Bike and Hike: Riding to the Trailhead and Walking On

Some of the best walks start where the car park ends, and some of the best car parks are thirty kilometres from home. Bike and hike — riding to a trailhead, walking a loop or a summit, and riding back — turns a day out into two days' worth of landscape, and it removes the drive. It also creates a packing puzzle that neither cyclists nor hikers usually face: the same things have to ride well on a bike and then walk well on your body.

A bike-and-hike day splits the kit into three groups: what you need only on the bike (helmet, lock, repair kit, cycling shoes if you use them), what you need only on foot (walking shoes, poles, a map), and what you need on both (water, food, layers, phone, first aid). The trick is to ride with the hiking kit already packed in bags that come off and become your walking bag, and to leave the cycling-only kit locked on the bike at the trailhead.

Here is how to plan the day in three stages — the ride in, the switch at the trailhead and the ride home — and which bags make each stage simple.

Before you leave: split the kit three ways

Lay everything out at home in three piles.

• Bike only. Helmet, lock, spare tube, pump, multitool, lights, cycling gloves, and cycling shoes if you ride clipped in.
• Hike only. Walking shoes or boots, poles, a paper map if you carry one, sun hat.
• Both. Water, food, a warm layer, a rain jacket, phone, wallet, keys, a small first-aid kit, sunscreen.

The bike-only pile stays with the bike. The hike-only pile rides on the bike and is used at the trailhead. The "both" pile is the one that must move from the bike to your body in one go, and its bag is the most important choice of the day.

The bag that leaves the bike with you

For a short walk — an hour or two to a viewpoint — a bag that rides on the handlebar and then goes around your waist is enough. It carries a bottle, a snack, a layer and the phone. Several of our handlebar bags do exactly this:

• PRO-1 is a 2-in-1 bag that rides on the handlebar and turns into a large waist bag, 29 × 18 × 14 cm.
• The 2-in-1 roll-top handlebar and waist bag has a three-point bar mount and a detachable waist strap, and the roll-top adjusts its volume to the load.
• GOST is a belt bag first, with a fastening for the handlebar.
• The W-1 waterproof handlebar bag is worn over the shoulder off the bike and is described for cycling, travel and hiking alike.

For a longer hike you will want more than a waist bag holds. Here the answer is usually a light daypack carried on the bike — packed flat in a rack bag or strapped under the elastic lacing of a trunk bag — and filled at the trailhead from the bike's bags. Hip packs are covered in more detail in cycling hip packs, and all the waist models are in belt bags and hip packs.

Stage one: the ride in

On the way to the trailhead the bike carries everything, and it should ride like a bike, not like a removal van. Put the hiking shoes low and on the rack, or in the frame bag if they are light trail shoes; walking shoes on the handlebar make steering heavy and are awkward to strap. A rear rack makes bike and hike much easier: a trunk bag carries shoes and the daypack, and the bike's own kit goes in the frame. TRANSFORMER opens from an 8-litre trunk bag into a 25-litre pannier, enough for a pair of shoes and a folded daypack. LYNKS is a sports bag that mounts on the rear rack and has handles and a shoulder strap, which is useful if the walk starts with a short carry.

Poles are the awkward item. Folding poles fit inside a frame bag or along the top of a rack bag under the straps. Long telescopic ones are easiest strapped along the rack, below the saddle, where they cannot touch the wheel.

Stage two: the switch at the trailhead

This is where the plan pays off. A good switch takes five minutes:

1. Change shoes. Cycling shoes go into the rack bag the walking shoes came out of.
2. Move the "both" pile into the walking bag — or simply unclip the handlebar bag and put it on as a waist bag.
3. Helmet: clip it to the bike through the lock or carry it inside the rack bag, depending on how much you trust the spot.
4. Lock the bike to something fixed, with the frame and the rear wheel through the lock if you can. The bags left on the bike now contain only tools and cycling shoes — nothing anyone wants.
5. Take a photo of where you left it. Trailheads look alike at dusk.

Where to carry the lock on the way is its own question; we covered it in where to carry a bike lock while riding.

Stage three: the walk and the ride home

On the walk you carry only what you need: water, food, layers, phone, first aid. Keep the first-aid kit in a small pouch that lives in whichever bag you are using — a zip organiser like the MINI BAG ORGANIZER, which is described among other things as a mini first-aid kit, moves from the frame bag to the waist bag in one go.

The ride home is usually the tired part. Do the switch in reverse, refill water if you can, and put the warm layer where you can reach it — the evening ride is colder than the morning one, and you will be sitting still on the bike after hours of walking.

Setups for a bike-and-hike day

Short walk, no rack. A frame bag for the bike's kit and the walking shoes if they are light, plus a 2-in-1 handlebar bag that becomes your waist bag. The Bike Bag Set-4 has this built in: its handlebar bag converts into a belt bag, and the full frame bag is made to your frame with two compartments.

Long hike, with a rack. A trunk bag or pannier for walking shoes, poles and a folded daypack; a frame bag for the tools and lock; a top tube bag for the phone and snacks on the ride. The Urban Set US-3 — trunk bag, frame bag made to your size and a small front frame bag — fits this plan.

Gravel approach, rough roads. If the ride to the trailhead is on gravel or forest tracks, keep the bike narrow: all three bags in the frame and a convertible bag on the bars. The Gravel Weekend Set-3 fills the frame with three bags and leaves the handlebar free.

A bike-and-hike day shows why we think in systems rather than single bags. With LESENOK Colorful Cycling System Bags each bag has a role that does not change when you get off the bike: the frame bag keeps the bike's kit, the convertible bag goes with you, the rack bag carries the switch. The full range of combinations is in Bike Bag Setup, and more bags that work both on and off the bike are in bike bags that come off the bike with you.

If you want a frame bag cut to your bike, write to [email protected] with a side photo, the triangle measurements and a list of what you plan to carry in it.

In short

• Split the kit into bike-only, hike-only and both; the "both" pile needs a bag that leaves the bike with you.
• For short walks a 2-in-1 handlebar-and-waist bag is the whole solution.
• For long hikes carry a folded daypack on the bike and fill it at the trailhead.
• Shoes and poles ride low, on the rack or in the frame, never on the handlebar.
• Leave only tools and cycling shoes on the locked bike.
• Keep a warm layer reachable for the ride home.

About LESENOK

LESENOK makes handmade Colorful Cycling Systems — bike bags for commuting, touring, family rides and bikepacking. Over 100 models, more than 50 colours and prints, custom sizes cut to your own bicycle, and worldwide shipping with tracking. Handmade in Ukraine. In-stock items are processed in 1–3 business days; made-to-order and custom bags are typically produced in 7–12 business days. Questions: [email protected].