BIKEPACKING CHANGED MY LIFE!

Aperol Spritz served in enamel mugs, watercolour painting sessions and swims in reservoirs bikepacking is indeed the best way to enjoy the great outdoors, as Matt Kollat discovered

“SEND IT!” someone shouted from below, meaning the coast was clear for me to bomb down on the side of the hill, which ended in a massive puddle you could splash through. I let go of the brakes and started rolling down faster and faster until I hit the water, creating enormous waves on both sides of my third bike of the day. Who would’ve thought bikepacking in Wales was so much fun?

Clearly, a lot of people. Bikepacking, an activity that involves you travelling around on a gravel bike, exploring the Great Outdoors, has gradually risen in popularity in recent years. I’m not an experienced bikepacker, so when I was invited to Wales to celebrate the launch of the new Fjallraven/ Specialized SS23 bikepacking collection, I jumped at the opportunity. Organised by Fjallraven and the wonderful folks over at Pannier.cc, the two-day adventure involved a trip around the magical Cambrian Mountains on two wheels, sleeping in tents halfway through.

I was part of a 10-people strong crew, which, needless to say, included people more experienced in bikepacking. We were lucky enough to cycle there in 25+ degree warmth and with the sun shining all the way through, which made it feel like we were in Italy, not in rainy Wales.

After a lovely evening drinking Aperol Spritz out of enamel mugs and picking out gear from the new Fjallraven/Specialized collection, we had a sleep in our sweltering Dolgoch Hostel rooms.