I just finished my first bikepacking trip: 400 km over 6 days around Gotland, Sweden. Only 1,400 m (4,600 ft) of elevation gain since Gotland is mostly flat, but we had strong headwinds for most of the trip… which honestly made it way HARDEER than I expected!!
It was also one of the best trips I’ve ever done. It was the first time in my life that I was planning my next adventure while I was still on my current one.
Like everyone on their first trip, though, I made plenty of mistakes.
Packing: I brought way too much
I got unlucky before the trip. I ordered bikepacking bags from BikeInn before Midsummer, but they still hadn’t arrived. Instead, I strapped two large Osprey dry bags to my bike with straps and cords.
It worked… but loading and unloading the bike took forever. If there wasn’t a tree nearby to lean the bike against, I usuallyy needed help from one of my friends. I also packed way too many clothes.
We thought we’d be stopping for beers and going to pubs, so we packed “nice” outfits. Reality? We ended up drinking beer in our cycling clothes and Birkenstocks every single time. That said, I also packed some warmer layers because the forecast looked uncertain, and those actually saved us. The weather turned out much worse than expected and one night we even booked an Airbnb because of a storm.
I’d love and NEED recommendations for warm clothing that packs small and weighs very little. My fleecevest is as big as a football but so cozy.
Camping: cozy, but harder than expected
I enjoyed sleeping in a tent, but I honestly never got a good night’s sleep. I move around a lot when I sleep, so being inside a sleeping bag on a sleeping pad felt surprisingly restrictive. I constantly woke up because I couldn’t really move. Btw, finding a campsite also takes much longer than you think. One evening we kept searching for “the perfect spot.” It started pouring rain, I got a flat tire, and by the time we found somewhere to camp we were exhausted. Setting up camp in heavy rain is miserable, its torture. Looking back, we should have just booked a hostel that night instead of trying to tough it out. One of my friends slept in a hammock, but because of the storm he had to squeeze into our tent, so three of us were sleeping in a tent built for two.
Lesson learned: watch the weather and stay flexible.
Breakfast changed everything
One thing I absolutely underestimated was how long mornings take. Packing the tent, rolling the sleeping bag, deflating the sleeping pad, packing every bag, mounting everything back on the bike… omg. It often took us 90–120 minutes before we even started riding. Doing all that before coffee or breakfast is awful. By the end of the trip we learned to keep breakfast at camp instead of riding to a bakery first thing every morning. Bread, cheese, coffee and a simple breakfast made mornings so much easier.
We also realized we were eating breakfast, lunch and dinner at restaurants every day. That gets expensive fast. In Sweden we easily spent over €100 per person per day on food and drinks.
Eventually we started shopping at grocery stores and making our own breakfasts and some dinners. After riding 80 km, gourmet food doesn’t really matter anymore. Everything tastes amazing. Like plain bread and potatosallad.
Things we packed but never used
Some unnecessary gear from our group:
A book (never opened)
Playing cards (never touched)
Camping stove (never used)
Three pairs of shoes (cycling shoes, sneakers and sandals)
Next time I’ll only bring cycling shoes and sandals. The sneakers were just wasted space.
Things I forgot
Unfortunately I also forgot:
Spare tubes
First aid kit
Laundry detergent
The missing spare tube almost ended the trip after my flat tire.
A friend gave me a tube that was the wrong size, but thankfully it worked well enough to finish the ride.
Pro tip:
Don’t get completely drunk the night before departure and pack while hungover.
Bathroom fears!!!
The thing I was most nervous about before the trip?
Going to the bathroom outside. Turns out it was ridiculously easy.
I worried about it for absolutely nothing.
Our riding routine worked well
We stopped roughly every 20 km to refill water or visit viewpoints. Every 40 km we stopped for lunch. That rhythm worked really well and made the days feel manageable.
Why are the first 20 km torture?!!?!
This is something I really need advice on. Every single morning I woke up feeling completely fine. No soreness. Nothing.
Then I’d sit on the bike…
…and suddenly everything hurt.
Picking things up from the ground hurt. Walking uphill hurt. My legs felt stiff and I questioned why I even signed up for this. But after 10–20 km, everything loosened up and I felt like I could ride forever. No matter whether I lift weights, run or cycle regularly, those first kilometers always feel terrible. Does anyone have advice for improving flexibility, mobility, or simply feeling better during those first 20 km? I feel im at my weakest when is should be at my strongest.
Bike choice
I rode a Cannondale Topstone, and I absolutely loved it. Most of our route was gravel roads and forest tracks. Road riding got repetitive pretty quickly, but gravel riding was an absolute blast. It did make me wonder thoug. Would a hardtail mountain bike have been an even better choice for this kind of trip?
Final thoughts
The biggest reason this trip was so incredible wasn’t the scenery. It was my friends. On our final night in Visby we celebrated properly. We ate great food, watched football, stayed out drinking until 5 a.m., met a bunch of amazing people, went swimming after the pubs closed, and somehow still checked out at 10 a.m.
Absolutely worth it.
This became one of my favorite trips I’ve ever taken.
My friends made me fall in love with cycling, camping, and the idea that you can combine both into one unforgettable adventure. Now I’m already planning the next trip.
And HOPEFULLY I’ll make a few less mistakes.
I have a DJI camera that i used during the trip. Im posting a video of the trip on my IG. Can i post the same video here?
Just finished my first bikepacking trip 400 km / 6 days, all I did right, wrong, and wish i knew. And help me plan my next one?
byu/7euz inbikepacking
by 7euz
12 Comments
I would definitely recommend a hardtail mtb! Wear the same clothes as often as you can. On the sunnier days, i set up tent at a camp with bathroom facilities and wash my clothes in the sink then let them dry in the sun.
looks like u learned a shit ton already! grats on ur first trip.
Thanks for the nice read and the tips!
For a warm layer that packs small, I absolutely adore the Nano Puff jacket. It pairs really well with fleeces as well as it cuts a lot of the wind.
The only problem is that it doesn’t deal with heavy rain. But a combination of fleece+nanopuff+rain jacket covers pretty much every situation above 0 degrees without issue.
I’d also recommend some merino underlayers and socks – super breathable, takes forever to get smelly, keeps you warm in the cold. Merino’s magic!
How are the winds in Gotland? (Neighboring Saaremaa had some pretty damn strong winds a couple of summers ago!) Are there enough shops & pubs outside of Visby? Gotland has been on my list for years, maybe I’ll go next summer!
That heavy, sluggish feeling when you first start pedaling i think there are two main explanations. First, your muscles are just cold and need proper blood perfusion. Try spending the first 10 minutes in an easy gear, spinning your legs slightly faster than usual with very little pressure on the pedals to gently warm up your joints and muscles. Second, check if you drank any alcohol the night before. Even a single beer leaves residues that can cause exactly this kind of heavy, painful start. It’s always best to avoid alcohol before, during, or right after riding.
Some general tips:
– in Sweden/Finland, warm lunches are very affordable, eating out for diner is expensive, so you can save a lot by cooking yourself. Like you discovered: buy some supermarket food to make it even cheaper and faster. €100/person/day is insane, even for an expensive country like Sweden.
– oats/muesli make for an easy breakfast (and stores very well), we combine it often with juice.
– other favourite food items I’ve seen people taking: oranges (stay well pretty long, also with heat), jars of peanut butter (lots of energy), honey (also doesn’t spoil), dried fruit/nuts.
– consider wild camping, that offers a lot of freedom and saves money 🙂
And finally: don’t be too harsh on yourself, learning to bike pack is part of the fun ;-).
Planing my 1st trip over the alps in late August. Thank you for sharing your experience. Will add/remove some things on my list 😀
Not drinking alcohol some days helps your body put in the effort.
I switched to a single pair of shoes and never looked back.
Keens sandals worked fine even close to freezing temperatures with the right socks.
ditch the sleeping bag and get a camping quilt, packs smaller just as warm and you can toss and turn with less restriction. The sleeping bag isn’t keeping you warm where it lays between you and the ground it’s too compacted to create insulation.
Look into merino wool and wool clothing in general for your clothes, minimal stink and stay warm when wet cool when warm and usually lighter for layers. Wool is weird, like magic.
Your hammock friend needs to learn how to convert to bivy when going to ground. If he didn’t pack a tarp then that’s a complete failure on his part.
Wonderful tips, planning my first bikepacking trip here in Brazil in about 3 months. Thank you for your post! Love the video
Very Cool. If you’re interested in packing less, invest in a food scale to weigh items. Instead if a polyester fleece vest, bring a down vest as they’re often just as insulating, but lighter. Check out r/ ultralight and the blogs of Igor Kovse if you want to pack lighter.
https://ultralightcycling.blogspot.com/?m=1
https://www.trentobike.org/byauthor/IgorKovse.html
https://www2.arnes.si/~ikovse/weight1.htm
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?doc_id=5753