Words: Markus Stitz
I rode self-supported around the world on a singlespeed steel mountain bike, but not every adventure needs to be that epic.
Since completing my 34,097km circumnavigation of the globe in 2016, I’ve worked as a filmmaker, author, route creator and speaker.
One of my main goals is to lower the barriers to bikepacking, be they geographical, physical or psychological.
After all, adventures by bike should be open to everyone, straight from their front door.
Adventure cycling should be fun
Adventure cycling is any bike ride that takes you out of your comfort zone.
Having ridden across North America, Europe and Australia, almost every cycling situation is in my comfort zone.
But everyone’s comfort zone is different, and flirting with the edges of what’s comfortable for you will open up new adventures.
Some people love sleeping in a tent and looking at the stars. I also know people who say: “Nah, that’s not for me”.
On my round-the-world trip, I had no financial support other than bag and bike sponsorship from Apidura and Surly respectively.
I carried all my own stuff and mainly slept in my tent. I booked hotels when I wanted time to myself and continue to do so now.
On bikepacking trips, you can keep a mixture of the two. I still love camping and riding massive days.
Of course, when there’s no accommodation available where you stop for the night, it’s better to use your tent.
But if I have the opportunity to sleep in a nice bed, I won’t turn it down, especially after a hard day on the bike.
This is meant to be fun after all.
My philosophy for adventure cycling is the same as for cycling in general.
What counts is riding your bike and having a good time. What a ‘good time’ looks like is so individual though.
You don’t even have to ride from A to B to have an adventure.
I’m setting up a self-catering cottage in the Cairngorms, where guests will be able to discover new trails while returning to the same place each night.
Adventures don’t have to be long, remote or off-road
I’ve created all kinds of bikepacking routes.
In my adopted home of Scotland, I designed the Central Belter, the nation’s longest off-road route.
My Iron Curtain Gravel Trail follows a 700km section of the former border between West and East Germany, where I grew up.
On some of my routes, like the 246km Capital Trail between Edinburgh and Glasgow, people compete to set the Fastest Known Time.
But, despite the motivation of some adventurers to ride as fast as possible, I want to dispel the notion that if it’s not epic, it’s not cool.
This may sound odd from someone who rode 34,000km with one gear for the sheer challenge of it (the simplicity of a singlespeed also won me over).
However, there’s no limit – short or long – on the distance a ride needs to be to impart a sense of adventure.
The Route YC, a collection of rides I made in Yorkshire, is a testament to that. It includes different distances and difficulties: the shortest loop is 14km and the longest is 415km.
Riding 30km a day is still 30km more than the average person has done anyway. If someone wants to do something epic, that's totally fine as well.
Adventure cycling is often associated with remote, off-road riding. But I aim to make my routes accessible via public transport.
This helps more people to ride them. I’m also a big fan of making everything as sustainable as possible.
That’s not to say I’m against flying to go on a cycling adventure. In fact, I do so myself, but I try to limit how many flights I take.
On or off-road, you choose
There are also routes for road bikes and tourers in my Route YC series. You can explore on tarmac too.
I have three gravel bikes and looped the world on a Surly Ogre, a steel 29er mountain bike.
However, the bike I love the most is my 1970s Claud Butler that I primarily use for city riding (no prizes for guessing it’s singlespeed).
Let’s keep bikepacking inclusive
When I started bikepacking 10 years ago, most people who took part rode ultra events like me.
Since then, it has become far more inclusive – it’s now open to electric bikes and people who ride 40km a day.
This is a hugely positive development and something I’ve tried to support by organising my own self-supported bikepacking events, like the Dirt Dashes.
I prefer to ride in what could be considered a self-supported way. For instance, I didn’t have a support crew on my round-the-world trip.
In terms of bikepacking racing, I prefer the definition of ‘self-supported’ that races like the Highland Trail 550 use.
You can’t pre-arrange anything, such as accommodation, beforehand. You can only use services open to everyone, like shops. If you leave the route, you must rejoin at the same point.
But some races are taking self-supported rules too far. This diminishes inclusivity.
I won’t name the race, but there is one that has a rule against sleeping indoors.
I just don't think that's helpful. It puts up a barrier against someone who is not comfortable sleeping outside.
I think the same about restricting where you can buy things. One of the joys of bikepacking for me is eating the local food, which also supports the local economy.
In any case, such strict interpretations are flawed.
It’s impossible to be totally self-supported on a multi-day bike ride. You will always have a small level of assistance, from a bike workshop, for example.
The nice thing about bikepacking, for me, is it's fairly simple. There's not a huge rulebook stating which handlebars you can use.
So let's keep it an open space and give people a certain amount of freedom.
Fast or slow, long or short, on or off-road, any bike ride can be an adventure.
Markus Stitz is an adventure cyclist who, in 2016, became the first person to ride around the world on a singlespeed bike. He is the founder of Bikepacking Scotland and launched Route YC, a series of new cycle routes in Yorkshire, in February. Find out more at https://www.routeyc.co.uk/cycling.
