Long an insider tip, bikepacking is now out of its niche. The fan base is growing, as many people increasingly appreciate this type of "bikepacking": travelling with little luggage on multi-day hiking tours in sometimes quite remote areas and spending the night in the middle of nature. The combination of rough trails and overnight luggage has brought new solutions to light, the most obvious of which are the bags.
While the panniers on classic touring bikes are attached to the pannier rack - over the rear wheel and/or on the front wheel - bikepackers deliberately do without them despite being fully equipped. Instead, they want to keep their fat bike or mountain bike as manoeuvrable and suitable for off-road use as possible. Load distribution plays a role: the closer the luggage is positioned to the front wheel on the steering axle, the more agile the bike remains. And the lower and more centred the centre of gravity of the entire combination, the safer the handling.
The experience is even more exciting in a group, which is why a lively scene has already developed in Germany. The number of bikepacking trips is increasing, as is the organisational effort for initiators to organise them. This gave rise to the idea of utilising synergies and pooling forces in the form of a joint association.
"Here, individual members of the club offer a varied and diverse programme of trips. This not only reduces the effort for the initiator, but also clarifies the organiser's liability in the long term, as it is a club ride for club members. Of course, anyone who is potentially interested can easily and quickly become a member of Bikepacking-Deutschland e.V." - it says on the Club website.
The idea of an association first arose at the bikepacking bar camp in autumn 2019 and was taken up again in May 2021. The founding meeting took place on 4 June. The first board was elected under the leadership of Ulf-Christian Blume. The chairpersons are Leona Kringe and Gunnar Fehlau and Achim Dickmanns as treasurer.
With the Boundary Stone Trophy in June 2021 as the first club outing organised in this mode, the club has already successfully kicked off its activities. Further club rides are Nightmare bikepacking, Candy B. Graveller, Mainfranken Graveller, Rhœn Divide and Wetterau High 3.
The rides should still retain their autonomy and "continue to develop in their individual freedom", as first chair Leona Kringe explains. It is also important to the association to cultivate (sporty) cycling and the associated experience of nature. Furthermore, it wants to teach its members how to practise bikepacking in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way and promote the position of bikepacking (as a sport) in contrast to other outdoor activities.
Further information and background information on the organisation's work can be found at www.bikepacking-deutschland.de
