You're flying over the gravel on your e-bike, surrounded by mountain scenery, beautiful forests and not a soul other than your better half or your closest friends. At lunchtime, the cyclists you brought with you call and then cool off in the mountain lake while your e-bike refuels with the sun's rays. After refreshment, we continue to camp for the night at the natural campsite surrounded by the most beautiful nature and a peace that can only be found in such places. The fact that there is no socket here doesn't bother you in the slightest thanks to your mobile power station. Now all you have to do is end the evening around 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. This is similar to backpacking, except you attach all your luggage to the bike. With the e-bike you have completely different options, you can ride longer distances without the tour becoming less relaxing or even ride a demanding climb that you would normally only have to push. Coupled with solar energy, you are always supplied with your energy and prepared for any tour you can dream of.

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 only take the bare essentials with you, what you need for life and otherwise enjoy the freedom. Depending on the tour, this can still be a lot, but you will see that you can actually get by with so little.

Let's start with the sleeping options . You can either sleep in a hotel or camp, in both cases you can fully enjoy 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 (sleeping mat or air mat)

When choosing your accommodation, you definitely have to keep space in mind because, as I said, everything will be stored on your e-bike.

Next, we want to take a closer look at how you can take care of yourself. It is recommended to follow the premise again: as light and as minimalist as possible. The 5 star dish is available again in everyday stress 😉

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

When it comes to preparation in your field kitchen, we recommend:

• Gas cooker or mini grill (Skotti, for example)
• Pot and cutlery
• Sensible knife
• Cup and for coffee lovers possibly an espresso maker or French press
• It's best to have two drinking bottles

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

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

If, on the other hand, you prefer the peace and quiet of nature or you have set yourself demanding daily routes, you are dependent on the power supply from your solar panel, which supplies you while you drive. As enthusiastic bike packers, we have developed our product to discover the lakes, find the valleys and see the mountain scenery that would otherwise remain hidden from us.

If you also want to charge your cell phone, tablet or GPS device, or if your e-bike is not compatible, there is also the option of using our power station, which provides you with energy with USB ports and a socket can. Alternatively, you can also take a normal power bank with you for your mobile devices if you don't want to be off the grid for too long. When it comes to charging with solar energy, it is of course important that you plan according to the weather forecast, but if it does rain, with our charger you still have the option of charging from a normal mains socket or a car socket, which gives you peace of mind through maximum flexibility. Since no one likes driving in bad weather, we assume that this should be set 😉

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

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

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

With this you can 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 come to first aid and your toiletry bag :

• First aid kit with disinfectant, alcohol swab, quick wound dressing, various plasters, wound compresses, bandages, gloves, triangular viscose cloth, 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 significantly less if you don't change your outfit every day.

Since the whole thing now has to be stowed away, let's finally turn our attention to the transport options

There are a variety of solutions, if you want to tackle your adventure self-sufficiently 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 attach tent and other things

This means you are well prepared for any route you want to take on. We have 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, we want to go 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 worry too much, use the list as an example, adapt it to your needs and just start with a one-day tour. You will see how inner peace you return to your everyday life and what feelings of happiness this independence in the most beautiful nature triggers.

With this in mind, we wish you all the best on your trip and elsewhere!

To a good future,

Your Solarride team

Niklas and Simeon