# Bikepacking with a dirt jumper?



## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE!!!

I heard this phrase endless times and I hope Lance is right!

I didn't have time to put together the perfect bike for my first bikepacking warming trip, yet&#8230; and the steed I own is an old dirt jumper (with just a few upgrades).

By the end of the month, I'm planning to ride a short trip (200+ miles) through northern Argentina on gravel & singletrack (0% pavement, 10000-12000ft altitude, & strong winds) and I guess I'll know for certain if it's possible to do a bikepacking trip just by strapping a few dry bags to the bike you already own.

Any advice besides "DON'T DO IT"?

Saludos,
Federico​


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## verslowrdr (Mar 22, 2004)

Nope. It will explode on the third loaded pedal stroke, damaging rider and innocent people standing nearby. That's why they made a law about this sort of thing.

Why do you hate America?
Won't anyone think of the children?
Don't let the terrorists win. Don't let these psychopaths bikepack on dirt jumpers. JUST SAY NO.


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

verslowrdr said:


> Nope. It will explode on the third loaded pedal stroke, damaging rider and innocent people standing nearby. That's why they made a law about this sort of thing.
> 
> Why do you hate America?
> Won't anyone think of the children?
> Don't let the terrorists win. Don't let these psychopaths bikepack on dirt jumpers. JUST SAY NO.


Hey verslowrdr,

Don't worry I'm only planning to bikepack Argentina in a dirt jumper! 
Down here terrorists can blow an embassy and 20+ years later nobody is held responsible... and the Federal Prosecutor in charge of the investigation "suddenly dies" after exposing the current Government's cover-up operation 

Alberto Nisman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saludos,
Federico


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## the-one1 (Aug 2, 2008)

Longer seat post and you will be fine if that is all you have to work with.


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

the-one1 said:


> Longer seat post and you will be fine if that is all you have to work with.


Hola the-one 1!

The few upgrades my Kona Cowan has are: gears, longer seat post, water cages at the suspension fork, and a rear rack.

The only CONS I could find (so far) are the really weird geometry for pedaling long hours and the frame's extra weight... but I think I can live with that (for shorter trips) while I find the perfect bike for my Project.

So far I've a tight budget and I didn't want to spend it in something that could be improved in the near future. Fortunately I's already able to put together the other stuff so I'll carrying UL camping gear and clothing 

Saludos,
Federico


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

If you've got the gears and the longer post, it'll "work". You'll find out quickly enough how much you LIKE bikepacking on such a bike.


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

Harold said:


> If you've got the gears and the longer post, it'll "work". You'll find out quickly enough how much you LIKE bikepacking on such a bike.


Hola Harold/Nate,

Thanks for your message!

I decided to start my little Project (Their Only Portrait. Portraits & Cycling) from scratch and I will fulfill it even if I need to complete self-funded... but I've to be very discreet with my budget.

I'll probably put together a better steed for the second bikepacking warming trip, but so far the dirt jumper is the best bike I've for this job (the other bike I own is a road fixie which won't survive the singletrack)... and I'll be more than happy if I don't HATE it after the first couple of miles 

Saludos,
Federico


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

Hola!

A few days ago I returned from my first warm up trip, bikepacking Northern Argentina in an old dirt jumper.

After some time on the saddle I learned bike geometry is essential to be comfortable at longer trips... although the old Kona got the job done!

As soon as I'm able to put together a decent off-road touring bike I'll be heading to Chile to ride Carretera Austral as my 2nd warm up trip 

Saludos,
Federico


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## verslowrdr (Mar 22, 2004)

TheirOnlyPortrait said:


> ...A few days ago I returned from my first warm up trip, bikepacking Northern Argentina in an old dirt jumper...


How rad is THIS?!? :band:
Would love to hear/see more about your trip....


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

verslowrdr said:


> How rad is THIS?!? :band:
> Would love to hear/see more about your trip....


Hola Verslowrdr,

I'll have to admit it wasn't the most comfortable ride (especially on pavement roads) but I wasn't able to find the best steed for my Project (yet) and this was the one I already owned.

Wind and steep roads were worst than expected at high altitude, but I's able to put myself and some of the gear to the test 

I'm still downloading photos, images, and tracks... but I´ll post more info about the trip in a couple of days!

Saludos,
Federico









TheirOnlyPortrait's 1:15 h Cycling Move


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

TheirOnlyPortrait said:


> IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE!!!
> 
> I heard this phrase endless times and I hope Lance is right!
> 
> ...


Hola,









On March 30th I arrived to Jujuy (Northern Argentina) to start my 1st warm up trip. Unfortunately altitude and strong winds were worst than expected and I'd to change the itinerary&#8230; so I ended up riding only 250+ miles (60 trail & 25 singletrack).

It's true you don't need a fancy bike to cycle the world, but your bike geometry is much more important than you might think (especially for longer trips). 
I did my trip with the steed I already owned which was an old dirt jumper with 26×2.40 tires (didn't got a single flat on my Maxxis Ardents) & DIY bikepacking's bags&#8230; and it was REALLY uncomfortable to make those 190 miles on pavement with strong headwinds and high altitude (around 10000 feet).

I'll divide this trip in 3 shorter trips and each one will have its own post (with more photos, tracks, and maybe some short videos):
•Tilcara-Abra de Punta Corral-Tumbaya-Tilcara (50 miles, 50% singletrack).
•Tilcara-Purmamarca-Salinas Grandes-Purmamarca-Tilcara (120 miles, 100%pavement).
•Tilcara-Humahuaca-Hornocal-Humahuaca-Tilcara (90 miles, 40% trail).

I's planning to ride Carretera Austral (Chile) for my second warm up trip, but with Calbuco's recent eruption I'll need to find a new destination (and probably a better ride)&#8230;

Saludos,
Federico


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## JBHD (Apr 9, 2008)

Well, props that you still did it Federico! How many miles were you hitting approx. each day? Any idea what bike you will be getting to do your 'real' trip? Are you still playing on doing your second warm up trip on your dirtjumper?


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

JBHD said:


> Well, props that you still did it Federico! How many miles were you hitting approx. each day? Any idea what bike you will be getting to do your 'real' trip? Are you still playing on doing your second warm up trip on your dirtjumper?


Hola Job,

I'm not sure how many miles I did per day (probably not many) but I spent between 4-6 hours on the saddle (or pushing) everyday I rode. 
Unfortunately altitude and strong winds were much tougher than I was expecting 

. On Tilcara-Abra de Punta Corral-Tumbaya-Tilcara I joined Easter's Pilgrimage and I spent two nights camping with the Bands (Sikuris) at a small church at 13000+feet.

. On Tilcara-Purmamarca-Salinas Grandes-Purmamarca-Tilcara I spent one day making photos at a rural school with 7 students.

. On Tilcara-Humahuaca-Hornocal-Humahuaca-Tilcara I did 27miles on pavement & 36 on trail (up to 14000+ feet and down), spent the night wild camping at lower altitude and the next day returned to Tilcara (27 miles on pavement).

I'm planning a second warm up trip for June, but due to the recent volcano activity I'll be heading to Rodovia Fantasma (BR-319) one of the most preserved areas of the Brazilian Amazon, instead of Carretera Austral.
BR-319

This trip goes through a very desolated and broken "highway" and I'm trying to find a Sponsor who lend me a better steed... but if I'm not able to find it, I'll still do the trip with the old dirt jumper 

Saludos,
Federico

PS: Soon I'll be posting more details about my trip with photos & tracks


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## She&I (Jan 4, 2010)

Hi Federico,

Congrats on your adventures, and power to you for making the bike work. True spirit. Some elevations, man...nice chugging! Looking forward to the full report 👍

Good luck getting tooled up. Beers,

Mike


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

She&I said:


> Hi Federico,
> 
> Congrats on your adventures, and power to you for making the bike work. True spirit. Some elevations, man...nice chugging! Looking forward to the full report 👍
> 
> ...


THANKS Mike!

I should have the full report by the end of the week 

Saludos,
Federico


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

TheirOnlyPortrait said:


> THANKS Mike!
> 
> I should have the full report by the end of the week
> 
> ...


Hola,

Here is the "full" report of the 1st part of my warm up trip:








Every year thousands of local people trek from Tilcara to a little chapel at 13000+ feet (4.000 m) to give their respects to Virgen del Abra de Punta Corral, followed by Sikuri bands (more than 80) playing music all the way up & down the Pilgrimage .
This year I decided to join them during my 1st warm up trip and this brilliant plan ended up with a 52800+ feet (16km) hike a bike (8 straight hours) till I reached the little church where I spent 2 nights with the locals. 
For the descent I decided to go through the opposite direction (Tumbaya) a 13 miles (22km) very fun descent on loose trail going from 13000+ feet (4000m) to 8200 feet (2500m). If you' re an experienced rider I recommend you to do this route in the opposite direction, starting at Tumbaya is going to be a 4 miles (7km) longer climb, but it's not as steep as Tilcara and you should be able to ride it all the way up... and the 9 miles (15km) descent through Tilcara should be amazing is you're a skilled cyclist (and have a good steed)!

You can find more photos at: 
Abra de Punta Corral |Warm up trip | THEIR ONLY PORTRAIT

Saludos,
Federico


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

TheirOnlyPortrait said:


> THANKS Mike!
> 
> I should have the full report by the end of the week
> 
> ...


Hola,

This is the second part (Cuesta de Lipan) of my 1st warm up trip:









La Cienaga is a small village 10km away from Purmamarca and Escuela Nº53 Dr. Marcelino Vargas' location, a small rural school with 8 students (who walk up to 12 miles a day to go to class) that I visited to collaborate with Fundacion Ruta 40 (a local NGO contributing in the comprehensive development of rural schools) making photos of the kids, classroom, & school.

















After La Ciega you reach Cuesta de Lipan, a 112500 feet (34.3km) ascent that goes from 7837 to 13681 feet (2389 to 4170m) before reaching Salinas Grandes (salt flats). It was definitively the hardest time I ever had in the saddle, but the twisting descent on tarmac was AMAZING even with an fully loaded old dirt jumper with 2.4 tires (it might be one of the best roads for 2 wheels in the world!)&#8230; and it was the very first time I ever wished for a lightweight road bike!!!


























































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## eatsleepbikes (Oct 3, 2009)

Hey Federico, I enjoyed reading your trip report and looking at your site its really cool
what you are doing. You have some great photos really liked the one of your bike in front of the house with the blue door. Looks like your bags work well on the bike. How was getting food and water on your trip. What is it like to get cycling stuff in Argentina. You might post your story on bikepacking.net as I'm sure alot of people would love to read about it.


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

eatsleepbikes said:


> Hey Federico, I enjoyed reading your trip report and looking at your site its really cool
> what you are doing. You have some great photos really liked the one of your bike in front of the house with the blue door. Looks like your bags work well on the bike. How was getting food and water on your trip. What is it like to get cycling stuff in Argentina. You might post your story on bikepacking.net as I'm sure alot of people would love to read about it.


Hola eatsleepbikes,

I'm glad you enjoyed reading my trip report and liked my Project (please help me to spread the word about it)!

My first DIY bags did the job, but they're moving around (a lot) and I'd to stop a couple of times a day to fix them... I'd been talking with Scott from Porcelain Rocket to see I'm able to replace them for the next warm up trip as it's going to be VERY dusty/muddy when I get to the Amazon (depending on how lucky I'm).

In Argentina it's possible to get some decent 29" hardtails (for at least twice the price of their newest version in the US) but unfortunately there's nowhere to buy bikepacking gear and this brings a couple of problems because our Customs is almost closed and our currency is 13 to 1 with the USD. I already have most of my savings invested in the gear I'll need for this Project, and I still have long list of things that need to be upgraded before I departure 

We can travel to Chile where there's a bigger cycling market, but it's also expensive for us there. Fortunately I worked 15+ years in Foreign Trade before leaving everything behind to follow my passion for photography and I'm able to get some gear from the US whenever I get some funds 

Finding decent food and water was very easy for this last trip, as I's never really far from small villages where I could buy empanadas... and just in case, I also had my frame bag full with pasta, rice, instant soups, and even some luxuries (olive oil, honey, single origin coffee, etc). The problem was that without any room left at my frame bag I's carrying way too much weight in my backpack. I'm planning to amend this for the future trips ad if I do carry a backpack, it will only be for photography gear.

I's planning t post it on bikepacking.net but then got busy and forgot to do it 

Saludos,
Federico


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

eatsleepbikes said:


> Hey Federico, I enjoyed reading your trip report and looking at your site its really cool
> what you are doing. You have some great photos really liked the one of your bike in front of the house with the blue door. Looks like your bags work well on the bike. How was getting food and water on your trip. What is it like to get cycling stuff in Argentina. You might post your story on bikepacking.net as I'm sure alot of people would love to read about it.


Hola eatsleepbikes!

I finally did it:
bikepacking.net > Mexico and South America > Bikepacking Northern Argentina (with an old dirt jumper).

Saludos,
Federico


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## eatsleepbikes (Oct 3, 2009)

Glad you got it up over there, I'm sure it will get alot of people looking at it. I was wondering about the pilgrimage that you followed I am assuming that with our these people were of catholic faith. I am a christian and it is nice to see people do difficult things to show their love and faith for God. I am not sure you would see the same thing here in the US percentage wise of people. I wonder that with all the great things we have here and how easy they are to get, that they become distractions from where all these blessings come from. 
What are your hoping to do for a bike on your next trip. Cyclists that jump into bikepacking seem to have the most passion and are some of the nicest riders I have met out on the trails. From what I can tell you fit in with this group Federico. I'll try and do what I can about getting the word out on your cause.


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

eatsleepbikes said:


> Glad you got it up over there, I'm sure it will get alot of people looking at it. I was wondering about the pilgrimage that you followed I am assuming that with our these people were of catholic faith. I am a christian and it is nice to see people do difficult things to show their love and faith for God. I am not sure you would see the same thing here in the US percentage wise of people. I wonder that with all the great things we have here and how easy they are to get, that they become distractions from where all these blessings come from.
> What are your hoping to do for a bike on your next trip. Cyclists that jump into bikepacking seem to have the most passion and are some of the nicest riders I have met out on the trails. From what I can tell you fit in with this group Federico. I'll try and do what I can about getting the word out on your cause.


Hola eatsleepbikes,

Thanks for the reminder, I's planning to post it there and then I got distracted... I hope they like it too 

Argentina is a Catholic country but in the big cities (like Buenos Aires) we only gather with family & friends and eat chocolate eggs on Sunday... some might not eat meat on Friday (but that's a huge sacrifice for Argentinians).

So, the first time I spent Easter at northern Argentina I's VERY surprised to see those Pilgrims; a couple of years later I walked with them to the church (backpacking) and this year I decided it would be a good exercise to join them with a loaded bike 

Smaller villages have the biggest faith in Catholic Church... especially having an Argentinian Pope!

For the next warm up trip, I planning to cycle one of the best preserved areas of the Brazilian Amazon before it's finally ruined by mankind... but the idea is also to relate with those local farmers, illegal poachers/loggers to try to understand their position. As usual I'll be carrying a small portable photography studio to make & print their portraits.

BR-319 "highway" is going to be more than challenging and it will be impossible to find (or get) any spare part for my ride during the whole trip, so I'm trying to put together the most reliable bikepacking setup. 
Camping gear, clothing, and electronics worked perfect in the previous trip, so they aren't going to change much for this one (besides loosing all the warm stuff) but the bike & bags definitively need to be replaced.
I'd been talking with several companies to borrow a decent steed for this trip (in exchange of images for editorial use & their social media), but so far I couldn't close the deal with any of them 

I still have some time left, but if I don't get any support I'll probably end up buying a cheap used steel frameset online and use my dirt jumper's old parts...

Saludos,
Federico


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

TheirOnlyPortrait said:


> THANKS Mike!
> 
> I should have the full report by the end of the week
> 
> ...


Hola!

This is the third part (Serrania del Hornocal) of my 1st warm up trip...









I was camping at Tilcara and I had to ride 27 extra miles (45km) uphill on tarmac to reach Humahuaca. Two blocks from the main street you'll find a gravel road that later turns to trail and will take you to Serrania del Hornocal or the 14 colors mountain after a 82000 feet (25km) climb.









The ascent going from 8200+ feet ( 2500m) to 14000+ feet (4317m) is almost as bad as Cuesta de Lipan, but the views at the summit (and during the trail) are amazing&#8230; almost as good as the descent!!!

























Saludos,
Federico Cabrera
Their Only Portrait. Portraits & Cycling


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## She&I (Jan 4, 2010)

Thanks for the additional reportage!

Best wishes tying up loose ends before the next one...

Mike


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

She&I said:


> Thanks for the additional reportage!
> 
> Best wishes tying up loose ends before the next one...
> 
> Mike


Hola Mike,

My pleasure, I hope you liked it!

I'm glad to inform that I found a lovely steed to bikepack Argentina, but unfortunately won't be ready till August and I'll need to find something else to bikepack the Amazon for my 2nd warm up trip 

Saludos,
Federico


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

JBHD said:


> Well, props that you still did it Federico! How many miles were you hitting approx. each day? Any idea what bike you will be getting to do your 'real' trip? Are you still playing on doing your second warm up trip on your dirtjumper?


Hola Job,

I just wanted to let you know that I'll be riding the soon to be released Hayduke 27.5+ hardtail for the "real" trip.
Hayduke | THEIR ONLY PORTRAIT

Unfortunately it won't be ready till August and I'm trying to borrow a fatbike for the Amazon warm up trip... but if I'm not lucky I'll just ride the old dirt jumper again 
2nd warm up trip | Amazonas | THEIR ONLY PORTRAIT

Saludos,
Federico


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