Guides

The UK Triple Crown

The UK has a long and rich history of bikepacking despite the small bounds of the nation. The gauntlet has been picked up by three megaliths of the UK scene who have come together to create the ultimate challenge.

By:Kitty Dennis

Travelling With A Bike

A detailed guide for packing your bikepacking bike into a cardboard box for travel by aeroplane or train, and then advice on how to get it home safely at the other end.

DotWatcher Guide to Hydration Bladder Maintenance

How to clean and maintain your hydration bladder, with solutions for a quick home fix to a pre-planned deep clean.

By:Amanda Wishart

Planning an FKT Attempt

In this guide, we'll delve into the practicalities of preparing for your FKT journey using the Ride With GPS platform. It’s everything you need to know, from the initial scrutinising of trails to heading out on your attempt day.

By:Ride With GPS

By:Kitty Dennis

What is an FKT?

The highly sought after FKT, what does it mean and why is it important? What's the difference between a race win and an FKT?

By:Kitty Dennis

Follow Your Own Adventure

In conversation with Pawel Pulawski, Nicky Shaw finds out what it takes to plan a free-route for an ultra-race with 3rd place finisher of TCRNo8 and organiser of the Race Through Poland.

By:Nicky Shaw

By:Ride With GPS

What is a Parcours

Parcours directly translates to course, with the plural meaning journey or route in French. When spelt with a K (Parkour) it is a sport where athletes attempt to move from point A to B, in the most direct line overcoming obstacles. So what does this have to do with ultra-cycling?

By:Kitty Dennis

By:Ride With GPS

How To Choose Your First Bikepacking Race

Here at DotWatcher, we often start in the middle. The part of the journey where our athletes are already enrolled in the race and have made the decision to tackle their chosen event. We tend to miss the step that got them there.

By:Kitty Dennis

Why Commentate for DotWatcher?

DotWatcher is a community driven window into the ultra-distance world. With more races on the calendar than ever, we want to make sure you have the opportunity to join the ranks of our expert DotWatchers.

By:Kitty Dennis

A Rookie's Guide To Bikepacking

Sandra Padilla made her first foray into ultra-cycling at the Wild West Country. The race covered 800km and 14,000m of climbing in the South West of the UKl. Sandra reflects on her experience with DotWatcher.

By:Sandra Padilla

Sleeping During a Bikepacking Race

Sleeping on an ultra-distance race is often a mystery to the uninitiated. Images of sleeping in bus stops and behind bushes pass through the mind as you think of someone grabbing 40 winks at the TCR. So here we answer the question how to sleep during a bikepacking race.

By:Kitty Dennis

What is a bikepacking race?

Despite DotWatcher being the home of self supported, ultra-distance cycling, it is often a question we get asked to which we don’t have a cut and dried answer. What counts as self-supported ultracycling?

By:Kitty Dennis

Demystifying the Tracker!

Have you signed up for a race where you need your own tracker and have no clue where to start? Here’s a handy how-to guide for sourcing, registering and racing with your tracker.

By:Kitty Dennis

Winter Layering Q&A With Graeme Raeburn

In conditions that can reach -40C/-40F exposure is a real risk on the Iditarod Trail Invitational. To give us an idea of how to prepare for such climates Graeme Raeburn, Albion’s lead product designer is here to answer some questions.

By:Kitty Dennis