Ideas you get whilst riding along… some fall by the wayside, some become a reality…

Knowing of a number of local riders who achieve great things on a bicycle has led to the bringing together of three riders from the south west, each with a different story to share of their experience of the bikepacking side of our sport, in a not for profit evening they have offered up their time to participate in an evening of bikepacking discussion, Q&A’s and bike & kit checks.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2h2MN2s]Bikepacking evening @ Stroud Brewery 26/09/19[/url] by martinddd, on Flickr

Presentations covering all aspects of bikepacking: racing, touring & leisure, an informal opportunity to ask the presenters questions about their events & adventures and time to take a look at the variety of bikes and equipment that they choose to use & why.

Andy West will be giving an account of the 2019 Highland Trail 550 race which saw competitors battle it out with some of Scotland’s worst weather conditions, the attrition rate was high and those who finished certainly earnt their finishers beer.

Katherine Moore is no stranger to jumping in feet first into any adventure on a bicycle and is going to take you through the fine art of bikepacking in order for you to share and learn through her experiences whilst out in the wilds.

Andy Deacon will take you on a trip from Lands End to John O’Groats, predominantly off road, via The Racing Collectives, inaugural 2019 GBDuro event on his unique set up, and exactly what it took to pedal those last 100km.

We encourage you to bring a bike, bag & bivvy & explore the Stroud valleys with us on the night.

Priced at £7.50 tickets are available from the wonderful organic Stroud Brewery:

Bikepacking

It’d be fab to see some of you STWers there.

Cheers 🍻

Thanks for the heads up. Looks interesting, I am going to try and make it over there to see it.

Cheers,

R.

Oh fun, I’d totally go to a london one

@kittyr Stroud is only 1hr20min from Paddington by train, book early enough & the fare should be around £15 iirc, I’ll even throw in free overnight accomodation if you bring a bike, bag & bivvy 😜

I will definitely try and get along for the talks etc. What’s the plan for the ride out / bivvy? It would probably require time off work for me though…

Might also be worth posting this over on https://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/

Likely to be some interest from them.

R.

Will def and try to roll down the hill for this and a pint of Tom Longs 👍

@wilbert I believe the bivvy will be a loose plan, nothing formal, there is some definite interest, it’ll be decided on the night.

@qwerty next time I might just do that! 🙂

Its a school night but I will try to make it.

Thanks for posting. Ticket purchased. Prob won’t do an overnighter but curious about where you’ll go. Camping on the common with the cows??

I’m up for this, being from Dursley! Overnighter ok so long as its more than a mile from home!

looks good might bring an orange tent

@doordonot – i think it’ll be a spontaneous decision on the night. I do love the tops of the commons though, preferably not with a carpet of cow poo though!

Four weeks to go!!!

Bumping this as it’s being organised by a nice guy for a good cause

Cheers Pete.

Final bump, 1 week to go, 5 tickets left!!!

👍

You could sit next to me*

*May or may not be an incentive

Does anyone know if they will be serving pizza on Thursday evening?

Yes they will be serving pizza on Thursday evening. They’ll have stopped by the time our evening finishes though so you’ll need to eat before / during the talks. Beer flows until 11pm though. Bring a sleeping bag & you can commute in with Andy Friday morning 👍

I managed to motivate myself to get a ticket last night, before they sold out. I’m quite keen for an overnighter, mainly so I can have a guzzle at the brewery…

Is there anywhere safe to leave bikes and gear (in case I get the train over)?

Cheers.

Really wanted to go, but off to the cultural desert that is Dubai for 3 days with work, have a fine night and a pint of Tom Longs

Bring a lock. There is a formal bike parking stand at the front of the brewery, however most cyclists tend to leave their bikes attached to the metal work under the fire exit stairs at the rear of the building (canal side of the building).

Just tried to buy a ticket, and it’s sold out. Gutted, as I missed the posts about limited number remaining. Please let me know if anyone has a ticket that they can’t use… Thanks

Looking tropical tomorrow – anyone planning to camp?

Just got in from a very soggy ride so feeling very uninspired. Will probably opt for the nice warm car and bed option!

There’s definitely interest from people looking to have a beer & sleep it off on the common with a cow!!!

I’ll make my decision on the night depending on the forecast.

A good evening, thanks to all involved. Good attendance, good talks, good beer, good company. Shame about weather that meant car and home, not bike and bivvy. (I wouldn’t fare well in Scotland!!)

Thank you to any from STW who took the time to attend the evening. I thought (biased) it went quite well, I’m out of my comfort zone with a mic but the other presenters were all pros, and each had their own unique personal stories to tell. Around £400 will soon be donated to MIND.

Anyone want some socks……

Nice work! Give yourself a pat on the back:-)

I can say, from the comfort of my warm kitchen, with my dry socks, I’m highly unsold on idea of bikepacking into the arse end of nowhere! Bloody good evening though, many thanks for organising it. I wasn’t brave enough to ask the obvious question … How do I charge my ebike whilst bikepacking???

How do I charge my ebike whilst bikepacking???

The pub, bring a charger – at least that’s how we did it last summer.

Shame this was mid-week, used to live in the area and do like an excuse to get back there with a bike. Another time…

How do I charge my ebike whilst bikepacking???

Dynamo hub.

Dynamo hub.

Hmm. Either a joke or a troll, I’ll go with joke 😋 I dread to think how many days you’d have to ride to recharge an e-bike battery. Typically you’ll produce 3000mAh at 10kmh so to charge one 18650 battery you’ll need to ride at that speed for 12hrs. I’d go with the pub and charger.

“ Around £400 will soon be donated to MIND.”

Job jobbed, well done my friend.

Was a great night, met up with people I haven’t seen in years. arranged some future rides with a couple of guys and reconnected with a girl I met in the woods once because of the shorts I was wearing. Plus beer

Thanks for the effort of arranging. The 3 presenters were naturals and everyone’s socks stayed dry!

I’ve just got hold of some photos of the evening, of which i’d like t share:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2hn1cE3]Andy West[/url] by martinddd, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2hn2ZLc]Katherine Moore[/url] by martinddd, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2hn311W]Andy Deacon[/url] by martinddd, on Flickr

All fantastic role models & all round good people who delivered fantastic presentations.

Oh – and that bike:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2hn3Kfc]The beast[/url] by martinddd, on Flickr

Once again, thanks to all who made the evening work ✌

What I got from the evening

Going nowhere fast V going somewhere slow

A good point well made. I’m very much prone to beasting myself on solo rides, it’s a bit of a MH purge, and I frequently need it. But, I often (catching my breath usually) just stop for periods, listen to my breathing and focus on exactly where I am, sounds, smells, conditions. And take in the moment. I guess it’s “mindfulness”, and it’s probably actually those moments that I ride for the most, the not riding bits of a ride, the stationary in the moment with the environment mindful bits. Funny old lark this cycling thing innit.

Funny old lark this cycling thing innit.

It is. A 10 mile ride around your local area can be as good to sort things out in one’s mind as a long ride in epic scenery. It is my happy place definitely.