Welcome to the Wild Ideas Worth Living Summer Camp Series! In these bonus episodes, we’re exploring camping beyond the traditional tent—from bikepacking and packrafting to camping with kids and dispersed car camping. Kevin Frias is a cyclist and bikepacker who's taken on multi-day adventures through deserts, mountains, and everything in between. Whether he's navigating gnarly weather or unexpected setbacks, Kevin brings a steady optimism to the ride. His motto? A good map and a good attitude can take you a long way. In this episode, Kevin breaks down the essentials of bikepacking—from planning your first trip to the gear he trusts most on the trail.
Welcome to the Wild Ideas Worth Living Summer Camp Series! In these bonus episodes, we’re exploring camping beyond the traditional tent—from bikepacking and packrafting to camping with kids and dispersed car camping.
Kevin Frias is a cyclist and bikepacker who's taken on multi-day adventures through deserts, mountains, and everything in between. Whether he's navigating gnarly weather or unexpected setbacks, Kevin brings a steady optimism to the ride. His motto? A good map and a good attitude can take you a long way. In this episode, Kevin breaks down the essentials of bikepacking—from planning your first trip to the gear he trusts most on the trail.
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Shelby Stanger:
Welcome to our summer miniseries all about camping. In these bonus episodes, we're going beyond the standard tent and campsite set up. From bikepacking and rafting to camping with kids and dispersed car camping. Over the next four weeks, we're talking to people who are camping their own way, sharing what works, what doesn't, and how you can try it too. I'm Shelby Stanger, and this is Wild Ideas Worth Living, an REI Co-op Studios production presented by Capital One and the REI Co-op MasterCard.
Kevin Frias:
I love the fact that on the bike you can cover so much distance. You can do 100 miles in a day and still have a full day left to enjoy. And then the scenery that you see, it's often so mind-blowing. You spend all day climbing this giant mountain, you finally make it to the top and you just get to see out.
Shelby Stanger:
Kevin Frias is a cyclist and bikepacker who's tackled multi-day trips through deserts, mountains, and everything in between. On his YouTube channel called KevDoes, Kevin shares bikepacking tips and stories from the road, like the time he rode 300 miles to taste the world's best donut. Even when things go wrong or he has to ride through gnarly weather, Kevin has a way of looking at the bright side. His motto is a good map and a good attitude can take you a long way. In this episode, Kevin walks us through the ins and outs of bikepacking from how to plan your first trip to the gear he swears by. Kevin Frias, so excited to talk to you about bikepacking, which is just camping with your bike. I love this.
Kevin Frias:
I'm pumped to be here, Shelby. Thanks for having me.
Shelby Stanger:
How did you get into bikepacking?
Kevin Frias:
Okay. I initially got into bikepacking because I had started camping and backpacking a little bit really like that. I had been doing biking already and cycling in general, and then I forget where I saw it, but I saw this, I came across this idea of bikepacking, that you can bring your camping stuff on your bike and get to explore and kind of experience more because you can cover way more ground on a bike than you can walking on two legs. So I got into it and then the first real trip that I did was RAGBRAI, which is ride across Iowa. So it's a week long trip where I brought all my stuff on my bike, but you have the option of putting all of your camping stuff, bike clothes, everything in a shuttle that then they take stop to stop. So yeah, I didn't have money to put everything on the shuttle and signed up officially, so I just went and bikepacked the whole way. 500 miles across Iowa in a week. Brought my little hammock and I hammock camped that first one.
Shelby Stanger:
Amazing. Okay, so tell me what looks like because I think a lot of us are still a little confused. What is bikepacking and what would that look like on this giant trail?
Kevin Frias:
Yeah, yeah, it could be as simple as you taking all of your backpacking stuff in the backpack and just getting on a bike and going, so it doesn't have to be this super difficult thing that you need all these special gear for. That's like stage one, is I think you take your backpack and put it on. There's something else called bike touring, which is usually on road. You have panniers and it's almost like little backpack strapped to parts of your bikes. And then there's bikepacking, which usually refers to being more off-road. So you're usually on a gravel bike or on a mountain bike, and there's bags that are a little bit more aerodynamic that you stuff everything into, just like you do a backpack and then you go usually up and over mountains and gravel stuff and have a really good time.
Shelby Stanger:
Okay. There's a lot to know when you're going to do a bikepacking trip. Where do you even start if you want to do this? Obviously you have to start with a bike, but you also have to start with camping gear, so where do you start?
Kevin Frias:
Yeah, yeah. I would suggest most people start with that. If you have backpacking gear and have backpacked before, take your backpack, just put it on your back and ride to a campsite. Most people can find something that's like a 30-ish mile ride. I would suggest doing that. Keep it under 50 miles. Just go do one night, let everything out, put everything back up and then bike back just to get kind of that experience.
And then I would say the next step is start looking at bikepacking bags. Like big thing I've noticed is the space in a backpack is nice and big and you have the entire compartment to use, but fitting things into a bike, the bikepacking bags are a little bit different and they're usually smaller. You got to do some rearranging sometimes as to where everything is in order for it to actually fit. And a big part about what to bring is knowing what not to bring because we usually bring way too much stuff. And as I mentioned, you don't have as much space it feels like on a bike and to bring things as you do on a backpacking trip. So try to see what you can leave at home that you don't actually need.
Shelby Stanger:
Okay. Well, let's start with this.
Kevin Frias:
Yeah.
Shelby Stanger:
What should we bring and what should we not bring?
Kevin Frias:
Yeah, okay. I would say not bring, most people, and this is the same one, backpacking bring too many clothes. You bring tools that you don't know how to use, too much water and too much food. You should bring, and there's some obvious ones like shelter, you need stuff for food, you need things for filtering water and holding water and carrying that. You need tools to repair the bike. And then you obviously need a bike as well as all the bags to keep things on. And then there's three big things that I think people should bring on bikepacking trips that most people don't talk about. It's patience, a good map, and then a good attitude because nothing ever goes to plan.
So if you're not patient with, it's okay, if I wanted to go 80 miles today, I only made it 66 because I had a puncture or wrong turn or something was closed, that's okay. And then that leads into kind of the good attitude and the good map because you need to know what your reroutes can be. If I stop once or twice or when is food going to be, when is the river going to be that I can refill on water? All that's important to take into consideration
Shelby Stanger:
Right now bikepacking sounds really hard and you need a lot of gear. There's got to be a reason that you keep doing this though, that you go through all this effort to actually go on a bikepacking trip.
Kevin Frias:
I think in general, I love getting outside of your normal and also getting in nature, and there's been so many times where I've stopped at the top of a hill or a mountain or pretty scene and just sat down on the ground and cried because it's just, you can't do anything in front of that beauty except just take it in and let your emotions come out.
Shelby Stanger:
Where have you cried? That is amazing.
Kevin Frias:
Oh, so many. In Colorado it's, I love Colorado. It looks so good. In Utah I got to ride across a dam, which was super cool, and there was this giant lake that we got to see on the other side of the dam that was reflecting the mountains on the other side of it. Absolutely stunning. Seattle. Yo, those mountains are so sharp and the water that you see running through is some neon aqua blue. It looks so good.
Shelby Stanger:
Wow. Amazing. Any wildlife or nature encounters that you just will never be able to get out of your head?
Kevin Frias:
Yes. In Utah recently I was on a bikepacking trip and we were going through this stupid basin that I hated because it was just sand Shelby, and you're just trying to push a bike through sand that weighs 40 to 60 pounds. It sucked, and it was now a full day of this. So I try to be patient. I try to bring a good attitude, but everyone has their breaking point. I was nearing mine, and then we turned this corner and my friends that were with me, like "Kevin, look at this." And there were these three rams, that full curl. I've never seen them that close before, and I didn't know how rare they are, but it was so cool because they were like 10 yards in front of us just chilling on this rock face. There was six of them just looking at us, and I'd never been that close to them before.
Then we climbed this hill and at the top of the hill I got there first and they were there again. So we kind of shooed them away or they scared away and ran. And then they were there again, like another 10 yards in front of me, and I just sat and got to look at them while they did their thing. And then they scurried across this impossible mountain that I don't know how they climbed up it, but it was beautiful to see. I will never forget that.
Shelby Stanger:
I watched this video where you explained pretty much everything you put on your bike.
Kevin Frias:
Oh yeah.
Shelby Stanger:
Tell me about your bike and then the bags on your bike.
Kevin Frias:
Okay. So my bike, I have a what's called a gravel bike. It's a bike meant to be ridden on gravel, and that usually just means it's a road bike that has bigger clearance to fit bigger tires, because the bigger the tire, the more comfortable squish you have over the things like gravel. So whatever bike you have, you can go bikepacking with. You don't need something special, but if you're going out to buy something with the intent to bikepack with it, you want something that is comfortable. So not like a super aero race bike, maybe a little bit more, you're sitting up a little bit more. You want something that has mounts to be able to mount water bottle cages, bags, all that. And then you want good tire clearance because you're not able to bike if you don't have the clearance for your tire to roll through.
Shelby Stanger:
Okay. So I've got a beach cruiser and a triathlete bike.
Kevin Frias:
Love it. Oh, you want somewhere in the middle of that. Beach cruiser-
Shelby Stanger:
Got it.
Kevin Frias:
Maybe a little too lean back.
Shelby Stanger:
Okay.
Kevin Frias:
And a tri bike is really, really aero with no tire clearance, but I would pick the beach cruiser out of those two though.
Shelby Stanger:
Okay. I love it. What about the bags on the bike and then what goes in them?
Kevin Frias:
Yeah. Yeah. So there's three main bags I would say. There's a front bag that drops to your handlebars and you can stuff things in there. There's a frame pack, something that goes in the middle of your frame, like right between your legs when you're pedaling, that whole big open area. You can fill that up with either half frame pack, a three-quarter pack or full, something that takes up the full triangle. And then there's a seat pack that usually straps underneath your seat that you can stuff things in as well. Those are the main spots that usually will take up the most of your gear. And there are bags meant to fit in all of those on all sorts of bikes.
Shelby Stanger:
What's your sleep setup while bikepacking?
Kevin Frias:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think the best bikepacking tent is the Zpacks duplex. It is so roomy and packs down to smaller than a football and it sets up super easy. So I use the Zpacks sleeping quilt, like a hammock quilt because that packs down really small. And then I have a little hat that I use as a beanie over my head because the quilts don't have anything above your head. I love the NEMO Tensor sleeping pad. It is by far my favorite in terms of comfort. And a little tip I like to do is when I set up my sleeping pad, I inflate it more than I would need to because especially if it's cold, it usually loses a little bit of air. And then when I get on it, I get on my side and I wiggle it a little bit and I let air out until just before my hip would touch the ground so that it gives you enough support to not be on the ground, but then also gets nice and comfortable.
Shelby Stanger:
So you're just sleeping on top of your NEMO pad with a quilt that has feet.
Kevin Frias:
Yeah, like your feet enclosed. And then another thing, I always bring a sleeping bag liner because I found that adds some warmth when I need it, but it also keeps, you get grimy and dirty after a couple days of just biking and not showering. So it keeps my sleeping bag and my sleeping pad clean, so I never sleep inside of my setup without a sleeping bag liner.
Shelby Stanger:
That's amazing. I love that. I was going to ask you, so do you need cycling shoes and walking shoes, hiking shoes?
Kevin Frias:
No. A lot of bikepackers use flat pedals and they just bring regular shoes that are comfortable and that's totally fine. So you can do that. I bring shoes that I clip into when I'm on the bike and then some sort of minimalist sandal that I use when I'm off the bike.
Shelby Stanger:
What about safety gear and repair kit?
Kevin Frias:
You want stuff that will be able to keep you rolling, so you want something to be able to repair tires. I usually ride tubeless, which means there are no tubes inside of my tires, so I will bring a spare tube in case something goes wrong. I'll bring tubeless repair kits, so if I get a big puncture in the thing, it's a little rubbery strip that'll stick and fill the hole. And then a general multi-tool to be able to tighten any bolts or loosen and redo anything that you need, a pump to be able to fill up your tires. And then some basic first-aid stuff. So if you get a cut, if you need to wrap something, I keep some of that stuff in there as well.
Shelby Stanger:
How much skill do you need ahead of time to repair your bike? What skills do you need?
Kevin Frias:
You need to know how to fix a flat, change a tire, lube your chain, and then know what all the bolts on your bike. So if your handlebars get loose, how to tighten them. If your wheel is loose, why? So you don't need to know everything, but bikes are really beautifully simple machines. Just take some time to at least have a guess at what some things do. And when you're starting off, do stuff near civilization, so if something does break down, you have that.
Shelby Stanger:
How do you pack and prepare food on a bikepacking trip? Because I've biked 50 miles to 100 miles before and I have never eaten so much afterwards. So-
Kevin Frias:
Yes.
Shelby Stanger:
I'm curious because you need a lot of calories when you bike and you're going far.
Kevin Frias:
Yeah. My favorite thing is to have this balance of, I love the remoteness like I mentioned, but I also like being in civilizations. I found three days in remoteness is kind of the limit for how much I enjoy. And then you can resupply because food takes up a lot of space and is heavy. So in terms of what to bring, this just unfortunately does come down to knowledge as to how much you eat and what you like to eat, but you can basically pack whatever you want because you will eat it all. You just become like this engine that has turned on and is heated up and is ready to just eat whatever is in sight.
Shelby Stanger:
How much are you eating on the bike when you're on a trip?
Kevin Frias:
I think I estimated once. I think I put about on longer trips, like if we would do a week-long trip, I'll try to get 5,000 calories a day and I'll break that out in a bag and I'll try to split that up between breakfast, lunch, and dinner and snacks. Because the first day you may not eat everything. The second day you may not eat everything, but then day three comes, you're like, man, I'm kind of hungry. You started that engine and it's hot.
Shelby Stanger:
So what do you do about water? You said you sometimes fill up at a river. Are you using a purifier? Are you using tablets?
Kevin Frias:
Yeah. My favorite is the Katadyn BeFree filter. If you bikepack, backpack or just go out on hikes, I would highly recommend that. It takes up no space. The flow rate is amazing and it acts as its own little water bottle. So that's my favorite thing to bring because you can fill up the bag, screw the top, and then even if you're full on water, but you pass by a river, you can just do that, shove it somewhere in your jersey pocket or in your bike, and then take that and have a liter plus water available for you. So that's usually what I do, is I bring that filter.
Shelby Stanger:
Wow, this is amazing. You're dialed. It seems like a lot, but it sounds like you also learned naturally over time.
Kevin Frias:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just like anything else at the beginning, it may seem overwhelming, but you don't have to over complicate it. Do several one night trips that a friend or a loved one can go pick you up because it's only a half hour drive away. Do that a lot. And so that'll help you get like 75% of the learning as to what to bring, where to pack it. And then you can start adventuring out a little further, do a weekend trip, maybe a two-hour drive away. That's just a loop so you can drive to the trail head, do a loop with a friend, and come back and feel fulfilled. And that'll also knock a lot of the initial learning things out of the way.
Shelby Stanger:
I love this advice. What should any beginner bikepacker know?
Kevin Frias:
It's going to be harder than you think sometimes, but you will make it through. You don't need all the fancy gear, but it does help.
Shelby Stanger:
Well, you just need gear that works, I'm guessing.
Kevin Frias:
Yeah. Yeah. But again, lighter really makes a difference, especially on bigger climbs. Stuff that compact more means you feel less big on the bike and it's more aero and compact and which makes a difference. And then a good attitude about things really will change your opinion on a bad situation.
Shelby Stanger:
I've never bikepacked before, but many of our guests have. After talking to Kevin, I've realized it's more accessible than I thought. You don't need fancy gear to get started. Just a bike, a sense of adventure, a map, and the willingness to roll with whatever the trail throws your way. To follow Kevin's bikepacking, adventures, tips, and gear recommendations check him out on Instagram and YouTube @KevDoes. That's K-E-V-D-O-E-S. We'll also link to the gear he mentioned in the show notes in case you want to take a closer look so you can go bikepacking this summer or fall. Tune in next week to hear all about dispersed camping. Wild Ideas Worth Living is part of the REI Podcast Network. It's hosted by me, Shelby Stanger, and produced by Annie Fassler, Sylvia Thomas, and Sam Peers Nitzberg of Puddle Creative. Our senior producers are Jenny Barber and Hanna Boyd. Our executive producers are Paolo Mottola and Joe Crosby. As always, we love it when you follow the show. Take a moment to rate it and leave a review wherever you listen. And remember, some of the best adventures happen when you follow your wildest ideas.