Five things I wish I knew before my first bikepacking trip

From the food to fuel with to your packing and route planning - there certainly is no shortage of ways to make mistakes while bikepacking! Here’s what I’ve learned the hard way…

Anna riding on a gravel trail over the Atlas Mountains in Morocco
(Image credit: Future)

My bikepacking experience has really bloomed in the last 12 months, with a couple of weeks spent riding across the plains and mountains of Hungary and Slovakia - plus a few shorter excursions into the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco and the (not so high) Cambrian mountains of Wales.

Anna cycling over a bridge into Hungary with a view of the Basilica of Esztergom

The bridge from Slovakia to Hungary, with a view of the Basilica of Esztergom

(Image credit: Stefan Abram)

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Anna Marie Abram
Fitness Features Editor

I’ve been hooked on bikes ever since the age of 12 and my first lap of the Hillingdon Cycle Circuit in the bright yellow kit of the Hillingdon Slipstreamers. For a time, my cycling life centred aroun