Search results for:

Eurovelo routes 2 and 7 run through Berlin and provide quiet routes out of the city, then you are able to make use of the numerous cycle paths that cover Brandenburg and the rest of Berlin. There are loads of nice woodland area and lakes outside of Berlin to explore, so it's feasible to simply have a rough idea of a destination and make it us as you go along... ab.so.lutely no hills though...

I've wild camped around North Germany, I live in Berlin. Never had a problem, though I'd always chosen locations that were remote anyway, woods for example... so pretty unlikely to be discovered by anyone who would care anyway... I can only really see there being an issue if you were in a really obvious place, private land, or making a mess...

I'd recommend a visit to the Stasi prison in Hohenschoenhausen, they have guides whom were themselves detained in the prison to lead some of the tours - http://en.stiftung-hsh.de/index.php

I might be reposting something already well known here, but have you seen the KTM Saddle Bag Tour XL 18L? it is 29.99 euros from here - http://www.mkvsport.eu/mkvsport/KTM-Saddle-Bag-Tour-XL-18L-d1023.htm?tab=description

I've never seen one in real life, so can't vouch for the quality, but worth mentioning for those whom want a cheaper alternative to a lot of other saddle bags.

It depends how tight you secure it... I ran two straps around the dry bag which then wrapped around the handlebars, leaving a gap between the top of the bag and the actual bars, in that case you are only restricted by two straps, which leaves pretty much full use of the bars.

The issue I had, and this was a big issue, was that the bag was so big it rested on the mudguard, which meant that it could pivot to either side of the mudguard at it's own will. I will certainly buy a smaller dry bag for my sleeping things (or 'sleeping system' if you must) to make sure it hangs below the handlebars and does not rest on the mudguard... I assume then it will stay where I want it as opposed to where gravity wants it...

I agree with Skinny about attaching things to the handlebars, which can be done easily and relatively cheaply with a few Alpkit dry bags. Just make sure that the bags are securely attached to stop them flapping about whilst riding.

I reckon with the tent as well there might be a bit of a push for space on the front though, or at least, a lot of weight, so wondered about using another dry bag inside the frame, hanging from the top tube, and attached at either the seat tube or head tube, depending on size... This does depend on your frame size, and how wide the bag can be before it bangs on your knees, or impedes access to water bottles. But, if possible, with distribute the weight nicely around the bike.

Hello,

I use an Alpkit bivvy bag, so I'm going to assume that's not the issue. The sleeping bag however, might be the problem... It is a Berghaus Flare 850, which seems to be synthetic... I'll see if I can replace it and assess the situation.

The other, possibly more likely scenario, is that the issue is physical. I stopped to sleep when I was really tired, thogh was part way up a hill and wonder if the combination of being cold, though also quite hot from raising my heart rate up, to then trying to sleep, threw my body into a state of confusion...

I guess the only option is to go away again and see if it happens the second time...

It certianly is, the largest model that was available at the time.

In contrast to Plexarice, I'd recommend it. I got it in 2012 for Audaxing and I've used it continually ever since.

No issues with it coming off, and I have used it over all sorts of cycling terrains - gravel paths, cobbles, trails etc etc. In terms of it's ability to take weight, I tend to try and reduce the weight of kit I take, so doubt I've gone anywhere near it's recommended weight limit. In that photo it contains a tool kit, wash things, some clothing and probably some food - normal things for a cyclist.

My only issues with it are that it has plastic studs inside to cover the inside of the bolts, which meant that I couldn't easily fashion an inner for it, from a dry bag, to slot seamlessly in when I wanted to extend it's capacity. That and the space between the bag and the saddle isn't very neat...

I'm just back from another brief bikepacking trip, this time in the Harz Mountains, Germany...

The Harz Montains are amazing, and pretty close to Berlin. Dense woodland with a single strip of tarmac rising up out of the forests and into the sky towards the summit of the Brocken Mountain. I descended down single track into the valley below and scaled several smaller mountain ridges using single track before darkness approached and I slept somewhere or other in the woods. The next day I returned to the summit of the Brocken Mountain then made the lengthy decent back down to Berlin...

Lessons learnt: need wider tyres, taking spare batteries is sensible, taking flat batteries isn't... need smaller dry bag for sleeping bag that doesn't sag and rotate around the front of the bike during descents... must work out why I was both cold and sweaty during the night...

Here is the route I took:
Day 1: https://www.strava.com/activities/304671768
Day 2: https://www.strava.com/activities/304673221

Hello,

I'd be interested in the tarp and Salsa cage... PM'd...

For touring tyres I personally use these:

https://shop.zweirad-stadler.de/Fahrrad-Teile/Reifen-Schlaeuche/City-Trekking-Reifen/Pegasus-Trekking-Reifen-Xtra-Pro-28-Zoll-47-622-28-x-1-3-4-Zoll.html

Half the price of Schwalbe Marathon plus, and after a good few thousand km's, just as good!

andy_k is right, I use an eTrex 30 which I find is perfect for the kind of cycling I do. I wouldn't often use the word revolutionary, but it has had a significant impact on my cycling now that I can plot routes as long and and as remote as I want, then follow and record the whole thing with just a few AA batteries.

I'm planning another Bikepacking trip next week, I'll post some pictures when I'm back...

I'd be up for a ride some time if people are free!

I've used an Ortlied handlebar bag which, despite a few differences in size, looks like it mounts the same and sits in roughly the same position as this one. I found it a bit of a pain, it placed a load of weight quite high up which was quite fatiguing on the arms after a while.

If you just want space for luggage, that isn't so easily accessible then I'd consider simply and Alpkit dry bag, hanging of the handlebars. The issue is where it rests, ie, if you have sturdy mudguards then that's fine and I added a seperate section of cable housing to cover where it sat against the brake cable from the canti brakes. I found this to be a pretty much perfect way of carrying things out the way and with minimal issues on the handling of the bike.

Not a conclusive answer, but something to consider.

I'm just back from a three day bikepacking trip from Brandenburg into the Bohemian part of the the Czech Republik and back to Berlin.

The pictures I took are a pretty pale comparision with what I actually experienced so I thought I'd keep this post down to what we really (possibly) want to know - what did I take, where did I sleep and am I still alive.

I can't seem to embed a picture into this post, but hopefully it is there as an attachment, anyway, two Alpkit dry bags, one large 13lt on the front for a sleeping bag and Alpkit Hunka bivvy bag, one smaller strapped in, and later protuding out of the Ortlieb saddle bag for everything else. The front one was just attached using the straps it came with, and despite being a bit saggy it worked perfectly, hangin just under the light and resting on the mudguard with no interference.

I slept two nights in wooded areas, both places were chosen just before nightfall, and thanks to dry nights meant I actually slept pretty well. I had no sleeping mat, pillow, or tarp with me, which I need to sort out, as I had no protection from rain.

I only took one set of clothes with me, a couple of pairs of socks and outer wear for rain, I just ignored the need to wash, opting instead to just avoid any human interaction and burn my clothes as soon as I got home.

To extend the journey I would only add the tarp and roll mat, with some kind of provision for pillow and an extra set of clothes so I could actually wash things, I'd then sporadically make use of campsite showers when they were available and would assume, with only these minor adjustments, that this set-up could work for weeks...

These are the routes I took;
Day 1) https://www.strava.com/activities/286817063
Day 2) https://www.strava.com/activities/286817826
Day 3) https://www.strava.com/activities/286818289

Hello,

Out of interest, what made you consider Hotel Otto? I have never stayed there, but see that it's the other side of the Tiergarten, which would put me off as being too far away from Kruezberg, Neukoln, Prenzlauer Berg etc... there might be good reason for that area, but I'd look nearer the East... particularly, East 7 (http://www.eastseven.de/) or my sister Stayed in Plus Berlin on Warschauer Platz and would recommend....

Have you looked at Airbnb?

Planning a series of audax's working up to a 600km worked for me... a couple of hilly 300 and 400's in particular. By the time you get to the start of the Bryan Chapman you would have already worked through eveything you needed to in order to be prepared, which as others have mentioned, might need to focus slightly on the weather, which has the ability to shape the entire ride.

Also, if you are entering the Bryan Chapman, remember to enter the Pendle while you are there...

The Pendle 600km, or pretty much anything organised by Andy Corless...

If only I had the money...

I'd be really interested to hear how you get on/ got on with this trip as I want to get out now and do some camping myself, I'm just a bit concerned I'd freeze to death...

What did you sleep in and where, and what was the weather/ temperature like?

It's not a conclusive answer, but this link has a number of frames matching your descriptions - http://sscx.me/single-speed-cyclocross-bikes/

Which ones are good or not I couldn't offer much more information...

You mean The Iron Butterfly... it's currently in some kind of SSCX guise at present for the winter, but I'm sure I could adapt it to be suitable with the right wheels/ groupset...

I actually might, given that it's the most comfortable a present, though I guess I'll see what evolves over the next few months in terms of bikes.

It's a depressing thought that if I ever had a custom frame built I would probably go along with the geometry chart of one of Ridgeback's cheapest touring frames and ask them to basically re-make that, in titanium...

I agree with all this, especially bike fit, which made it to the top of my list of priorities whilst audaxing.

I'm looking at the route now, and a rough schedule for each day. Currently TT'ing France, then picking up a cycle path across Italy seem appealing, and I reckon I'd want to stay in a few cheap hotels every few days to wash/ recharge things etc.

I guess now the main thing is just to ride base miles, and hope that this bitter German winter doesn't get any worse. Maybe strength/core training too...

Are you based in London Skinny?

Okay, so I'm entered fomally now...

I'm somewhere between being excited and quite nervous, it's clearly going to be a massive challenge.

Has anyone got any thoughts on training? I was thinking personally (bearing in mind I'm targetting the Lanterne Rouge) that my training should focus on being able to recover quickly, then to be able to manage with a reasonable 275km per day, repeatedly... as opposed to looking at being able to manage significantly further distances per day and the associated night riding and sleep deprivation.

Who has experience of this type of multi day riding? and what kind of training had they done?

Is it just myself and Skinny that are entered?

The second bit, the actual application, seemed to be more about whether you fully understood the legalities of the ride and the rules herein... It was hard to tell how relevant the actual bit about experience is given that I can't see how many people would be in the position to say they had done anything that would come close to riding 4,000km across Europe. I just mentioned a few audax's that I'd done that were pushing the same daily mileage as required for the Transcontinental Race.

4,000km across Europe.... that's a lot of bus stops to sleep in... I hope I am accepted.