After being inspired by last year's inaugural Indian Pacific Wheel Race, I decided to take the plunge and enter my first bikepacking race.
What's a bikepacking race?
You may be asking what exactly a bikepacking race is and you're not alone. To put it simply, they are usually point-to-point, one-stage, unsupported, solo, multi-week bicycle races across countries and/or continents. Essentially, the first person to get from Point A to Point B under their own steam wins. They aren't for the faint of heart. To be competitive you will need to go without sleep, spend countless hours in the saddle every day and endure horrendous personal hygiene conditions.
I have quite a lot of bike tours under my belt. I completed the US west coast in autumn 2016, the UK end-to-end in summer 2014 and, more recently, a mountainous stint through the Alps from Vienna to Milan last summer. All solo and mostly unsupported (a few gracious people let me crash on their floors occasionally). I finally felt like it was time I pushed myself to the next limit. I'm not really that competitively-minded though and prefer to battle against myself. Maybe a large-scale race would take me to higher levels of personal growth?
Why the IndiPac?
I've never been to the southern hemisphere. I've seen Europe and the US by bike and these are continents which host the other big races - the Trans Am Bike Race and Transcontinental - which I am also considering entering for later this year. I felt like Australia would be big enough of a departure from my 'normal' experiences that it will inspire me to do something very out of the ordinary. It's also winter here in London and I don't want to suffer much longer!
The race starts on 17th March in Perth and follows a 5500km (3,400 mile) set route across the Nullarbor Desert which actually includes the longest straight section of road in the world (145 km / 90 miles). I bet that's going to play some mental games on me. The race then dissects the hectic cities of Adelaide and Melbourne before heading through the Australian Alps to the finish point at the Sydney Opera House.
The longest continuously straight section of road in the world
I didn't get a place
My application was rejected at first. Apparently there were so many prospective entrants that they had to randomise who got in. It led to a lot of disappoint for me and actually caused me to scrap some plans to tour across the US desert. They had a very long form you had to fill-in detailing your reasons for entering, your past experience and declarations from relatives that they understood the seriousness of the race. After almost a month, I heard back from them and got the bad news that I didn't have a spot. Even though I was put onto the waitlist I really didn't hold out much hope though.
Fast-forward another month, in early January I got the good news that a new place had opened up. This was probably due to one or more people dropping out or unsuccessfully completing additional steps by a deadline. Although I'm super chuffed to now have a confirmed place, it somewhat caught me off-guard. I haven't been riding my bike as much as I usually do and now have to rush some intense training and finalise a lot of big things.
What am I taking with me?
I'm currently trying to decide on how exactly my bike will be set up, what pieces I need to buy and how many clothes I'm going to be taking. It's keeping me up at night. It is going to be late summer / early autumn during the race so temperatures should be baking. I am expecting some potential cold moments though, specially over the mountain passes. I will be going for maximum gross-factor and be carrying only one of each item of clothing. It might be puke-inducing but this is a race not a leisurely bike tour. However, I may potentially two pairs of socks. For sleeping, I will probably just be using a lightweight bivy bag (a waterproof sack) and sleeping rough on the side of the road. Occasionally, I'll stop by a hotel for a more comfortable sleep and give my electronics some much needed juice. There is a lot to consider with an expedition like this.
The race organisers have been appealing for people to enter the race on a fixed gear bike. That is, a bike which has only one gear which is screwed onto the rear wheel hub essentially making it 'fixed'. Technically it's called direct drive. There is no free-wheeling. I have a lot of experience with these types of bikes including climbing the equivalent height of Mount Everest in a day and doing a 555km (345 mile) solo time trial. I am 99% certain I will be . Luckily, the route is pretty flat apart from two large, grinding mountain passes. If I'm honest it feels like it's meant to be so I am soon to book some flights somewhere a bit warmer and more mountainous than London to get some training in before it's too late.
Quite a stretch but luckily it's somewhat flat
Documenting the race
I will be posting training updates, what I'm taking with me, how I'm setting up my bike and all those other cool things here on my Steemit. I am also trying to figure out how I will document the race itself. I want to be taking minimal kit so I might not take my GoPro with me. I will be taking a phone so I think I might do a daily livestream on my YouTube and repost it into here for you guys - or even straight to DTube if it isn't too much of a faff. I will also try to take some pretty photos to post to my Instagram (@josephxkendrick) and a couple of clips that I can edit into something when it's all over and done with. I will be uploading rides to the sporty social network for athletes over on my Strava too for those that are that way inclined.
There will also be a website where you can track the live positions of all racers. Referred to as 'dot watching'. The nail-biting, snail-pace action will play out right before your eyes. I will give you all further details of how to access this data closer to the time.
Does anyone have any better ideas for how I could capture this epic trip? Do you live along the race route? Are you pumped up for following this wild adventure? Please let me know!
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Shoot me an up-vote if you felt inspired by this content and leave a comment if you want to chat. Re-steems are hugely appreciated! I'm always looking for new motivational and adventurous people to follow on here.
Much love,
Joseph
This looks terrifyingly difficult. We have long races out here in South Africa, but nothing of this magnitude. That's a crazy distance, any idea how long you think it will take you?
And then on a fixie, this just sounds like masochism if I've ever heard it :)
Only kidding man, I envy your ability to put yourself through long hard hours on the bike. I think my limit is 6hrs, then I would rather be anywhere else.
I'm going to be aiming for 18-21 days. Would be very happy finishing it in under 3 weeks. Who knows though... no really huge names in the starting line-up so it's anyone's race. I'm considering even buying a road bike once I get to the hills if I feel I'm in a good position to actually win lol!
YEA BIKEPACKING!!!
I too was inspired by last years IndiPac, and a few other races.
Which led me to want to race as well. I'll be doing the Steens Mazama 1000 in Oregon this July.
Powered by plants of course!
I look forward to watching you race!
Followed you on strava and IG!
Looks sick! Got some gravel in there too! I've been thinking about buying a gravel / adventure bike to give my tours another dimension. I'll go give you follows back.
I love the gravel. It's hard to have a ride without a little bit of it anymore. Also love the fact that less cars go on the gravel :D
I enjoy your contents and photos all the time.
It looks like you travel everywhere over the world.
Upvote of course.
Thank you for sharing.
Epic bro! So cool that you are doing the race. I tried following your Strava, but the link doesn't work. Let me know if you fix it, will be cool to follow your training for indipac!!
Search for 'Vegan Joseph Kendrick' :D
Cool just followed you bro, looks like we got a lot of mutual friends!
awesome I am myself in April going for a bike pack setup (not for racing though) just way cooler and fun than panniers haha:)
Panniers suck! I prefer having the weight up front on a front rack / handlebar bag. Makes the bike feel a bit better.
whoa! that is insanely long, Australia is on a different level of long rides.. That is way way long!!
Hi @savetheanimals I see you are using 100% power up option. You might not want to do that. I wrote a detailed post explaining why, you should read it.
DON'T USE 100% POWER UP - You Will Lose a Lot of Money
thank me later ;)
hell yeah doggie
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