You'll fly over the gravel on your e-bike, surrounded by a mountain backdrop, beautiful forests, and not a soul in sight except for your significant other or your closest friends. At lunchtime, the Radler you brought along calls, followed by a cool dip in the mountain lake while your e-bike refuels with the rays of sunshine. After a refreshing drink, you'll continue on to your overnight camp at the unspoiled campsite, surrounded by beautiful nature and a peace and quiet that can only be found in such places. The fact that there are no power outlets here doesn't bother you in the slightest thanks to your mobile power station. Now all that's left to do is end the evening by the campfire and enjoy the freedom; after all, a new adventure awaits you the next day.

This unique experience can be described with the word bikepacking. It's derived from backpacking, only you strap all your gear to your bike. With an e-bike, you have completely different options; you can ride longer distances without the stress of the ride, or even tackle challenging climbs that you would normally only push. Combined with solar power, you'll always be powered up and prepared for any tour you can imagine.

If you want to spend your next vacation in beautiful forests, lake districts or the mountains, we would like to give you all the information you need in this article to immerse yourself in nature and escape the stress of everyday life.

 The basic idea of ​​e-bikepacking or backpacking is to bring only the bare essentials and otherwise enjoy the freedom. Depending on the tour, this can still be quite a lot, but you'll see that you can actually get by with so little.

Let's start with the sleeping options . You can either stay in a hotel or camp; either way, you'll get the full enjoyment of your cycling holiday.

If you go camping, you will of course need the complete sleeping set consisting of:

• Tent, tarp or bivouac bag
• Sleeping bag (possibly with inlay) and pillow
• Sleeping mat (insulating mat or air mat)

When choosing your accommodation, you must keep space in mind, as, as mentioned, everything will be stored on your e-bike.

Next, we'll take a closer look at how you can feed yourself. It's recommended to follow the same principle: as light and minimalist as possible. You'll then be able to enjoy the 5-star meal in the hustle and bustle of everyday life 😉

We won't say anything about food, except that you should plan realistically and not necessarily save too much space here.

As for preparation in your field kitchen, we recommend:

• Gas stove or mini grill (Skotti, for example)
• Pot and cutlery
• Reasonable knife
• Cup and for coffee lovers perhaps an espresso maker or French press
• Drinking bottle preferably two

Now that you know how to get supplies and sleep, we want to talk about the power supply for your e-bike so that you can enjoy your bike tour and not pedal around with an empty battery.

If you are staying in a hotel and don't want to drive long distances during the day, you can simply recharge overnight in most hotels.

However, if you're looking for the tranquility of nature or have set yourself challenging daily routes, you'll rely on the power provided by your solar panel, which will power you even during the ride. As passionate bikepackers, we developed our product to help you discover lakes, find valleys, and see mountain scenery that would otherwise remain hidden from us.

If you also want to charge your phone, tablet, or GPS device, or if your e-bike isn't compatible, you can also use our power station, which can provide you with power via USB ports and a power outlet. Alternatively, you can also bring a regular power bank for your mobile devices if you don't want to be off-grid for too long. When charging with solar energy, it's obviously important to plan according to the weather forecast, but if it does rain, our charger always gives you the option of charging from a regular wall outlet or a car power socket, giving you peace of mind and maximum flexibility. Since nobody likes riding in bad weather, we assume this should be a given 😉

When we're in bad weather, it's best to focus on other unwanted events: breakdowns and the appropriate remedies.

To be prepared for all eventualities, you should definitely have the following spare parts and tools with you:

• Repair kit including tire levers and tire sealant (possibly even a spare tube)
• bicycle pump
• Multitool e.g. Leatherman
• Lock, cable ties, adhesive tape
• Bicycle chain oil

This will allow you to easily get your e-bike back in shape, but you should also be able to do this for yourself and tour participants, so let's now move on to first aid and your toiletry bag :

• First aid kit with disinfectant, alcohol swabs, wound dressing, various plasters, wound compresses, bandages, gloves, triangular bandage made of viscose, scissors, tweezers, tick tweezers, painkillers and burn/healing ointment, magnesium tablets, mosquito spray, charcoal tablets
• Toiletry bag with toothbrush, toothpaste, shower gel/shampoo, sunscreen, tissues, microfiber towel

You choose your clothing depending on the weather and the season, with the idea that, especially in nature, functionality takes precedence over style and you can get by with a lot less if you don't change your outfit every day.

Since the whole thing now has to be stowed away, we will finally turn to the transport options

There are various solutions here. If you want to approach your adventure independently in conjunction with your own solar power plant, we recommend, depending on the scope of the tour:

• saddlebags
• frame bags
• handlebar bag
• Top tube bag
• cell phone holder
• Tension straps to secure tents and other items

This will ensure you're well-equipped for any route you plan to take. We've already listed the most beautiful bikepacking routes in another blog post, if you need inspiration for your first bike trip.

Even though that was quite a lot of input, let's get back to the philosophy of bikepacking, which is such a welcome change from today's life: enjoying nature in a minimalist way. So don't overthink it; use the list as a guide, adapt it to your needs, and simply start with a one-day tour. You'll see the inner peace you'll return to your everyday life with, and the feelings of happiness this independence in the midst of beautiful nature evokes.

With this in mind, we wish you all the best on your journey and in every other way!

To a good future,

Your SolarRide team

Niklas and Simeon