S1 E3 Bikepacking with your dog - Josie Crossland.
Josie started cycling as a way to get outside after an injury stopped her from rock climbing. She soon discovered bikepacking and fell in love with the opportunity it presented to explore and travel new places. As soon as she returned from her first bikepacking trip in Oman, Josie began planning how she could bring her dog, Connie, on the adventures too.
Last year Josie undertook her first solo bikepacking trip, travelling along the west coast of Scotland for 3 weeks with her dog Connie. In the episode we talk about cycling around Oman, Josie and Connie’s bikepacking trips and we hear some of Josie’s tips about bringing your dog on adventures.
Josie’s top tips for bikepacking with a dog.
Make it a fun experience for the dog! I approached it a bit like a game at the beginning. As Connie it s a sheepdog she loves commands and tricks so I made a real effort to make getting in and out of the trailer a fun game with lots of treats! Take your time and be patient!
Don’t expect to be covering huge distances! I try and get Connie running alongside the bike as much as possible but 25km of running is about as much as I like to ask her to do. This is also really dependent on your dog, so spend time finding out what they are comfortable doing. The rest of the time I have her in the trailer but still like to stop often and stretch her legs.
Build it up slowly. It can be quite stressful at times, taking a dog with you. So at first I just did loads of really short local rides and after a few weeks built up to a few overnight trips with Connie. I was then able to work out what I did and didn’t need to take and what Connie (and I) was comfortable with! We also did a bit of training getting on and off trains with everything just in case I needed to bail and get back somewhere for any reason. This actually was really helpful as I did need to at one point!
Follow Josie’s Journey
Instagram: www.instagram.com/josiejim_7