Post by Mary on May 26, 2016
How to pack your day pack for a point-to-point mountain bike ride is a question we are often asked on our trips. The point-to-point season will soon be upon us so it’s a good time to remind ourselves of the essentials.
We strongly recommend that you take a pack which incorporates a 2 litre hydration system. You should choose a pack with at least 15 litres of cargo capacity, to enable you to carry the following items:
- Water bottles / bladder min. 2 litres
- Good quality waterproof jacket
- Long sleeved thermal top
- Buff/beanie
- Long fingered gloves
- Multi-tool, Puncture repair kit
- Inner tubes, Pump
- Sun cream
- Packed lunch
- Mobile phone
Riding a point-to-point route unsupported is not as challenging as you might think. We run as many self-support point-to-point trips as we do full support trips. The most important thing is to travel light. If you can keep the weight of your sack low it shouldn’t feel very different to riding with van support. You might look a little less glamorous in the evenings but the trade-off is a cheaper holiday and perhaps a greater sense of achievement and adventure. We can wash and dry our kit en route so you don’t need 6 sets of bike clothing. Hut slippers for the evenings are provided in most of the refuges/hotels and you can rent towels and sheet sleeping bags. All you need to do is increase the size of your sack to a 20-25 litre carrying capacity and add the following to the list above:
- A couple of plastic bags (to keep kit separate and dry)
- Essential toiletries
- Tights/leggings and a top to wear in the evenings
- Bike specific spares (we share them out between the group)
- Phone chargers etc (shared between the group)
You can put this extra kit in a stuff sack and strap it to the outside of your day pack if you can’t fit it inside. The ideal sack for a self-support point-to-point trip is the 25 litre Osprey “Escapist” http://www.ospreyeurope.com/gb_en/escapist-25-14?
We’ve had quite a bit of late snow this year so we think there is going to be more of the white stuff than usual on the high passes. Our first point-to-point mountain bike ride of the season is a new route from Annecy to Samoens. We’ll be setting off on the 30th May so we’re hoping for some warm, sunny weather to melt the snow!