Frazer is part way around the world on a bike tour having ridden from his homeland of Scotland back to Melbourne where we helped build his bike a bit over 18 months ago.
Category: Adventure Reports
On the Monē
We first got to know Cjell Monē from his trickle of blog posts outlining some his bike tours including 3 Tour Divide runs, 2 AZT rides, trips through India, Thailand, Nepal, NZ and our beautiful homeland of Australia to name a few. At a point along the way he began making his own bikes for his adventures in the back of a 1977 Toyota Camper. Some time has passed, his Toyota camper has grown into a larger bread delivery truck and his production has expanded to include 3 stock models being made in Taiwan.
Fools Gold Recap
The inaugural Fools Gold 420 bikepacking event departed from Maryborough at 8am on Saturday 22nd April. Almost 30 participants started, and approximately half completed the 420km event through Central Victoria in times ranging from 27 hours to 4 days.
Brisbane Ranges Easy Overnighter
Calling all easy-riders and aspiring bikepackers. We’ll be heading out into the Brisbane Range for an easy overnighter on March 25th/26th
The Dirty Rat 2022
A huge thanks to everybody who came to the 2022 edition of the Dirty Rat, the stoke for bike adventure has been reinvigorated!
Tips on your first remote bikepacking trip
Planning your first remote bikepacking trip can be particularly daunting. I know that from first hand experience. From my experience, the more remote a bikepacking trip has felt, the more rewarding my trip has been. If you are planning your first remote bikepacking trip, read on!
101 Bikepacking Straight from Work.
Amongst the team here at Commuter, Kia Binch has gained a reputation for repeatedly showing up to work with her bike fully loaded, and rolling straight out at 415pm Saturday and crushing some huge route! We asked Kia for her tips about preparing (both mentally and from a gear and logistics point of view) to make the absolute most of the weekend on your bike. Take it away Kia…!
Desert Diallin’
A bike setup and gear centric appetiser for my solo ride through the red centre.
Kia and Heath’s Murray Meander
I have a habit of winging Easter trips. Something about the freedom of five days off, and the abundance of amazing routes across Victoria, I often find myself paralysed by choice. A day or two before Easter, my friend Heath and I had a bright idea. We decided to turn our backs on every one of Victoria’s amazing established routes, and poke around somewhere neither of us had ever been before.
Easter Explore ’22
Early Friday morning, a group of our staff members and friends set out from the shop to embark on a long weekend riding around the Victorian High Country, traditional lands of the Jaitmatang Aboriginal people, max loaded with wine and cheese. The focus of this ride was minimum kms, maximum good times- a great introduction […]
Snork-Packing : The Official Guide
Folks, here it is! The post that you didn’t know you needed: it’s the Commuter Cycles official guide to snorkpacking. What’s snorkpacking, you ask? It’s bikepacking, but where you pack a snorkel and make a beeline for your favourite underwater wonderland. Recently our very own Kias (@pollen_pal and @kia_is_asian) took a weekend trip down to […]
Expedition Beach Fishing with Jason’s Salsa Blackborow.
If there’s one good thing about lockdown it’s that it breeds big ideas.
The Dirty Rat
The Dirty rat is a choose your own adventure west of Ararat into the area known as Gariwerd.
Victoria Divide 550 wrap-up Wednesday 20th March from 7pm
Join us for an evening of tales from those who participated in the inaugural Victoria Divide bikepacking event, a 550km trek across the rooftop of Victoria.
Ben’s Rohloff equipped Salsa Fargo 29+
We had first met Ben via email when he was gearing up to take on the inaugural Indian Pacific Wheel race in 2017. We helped deck him out with some Apidura kit and Dynamo power for the long stretches in the dark.
A Beginners Guide to the Hunt 1000
Fancy doing a 1000km unsupported bikepacking route through some of Australia’s most rugged and beautiful high country?
Click through and download the “Beginners guide to the Hunt 1000” PDF that Huw put together, which shared his experience of preparing for, and riding the 2017 Hunt 1000 event in the hope of inspiring more people to take the plunge and give it a go in 2018.
Will’s gear review from a recent trip to Bolivia
I’m back in the shop after a month in Bolivia. My partner and I fitted about 12 days of riding bikes into our holiday. Here’s a bit of a list of the gear we took and how we set our bikes up for some high plains drifting.
Slidenight #6 – Bikepacking Peru & Slovenia
Our Slide Night #6 is showcasing two amazing bikepacking trips a couple of friends of the workshop have just completed. New recruit Pepper Cook jaunted off on a one month adventure around Peru while Damo and his partner Libby journeyed their way through Slovenia for a week while en route to Scotland. Join us for a double headed night of adventure tales and inspiration!
Swift Campout Melbourne Edition
Save the date, we’ve planned the Melbourne edition of the international Swift Campout. If you’re interested in trying camping by bike this is the perfect opportunity to give it a shot. You can expect a 30km ride, mostly on bike paths, to a Parks Vic campsite with a campfire. All you need is a bike, a tent, camping gear and warm clothes.
Slide Night #5 – Touring in Sri Lanka
The nights are getting colder, so to keep warm we’re hosting a slide night about riding bikes in a tropical paradise. One of our Mechanics, Todd, has recently returned from a 3 week cycling tour in Sri Lanka with his partner, Linden. They have a bunch of stories and photos to share.
Bikepacking the Blackwood Forest: Commuter Campout 2.0
Our friend and talented wordsmith Pepper Cook has dropped a few musings about our latest installment of Commuter campout: Single Track. Whiskey. Leaping Frogs. Prairie Breakers. Large bearded men and one lady in flannos riding bikes adorned with front baskets, complete with decorative foliage. These are just a few items to be found in the […]
Tour Divide 2016 with our man Gareth
I first went riding with Gareth a few years ago, it was a three day ride out to Woods Point and back with a group of friends. Gareth had been into road bikes for a few years but this was his first ‘off road’ ride, I’ll never forget the guy in the Bont carbon road shoes sliding down a very steep fire trail to camp one evening with a look of terror on his face, I think he was hooked! Fast forward to 2016 and Gareth is a serious contender in the world’s hardest MTB race, the Tour Divide.
Apidura long term test
We have been stocking Apidura bikepacking products for quite a while now. So we thought it was time for a run down of whats on offer in their ever increasing range. The Apidura kit has been getting a good work out from all the staff here. It has held up to quite a bit of abuse and we have been very impressed with the quality.
Slide Night #3 – Overnight Touring for the Uninitiated
We’re holding another slide night on the 2nd of March 2016. Previously we’ve focused on trips undertaken by experienced bike tourists. This time around we’re going to help first-timers plan their first foray into touring – a simple overnighter.
Commuter Cycles Slide Night #2 – Northern Exposure Double Header
Please join us on Wednesday 30th September for Commuter Cycles second Slide Night. This installment will feature two speakers who recently returned from independent ‘light touring’ trips to Northern Europe.