CoachingAnswer

HOW SHOULD YOU PREPARE PHYSICALLY FOR BIKEPACKING?

By Anthony WalshRoadman CyclingUpdated 9 July 2026

ANSWER

Bikepacking fitness preparation requires building three capacities beyond standard cycling fitness: sustained low-intensity endurance for 6-10+ hours per day, core and upper body stability for loaded bike handling on rough terrain, and the ability to recover sufficiently overnight to repeat the effort day after day. Start preparing 12-16 weeks before your trip by progressively extending ride duration, practising with a loaded bike, and including core stability work twice weekly.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Bikepacking demands sustained low-intensity output for 6-10 hours daily — your training must include rides of 5-6+ hours to build this fatigue tolerance.
A loaded bike changes handling, centre of gravity, and power demands. At least 4-6 long rides should be done with full kit in the 8 weeks before departure.
Core and upper body endurance matter more than in road cycling — rough surfaces transmit vibration for hours and require constant stabilisation.
Day-to-day recovery is the limiting factor. Practise back-to-back long ride days in training to build multi-day fatigue resilience.

WHO THIS IS FOR

IS THIS YOU?

Cyclists planning their first bikepacking trip

You have never done a multi-day loaded ride and want to know how fit you need to be and how to prepare specifically for the demands of bikepacking.

Experienced riders stepping up to longer or more remote routes

You have done weekend overnighters and want to prepare for a week-long or longer bikepacking route where daily distances and terrain are more demanding.

THE ROADMAN VIEW

Bikepacking fitness is fundamentally different from road cycling fitness, and the mistake most people make is training like a road cyclist and assuming it transfers. It does partially — your aerobic base is the foundation — but there are three things road riding does not prepare you for. First, the sheer duration: bikepacking days are 6-10 hours in the saddle, not 3-4. Second, the loaded bike: an extra 10-15 kg of kit changes everything about how the bike handles, climbs, and descends. Third, doing it again tomorrow, and the day after that.

Anthony's advice from conversations with experienced bikepackers is consistent: do at least four loaded rides in the final 8 weeks before your trip. Not with your best wheels and a light jersey — with the actual kit you will carry, packed the way you will pack it. These rides expose problems you would never find otherwise: a bag that rubs your knee at the top of the pedal stroke, a weight distribution that makes descending feel sketchy, a saddle position that causes numbness after hour five. You want to find and fix these issues at home, not on day two of a week-long route in the middle of nowhere.

EXPERT EVIDENCE

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Lee CraigieFormer Scottish mountain bike champion, bikepacking route developer
The most common reason people struggle on bikepacking trips is not fitness — it is accumulated fatigue from poor preparation. If you have never ridden back-to-back 100 km days with a loaded bike, your first bikepacking trip is not the time to discover what that feels like. Practise two-day weekends with full kit and realistic daily distances at least three times before your main trip.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

DO THIS WEEK

Build weekly long ride duration to 5-6 hours over 12 weeks
Extend your longest weekly ride by 30 minutes per week until you reach 5-6 hours. These rides should be at an easy, sustainable pace (Zone 2) — the same intensity you will ride for most of your bikepacking days. Focus on time in the saddle, not speed or power.
Complete at least 4 loaded rides in the final 8 weeks
Pack your bike exactly as you will for the trip and ride for 4-6 hours on terrain similar to your planned route. Practise eating, drinking, and navigating while riding loaded. Note any discomfort, handling issues, or kit problems and resolve them before the trip.
Include back-to-back long ride weekends
Three times in your preparation, ride 4-5 hours on Saturday followed by 4-5 hours on Sunday. This simulates multi-day fatigue and trains your body's ability to recover overnight and produce output again the next morning. Pay attention to fuelling, sleep quality, and morning stiffness.

COMMON MISTAKES

WHAT CYCLISTS GET WRONG

MISTAKETraining only on a lightweight, unloaded road bike.
FIXA loaded bike with 10-15 kg of kit handles completely differently. At minimum, simulate the weight by loading your bottles and adding a frame bag with weight. Ideally, ride fully loaded for your key preparation sessions.
MISTAKEUnderestimating fuelling requirements for 6-10 hour days.
FIXBikepacking burns 3,000-5,000 kcal per day depending on terrain and load. You cannot carry enough food for multi-day routes without resupply. Plan food stops, carry 60-90g of carbohydrate per hour of riding, and practise eating real food (not just gels) during long training rides.
MISTAKENeglecting core and upper body conditioning.
FIXHours of rough terrain transmit constant vibration through the handlebars. Weak core and shoulder muscles fatigue quickly, leading to hand numbness, neck pain, and lower back discomfort. Include two 20-minute core sessions per week focusing on planks, dead bugs, and scapular stability exercises.

FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How fit do I need to be for bikepacking?

There is no minimum fitness standard — bikepacking routes exist at every difficulty level. However, you should be comfortable riding for the daily distance and duration your route requires, with a loaded bike, for consecutive days. For a typical 80-120 km per day route, being comfortable on a 5-hour training ride with kit is a reasonable baseline.

Should I lose weight before a bikepacking trip?

Reducing unnecessary body weight helps on hilly routes, but do not diet aggressively in the weeks before a trip. Adequate fuelling for training is more important than arriving light but under-prepared. Focus on body composition through consistent training rather than crash dieting.

Does mountain biking experience help with bikepacking?

Significantly. Mountain bikers have off-road handling skills, rough-terrain comfort, and experience with variable power output that road cyclists lack. If your bikepacking route includes technical off-road sections, mountain biking experience is a major advantage.