Bikepacking is booming. It feels like everyone wants to go higher, further and preferably disappear into the wilderness for weeks at a time. But who actually has the time for that? I went looking for adventure between everyday life and a packed diary, and found it right on my doorstep.

Social media feeds are full of epic expeditions to the far side of the world. The reality often looks very different. Packed schedules and too few days off dictate our everyday lives. So rather than throwing myself into the rush-hour traffic or collapsing onto the sofa in frustration, I decide to turn the whole thing on its head. 9-to-5 becomes 5-to-9. It’s 5 pm and I close the laptop. Today’s goal: a one-night escape from the daily grind. Beyond that, there’s no plan, just one deadline: I need to be back in my meeting on time tomorrow morning.

But how does a mini escape like this actually work? Normally, I’m firmly in the camp that stuffs the camper to the roof with a kit for a weekend at the bike park and still somehow turns up massively overloaded. Packing only the essentials and travelling light really isn’t my strong suit. This time, though, my cross-country bike will have to do, and I’m only taking what fits on the handlebars, the bike or directly on my body. I pack the bike as best I can and head off.

There isn’t much room for luggage on my Lauf Elja, but it’ll have to be enough for one night.

Exploring your own backyard

After just a few kilometres, I leave my usual post-work routes behind. With no pressure at all, I simply keep pedalling. There’s no rush, and no need to be home before dark. I drift away from the familiar trails, past wide-open fields and lush green pastures where cows graze, bells clinking at their necks. The air smells of freshly cut grass, and with every pedal stroke, the stress of the office falls a little further behind. It’s amazing how unfamiliar, how full of adventure, home can feel when you simply turn left where you’d usually go right.

A thousand-star hotel

With “improvisation is everything” as my motto, I have no plan and, of course, no dinner with me either. As luck would have it, I roll past a farm with a vending machine stocked with fresh local produce. Perfect! I grab some pepper sausages and pretzels for a first bite to eat. But the best part of the stop is meeting the farmer himself, who has just climbed down from his tractor. We get chatting, I tell him about my 5-to-9 idea, and he smiles. Without any fuss, he offers to let me spend the night in his freshly mown meadow over by the edge of the woods.

Thanks to the well-stocked farm vending machine, dinner is sorted.

And thanks to the friendly farmer, I’ve got somewhere to sleep for the night too.

With a guaranteed place to sleep for the night, I make the most of the remaining daylight and clock up a few more kilometres. Leaving civilisation behind once again, I head onto quiet gravel roads and even stumble across a few singletrack trails along the way. Until now, I’d always thought the real fun was reserved for enduro trails at the bike park, but the Lauf Elja XC bike proves otherwise, getting both the adrenaline and the grin factor up.

But the sun is slowly disappearing, and dusk casts the Alpine foothills in a cool blue glow. Time to head back to camp. Setting up is surprisingly straightforward, and before long I’ve checked into my thousand-star hotel at the edge of the woods in record time. Roll out the sleeping mat, inflate it, climb into the sleeping bag. Done.

There’s no Wi-Fi and barely any signal, so the urge to mindlessly scroll through one last feed or quickly check my emails disappears almost instantly. Instead, I lie in my sleeping bag, staring up at the dark sky and listening as the forest beside me slowly comes to life. No notifications, just leaves rustling in the night breeze. Civilisation is only a stone’s throw away, yet I’m completely offline. Maybe that’s the greatest luxury of this 5-to-9 adventure: simply being unreachable for a few hours.

Morning sun, singletrack and a dip in the cold water

The next morning, I don’t need an alarm. Shortly after 5 am, the first warm rays of sunshine wake me. Despite the high daytime temperatures, it gets surprisingly cold overnight. Luckily, I’d brought a thick sleeping bag that kept me warm. But before I can get going, there’s one ritual I can’t skip: coffee. This time, it comes from a little camping stove rather than an espresso machine.

In summer, the sun rises just after 5 am, turning you into an early riser whether you like it or not. But it’s worth it …

Even in summer, mornings can still be pretty chilly. All the more reason to stay tucked up in the warmth for a little longer.

Thanks to the minimalist, lightweight setup, everything is quickly packed back onto the bike. And the best part? Travelling light means I can squeeze in a few flowy singletrack trails on the way back. That would be unthinkable with a bike weighed down by loads of luggage. Before heading back to civilisation for good, I make one last stop at a lake. A quick dip in the cold water washes off the dust and is the ultimate wake-up call.

The perfect finish: what better way to start the day than with a plunge into cold water?

At 9:00 am on the dot, the first meeting of the day kicks off and I’m back at my computer. My colleagues are cradling their coffees, swapping stories about another evening on the sofa. I can still feel last night’s ride humming in my legs, and I can’t help a quiet grin. Not one of them has the faintest idea where I spent the night, or just how much freedom I packed into those 16 hours, an entire escape folded into the gap between one working day and the next. That’s the revelation this little overnighter leaves me with: adventure isn’t waiting somewhere on the far side of the world. It’s right here, right on your doorstep. You just have to close the laptop, and ride.

What worked well:

Exped DeepSleep sleeping bag OC 30F

Key facts

• Weight: 1,400 g incl. bag
• Packed size: 26 x 20 x 20 cm
• Sleeping area: 99 x 195 cm
• Temperature range: -14 to 6°C
• Intended use: 3-season / bikepacking
• Price: € 125
• To the manufacturer’s website

The Exped DeepSleep OC 30F isn’t just warm, it also packs down neatly enough to strap to the handlebars.

Exped Ultra 6.5 MW sleeping mat

Key facts

• Weight: 575 g with bag, 545 g without bag
• Packed size: 27 x 12 cm
• Sleeping area: 183 x 65 cm
• Thickness: 9 cm
• Intended use: 3-season / bikepacking
• Price: € 200
• To the manufacturer’s website

The Exped Ultra 6.5 MW is super-lightweight and, thanks to the inflation bag, takes just a few minutes to inflate with very little effort.

Primus Micron III camping stove

Key facts

• Type: foldable screw-on stove (for 1–2 people)
• Pot supports: foldable
• Boil time: ½ litre of water in under 3 minutes
• Weight: 58 g (plus gas canister)
• Packed size: 62 x 46 mm
• Intended use: bikepacking, hiking
• Price: € 69.99
• To the manufacturer’s website

The Primus Micron III is tiny, making it perfect for bikepacking.

Daysaver Incredible mini pump and Incredible 6 multitool

Key facts

• Type: Mini pump with integrated tool and puncture repair kit
• Maximum pressure: up to 120 PSI / 8 bar
• Dimensions: 27.5 mm diameter and 144 mm length
• Weight: 105 g (156 g with multitool)
• Multitool: HEX8 and 6.2 tyre lever, tyre plug insertion tool
• Price: € 69.99
• To the manufacturer’s website

Everything you need: with the Daysaver Incredible mini pump and integrated multitool, you’re prepared for (almost) anything.

Rapha Brevet Bib Shorts III and Packable Backpack

Key facts

• Practical pockets on the bib shorts for quick access to snacks such as energy bars
• Comfortable chamois for long days in the saddle
• Small backpack with plenty of storage space
• Sits securely on your back without getting in the way
• To the manufacturer’s website

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Words & Photos: Mike Hunger