River Bikerafting with Chris Burkard bikeraft training with Doom for Iceland.

2-Day Learn Basic Bikerafting Skills – No Frills

Learn to Basic River Bikerafting Course

Learn to pair bicycles and packrafts to expand your capacity to explore your local waterways! From 9a.m.-5a.m. over two days, you’ll learn basic paddle and river reading techniques on the Animas River, along with basic bikerafting techniques on up to Class II rapids. This no-frills learn basic river bikerafting course is for the budget-minded aspiring bike-packrafter and will be done entirely in Durango, Colorado. This course is for beginners, but you must have some experience riding bicycles.

Includes

This course includes an open Alpacka Classic, helmet, PFD and paddle.

Does Not Include

This course does not include lodging, food or a drysuit. You must have a drysuit for this course, as the water is snow melt and quite cold. And you’ll be practicing self-rescue (aka wet re-entry skills) on day 1. You can rent one locally at 4CornersRiversports.com or with a 15% discount through BackcountryPackrafts.com (you’ll get the discount code once you pay your deposit).

Price: $650

Instructor: Steve Fassbinder is one of the country’s first Level 3 American Canoe Association Packraft Instructors, as well as a Level 3 Kayak Instructor. He is also certified in Advanced Swiftwater Safety and Wilderness First Responder. An early adopter of packrafting, he has guided for three years and done remote packrafting expeditions around the world for over a dozen years.

What You Will Learn:

We base our learn basic river bikerafting and packrafting skills instructional courses on confidence and skill progression. We start slow and push you a little harder as we go, tailoring the experience to your own personal abilities.

For Beginner to Intermediate courses, you’ll learn a wide variety of skills, from the basics to more advanced river reading techniques. This is a list of some of the things you will learn:

✔️Basic packraft equipment use and care
✔️Self-rescue, partner-rescue and how to right your boat with a bike on it
✔️Dealing with currents
✔️Aggressive & defensive swimming positions
✔️How to navigate river hazards with a bike on your boat
✔️River dynamics
✔️Basic paddle strokes with a bike on your boat
✔️Using eddies
✔️River commands
✔️How to lash your bike to your boat and vice versa
✔️Transitioning from bikes to boats and vice versa

Full 2023 Bikerafting Course Schedule:

✓April 5-9—5-Day Become an Intermediate Bikerafter (Utah)
✓April 26-30—5-Day Learn River Bikerafting Skills
✓May 6-7—2-Day Learn Basic Bikerafting Skills – No Frills
✓May 11-14—4-Day Intermediate Bikeraft Course
✓June 1-4—4-Day Intermediate Bikeraft Course
✓June 21-25—5-Day River Bikerafting
✓July 1-2—2-Day Learn Basic River Bikerafting Skills – No Frills
✓July 7-9—3-Day Learn to Bikeraft on McPhee Reservoir
✓July 14-16—3-Day Learn to Bikeraft on McPhee Reservoir