Originally Posted by
TimothyH
I'm interested in hearing about technique in general from experienced bikepackers.
My specific interest is efficient setup in the evening and teardown in the morning. One challenge has been too much time spent packing up in the morning with a myriad of stuff sacks, dirty tent stakes, filtering water for the day and where did that darn bag with toothbrush go?
Obvious things like not putting items needed first all the way at the bottom of a saddle bag are learned early. I've also learned to pack the tent, rain fly and footprint into the stuff sack oriented so that the end to be staked out first is deployed first.
What else? Cooking efficiently? Filtration - as soon as you arrive or later? Drying out clothes? Packing saddle and bar bags when there is no place to lean the bike - remove the bags from the bike?
Anything at all to make things more time efficient would be helpful and I'd be open to suggestions about technique in general from experienced bikepackers.
-Tim-
Great questions, Tim. I've been a backpack guide and canoe guide, I've done many snowshoe and XC country trips and bike touring trips solo and with friends, and as others have noted from their own experience, I find it is important to establish a set routine. When I get to camp, everything is always done in the same order: get canoe/skis/bike/snowshoes/pack/etc in a safe place, pitch tent or hammock (set up sleeping system in same), tuck away/stow other belongings, gather wood or arrange for cooking with stove. After that, I figure out what the next chore is or how I need/want to while away my time. Breaking camp is basically everything done in reverse order.
From scores of canoe trips, packing in waterproof stuff bags has become my habit, and that has carried over to cycle touring (and it's why I'm fine with panniers that are not waterproof). I have specific bags for specific things. What I keep together makes sense, and I discovered that over time by paying attention to what wanted to be in the same bags (I know, seems like an odd way of putting it, but "figuring it out" in advance didn't seem to work). I also keep specific things out of bags and handy.
So, there's a process for how I do everything and there's a place for where everything goes, and the latter of those two really created its own kind of sense over time. If I consistently couldn't get something "right," or if I kept leaving something out or putting it in the wrong place, it meant I hadn't listened closely enough to where it needed to be put or how it fit into the process. Once process and place were established, I continued to follow it, and that's been very helpful. Short story, figure out through trial and error what works for you and then STICK WITH IT. The key, to me, is not what "makes sense," but "what works."