Photo from the upcoming issue by Leo Brinkmann
As we arrive at our upcoming 10th issue of The Bikepacking Journal, we’re thrilled to mark a milestone we never felt certain we’d reach. Indeed, it’s one that few independent print publications make it to in today’s digital age. We have something extra special in store to commemorate the occasion, and The Bikepacking Journal 10 will span a whopping 200 colorful pages—up from the usual 160—making it a true coffee table book. We’ve designed it to be a collector’s item full of timeless stories that you can display proudly and revisit from time to time. If you’ve been considering signing up to support us through our Bikepacking Collective, here’s your opportunity to do so and get something extraordinary in return.
What’s Inside
Our 10th issue will feature fresh essays and stories from some of our most talented contributors’ recent travels to Turkey, Patagonia, and Jordan, to name just a few. We’ve also asked a handful of longtime writers and photographers with more than a century of collective bicycle travel experience to put their unique experiences into words through retrospective looks at their personal and shared histories of bikepacking.
An amazing group of visual artists has creatively chipped in to produce more art and maps than ever before, offering unexpected surprises and refreshing changes of pace for readers thumbing through the Journal‘s pages. Plus, reflecting on 10 years of BIKEPACKING.com, it only seemed fitting to include a few “greatest hits” and pivotal pieces from the site’s history that we’ve completely reimagined and transformed for enjoyment in printed form.
Images from The Bikepacking Journal 10 by Johan Wahl (top), Sebastian Hofer, and Stephan Wieser.
Without giving away too much, we can tell you that our special 10th issue’s contributors will whisk you around the world several times over, bringing you along for the ride as they pedal down the length of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, along an iconic route in Central Asia, across the Australian Outback, and through places we’ve never highlighted before. If you want to secure your copy of The Bikepacking Journal 10, be sure to get signed up for our Bikepacking Collective by the April 17th deadline, which is less than two weeks away!
PRINT IS NOT DEAD
Some stories are too good to be confined to a screen, and we’re passionate about producing something tangible you can hold in your hands and savor as you sip your morning coffee. We love how reading ink on paper slows down your interactions with the words and photos before you and encourages you to properly soak them in rather than endlessly scrolling as we often do these days. As such, The Bikepacking Journal is only available to read in print, and it’s offered exclusively to our Bikepacking Collective members who make it possible. It’s published twice a year and features the best storytelling and most captivating photography from bikepacking trips all around the planet.
A peek inside the printing process and past issues of The Bikepacking Journal
Every detail in The Bikepacking Journal‘s production has been carefully considered. We print it at a world-class facility in Germany using top-of-the-line Heidelberg Speedmaster offset presses. We’ve spared no expense in our selection of inks, paper stocks, and other unique touches, and we use as much recycled paper as possible. All of this adds up to a printed publication that we’re confident feels luxurious and stands out from other titles in the world of bikes and beyond.
Chumba Yaupon Giveaway
Coinciding with each new issue, we’ve made it a tradition to give away a complete bike or frame to one randomly selected winner. This time around, one lucky member of our Bikepacking Collective will take home a $1,695 Texas-built steel Chumba Yaupon frame in their choice of one of four sizes and several colors. What’s more, makers Katie and Andrew Strempke of Dispersed Bikepacking are throwing in a custom full-frame bag to sweeten the deal, which is up to an additional $295 value, depending on materials and features.
Collective Rewards and Exclusive Discounts
To date, we’ve done 150 member-exclusive Collective Reward giveaways, and there are always more on the way. In addition to the Chumba Yaupon frame, our current round of Collective Rewards features some 15 unique prize packages. They include everything from handmade bags to top-of-the-line pedals, lightweight racks, apparel, artwork, and more. Beyond giveaways, we also offer member discounts on products from an ever-changing group of around 25 cycling and outdoor brands. Current offers include an average of 20% savings from WTB, Revelate, Velo Orange, Brooks England, Wizard Works, Ride with GPS, Cascada, Restrap, and more than a dozen others.
We Need Your Support
If you enjoy reading BIKEPACKING.com and think it’s a valuable resource, joining the Bikepacking Collective is the single best thing you can do to support us. Without our members, this site wouldn’t exist. We rely on individual member contributions to continue building a better BIKEPACKING.com by creating in-depth and meaningful content and inspiring stories, bringing to life new and original bikepacking routes and maintaining/updating old ones, and connecting and informing the bikepacking community—all on a daily basis.
The deadline to join and receive the 10th issue of The Bikepacking Journal and be eligible for this round of giveaways is just around the corner on April 17th. Members who join after that date will miss the special edition and will have to wait until the fall to receive their first issue. Relying on member contributions allows us to be truly independent and free from outside influence, but it also puts us in a precarious position as folks continue to tighten their budgets. We need your support now more than ever to help ensure the future of the site, the Journal, and all of the various resources we provide. Thank you for helping sustain our work!
