The Other Side of the Finish Line: Finding a Healthy Balance in Ultra-Endurance Bikepacking
There's no getting around it: training for an ultra-endurance bikepacking event requires a massive commitment. To prepare your body and mind to cover immense distances, you simply have to put in the hours. Achieving a huge goal is one of the best feelings in the world, but it’s crucial to understand that the effort required should be a temporary, focused push—not a permanent lifestyle.
Why? Because a sustained, all-out approach to ultra-endurance can be incredibly unhealthy. I'm not just talking about sore muscles. The damage can happen on three fronts: your body, your nutrition, and your relationships.
I learned this firsthand when I was preparing for the Silk Road Mountain Race. I developed an extremely 'singular' attitude towards my goal. At the time, I was single with no kids and managed a small local bike shop with a flexible schedule. This unique situation allowed me to live a life that was completely unsustainable for most people. I could ride all weekend—sometimes for two full days and nights—and just catch the first train back on Tuesday morning in time for a 9 am start at the shop. There were no family commitments to attend to, no corporate dress code to worry about. It was a lifestyle that was only possible for a very short, specific time in my life.
That experience taught me a critical lesson. The ultra-endurance lifestyle often pushes you towards a diet of highly processed carbs simply to get enough calories. It forces your body into a fixed, punishing position for hours on end, creating massive muscle imbalances and stiffness. And, perhaps most importantly, it can strain your relationships with partners, family, and friends who wonder where you've disappeared to every weekend for months on end.
My goal with this article is simple: I don't want to see anyone in our community become unhealthy, burned out, or divorced because of a bikepacking trip.
This piece is about finding a healthier way. It’s about balancing your training with a wholefood diet off the bike, integrating complementary exercises like yoga and Pilates to protect your body, and communicating with your loved ones to ensure your ambitions have their support. Let’s explore how you can chase those epic goals without sacrificing your long-term health and happiness.
The On-Trail Reality: Nutrition Under Pressure
The simple truth of multi-day bikepacking is that perfect nutrition goes out the window. When you’re burning thousands of calories a day, your body screams for fuel, and you learn to eat and drink whatever you can find. This can lead to some very strange menus. I'm talking about a breakfast of leftover pizza, lunch of granola mixed with water in a pannier, and a dinner of bacon and egg rolls. You're surviving on random 'energy' drinks—like 'Nitro' in Kyrgyzstan or 'V' in Australia—because calories are king.
You literally have to keep eating, but you have very little control over what's available on the road. I've tried to combat this. For the Monaro Cloudride, I packed four kilos of preservative-free powdered sports drink, thinking I was set. It only lasted me half the ride. For any trip longer than a few days, it's impossible to carry enough of your own food.
But here is the critical point: the common mistake isn't what you eat during the event; it's continuing that diet before and after. Using an event as an excuse to live on high-carb, processed foods for months on end is highly detrimental. It can make your body overly dependent on glycogen for fuel instead of training it to use stored fat—your largest and best source of long-term energy. Not to mention what that much sugary, processed food does to your teeth and your gut health.
The takeaway: Use on-trail nutrition as a temporary tool for a specific job, not as a daily diet.
A Brief but Critical Word on Sleep Deprivation
The topic of sleep deprivation deserves its own dedicated article, but it's too important not to mention here. The effects of pushing through on minimal sleep are immediate and severe. It dramatically impairs your ability to ride safely, puts you in a negative headspace, and sabotages your recovery. A lack of quality sleep leads to more muscle soreness, a weaker immune system, and a greater sensitivity to everything from saddle sores to the biting cold.
More Than Just Legs: The Strain of a Singular Focus
In training, focusing only on raw power on the bike can lead to big problems. True resilience for a long-distance journey comes from your broader health. Your immune system needs to be robust to handle the immense physical and mental stress of a long ride, especially in a race setting. Your sleep, even when short, must be high quality so you can recover enough to continue.
Furthermore, bikepacking isn't just pedalling. It often involves hiking, climbing, and lifting your bike. Core and upper-body strength can be the deciding factor in whether you can navigate technical parts of a route, like hoisting your bike over a fallen tree or controlling a descent on a rocky mountain trail. An over-developed lower body and a weak core is an unbalanced and injury-prone body.
A Mechanic's Perspective: When Fatigue Makes You Fragile
Extreme fatigue creates a dangerous tunnel vision. It encourages you to 'push through pain' to reach the finish line, a mindset that causes you to actively ignore not just your body's warning signs, but your bike's as well. We neglect to check our brake pads for wear or notice if a chain is dangerously dry or dirty. We start making 'quick fixes' instead of addressing the root cause of a mechanical problem.
I've been guilty of this myself. On the Silk Road Mountain Race, I rode for nine days with a broken rear spoke. I should have fixed it immediately. The only reason I got away with it was because the wheels I'd chosen for that event were incredibly strong and held their shape. Two years earlier, on the Hunt 1000, I was using a much lighter wheelset. A broken spoke on that wheel would have ended my race in hours, not days.
This is the perfect example of my core philosophy: prevention is better than cure. A tired rider on a fragile bike is a recipe for disaster. A tired rider on a robust, well-maintained bike has a much larger margin for error. Your equipment choices and maintenance habits are a critical part of your health and safety strategy.
Beyond the Bike: The Mental and Social Journey
The physical toll of ultra-endurance is only half the story. The mental and social challenges—and the rewards that come from navigating them—are what truly define the experience and its place in your life.
The Antidote to the Post-Event "Blues"
For many riders, the days after a huge event can feel empty. The massive goal that has occupied your life is suddenly gone, and a sense of anti-climax, or "post-event blues," can set in. I have a good news story on this front, but it came after years of challenges.
For much of my life, I was a self-confessed ratbag traveller, working just to fund my next adventure. After I discovered multi-day bikepacking, my focus became increasingly singular. I ticked off huge achievements like the Hunt 1000 and the Monaro Cloudride, but as soon as one race ended, I was already planning the next. After several years, I realised this lifestyle was becoming too one-dimensional. I hit 40 and was still a single man with no personal goals beyond the next big ride.
The Silk Road Mountain Race was meant to be the pinnacle event, the bookmark to end that chapter of my life. And then, in the two weeks before the race, I met a girl in Kyrgyzstan.
Suddenly, my focus had to be shared. While I was doing my final altitude acclimatisation, she commanded my attention. We went on one official 'date' just before I started the race and kept in contact as I rode a giant lap of her country. She was encouraging, and I think she was impressed that a foreigner was visiting places so remote that even many locals don't travel to them.
About halfway through the race, confident I would finish, I started trying to predict my arrival time at the finish line. I invited her to meet me there, and she agreed.
This changed everything. I now had a new target: not just a finish line, but accountability for my arrival time and a completely different reason to finish. I had someone to ride towards. It made the entire experience more meaningful than any race I had ever completed. Having someone you care about waiting for you at the finish is warmer, more wholesome, and ultimately, more profound.
After the Silk Road Mountain Race, I didn't have the blues. I had found new meaning.
The Pressure to Perform
Being in a race as public as the Silk Road, with dots on a map for the world to watch, can add a layer of pressure. For me, it was motivating. For others, it could easily disturb the sense of peace and tranquillity that bikepacking provides. My advice here is simple: before you sign up for a major event, be honest with yourself. Only do an ultra-endurance race if you are truly happy with the whole world watching you ride.
From Isolation to Connection
The isolation of solo bikepacking can be liberating, but it can also be intensely confronting, especially on a global adventure. You face unknowns of language and culture, and the potential for real danger in remote environments you're not familiar with. Riding at high altitude or through a desert, unsure where your next water source is, can lead you to doubt not just your ability to finish, but your ability to survive.
Some riders are fortunate enough to have a community of friends who can plan and execute a successful expedition together. This is the ideal way to mitigate the fears of a solo journey. However, this isn't possible for everyone. Many of my own friends can’t even ride 50km without quitting!
So, what do you do if you seek that supportive community but don't have it in your own circle? This is why Global Bikepacker exists. Our Supported Adventures are led by me or by guides I personally trust. We are experienced adventurers with the credentials to deal with everything from unfounded fears to legitimate dangers. We plan meticulously to help you reach your goals.
Ultimately, my hope is that if you connect with my style of writing or have spoken with me in person, you might see me as the kind of person you could call a trusted friend and adventure companion. That is the spirit of connection we are building.
The Path Forward: A Strategy for Healthy Endurance
Understanding the risks is the first step. The next is building a strategy that allows you to chase big goals without sacrificing your well-being. This is how you play the long game.
Smarter Preparation: The Resilience Trinity
To build the resilience you need for bikepacking, you have to balance a stable, healthy lifestyle with challenges that push you far beyond your comfort zone. I expand on this deeply in my coaching sessions, but the philosophy boils down to three core principles:
Live Well: Most of the time, eat clean, whole foods, get plenty of sleep, and manage your life's stresses. This is your foundation.
Train with Purpose: When you train, go hard or go long. Each key session should be about pushing beyond your current concept of what you're capable of.
Recover Deeply: Your recovery must be as intentional as your training. This is when your body and mind adapt and grow stronger.
On-the-Bike Strategies: The Art of Pacing
It’s crucial to understand that ultra-endurance bikepacking makes almost every other form of cycling look like a sprint. Even the Tour de France is a series of intense efforts over three weeks. The pros ride for a few hours, then rest for many more with a team of massage therapists, chefs, and mechanics in a warm hotel.
Bikepackers are a different breed. We ride for longer hours, carry our own gear, find our own food, and fix our own bikes. Even resting can be an endurance effort, battling the cold through the night.
Therefore, the master skill of the ultra-endurance rider is pacing.
Stay Calm: Ride well within your limits. This is a Zone 1 and Zone 2 heart rate effort most of the time. You should be able to hold a conversation, either with a friend or in your own head. Ride the big hills slower than you think you need to.
Ride Your Own Race: You will inevitably pass or be passed by other riders. Let them go. Hold your own pace, be patient, and never be tempted to ride harder than your long-term plan dictates.
Keep Moving: Take regular breaks to eat, drink, and stretch. While on the bike, consciously change your hand positions. Stand up on the pedals from time to time. Get off and walk the steepest sections—it's often faster and more efficient.
Redefining Success: Finding Your "Why"
Before you even start training, you must be crystal clear on your personal definition of "success." This is your anchor, and it shouldn't be overly influenced by others. Spend time thinking about it and talk it over with people you trust. It's surprising how many people start with superficial goals, but after some deep discussion, uncover a much more powerful personal motivation.
Finding your true "why" is what will get you through the darkest moments—whether that's battling up a freezing, windswept mountain pass in Kyrgyzstan or discovering the next town is 100km further than you anticipated.
The Long Game: A Passion for Life
I believe bikepacking can be a true passion sport, something you can do for a lifetime, just like surfing or tennis. Ultra-endurance racing, however, is something different. Like I've tried to explain, this kind of racing can be unhealthy and unsustainable if it becomes a permanent lifestyle.
It should be treated as a temporary chapter, much like how an Olympic athlete competes at that elite level for only a few years. If they truly love their sport, they continue doing it for the rest of their lives, but at a more leisurely, human pace.
The Global Bikepacker brand is here to support you, regardless of your current stage or objective. Some of our Supported Adventures are designed to challenge those training for big events, while others are much more relaxed. My hope is that the resources on this website, in our online course, and within "The Global Bikepacker" book will give you the information and encouragement you need to pursue your own adventures.
By finding the right balance for you, you can keep the passion for bikepacking alive for a lifetime.
