Bikepacking weather: planning around wind, rain and heat off-grid

What weather matters on a bikepacking trip?

Bikepacking weather comes down to five things: wind against your direction, gusts, rain amount, heat and the overnight low. Read each for the hours you'll ride and the place you'll sleep. This guide is part of our bikepacking for beginners series.

Before you leave, you need:

• the route as a GPX, with each night's stop marked;
• a forecast for each stretch at the time you'll reach it, which we call a route-timed forecast;
• the official warning service for every country on the route;
• a bail-out point before every remote stretch.

Our guide to reading a cycling weather forecast explains each number.

How do you check the forecast before you lose signal?

Read it the night before and on the morning you leave, then save it.

1. Read day by day: wind against your road, gusts, rain in mm (inches) per hour, the hottest hour and the overnight low.
2. Save it offline. Screenshot each day's hourly charts and the warnings page, with the update time showing.
3. Know the warning services: the Met Office in the UK, the National Weather Service in the US, and in Iceland the Icelandic Met Office and Safetravel, run by the search-and-rescue association ICE-SAR.
4. Refresh in every town with signal.

Detail far ahead is a guide only: see how far ahead you can trust a wind forecast.

Want this for your own route? Windline shows the wind for every stretch, timed to your pace. Free. Make a free ride page →

Which way should you ride a long route for the wind?

Ride with the prevailing wind behind you where the route allows, but treat it as a tendency.

Our ten-year ERA5 study of riding-hour wind, 08:00 to 17:00, shows how it varies:

Adventure Cycling warns of "big northwest winds" in Wyoming's Great Divide Basin; our grid cell on the basin crossing shows mostly south-westerlies and westerlies. Either way, plan the basin as an exposed day. See which way to ride the great routes, the Great Divide and Iceland's Ring Road.

How do you handle a loaded bike in crosswinds and gusts?

Slow down, stay relaxed and judge the day by the gusts. Bar and fork bags add side area where you steer.

The World Meteorological Organization's Beaufort table puts force 6 at 39–49 km/h (25–31 mph), with large branches in motion. Our too-windy table calls that mean wind, or gusts of 50–63 km/h (31–39 mph), a handling risk.

• Keep heavy kit low in the frame bag: see bikepacking bags explained.
• Expect sudden gusts at bridges, crests and gaps in trees.
• Walk exposed crests and descents in strong gusts.

See riding in crosswinds for technique.

Where should you camp when it's windy or cold?

Choose ground sheltered from the forecast wind, but not the lowest point and never a watercourse.

• Wind: put a bank or bushes on the windward side, and pitch the tent's low end into the wind. Look up for dead branches.
• Cold: the Met Office explains that on clear, calm nights, colder air drains downhill and pools in valleys. A pitch above the valley floor is often warmer.
• Water: Joshua Tree National Park in California says that if rain is possible, don't camp in a wash or low terrain.

Match your sleeping bag's comfort rating to the overnight low (see our bikepacking gear list), and read wind chill on a bike for the cold ride out.

What do you do about thunderstorms on exposed ground?

Be off ridges and passes before they build. The US National Weather Service says mountain thunderstorms typically develop in the early afternoon, and that a tent offers no protection from lightning.

Adventure Cycling advises riding early on the Great Divide to avoid afternoon thundershowers, and warns that snow or cold rain is possible any day at some elevations.

If you're caught out, the NWS says to avoid ridge tops, open fields and tall isolated trees, and to wait 30 minutes after the last thunder.

How do you plan for heat and water?

Ride the cool hours, rest through the hottest, and carry water for the whole gap to the next source.

The US National Park Service at Mojave National Preserve tells cyclists to carry about 7.6 litres (2 US gallons) per person per day. On the Great Divide, Adventure Cycling advises at least 11–15 litres (3–4 US gallons) a person between Pinedale and Rawlins.

The NHS lists signs of heat exhaustion, including dizziness, headache, feeling sick and pale, clammy skin, and advises keeping out of the sun between 11am and 3pm. This isn't medical advice. See cycling in the heat and bikepacking food and water.

When should you use a bail-out point?

When the forecast for the next exposed stretch passes your limit, leave at the exit before it. Official weather warnings override any rule of thumb, including ours.

Set your triggers before the trip: a wind warning, gusts in the handling-risk band, storms over a pass, or heat you can't carry enough water for. If the forecast is uncertain, wait a day in town.