THE STORY OF A BIKE PACKER
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WITH AEROE AMBASSADOR TOBY ROBERTS
We catch up with New Zealand based aeroe ambassador, Toby Roberts, and learn about his story and passion for bike packing.
See feature film below for an inside look into how Bike packing has effected Toby's life, and what makes him tick!
Tobys biking journey begins when he was growing up in Spain, riding anything that he could get his tyres on, fast forward a fair few years and Toby (33) is based in the popular mountain town Wānaka, in the South Island of New Zealand.
Toby is a carpenter by trade and has recently started his own company, to, as Toby puts it, 'to make indoor furniture, and restore old things...'
Toby regularly bikes to his workshop, with his tools and gear for the day on board his bike with his aeroe rear rack and front cradle.
He's also often seen ripping around town on his bike, and rocking up to clients houses to do quotes on the go... 'I sometimes get weird looks when I rock up on the bike, but usually it goes down pretty well...'
Bike packing to Toby is all the best parts of hiking, except you don't have to walk...
To him it's the perfect combination of challenge and adventure, and says it's the most fulfilling way he can spend his time.
Toby recognises the benefits and convenience of using his bike as his main form of travel, whether its locally around town, or internationally bike packing around the world!
Toby is currently in his home town in Spain, after biking from France, through the Pyrenees, and along the coast of Spain. Shortly he'll be heading over the the USA, to continue his annual international bike packing holiday.
Currently, Toby has ridden over 1800 kilometres, with 36,000m of elevation gain, and over 79 hours on the bike. This man loves a big hill, and his trip is just getting started!
To keep up with Toby's international, and local adventures, head over to his instagram page @toby_bikes_roberts to follow along!
Toby enjoys the social and community aspect of bike packing. In recent years, bikes has brought him closer to his local community, and connected him with other like minded riders, who are always up for adventures in the hills.
Toby's Go-To Gear
Day to day, Toby will keep things simple. With enough space for a few tools, clothes, and lunch for the day, he gets around with a 12L dry bag on his rear rack, and a 8L dry bag on his handle bar cradle.
Currently on his international trip, Toby has chosen to load up his rear rack with 3 seperate 8L dry bags.
WHY THREE SMALL BAGS?
Toby prefers to take 3 small bags instead of 2 lager bags, so he can seperate gear that gets wet, like his tent and rain coat, from his dry clothes and food.
He says "It keeps things so much simpler and makes packing up, and unpacking a lot more efficient... especially when you're doing it twice a day, for days on end!"
Tackling another big hill with the incredible Montserrat mountain in the background!
FOLLOW THE BELOW SOCIAL CHANNELS FOR MORE ON TOBYS ADVENTURES
