Bucket List App, Ride Buddy Network + More Community Tools

Main photo by Jess Daddio from the Eastern Divide Trail

As its name implies, we’ve always envisioned the Bikepacking Collective to be much more than a signup on the website. Since we developed the membership program in 2017 and launched it in 2018, we’ve also been steadily working on ways to grow this platform to serve the bikepacking community and those who support us. This includes ways in which members can access information, connect with one another, contribute data to help create and fortify routes, and grow and improve the platform—and the bikepacking community as a whole. Today, we’re providing a sneak peek at the Bucket List application, which is small piece of the ongoing puzzle, and we wanted to reveal some of our other plans in the process. Read on for details.

Bucket List

Bucket List is a new tool coming to our bikepacking routes and overnighters library. This will allow logged-in members to add routes to their personal Bucket List and access that list anytime within the member portal area. This functionality will be launching in the next couple weeks, and we’re already planning future additions that will utilize this data, such as the ability to see which routes are among the community’s top picks.

Route Log

Similar to the Bucket List, Route Log will allow members to mark routes they’ve completed to add to their “have ridden” list. We’re excited about this functionality as it will allow us to use that data in the future to display routes based on popularity. For example, once we’ve gathered enough user input, we can display “most ridden routes” as a sorting function on the site. We have a few other ideas in mind for ways to use the data to improve routes and user experience.

Ride Buddy Network

We’re in the process of building a multi-tier forum that Bikepacking Collective members will be able to access from our website. One of the main components will be what we’re calling the Ride Buddy Network. Members will be able to post their intended rides and dates and a little about themselves, and interested folks will be able to respond to potentially arrange meet-ups to ride together. This has been something that’s been requested for years, and we’ve been busy planning and scheming. We are aiming to have it ready by the fall. Stay tuned!

Route Alerts

As the leading creator and publisher of bikepacking routes, BIKEPACKING.com endeavors to maintain, improve, and advocate for our growing network of bikepacking routes all over the world. As such, our editorial team, route creators, and Route Stewards serve as mediators for route improvements and opportunities for connectivity, conservation, and community growth around these routes. To facilitate these efforts, we rely on our Bikepacking Collective and the greater bikepacking community to call attention to critical issues and opportunities that are discovered while riding these routes. In case you missed it, we launched a new Route Alerts functionality several months ago that allow readers/riders to submit vital issues or opportunities regarding individual routes. You can find that just beneath the map on any route.

Ask the Experts

Another part of the online community will be a Q&A forum, a new section on the site allowing Bikepacking Collective members to post questions. Several of us will be monitoring and occasionally providing our insight. This is another feature that’s been requested by many folks from our community.

Garage Sale

We’re still working on this concept, which is in the early stages of development, but the idea is to provide a space for our members to buy and sell used bikepacking gear.

Member Thumbnails

This is actually finished and was quietly released a couple of months ago. Members can now upload a thumbnail to be displayed in the upper right of website when they’re logged in. These thumbnails will also be used with some of the other applications as they come online.

Member Tiers

When we launched the Bikepacking Collective, we wanted to make it as simple as possible. So we set out to find an annual price that would (hopefully) cover expenses and costs associated with the bi-annual printing and shipping of The Bikepacking Journal, but would also provide a surplus to help support the website. Soon, we’ll be releasing membership tiers, providing three annual price tiers at which you can join the Collective. Each will help support our efforts in route building, content creation, and building the bikepacking community. There will be a lower-tier option that will offer access to forthcoming member tools, such as the Bucket List application, Ask the Experts, and Ride Buddy Network. Higher tier options will gain member access to bi-annually printed copies of The Bikepacking Journal, Member Discounts, and our Collective Rewards giveaways. Stay tuned for more information.

More to come… stay tuned! And if you’re interested in joining the Bikepacking Collective to sustain the content we provide on the site, grow the bikepacking community, and help develop new bikepacking routes, click here.

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