Making the change from touring to racing – five ways to speed up your ride.

Words and images by Mark Watson

I’m a relative newcomer to bikepack racing, having only picked up this strand of cycling in the past four years. That said, I’m no stranger to endurance-based activities such as mountaineering, alpine rock climbing and hiking. I’ve got a long history of epic day rides, extended touring and adventurous bikepacking too. 

My deep dive into bikepack racing (in particular an obsession with New Zealand’s infamous Tour Te Waipounamu) has been a journey, through which I have learned a lot about training, nutrition and race craft in general. It’s pushed me out of my comfort zone and provided a window into my unrealized athletic capabilities, revealing my strengths and weaknesses. Despite a steep learning curve, my tendons not quite keeping up with the pace, and some rookie mistakes along the way, I look at it as an entirely positive experience. Learning how far and fast you can ride in a day when you’re prepared to pedal through your usual time barriers, without stopping much, is eye opening and opens up new possibilities for cycling adventures.  

Although I was already an experienced and relatively lightweight-oriented bikepacker, skills that I have picked up from racing have subsequently informed my approach to bikepacking in general, encouraging me to rethink some of the equipment I carry, my base weight, what I eat and how I plan my rides. Some of the behaviour and habits I have picked up from training for bikepack racing have been adopted into my life in general, renewing how I think about my diet, hydration, exercise pre-hab, stretching, recovery, and recognising the value that regular endurance exercise adds to my life.  

I’m probably at risk of alienating some of my audience here by making this sound elitist, because ‘racing’ is a loaded term, but participating in bikepacking races doesn’t need to be about shooting for the podium or even being competitive. For many participants, ultras are simply a race against oneself, but you get to make your own ‘rules’: be they no sit-down meals and short bivvies; or café stops and the luxury of a tent at night, with a bit less rush.

Covering more ground in a day than you would at touring pace, while lightly loaded, and with the camaraderie of other participants sharing the experience, are some of the aspects that draw people to races. There is a wonderful simplicity to concerning oneself only with moving forward across the land while attending to basic peripheral needs; dealing with whatever challenges the course or the weather throws at you as they come. 

One of the challenges for me with bikepack racing has been breaking the methods and routines I’d developed from long distance touring. I spent over three years cycling from Alaska to Patagonia prior to racing my first Tour Te Waipounamu, and had to rethink how I did a few things. Much of it was obvious, but some changes were harder to adapt to. 

If you’re a bikepacker who’s used to touring speeds or social rides, and are considering racing, or even just some rides with longer days, this blog post is written for you.

Refine your packing list

This might seem like a really obvious one, but the lighter your base weight the less energy you’ll expend pedalling it forward. With a light set up you also reduce stress on your bike, so there’s less chance of breaking spokes or denting your rims. 

Go through your packing list, spread your gear out on the floor, and think about every item you plan to carry: can you manage without it? Can it be substituted with a lighter version? Gear that you have bought for touring might have been purchased with overall durability in mind, so sometimes (depending on budget), items such as rain shells, overpants or insulated jackets can be upgraded to lighter versions. Additionally, comfort items such as spare clothing, inflatable pillows or some toiletries should be scrutinised.  

Leaving the stove at home is a good start. For some people breaking the habit of a hot coffee in the morning is difficult, but once you do you save both time and weight. I mix up 3-in-1 instant coffee in my water bottle and drink it cold, while riding, for a morning caffeine hit, or I pop a No-Doze. 

Consider every situation you might experience in the race and think about what the bare minimum of gear is that will be required, while keeping within the bounds of safety. Get rid of any excessive cases, containers and bags: for example, keep your first aid kit in two zip lock bags and stuff your tent and sleeping bag directly into your bike packing bags (being mindful of waterproofing). I repackage items like sunscreen and chamois cream into smaller bottles (old pill containers or reusable travel bottles are good).

I find it a joy to bikepack with minimal kit, because my bike handles better, particularly on technical ground, it’s easier to push or carry, and packing and unpacking is much simpler.

Tip: While you pare your equipment back to bare essentials, don’t overdo it with your bike repair kit and spares such as chain links, brake pads, tyre repair or sealant. This a place where self sufficiency can mean a lot of saved time if you can avoid limping to a bike shop, or detouring. Check what experienced racers carry in their repair kits.

Streamline your luggage

This one goes hand in hand with the above: less gear equals less luggage required. It’s quite common to see all manner of bikepacking bags strapped to a bike, but even the smallest bikepacking bags weigh something, so rethink what you carry, where it gets packed and consider which bags you can do without, while maintaining a balanced load on your bike. I generally put light and bulky stuff in my handlebar harness; compact and heavy items (food, spare batteries, powerbank, tools) in my frame bag, for a low centre of gravity; and everything else in my seat bag. As long as you can reach items easily enough, less is more when it comes to luggage.

Fork mounted cargo cages and bags are convenient for bikepacking in general, but they widen your aerodynamic profile, so these are a good place to eliminate weight unless you are really pushed for seat bag or frame bag space due to a small frame.

Have a think about access to gear: can you get to essential stuff that you’ll need while riding easily.

I put my sleep kit, plus anything I change into at night, such as a dry top and sleep shorts (if you carry them) in a handlebar harness, because it’s only needed once during each day and is the slowest bag to pack and mount on the bike. All my storm gear goes together either in a small seat bag, or my frame bag (depending on my bike), but I keep my warm hat and gloves handy in the frame bag. 

Shakedown rides are a really good way to get your setup dialled in: if you can establish the system you’ll use weeks-to-months out from your event, you can get used to where everything is and returning it to the right place. These rides also help you figure out the flaws in your set up. Shakedown rides don’t need to be overnight rides: going out for training sessions and day rides with a loaded bike is not only a good way to get used to your system, it will help keep your body used to a loaded bike and how it handles. 

Tip: Carry an ultralight packable day pack. If you cut back on luggage space and don’t have much room for storing food, an ultralight pack is ideal for food overflow after big resupplies. 

Simplify your sleep system

How much weight you can save on your sleep kit will depend, to some extent, on where you lie on the spectrum of how much discomfort you’re prepared to accept. When I say sleep kit, I’m referring to shelter and sleeping bag. Some people prefer to carry a tent, while others make do with a bivvy bag. Over the course of three Tours Te Waipounamu I have whittled myself down from an inflatable mat, to a cut down Z-Rest, to just a shoulder-to-hip length piece of 4mm (.15 inch) closed cell foam. I’d tested the latter set up with normal-length sleeps and it was sufficient, so I was confident to use it for short (3-4 hour) race sleeps. One of the reasons I like foam is that I don’t need to worry about it getting punctured and it’s very quick to deploy.  

Think about the bare minimum you can get away with for the level of comfort you want. For example, if you want the shelter and convenience of a tent, taking just a tent fly might be sufficient if insects are not an issue. Bivvy bags vary in weight and design a lot, so pick one that suits the level of insect protection or waterproofing that suits your ambitions.  

A down jacket paired with a half-length sleeping bag, or down pants are options some hardcore racers use for sleep insulation, but most people use a sleeping bag or sleep quilt. I use a bag that’s warm enough, in the coldest conditions I expect in the event, only if I’m wearing my dry midlayer, insulated jacket, knee warmers, socks, hat and buff too.

Tip: A sheet of the lightest weight Tyvek is much lighter than a tent footprint for protecting your tent or bivvy at camps and is very compact to pack.

The clock doesn’t stop

Unless you’ve followed a training plan and increased your speed, you probably won’t ride much faster than the pace you’re used to from touring, so the only way to cover ground in less time is to stop less. This sounds really simple, but it’s easy to lose time to excessive stops and to the time spent in camp either side of actually sleeping. 

Most of us move through life – particularly when touring – without any sense of urgency to our actions; it’s not something we’re used to. Consequently, learning to be really efficient with time is a skill to be developed, rather than a switch that can be flicked, because we’re prone to slipping back into our typical perception of time and how it should be spent. Mental fatigue tends to lead to wasted time too because once you’re tired you’re more likely to be inefficient or forgetful at stops.

Of course rest time is essential to reset a little and relax muscles, but the way I look at it, is if you’ve let five extra minutes drift by at a couple of stops during the day, that could have been 10 minutes of actual sleeping, which would be more valuable overall.      

Assuming you are taking in as many calories as you reasonably can, the most valuable thing you can do for recovery in events is sleep. So you should prioritise time when you are not moving forward for being horizontal. With practice, a lot of things you might normally stop for, such as eating, applying sunscreen, brushing teeth, or charging your phone can be done while moving. 

Requiring ‘three reasons to stop’ is quite a good maxim to ride to and a good way to get tasks done efficiently: with one stop you can pee, and lube your chain as well as do the other thing you didn’t solely want to stop for, such as adjusting clothing layers.  

This sounds antisocial, but being around other people makes it easy to waste time, because conversation (while stopped) distracts you from moving forward, and waiting for people who you have been riding with at stops can soon cost time. If you’re serious about finishing in the best time you can, save the socialising for the end of the race, or let people catch up to you while you move at your own pace.

Tip: Having your navigation system set up so that you can see moving time versus stopped time is a helpful way to keep track of how you spend time. Try going on a long day ride or weekender, practice minimal stops and keep track of stopped time.

Calories are your friend

Very long days and possibly an increased pace mean you’ll need to rethink what, how much and how often you eat. With the increased challenges of racing you’ll likely be in a calorie deficit, so the fuel needs to keep flowing in. 

Calories consumed (burned) per day for individuals in ultra events varies, but numbers in the range of 6000-12,000 can be expected. Most people can absorb between 200-300 calories per hour, which makes a total of 4000-7000 for a 24 hour period. Once you account for sleeping time, you can see that matching demand is difficult.

Aim for calorie dense foods that are easy to digest, and ideally easy to eat while riding. Food is highly personal, but as a guideline it’s essential to have a mixture of sweet and savoury foods, because you will crave different things at different times. High calorie energy bars, gels and protein bars are convenient, but also consider eating some whole foods such as nuts and dried fruit. The most important thing is to trial food, such as a new bar or gel, on training rides before the event so that you can figure out what you enjoy after a few hours on the bike, and also any intolerances you might experience from food.

Cycle tourists are usually used to eating everything in sight, but eating enough in bikepacking events is a challenge, particularly because most people experience gastric distress (bloating, indigestion or upset stomach) or palate fatigue (lack of interest in the food you have). This is attributable to stress, heat and very long riding days. I find it takes a while for my body to catch up, and sometimes I do not have as much appetite as I expect, but remember that even though you might not feel hungry, you need to keep eating.   

It’s common after a couple of days, or sometimes sooner, to suddenly find the bars you usually like repulsive. During events I usually experience a couple of several-hour periods of low appetite for food, where the best I can manage is tiny nibbles of bars or small handfuls of nuts. Liquid carbohydrate drinks (drink powders or premixed from resupply stores) are a good way to keep carbohydrates going in, when appetite is low, or simply to help meet demand. 

Rethinking how and where you pack food will help with your efficiency as well as meeting your demands for calories: you want to be able to access a variety of food without having to stop and dig through bags. Make the most of resupplies and carry food you’ll look forward to eating later with you, such as an extra pie, muffins, burritos or sandwiches.

Eating well when you stop to sleep is key, because this is an opportunity for you to digest food without the exertion of riding, and it will help your recovery. Dehydrated meals (rehydrated cold if you do not have a stove), muesli/granola eaten from a ziplock bag, or instant potato are options for a calorie hit before sleep. 

Tip: Potato chips crushed up and stored in a ziplock bag are a good calorie hit and generally palatable. It’s a convenient way to get carbohydrate, fat and minerals all in one compact package.

Mark Watson is an ambassador for Otso Cycles. With his partner Hana Black he’s toured though SW China and SE Asia and the length of the Americas – from Alaska to Patagonia, sometimes creating new bikepacking routes along the way. He’s a three-time finisher in New Zealand’s gruelling Tour Te Waipounamu bikepacking ultra. In 2022 he published the Bikepacking & Off-road Cycle Touring Guide (e-book).