On the 9-hour drive back from a self-supported 650+ mile bikepacking trip from Charlotte, NC to my hometown of Montoursville, PA this past October, I couldn’t help but daydream about the next “relatively random, but also meaningful to me” journey. Over the next few months, my wandering mind was running rampant, and locations all over the East Coast were under consideration. It took another few months until the light bulb clicked, and it was all my wife’s fault!

Guest Q&A: Christi Moot
​Read Time: 5 mins

There’s a lot of chatter on cycling specific webpages, bike shop banter, trailhead discussions and wandering daydreams about bikepacking but what exactly is it? Wikipedia has a few entries, but the tried-and-true Merriam Webster Dictionary hasn’t even recognized this term in its lexicon yet. We’ll peel back the layers on this bikepacking thing and share tips on how you can get started but know that this sport is simply another amazing way to get outside and move from point A to point B in a new way.

We’re on the doorsteps of the holiday gift giving season which means different things to different people. I’m stereotyping, but adults perpetually cringe at getting another uninspiring pair of undies or a regifted candle while kids absolutely lose their marbles to tear open whatever new toy or gizmo has recently hit the market.

I freshly celebrated my 40th BDay so I’m squarely in the camp of “I don’t want any more chintzy crap for Christmas this year”. What I do want, is more gear … and I want lots of it. I want more bikes for paved tarmac, fresh gravel, and tacky singletrack. I want more boats to paddle flatwater and rapid laced rivers. I want the latest running shoes for casual neighborhood jogs, long-distance trail sessions, and scrambling up peaked ridgelines.
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2022 was a banner year for me when it comes to adding more outdoor gear to my arsenal. I feel like a footie-pajama wearing, snot nosed kid, on Christmas morning and I can't wait to show and tell.