In 2023, I wanted to go camping. The issue is that I don’t have a car/can’t drive and my partner doesn’t like camping. BUT I’d also been watching a lot of camping videos and had must have seen one bikepacking video when it dawned on me that I might be able to convince him if I added bikes to the equation. He used to cycle quite a lot and its still his primary mode of transport to work and so this compromise worked and I convinced him to let me plan a bikepacking trip ∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?

I looked around for bike trails that also led to camping grounds, thinking perhaps we could train out of the city and then ride to a destination like a national park or such. I don’t like riding on the road in the city and won’t unless I have to but riding out in a rural area would be less daunting, so long as there’s enough berth for vehicles or enough time to be a safe distance from the road if needed. But that also sounded like a pain and so I kept searching until I came upon “rail trails”.

We decided to do a test ride before the first real ride of the BVRT, going to the first main stop and then coming back home the next day. We did this to test our set up as I actually made our saddlebags and we’d never been camping together before. We bought new, compact and lightweight gear for camping, such as a tent, sleeping bags, ground mats and a little burner and kettle.

After the trial ride came the real ride. We were riding all the way from Wulkuraka Station to Yarraman, and then riding back the same way. We’re lucky that we live fairly close to the city centre and so have the train lines nearby because it meant we’re able to take a train out to Ipswich and then ride to Wulkuraka. Last year we were luckier because my brother drove us out to the starting point. It’s much easier to move the gear in a car than on a train. We also bought proper saddlebags and took out all of the camping gear, deciding to stay at accommodation along the trail instead. Camping in winter with light-weight gear wasn’t comfortable or warm at all. We invested the most into our sleeping bags and even then, I was freezing every night. I still love camping, but do prefer to park the bike and sleep up in a bed over sleeping on the hard ground for the night.

I didn’t take many photos along the trip because my phone does take good quality pictures but here’s a few I’ve got from the 23/24 trips.

The scenery is breathtaking, the air fresh, the local food homey and the ride fulfilling. We’ve both been a little sad that we couldn’t go last year, really missing that refresh that gets us through work burnout, but it wouldn’t have been feasible.

We go in winter for three main reasons, in order of importance:

1. It’s not magpie season.
2. It’s easier to ride in the cold than the heat, nice to warm up
3. It’s not during any peak times during our work and so easy to get the leave time approved

No, seriously. Our 2024 ride was in early September instead of late July and I ended up with a fear of magpies for the trip. I love magpies and hadn’t been swooped by one since I was about five, and so suddenly getting swooped everywhere was a wild ride. I got hit in the neck by one of them and from there the paranoia escalated until I came home to the city maggies who are comfortable with me walking by. We also try to avoid the school holidays and major biking events. If the BVRT sounds like fun for you, check out the website: https://www.brisbanevalleyrailtrail.com.au/

I’ve wanted to use my exploring experiences like the BVRT to start learning and working on travel writing, but I often get so caught up in what I’m doing that I forget to take notes, and my memory is unfortunately poor. I’ll also benefit from improving my vocabulary as sometimes I have a physical response that I can’t quite put into words, which is an essential skill for travel writing. 

I don’t do a lot of writing on the BVRT, because my time is almost always riding, resting and eating. I also try to take as little with me and so often only take one notebook. Unfortunately, I’ve reached that stage in my life where I need to constantly refer to notes about my writing and so it’s hard to work on projects when I don’t have the relevant notebooks.

This year, I’m going to really try and capture the ride around me in writing. I want to use it as a writing prompt project just how I used to use Better Home and Gardens magazines. Hopefully I’ll also remember to take accompanying photos as I always forget to do that as well.

I am hyped for BVRT 2026 and will be starting my training for it soon. I have been waiting for the weather to be less hostile and my eczema flare ups to start calming down. I was hoping to start mid-February but I think it will be early March that I’ll start re-training. I trained for the last two BVRT rides as well. I don’t cycle as regularly as my partner and so do it to save myself the pain of the trail. I’m hoping this year that it’ll also be easier on account of my commitment to getting fitter and stronger ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻)

Watch out for the writing and photos coming around Yule!