Bikepacking isn’t always just a short adventure. For some, it’s a way of life, and many people I know have made a career out of it. It might seem impossible, but there are ways to make full time bikepacking happen, and you will be surprised at the routes you can take.
In this article, I want to tell you how you can make a full-time career from bikepacking or being very close to it. Hopefully, we can easily get you on the right track to your dream job. We will discuss:
- My Experience Full Time Bikepacking
- How To Be A Full Time Bikepacker
- Seasonal Bikepacking
- Top Tips For Full Time Bikepacking
My Experience Full Time Bikepacking
Before we start, it’s important to talk about my experience. I have found a few ways to make a life, from bikepacking to being close to it. It was not easy and something that didn’t happen overnight.
You would be extremely lucky to make a career out of riding alone, and in this article, you will find that no matter what route you take, there’s going to be some work that needs to be done.
I have done it as a sponsored rider, through marketing, and through a few other routes, such as inspirational speaking. Nothing has given me the ability to ride a bike full-time and not have to do anything in the background, but it has been fun.
How To Be A Full Time Bikepacker
Here’s the exciting part. Let’s start discussing ways you are going to be able to be a full-time on-the-road bikepacker! Here are my top ways!
Sponsorships
The first route you can go down is sponsorships. Many companies out there will pay you a monthly wage to use their gear and to go on adventures just by sharing great content and testing new products. They only look for certain people, such as:
Incredible Athletes – Are you winning races or breaking records?
Unique Back Stories – What is different about you and what you are doing?
Large Social Following – Do you have over 10k followers or own a blog?
Expert In The Field – Are you an expert in bikepacking?
Friends In The Industry – Do you have friends in companies that would help?
If you can tick one of these boxes, then there’s a good chance you can make some money off bikepacking full-time. With this, you can start building relationships and making them happen. Always remember it’s about what the company needs, not what you want!
Become An Influencer
If you want to really enjoy bikepacking full-time and have no restrictions, consider becoming an influencer. An influencer is someone with a large social media following who gets paid for using platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and X.
I know a lot of people who quickly grew a following and, through systems such as the TikTok creator fund, live full-time on gravel bikes, just making short videos of their day-to-day bikepacking lives.
If you are providing good information, are fairly entertaining, or just giving epic adventure content, people will listen, and it’s not impossible to make it happen. I say to my wife often, give me a year off work, and I think I could make a full-time bikepacking adventure account.
Content Creation
In modern times, the demand for content creation is huge. Companies want to find ways to advertise products and have content created by experts. I would know it’s currently what I have been doing for a living for years.
You don’t need a large following, but if you can write amazing SEO blogs, take pictures, and make videos, you will be able to turn this into a full-time job quicker than most others on this list.
Companies regularly offer me trips to races to create content, write blogs, and even use gear just because they know I can create content they can share and use to advertise their brand or product.
Affiliate Marketing
Another route you can take is affiliate marketing and advertising. If you have a blog or a decent social media following, companies will offer you this opportunity, or you can find it yourself through affiliate platforms.
Affiliate marketing is when someone buys a product through a link you have, and you get a small percentage of the sale. Many online websites and social media channels do it. I personally don’t, but I have done it before.
There’s no extra cost to the end user. It’s from the company’s pocket. It’s a nice way to make money, and you get to speak about great bikepacking products. It is much harder than you think to get people going through the link though and will take time to build up.
Become A Guide Or Instructor
Another option is to become a guide or instructor. This means you would be able to take other bikepackers out and go on adventures with them. It would be an amazing job to do and something very rewarding.
It might detract from your adventure, and you will require qualifications to do it safely and properly. You will face challenges along the way, such as difficult clients, and you will spend a lot of time advertising.
A lot of bikepacking instructors will do the same route again and again. They will also have a person who has a van as a backup in case of problems or if someone needs to scratch from the trip.
Start A Bikepacking Based Business
Another option is to start a bikepacking-based business. You might want to run workshops on how to go bikepacking, offer inspirational talks on your adventures, or even train bikepackers to be better on the bike.
There are a lot of options, and it comes down to being an entrepreneur. I am currently trying to go down this route myself, having a bikepacking accessories shop and even selling strength training plans online.
It’s good to think about your skills and turn them into something that you can sell for value to people. You might even choose to learn a skill and then use that to find a way of working remotely.
Organize Bikepacking Events
Another route you might choose is the events route. You could organize bikepacking events such as meetups, rides, and even talks. Charge a small entry fee and let the community take the bikepacking where it needs to go.
It’s a nice way of adding value to the community while still enjoying time on the bike yourself. All those miles riding could take you to different locations or to a whole new set of people who might want to embrace the sport as much as you do.
Seasonal Bikepacking
Another option is seasonal bikepacking. This means you work for a certain amount of the year and then go bikepacking for the rest of it. Popular examples are jobs such as holiday reps or cruise ship crew.
It means you can work heavily for months on end as they provide accommodation. Then, at the end of the working season, spend six months traveling before going back and doing another season.
Some people do this in other ways, such as renting a room for four months, working every hour they can for a few months, and then spending a few months on the bike. There are ways to make it work, and you’d be surprised at how many people who travel a lot do this.
Top Tips For Full Time Bikepacking
The above are just a few ideas that can help you ride a bike while still earning a wage. As you can see, it’s not easy, and you have to be pretty creative. There’s much more to it than just having a job to bring in money. Here are the top tips that helped me a lot.
It’s Not About How Much You Earn It’s About What You Spend
The biggest misconception is that you need to earn a huge amount to do this when, quite frankly, you don’t. You do need to minimize your spending heavily though to make it work. Phone contracts, subscriptions, rent, and big bills need to go.
You Don’t Need To Camp Each Night
Many people think that without a home, living on the road means you have nowhere to sleep, but there are way more options than you might think. You can long-term rent a hostel room or cheap hotel, use warm showers or Air Bnb, and even stay with friends.
Basic Bikes With Good Gear
You don’t need an all-singing and all-dancing pro bike to be bikepacking full-time. It would help if you had a good quality basic bike with good gear. The bike will be cheap for parts, easy to work on, and less stealable. The good kit will last.
A Final Note
It is possible to live a life full-time as a backpacker. The key, essentially, is to find a way you can offer services while on the road. It’s a dream so many have and is definitely achievable. More so now than it ever has been.
If you enjoyed this article, you will also like Bikepacking On Keto, The Bikepacking Cheat Sheet, and 10 Tips To Climb Better When Bikepacking!