Matthew drove me to do it. I had all I needed on the bike, but it was way to heavy at roughly 38kg including 2 liters of water. I wild camped most nights, but I found it extremely difficult to find good spots, especially in the northern parts. It was a stressful part of the day, sometimes I rode for more than one hour to find a good a quiet spot. I also included three nights of accommodation, mainly to dry out my wet clothes, and tent as well. Lesson learned for next big ride, to cut off on the weight massively to be able to cover more ground and have more time to recover and relax. But besides that, it’s been an experience for a lifetime!

@matthewnorway 3 жыл бұрын

That's amazing to read Casper. Firstly, Congratulation! Secondly everyone takes too much on their first big trip, you'll certainly be able to reduce at least 5-10kg for the next one. And I agree wild camping can be stressful at times. I try to have other options available should wild camping be too difficult but some days it's the only option! But great to hear it was an experience of a lifetime! Ride on!

@brettgorham8745 3 жыл бұрын

G’day Matthew. Absolutely love your Norway vids. I’m a 65yo who only got into touring/bikepacking in the last few years. Because of the specialised bike bags available now it’s possible to do a variety of trip-types and always minimise the amount of extra stuff/weight. It’s great to arrive in a small country town and stay in an inexpensive pub overnight. You get to meet people you’d never ordinarily mix with and put a little money back into the local economy. That’s a great thing to be able to do here in Australia where drought, fires, floods and now Covid have had a big effect on country towns. But I’m also with you on solo wild camping. What a thrill to camp alone in an ancient forest or beside a mighty wild river!

@matthewnorway 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Brett, that is such a good point about putting a bit of money back into the local economy. Sounds like a lot of fun stopping off at small country towns and having a few beers with some locals!

@rowerowysztos 2 жыл бұрын

for me it depends of the weather, in colder months i ll go for credit card bikepacking, but in the summer when its warm bikepacking with a tent can be really nice

@lesleykenwood2715 2 жыл бұрын

Completely appreciate your vlog. I prefer credit card touring, and yet I can only find videos on tent touring. The cyclists are on the move daily, whereas I prefer to stay several days enjoying each town. I prefer Airbnb, hostels, and Warmshowers. Since my modified soft tail mtb can only carry front panniers, a tent, sleeping gear, and stove is out of the question. I disagree about not eating healthy. I would frequent markets, and cook my own food either in a hostel, Airbnb, Warmshowers kitchen. Yes I have to plan more, but planning is my favorite thing to do. I tend to ride on average 35 miles a day, allowing for picture taking, rest stops, taking in the beauty of nature, and talking, my other favorite past time.

@matthewnorway 2 жыл бұрын

Sounds like a great way to travel! 👌

@FollowThomas 3 жыл бұрын

I like to mix it thing when I'm bikepacking, one night campground and other night motel but that's just me. I go as light as possible like you. Thanks 😊

@matthewnorway 3 жыл бұрын

Some basic luxury is always nice after a long day on the bike :)

@alexanderlawson1649 3 жыл бұрын

Before the invention of "bike packing", I used to tour like this all the time. I put a good saddle bag on my tourer and would spend up to two weeks out in the Scottish Highlands, staying in hostel accommodation. I could travel further and faster, than carrying the full pannier/camping load. Its surprising how much gear can be packed into a decent saddle bag and also how little you need to carry. Strangely enough I mainly do the heavy stuff, these days, full panniers/camping gear, maybe I just like to suffer more these days. By the way you're bike set up, 15kg, thats about what my Surly LHT weighs without any bags mounted.

@Biking360 3 жыл бұрын

This made me laugh because I used to go Youth Hostelling in the 70s with a saddlebag strapped to the saddle and resting on the sturdy rear mudguard. Also got a Surly LHT btw. Great bike and it's redirected my love of touring. JP

@lechprotean 3 жыл бұрын

The next level is having your wife follow you in a car. I just need to convince her to do it ;)

@matthewnorway 3 жыл бұрын

lol! I actually met a guy once who was doing that (3500km of cycling). His wife was a legend!

@chris_noswe Жыл бұрын

I do both, as in some nights I camp out in forests and some I camp at campgrounds. The picture you’re painting about wild camping isn’t super honest though - as it can be equally stressful when looking for a tent spot. Non-Scandinavians tend to rave about ”allemansretten” but they completely negate the fact that it’s a loooooooot of private property around here and not all forests are good camp spots. So, do a bit of both, depending on where you are - and plan ahead.

@zawatoku8057 3 жыл бұрын

I've done plenty of Credit Card 'Bikepacking', never done any camping with a bike. I can see the appeal of 'real' bikepacking in countries like Norway where you can camp anywhere. But in countries like Germany, Switzerland or England, being restricted to campgrounds seems to combine many of the downsides... In these countries, when traveling off-season, I usually do not plan the trip ahead, but book accommodation on the fly. In the evening before, from the WLAN of that day's hotel, I check the density of available accommodation in next day's target area. When there is little, I book right away. When there is plenty, I postpone booking a hotel until the afternoon, so I still have lots of flexibility. I also keep an eye on train stations as a backup, so I can catch a late train to the nearest city if things don't work out (which happened very rarely). The one thing that I do miss is the option for long days, riding into the night...

@matthewnorway 3 жыл бұрын

That's a good strategy. If I'm not bring my tent I follow a similar plan to you. But certainly them night rides watching the sun set as you ride into the night are magical and harder to do with booked accommodation requirements. The north of Norway in the summer is fantastic for night riding when the sun doesn't set and the roads are empty.

@ashleywright3913 3 жыл бұрын

90% wild camp however organising Couch surfing/AirBnb for a shower and human interaction once in a while is important for me too. Agree that a shorter trip might be better with credit card but wouldn't ordinarily sacrifice the freedom and ability to sleep by that beautiful river bend or beach that having your own setup affords.

@matthewnorway 3 жыл бұрын

I agree Ashley, a tent just gives you so many options that makes it essential at times.

@mrsporty9669 2 жыл бұрын

Back to nature with wild camping, self reliance & affordable

@omare_biketonature 3 жыл бұрын

I’m not that social and that’s why I prefer being alone in nature, if I had the money I would try credit card Bikepacking in places like Tuscany, south Spain or Portugal and enjoy small towns. But in places like Norway is a waste of money! Such beautiful nature!

@teddgram 3 жыл бұрын

It is definitely lighter. Really all you need to bring is clothing, bike spares, and treats/water. It is also a hell of a lot more expensive. I like to do a slight combination. I usually bring food along on my trip, but not a lot of it. If I see places to stop and eat/drink along the way, I'll do that in an effort to not only fill my belly, but also support locals. As far as having a place to sleep, I love camping, so I'll keep doing that unless there is just some circumstance where I just have to get a room somewhere. The setup/teardown time is not a biggy for me. I usually get to camp and get the water going. While I'm waiting for the water to boil I'll pitch the tent. By the time I'm done with the tent, the water is ready and I'll throw my water into something that needs to be hydrated. While I'm waiting for my food to hydrate, I'll unpack all the sleeping gear and get the rest of my tent stuff set up. Usually by then my food is ready. In the morning, the process is usually the same, just in a different order. I can be set up or ready to head out and have a meal in my belly in 30-45 minutes. Longer if a shower is available or not. I don't think that's too bad.

@matthewnorway 3 жыл бұрын

It's not just your bike which is a well oiled machine! You should write a book on how to limit faff time Bikepacking! I'd buy it!

@teddgram 3 жыл бұрын

@@matthewnorway A lot of being quick is trying to have the mindset of "well I'm waiting for this, could I be doing something while I'm waiting?". After a while you start to figure out the timing of things and it just clicks. You can also do things like I can either spend 15-20 minutes cooking, cleaning up, putting things away, or I can eat a Clif bar (or whatever suits you) just to get going in the morning and plan on eating a bigger lunch later. One huge time saver I see vs. what most other people do is that I am not a coffee drinker. I just never liked the taste of it. So I don't spend time grinding beans, boiling water, running the beans through a press, etc. Trying to pack in such a way of thinking ahead is another thing. When I get to camp, I'm going to want to get the water going. So I make sure to pack my stove so I can get to it very easily. Next is the tent, then the food, then my sleep gear, etc. When you pack, you just do it in reverse. If you are digging around in all your bags because you have the stove in one bag, but your pot in another, oh, and where did I put the fuel? It just wastes time. Keep things that go together, together. Organization is the key. Bringing as little as possible also helps. When you have less to bring, you have less things to keep track of, less things to put away, less weight to carry, etc. Look into Ultralight hiking and see what those people are doing. You can learn a lot. Light materials, multipurpose items, minimalistic ideology, etc. Keeping things light as possible has another advantage - those climbs are a lot easier. Weigh everything. Everything has a weigh "cost" when it comes to the climbs. I also try to pick items that are simple, and easy to set up. For example, my tent is a hiking tent that only needs 3 stakes if I want to sleep with the sides open, 5 if I see rain is likely. It's designed to use trekking poles, but I have 2 carbon fiber poles. So 2 poles standing straight up and 3 stakes in the ground and I have a shelter. Teardown is pretty darn quick unless I have a stake that just won't come out of the ground. A lot of this thinking has really been brought on by camping in areas where the weather changes quickly. If I wake up and check the weather and it shows rain is on the way but I can miss it if I hurry, then making that possible keeps the trip more enjoyable. Same with getting to camp and wanting to eat before a storm. You just have to make sure that you keep that balance between comfort and light/quick so your trips don't suffer. Remember - this is supposed to be fun.

@christopherhood9241 3 жыл бұрын

I think credit card packing & bike packing both have there place with the former being a great stepping stone into the later.

@matthewnorway 3 жыл бұрын

I agree, good to start off with a light load and enjoy a few basic luxuries if unfamiliar with tour cycling. If it goes well then add the tent and see where it takes you next time!

@jensottoson 3 жыл бұрын

Nice Video. I love bikepacking with tent and stove! It is more adventure! Best Regards!

@matthewnorway 3 жыл бұрын

It certainly is! I love the independence it gives you.

@hopefortruth Жыл бұрын

Credit card touring for me. Simple. And comfy. Hot shower and bed! I look forward to those things at the end of a ride!

@matthewnorway Жыл бұрын

Don't we all 😉

@Biking360 3 жыл бұрын

I think a flexible approach and do what's best for the specific trip. Ultimately, both are good because it means your out enjoying life on your bike.

@matthewnorway 3 жыл бұрын

I agree!

@StarEssences 2 жыл бұрын

I think it really depends on peoples level of income that would guide them (if they are interested in bike touring) to what type of set up they desire to do. If I was earning more money I would do a combination between self sufficient and bike packing; taking lodge for those extreme rainy days and then if I was low on food, stop in a local eatery.

@kevindean9613 4 ай бұрын

I'm 60 I like my tent but if the weather turns I'm in the nearest premier Inn .

@normanmart7933 3 жыл бұрын

As below I used to tour and stay at hostels in uk and met lots of nice people, a great way to start taking cycling holidays. But trips abroad made camping more appealingto me in warmer weather .Also as you become more experienced and more adventurous a tent starts to appeal. I've wild camped in some stunning places and a couple of shitty ones, If you're riding alone then the holidays are very different and not for everyone. If you're away for 2 weeks or more then a tent gives you the flexibility and makes holidays affordable. To the more seasoned (old)bike tourers who camp using panniers a bikepacker is a new breed with strange bags everywhere , no offence Matthew.

@RavelloBikes Жыл бұрын

For me it has always been a matter of financial responsibility. If I win the lottery next week, I would definitely credit card tour, but until then it's camping whenever possible.

@sugargirl417 2 жыл бұрын

I’m doing my first bike packing adventure! I chose glamping for my first time. It’s a weekend trip. I’ve never camped but I love the outdoors and I thought it would be good bike training for a triathlon since biking is my weakest event.

@matthewnorway 2 жыл бұрын

It’s good training for a triathlon I can say that from experience 👍

@johnbeaver3911 2 ай бұрын

I prefer to do credit card bikepacking. It's not only because the safety issues and wasting time on camping, but also about the travel experience. Bikepacking with a tent makes me feel like a homeless, refugee or beggar.