See also: Electrifying the Dahoe

Last year I bought myself a Dahon folding bike, a long-established American brand with a French sounding name that’s probably made in China and in the UK is much less pricey than a Brompton. Folders seem to be going cheap right now as older folk move to e-bikes (ahem).
At least 8 years old, my Dahon Mu has an unusual (and long discontinued) SRAM Automatix 2-speed hub, V-brakes and once folded up, weighs 11.5kg (the Tero X5 is 28kg). I should’ve waited for a 7- or 8-speed hub to turn up, but thought I’d give the Automatix a try, happy to have one less cable and mechanism to operate. It shifts up automatically at a round 10kph; a bit too soon some say, but I got an easy mechanical hack done to get around that.

Years ago I tried bikerafting in northwest Scotland with my Marin MTB. Up there it didn’t really work, the few roads were empty enough, but what paths and tracks there were were tricky on a bike with a boat strapped to it. I wrote in 2012…

… add a bike and any off-roading becomes marginal up here [Far Northest Scotland]. Most of the time you’ll be pushing or carrying, especially with an overnight load. No MTB is really rideable on the footpaths up here [Assynt], although unlike England and Wales, since 2003 Open Access allows cycling on all footpaths (there are no bridleways). Cross country and off the footpaths, at times you can barely walk, let alone ride or push a bike

This time round I have a bigger packraft and a smaller bike. I pedalled down to the station and got a train to Pokesdown, a 10-minute cycle from Iford bridge (below) near the tidal limit of the River Stour.
On the water I moved the seat back and dropped the bike at the front. Unlike a regular bike, the folded Dahon sits part in the boat so there’s no real need to strap it down on the long packraft. I put the bag under my knees and set off about 1pm on a rising neap tide (right) that was set to stay level in the harbour for the next few hours. Winds were 6-8mph from the southwest. This time round I did not record the humidity or take gravity readings.

Looking at the OS map below, you might think it’s like packrafting through London, but nothing could be further from the truth. A tranquil, tree-lined river leads to a glittering inland marina and medieval church and a swan-speckled natural harbour beyond.

Once out in the Bay, with the usual southwesterly you could carry on up the coast to Highcliffe, a couple of train stops up from Christchurch. Or with a higher tide, poke around the harbour. And just after the Priory, the Avon river comes in from the north. Someone suggested it’s possible to do a 2km tidal loop off the Stour and back. One for next time.
Ironed out for some blundering around on the way back, that was about 18km from Pokestown station, with 8km of paddling. Without the bike it would have been a long walk back, though there is a summertime ferry from Mudeford Quay back up river. So this particular outing was well suited to bike rafting.
With the wobbly payload, the comparative lack of stability, just two gears and the feeling I might snap something if I rode it like my MTB, the Dahon forces me to slow down. Not a bad thing. Next time on salt water, I might put it in a bag, so I don’t have to rinse and lube it back home, but I’m looking forward to more mini foldingbikerafting trips, where flatter roads and tracks allow.