Finding, Carrying, And Treating Water While Bikepacking

How much tequila did you put in there? A lot? Well, when we were planning our first bike tour, we came up against a common beginner question: how much water should we be prepared to carry? Not only that, but where should we carry it on our bikes, because that'll affect where we place the rest of our bags. Plus, where are we gonna find it, and when we do find it, how do we make sure it's safe to drink? These are some of the questions we're going to try to answer today. Plus, we'll have a fun trick for how to keep your water cold even on the hottest of days.

Dialing in Your Water Needs

So, how much water should you carry? This is something that you'll dial in better with time, and it depends on a lot of things like weather and terrain and other factors. But we're going to talk about how much we bring in, and from that, you can adjust your water plan.

We think about how much water we'll need through the course of a normal day of cycling, plus how much water we'll need at camp for cooking, cleaning, and drinking. According to adventurecycling.org, a bicycle tour needs about 3.5 liters of water for every five hours of cycling in normal weather, meaning not too hot and not very humid. We usually drink less than the average, about two and a half liters per person in that amount of time, and we usually ride for about four to eight hours a day. Depending on water sources, we might be able to stop for water, but that's not always the case. Let's go with about 4 liters capacity for a normal cycling day, just to give us some flexibility.

We usually don't carry that much water at any given time, but it's nice to have the capacity. We also carry good snacks to replace the electrolytes throughout the day while exercising. So, now you need to know how much capacity you need for camp. This one's a little bit trickier. We usually try and camp by a known water source, but sometimes that's just not possible.

Often the water sources are at the bottoms of climbs, which isn't very convenient, but it's just how the world works; it's physics. We usually bring about two to three liters per person for a night of camping, and then it's nice to have a little bit more for the morning in case we can't find a water source right away. So, that's four plus three equals seven. That's a lot of water. I did the math. So, did we have seven liters on our bike on any given day? No, we've had about four liters of capacity on our bikes, because water is about 2.2 pounds per liter, and we just didn't want to carry that much weight. This just meant that we had to plan our route around water sources, and if we knew we were heading somewhere particularly hot and dry, we could pick up an extra water bottle along the way.

Okay, let's assume you're crazy enough to actually want to carry seven to eight liters on your bike with you. Where would you put it all? As is the case with almost every bike-related question, the answer depends. We'll talk about what we did and then some other options.

I used the 24-ounce water bottle in my Feed Bag to drink from while riding. My primary water storage was in a one and a half-liter Nalgene bottle stored in the main triangle using a wide-foot leader cage. I stored two additional one-liter bottles on the forks using the Mojave water bottle cages from Velo Orange. In theory, I could also carry an additional leader in the B-free water filter bottle.

I like that the bulk of my water was inside the main triangle, as this helped to keep my center of balance low and centered. The separate liters on the fork were rarely filled and were most often used to soak rice and lentils prior to getting to camp.

Belle Beth Cooper kept a Feed Bag with a 26-ounce water bottle on her handlebar, and then she also had two 1.5-liter bottles on her forks using Blackburn Outpost cages with volley straps. She also had a small bladder for her Sawyer Squeeze water filter. This system made it easy for her to access water, but she found it a bit cumbersome to secure the water bottles.

One alternative she's considering is getting a water bladder or maybe two and putting them inside of her frame bag. Bladders can be light and pack down small if they're empty, providing extra flexibility in dry areas.

So, how do you carry your water on a bike? There's no one-size-fits-all answer, and it often comes down to personal preference. You can choose from various bottle cages, handlebar-mounted bags, frame bags, and even water bladders, depending on your needs and comfort.

Sourcing Water on the Road

You have your water storage system down, but where are you going to get your water from? What water sources are available varies depending on where you're at, and not all of them are going to be drinkable right from the source.

Creeks and natural water sources are great places to get your water, and they're our primary source when we're backpacking. But in more populated areas, trusting natural water sources can be a bit tricky. You might want to choose a different water source over a creek running through a city or an agricultural area.

Restaurants, gas stations, and stores are often willing to let you fill up your water bottle. And in many parts of the world, public water fountains are available. Places of worship, like mosques, can also be sources of water. Even graveyards and cemeteries might have water sources for maintaining flowers.

In less popular areas, it's essential to pay attention to route descriptions, ask other people who have been on that route, and carefully study the map.

But what about the safety of the water you find? Let's delve into that.

Ensuring Safe Drinking Water

Anywhere that we're unsure about the drinkability of the water, we always treat it first. There are various methods for water purification. We used the Sawyer Squeeze filter for a long time, but recently, we started using the Katadyn BeFree, which we really like. It's faster, although the bottle is a bit fragile.

As a backup, we also carry water purification tabs. In Turkey, we used AquaTabs, which are a type of chlorine-based treatment. In the past, we've used Aquamira, iodine, and even household bleach in very small quantities. Of course, we're not pouring bleach into the water we drink.

A water filter can be a reliable choice, but they are heavier and bulkier. A gravity water filter is a great option when you get to camp. But if you need to add water throughout the day, it's not as convenient. You can also use a UV water treatment system like the SteriPEN. However, they seem to have mixed reviews, so it's essential to do your research before choosing one.

In some situations, a water purifier may be a better option as it can filter out viruses and heavy metals. When we traveled to Peru and were around questionable water sources, we brought a water purifier, which lasted about three weeks before the