“Battling”, “battlefields”, “Belgium”… Clever alliterative title huh? Well, I’m not being clever; we are just back from a three day cycle trip from Dunkirk to Bruges to Ypres and every word of that title is true.

Our trip was defined by headwinds; just about everywhere we went in Western Flanders regardless of the direction we took. But we are bikepackers now… sort of. And headwinds are just something you have to deal with… although it made things hard work at times.

But first, to recap.

Some time ago JR and his road riding buddies (including ‘Dangerous’ DaveS) did a similar trip with the aim of a little WW1 history over the course of a short break. I mentioned this would be of interest if the opportunity came round again and earlier this year that happened, with JR offering to organise a group outing.

The basic concept

The idea was to take the Dover to Dunkirk ferry as foot passengers, ride to Bruges via the North Sea coast, then on to Ypres the following day (visiting the German Langemark cemetery and the Tyne Cot battle memorial). The third day included a loop out to the Kemelberg climb, then visits to the German Bayernwald trenches and the Allied Santuary Wood (Hill 62) trenches before returning to Dunkirk.

Three days – and 200 miles – of riding meant two nights away and a need to carry all our requirements on the bike. It turned out some of us require more than others but it’s the closest I plan to get to bikepacking. We stayed in decent hotels like sensible people so it was more bike-portage than bikepack.

Signing up to this riding experience were Lloyd, JR, Gordon, MarkJ, Simon, Will and myself but unfortunately MarkJ needed to drop out due to family commitments.

Luckily, we substituted one letter of the alphabet and ‘persuaded’ MarkC to take up the slack. This gave us another rider to pull on the front but meant our resident military nerd was absent – a fact that may or may not have saved all our sanity! We will never know.

To be fair, as far as WW1 knowledge is concerned our subs bench is pretty full with everyone but myself sporting a good level of historical knowledge. And that’s me speaking as someone with an A-level in History!

Personally, despite being well aware of the events around Ypres it’s never been a place I ever felt the need to visit. How wrong I was.

Bike preparation for a three day cycling break

With a need to carry all our stuff for three days, this trip needed careful planning.

You have two options really. Either the traditional touring approach with bike panniers or the bikepacking approach with bags adapted to fit every corner of your bike.

Now, my bike is set up for commuting. For this I need to carry shoes, clothing, towel and toiletries as well as a large laptop using two 20L rear pannier bags. I stuck to the pannier format as the simplest option (and for me, cost). This brought the comfort of 42c gravel tyres using my Cannondale Topstone.

Others in the party favoured a large bar bag and rear saddle bikepacking bags. I think this bag route is the way to go, not least because it imposes a discipline on you in terms of what you carry. That said, there wasn’t much I brought that I didn’t need.

To help minimise the load, think about your shoes. Mid year and post ride you don’t need trainers (like me), just sandals or even – Lloyd’s preference – flip flops. Notably, JR’s off-bike wardrobe was lightweight but smart, being a light Arc’teryx shell and waterproof trousers that obviously pack to tiny dimensions.

What bike for light cycle touring?

As for the preferred choice of bike.

99% of this trip is on road, so any road bike will do as long as it accommodates your packing choices. I would suggest stability over racy if you can – the extra weight changes a bike’s behaviour and you are sat riding for long periods. Comfort trumps performance every time.

The bikes in our group ranged in tyre size from 25c to 42c, with most favouring 28-32c. I think 25c on anything other than a smooth surface is a bit narrow but most of the roads are very well made. My 42c S-works Pathfinders were exceptionally comfortable.

A late addition for all of us was mudguards after weather reports advised rain. This turned out to be a good move with steady rain fading to showers over the first two days. I’ve never been wetter on a bike than on a road bike, on the road, in the rain and you don’t want that on a multi day trip.

Loaded up my gravel bike was 45+ lbs and riding it was a slog on any incline. Comfort was high but riding 200 miles tells you a lot about contact points. Using MTB shoes and double sided SPDs, the balls of my feet hurt after three days. Even my usual saddle left me bruised and uncomfortable.

But all that was for the future!

About the author

Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.

Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.

An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.

If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.