Biking?
Great! Camping?
Excellent! BIKE-CAMPING?
INCREDIBLE!
Put yourself to the test and join a small group of adventurers on a truly unique excursion that will blend camping & biking (we prefer “bikepacking”), a combination that might just result in the most fun you’ve ever had! Traversing trails and roads from the Mankato area over to just south of Red Wing while carrying all we need with us on our bikes, we will learn about camping, cooking, navigation, self reliance, building community, and perseverance along the way. Have camping gear but no idea how to get it
on your bike? No problem! Can you ride your bike all day but you’ve
never camped a night in your life?
It’s all good! (Not sure if your bike will work? Check with our camp lead, Derek!) Prior to camp, we will send an extensive checklist for proper preparation of your bike, your gear, and also your SELF! We plan to spend all of Day 1 getting organized at Great River School, and then we will depart the next morning
from the camp near Mankato. Each day will consist of approximately
25-30mi of biking, which will be around half of our day (~5hrs total) with plenty of breaks throughout, including lunch.
Here is the tentative route if you’re interested Additionally, here is a great resource for your reference if you’d like more information about bikepacking in general:
https://bikepacking.com/bikepacking-101/ (we will definitely be riding far less dirt / gravel / off-road than in this article describes, but you’ll get the idea!). Feel free to reach out to Derek Damron (camp lead) with any questions you might have.
Please note: This trip will be a physically and mentally demanding experience. If you’re curious about this camp but aren’t totally sure if it would be a beneficial or successful camp for your student, we’re happy to meet with you before you sign up! — If this sounds like something your camper would enjoy
someday but would be too much this year, consider signing up for the
Urban Biking Camp instead!
Please note: This camp requires some travel — both dropping off students just east of Mankato, MN and then picking them up from just south of Red Wing, MN. If this creates a barrier to joining the camp, we can work with you to find alternate transportation options, very likely in the form of a carpool. Alternately, if you have LOTS of flexibility to offer carpooling options, please speak up! It would be great to reduce our carbon footprint and take the minimal amount of vehicles both to and from camp. :)