What I Packed For A 2 Day Bikepacking Race

I recently raced the Hot Taco Bikepacking Race—a 200-mile adventure I completed in just two days. This women’s-only race is short (for a bikepacking race that is) and takes place in August, so as the name would imply, it’s hot!

As a result, my strategy was all about packing light and moving fast, so I took a lot less than I would have for a longer or colder race. My goal was to strike the perfect balance between utility and weight. With that in mind, let’s dive into what I took along for the ride and why.

Electronics

• Spot Tracker: This device tracks my location for TrackLeaders.com, allows me to send pre-set messages to my husband (“I’m ok” or “stopping here for a while.”) There is also an SOS button to contact search and rescue, if needed.
• Cell Phone: It’s not just for emergencies or photos—it’s my navigation lifeline. For this race, I used the Gaia GPS app to navigate. The phone was attached to my handlebar with a QuadLock mount. Compared to a Garmin or dedicated GPS device, my phone didn’t work quite as well BUT it did save me from having to carry two devices.
• NiteRider Lumina 900 Light: I ran this light mounted to my bars. When moving at slower speeds, I put it into “walk mode” in order to conserve battery life.
• Mini flashlight on my helmet. I used a cheap mini flashlight from Amazon (no longer for sale) gorilla taped to my helmet. It runs off of a AA battery and I took a spare along (although I didn’t end up needing it).
• Anker Battery Pack: Keeps my tech charged, including my phone and NiteRider light. I was able to charge my phone while I rode, and never needed to charge my NiteRider.

Comfort and Hygiene

Staying comfortable and clean is crucial, even during a short race. Here’s what I packing for personal care:

• Toiletries Bag: Includes baby wipes, sunscreen, spare contacts, chamois cream, diaper cream, yeast cream, and Icy Hot.
• Medicines: Packed with essentials like ibuprofen, Tums, Pepto-Bismol, and Benadryl. I only ended up needed the ibuprofren this time.
• First Aid Kit: band-aids, alcohol wipes, Neosporin, gauze, medical tape, etc.

Tools and Maintenance

When it comes to bike racing, being prepared for mechanical issues is just as important as the ride itself.

• Tool Kit: Loaded with items like a Turbolito tube, Lezyne mini bike pump, Gorilla tape, spare brake pads, spare chain link, mutli-tool, tubeless plugs, and more.
• Chain kit: 1 oz bottle of chain lube and a small rag for cleaning and lubing my chain. I tried to do this every 50 miles or so.

Sleeping Setup and Clothing

Light means right in this race. Because I knew nightime temperatures would be warm, I kept it really light. In the end, I only ended up sleeping for 3.5 hours and stayed plenty warm. On a normal bikepacking trip, I’d bring a sleeping bag and pad as well.

• Bivy: An Alpkit Hunka XL bivy. This helped keep me out of the dirt and warm. Had it rained, the bivy is also waterproof and would have been a good place to shelter.
• Down coat: I brought a down coat in lieu of a sleeping bag. Had I been cold on the bike, I could have worn it then as well, but I never needed it outside of nighttime.
• Spare socks: I REALLY hate dirty and wet feet, so my one luxury item was a spare pair of socks. I changed them when I went to sleep.

Hydration

With temperatures over 100 degrees, I knew staying hydrated was crucial. Here’s how I managed it.

• Osprey Seral hip pack. My Osprey hip pack had a 2L bladder for water (and carried snacks).
• Water bottle. I had a 1L water bottle in a feedbag at my handlebars. I use the water bottle for electrolytes (and coke)!
• Katadyn BeFree filter. I used this 1L water filter for filtering from a couple of streams I encountered. For the most part, however, I was able to fill from spigots along the route.
• Electrolytes. To keep things interesting, I had a variety of electrolyte and sports drinks including Nuun tablets and Osmo drink mix.

Nutrition

Energy is everything on the trail. Luckily, this route had resupply points fairly often. The furthest I had to go between resupply was 50 miles.

• Food: I started out light but tasty with salami, instant coffee, Clif bars, Cheez-Its, mandarin oranges, and chocolate-covered almonds. Most of the rest of my food came from gas stations with some favorites being pretzels, chocolate milk, and licorice.

How I Carried Everything

• Revelate Egress Pocket Handlebar Bag. I used this bag up front for all of my food.
• Dispersed Bikepacking Custom Frame Bag. Everything heavy goes in this bag including tools, my first aid and toiletries, battery, and water filter.
• Po Campo feedbag. This fits my waterbottle and a few snacks.
• Salsa Anything cage bag. While not intended as a seatbag, I managed to rig this up as one. I didn’t want to take the much bigger Revelate seatbag I normally use. I used two velcro straps and one Voile strap to secure it to my saddle rails and seatpost. My bivy, down coat, and socks fit in here.

Even though I packed light, I never felt like I lacked anything essential. If you’re setting out on a similar ride, minimizing your load can make all the difference in comfort and speed. As they say, don’t pack your fears!

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