It’s time for another roundup, and this one has a little bit of everything. From Lebron James, to an amphibious bike canoe, recipes for eating better while on tour, and also some tips for how to stay safe and smart while on tour in wildfire season. Leading off, from BIKEPACKING.COM, we take a look at…
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10 Years of BAM! – May/June ’24 Bikepacking News
Dang, half the year gone already and summer in full swing! We’ve been feeling the heat here in Tucson but have luckily been hit with an early monsoon, albeit during our Swift Campout a couple of weeks ago. If you’re looking for some reading material to pass a hot afternoon, then we’ve got you covered…
Resupply Intel: Parker Canyon Lake
Last weekend I found myself in the little lake front convenience store at Parker Canyon Lake after enjoying some paddle-boarding with my family. The question of what this little store is actually stocked with has come up multiple times in the past few years. The thing is that this store is about a mile descent…
Hellbiking with Roman Dial – March/April ’24 Bikepacking News
It’s hard to call this a Spring news roundup seeing as how those of us in the desert are already enjoying consistent 90-degree highs. While many folks in the Northern Hemisphere are still thawing out, we’re looking to get in as much riding as we can before it uncomfortably warms up. Whatever the case may…
The Swag Family World Ride – January/February ’24 Bikepacking News
It’s our first news roundup of the year (Happy 2024!), and we’re excited to bring you a pretty rad collection of stories, events, and gear that’s peeked our interest so far this year. The theme starts off with some unique long-distance travel stories and then narrows down to events closer to home. When you’re done…
The Kofa Conting3ncy
February can be a tricky month for a weekend bikepacking trip. As I write this on a Sunday afternoon in the later part of the month, the temperature sits at a pleasant 75F. The last few years, however, our advanced trip that we usually schedule for this time of year has been met with incredibly…
Campfire by the Numbers – December/End of Year Bikepacking News
We thought we were done for 2023, but in the spirit of tallies and tidy wrap ups, we’ve got one last collection to share with you. Read on below for our Campfire recap where we reminisce on our events, trips, and shop happenings this past year, along with the usual collection of inspiring stories and…
Alaska to Argentina – October/November Bikepacking News
While most folks are sharing their Spotify Most Played from the past 12 months, we’re sharing our last news roundup of 2023 with a collection of intriguing, entertaining, and maybe inspiring news from the past couple of months. Read (and watch) on for a mini adventure race in Athens, Greece, a book chronicling the life…
No Country for Tommy Decker
It’s tiresome to still be writing about the heat, but this Summer was a doozy. For those of us in Tucson and the surrounding Sonoran Desert, we’re coming out of one of the drier monsoons of the last 50 years, logging 15 more 100F+ degree days than normal. Much of Arizona and the country at…
The Triple Crown Challenge – August/September ’23 Bikepacking News
Summer has finally started to subside here in the Sonoran Desert, and my morning cups of coffee are starting to make sense and do their job of warming me up instead of inducing sweat at 7AM. The transition felt like it would never happen, but it’s here, and it’s glorious. Speaking of glorious, we’re stoked…
Liquid Gold – June/July ’23 Bikepacking News
We’re back for a Summer roundup of bikepacking news, and as always, we’re excited to share with you a collection of stories and other tidbits that caught our attention. June and July are full of endurance racing in the Northern Hemisphere, and with the Tour Divide being the big draw, we decided to cast a…
The Lemmon-Top Traverse – Our 2023 Swift Campout
Southern Arizona is well known as a cycling mecca. Hundreds of miles of singletrack and dirt roads lay within thousands of acres of public land ripe for day rides and overnight exploring. In the few short years I’ve lived here, the now iconic San Rafael Valley outside of Patagonia has gone from a ranching road…
“Riding Han” wins at Filmed by Bike – April/May ’23 Bikepacking News
Welcome back to another news roundup! In this Spring edition we’re excited to share a smattering of films, inspiring and interesting reportage, gear, and upcoming events right here in Tucson. We’ll keep the intro short this time. Read on for our favorite tidbits from the last couple months, and if you’d like to see more…
“Alfie the Odd Job Boy” – February/March ’23 Bikepacking News
It’s never easy to pair down the list of exciting, entertaining, and inspiring bits of news to share for these roundups, and the past couple months have made it extra challenging. The list was especially long this time around, but we’re excited to bring you a paired down version featuring a hilarious and heart-warming film…
55 Hours in the Santa Ritas
The Sky Islands Odyssey is a special route for us here at Campfire. In 2022, we rode the East Loop as the advanced option in our backpacking series, a trip that saw temperatures well below freezing and eternal wind. A few weeks later, we supported Sarah Swallow’s Ruta del Jefe event by providing repairs, service,…
The REANIMATOR Tour – December/January ’23 Bikepacking News
Happy New Year and welcome to our first news roundup for 2023! The end of the year can be a little slow at times, but we’ve managed to put together a solid collection of events, stories, and bits of gear from the world of bikes that we came across in the last couple of months….
S’moreos, Pups, and a Border Run
Back at the end of 2021, once it felt safe and reasonable to spend time with small groups of people outside, we restarted our bikepacking series with an overnight trip to the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR) outside of Arivaca, Arizona. That trip was such a memorable time that we decided to end another…
Inaugural Rhino Run in Namibia – Aug to Dec’22 Bikepacking News
It’s been a little while since we’ve done a roundup of our favorite things from the bikepacking world, but we’re back! A lot has happened in the past four months, and we’re excited to share a few pieces that caught our attention. We’ve got a collection of videos and articles covering events like the Arizona…
Rolling through Craters & Cones – Campfire’s Sept/Oct’22 Highlights
Flagstaff draws us all up for different reasons. Some make the drive to visit family and old stompin’ grounds from childhood. Others wait for Winter snowfall to ski at Arizona Snowbowl, and a handful have made the cool pine country of Northern Arizona a yearly pilgrimage to escape the long summers of the Sonoran Desert….
Alexandera Houchin Shares Her Story, One Drop at a Time – June/July’22 Bikepacking News
One Drop at a Time by Alexandera Houchin published by FreeHubMag – June 14th With the bikepacking season in full swing, there are a plethora of great stories and events to highlight. But what stood out most was this powerful written story and accompanying video by Alexandera Houchin. Alexandera has been quietly building a substantial…
Intermountain Connectors – April/May’22 Bikepacking News
Bikepacking Roots & Adventure Cycling Partner Up on Launching the Intermountain Connectors Routes We are very excited about the launch of the Intermountain Connector routes. Bikepacking Roots and Adventure Cycling have teamed up to design these connectors between their two epic bikepacking routes, the Western Wildlands Route and the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. These…
Tombstone Hustling – Campfire’s Mar/Apr’22 Highlights
It’s been a busy spring here at Campfire and we have been having some fine adventures. The one that stands out the most has to be our lovely overnighter of the Tombstone Hustle- we had to plan this one a bit late in the season. But as luck would have it, we had a cool…
RAR Atlanta’s Bikepacking Gear Library – Feb/Mar’22 Bikepacking News
A Bikepacking Gear Library for RAR Atlanta Our top story for February and March is Radical Adventure Rider’s Atlanta chapter launch of their bikepacking gear library. With the goal of making bikepacking gear more accessible, RAR Atlanta set to work on gathering gear, developing a library system and finding and setting up a space. The…
Our Sky Island Odyssey – Campfire’s Jan/Feb’22 Highlights
Our first plans for a circumnavigation of the Sky Island Odyssey East loop had been cancelled at the start of the pandemic. Finally getting around to leading this ride felt like a return to forward momentum after the chaos of the last two years. For this trip, I had a slightly modified version of Sarah…