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The tent canvas is shaking and my ears are ringing as the Airbus A350 thunders over my one-man mobile home at full throttle. It's 22:20 and although I'm dog-tired, I can't think about sleeping. There is actually a ban on night flights at Munich Airport from 10 pm. But my friend ChatGPT only explains to me that planes with special authorisation are allowed to take off until eleven o'clock at night when I'm already snuggled up in my sleeping bag. But only planes with a very low noise level are allowed to take off, the smart guy adds, just as the next plane is roaring overhead, making the letters on my mobile phone display wobble.
Stefan tested these 3 bike bags on his tour:
Be careful when choosing a place to sleep
I had decided at short notice that I would spend a night just past Hallbergmoos. Decathlon wanted to send its new bikepacking bags for testing. Handlebar bag, Framebag, Arse rocket and co. with solid functionality at a bargain price, promised the French outdoor giant - and an overnighter from the home office to the editorial office in Munich had long been on the agenda. Since the coronavirus pandemic, my commute from the bedroom to the office only takes me across the corridor four times a week - a lack of exercise is inevitable.
Travelling by bike from Landshut to the Munich editorial office seemed like the ideal change of pace and a perfect introduction to the world of microadventures - you don't have to overdo it. The route was quickly worked out: For the most part, it was going to be along the Isar cycle path via Moosburg and Freising to Hallbergmoos, with a few detours to the high banks of the Isar - 68 kilometres on Monday shortly after work, that seemed quite doable, and on Tuesday morning a leisurely 30 more across the English Garden and through Munich to Obersendling.
As the next jet revs up its engines to full power, I wonder how I could have overlooked this 1618-hectare "Munich Airport" detail on the map when planning. The dialogue of my Netflix series shatters to scraps of words in the din and I push my earplugs all the way into my ear canal. But even with the good wax plugs, I feel like I've rolled out my sleeping mat right on the runway. I try to distract myself and think about how I might be able to optimise my bag setup the next morning.
A fast hardtail is the better gravel bike
I have chosen my old trail hardtail as the packhorse for my project. A Ghost Asket, which I had painstakingly stripped of its paint six months ago, lovingly given a new coat of paint and converted into a lightweight mileage eater. Of course, I could have simply followed the trend and strapped my belongings onto a hip gravel bike. But unlike my colleagues Dimi and Laurinwho have recently discovered a love of racing handlebars, I don't like drop bars. Instead, I appreciate the control of MTB handlebars, comfortably cushioned 2.4 race tyres and the wrist-friendly function of a suspension fork all the more.
One night, two pages of packing list!
I didn't have to search long for a packing list for my first overnighter. The internet is full of them and I'm apparently one of the last people who haven't yet embarked on this kind of micro-adventure. When I had gathered everything together, I briefly considered whether I should take the small MSR Hubba Hubba Bikepacking Tent I'd be better off leaving it at home after all, such was the pile of equipment that was piling up in front of me. But although I love nature, I don't like sleeping out in the open - bugs, mosquitoes, spiders, you name it, they could crawl up your nose. So I put it in my handlebar bag and got on my bike. In the end, I was surprised at how easily everything fitted into the bikepacking bags.
The MSR Hubba Hubba bikepacking tent costs 620 eurosbut with Amazon, Sport-Bittl or Mountain friends is currently on offer.
Bags & Transport
Camping & Sleeping
- Tent
- Sleeping bag
- Sleeping mat
- Inner sleeping bag (optional)
Bike clothes
Casual clothes
- Lightweight down jacket
- Trousers
- Flip Flops
- Socks
- Buff/cap
- Pants
- T-shirt
Tools & spare parts
Electronics
Hygiene & Co
Everyday stress shrinks to gravel grain size (between 32 and 63 millimetres)
Shortly after 4pm: close the laptop, slip into the bib shorts, fill up the water bottles. Stuff a few more bars into the food pouch for good measure. Hug the kids, kiss the wife, click in. Now we were ready to go. I relaxed for the first few kilometres along the Isar - surprised at how easy the bike was to ride despite being fully loaded. Fortunately, I had also said goodbye to work stress at home. Instead, my thoughts began to wander. What will the night be like? Where will I get something to eat tonight - I had decided against the camping cooker for reasons of space. And how will I feel sitting there all alone at the table in the pub?
The kilometres passed me by like thoughts in my head and after a few short climbs up onto the high banks of the Isar, the route took me under the A92 and Zentralallee, the feeder road to Munich Airport, just seven kilometres from my stage destination. I should have been suspicious by now at the latest, because the holiday planes were circling over the motorway like vultures over carrion. But the campsite was reserved and a little later I rolled up to the Hausler Hof, a small estate with cheap camper pitches.
I quickly found a suitable spot for my tent. I inflated my sleeping mat, rolled out my sleeping bag and off I went to the Inder in Hallbergmoos. With a full stomach and both of us tired, I made my way back to the farm in the last light of day, accompanied, how could it be otherwise, by the thunder of a Lufthansa plane taking off.
And now I'm lying here, curled up in my sleeping bag, earplugs in my ears, hoping that the ban on night flights will finally take effect. It's just before eleven o'clock when I finally fall into a well-earned slumber, but I'm not granted a restful night. Again and again, the rustling of the tarpaulin rouses me from my sleep. Or my head slips off the arse rocket that I've pulled into the tent as a pillow. To make matters worse, at some point the lemonade I had treated myself to at the Indian restaurant needs to be taken to the loo. And when the first plane fires up its engines shortly after five and the go-ahead for take-off sounds from the tower in the cockpit, the night is over for me too. I pack up my things again and roll the last 30 kilometres to the editorial office in Obersendling, a little exhausted.
The first Overnighter - a summary
Ok, the choice of sleeping place wasn't ideal, I admit that. But apart from that, I would definitely do the tour again. After just a few kilometres on the bike, you leave the stress of work behind you and pedal away completely relaxed. If you like company, you should still try it alone. Silence may be cowardly, Westernhagen was right about that, but talking isn't always gold either. It's good to simply let your thoughts run free.
With a good packing list and a little experience, you can pack your equipment in no time at all. It's best to put together a box with the most important basic equipment and only add what you need depending on the weather or camp site. Whether you take a tent or cookware with you is a personal matter. The lighter you are when travelling, the better, of course.
Stefan Frey
Editor
