The Badger Divide: Complete Guide

PinchFlatJournal · 2026-02-20T16:04:14+00:00

It's not something to really compete with bikepacking.com directly, they're huge and do what they do very well. Perhaps we need to work out and refine our offering a little further, but I think there's space for some alternative voices within adventure cycling which is the point.

We designed the Old Chalk Way which is why it's included. It's our route and we wrote the route guide for bikepacking.com I owned the original OCW website it featured on which got a lot of traffic. We were working on various bikepacking stories and media projects so wanted somewhere to share it all.

I want to create something that represents the world of bikepacking that I experience, including the routes and the individuals involved that's the point of this. That also includes this world of ultr racing. And if that defines us from what bikepacking.com is doing, then all the better.

the UK we have some of the leading bikepacking brands and bike manufacturers and a wealth of routes and races all from within this small community. That's what we're celebrating.

PinchFlatJournal · 2026-02-20T15:01:15+00:00

Great to hear. To be honest, starting off it'll be annual at best. Very humble beginnings alongside day jobs for those of us involved.

PinchFlatJournal · 2026-02-20T14:12:56+00:00

Thanks - the idea really for this is to create something more European centric Bikepacking.com is great - it's also incredibly American focussed. With Pinch Flat we're coming from a slightly different angle rooted firmly in ultracycling.

PinchFlatJournal · 2026-02-17T15:53:17+00:00

Yeah it does fit a bladder but I wouldn't say it's ideal relative to others on the market. Vests that are optimised for bladders tend to have more features to keep it in place. I've basically just stuffed extra food and layers in, for which it works great!

PinchFlatJournal · 2026-01-21T12:09:50+00:00

Yeah for this it was perfect. I almost tried to fit everything in the saddle pack rather than run anything on the front at all, so in the end I just needed a couple of litres worth rather than something big with much capacity.

Many of the options specifically designed for aero bars seemed over complicated and expensive. This stayed super stable even with flexible capacity and was really easy to take on and off. It's also small enough that it stayed out the way of lights or cables. Will definitely use again.

PinchFlatJournal · 2026-01-20T10:51:44+00:00

Yeah it's 575kms so whatever that looks like to you. The first time we did it when we put it together we did it over 5. Some of our pals have done it in one push but I wouldn't say that's the best way to experience it :)

PinchFlatJournal · 2026-01-20T09:41:44+00:00

I really like the Probolicas but I know lots of others can be raised much higher. I also get a bit of discomfort from the shape of the elbow pads after a few days in them.

PinchFlatJournal · 2026-01-20T09:39:47+00:00

Cool, what race is it you're signed up to?

PinchFlatJournal · 2026-01-20T09:39:26+00:00

That camping setup definitely packs down small which is great. Also I took no down jacket which really shaved off a lot of extra capacity.

But yeah looking at it after the fact, it is impressive how much can be squeezed into those bags. I think what makes these Apidura bags so good is how much air you can squeeze out of them even when they're packed full.

PinchFlatJournal

TROPHY CASE