How can I prevent bicycle theft while bikepacking? I’m planning a multi-day gravel ride with a few friends. We would have to sleep in public campgrounds, which are also full of people because of the camping season. What is the best way to secure our bikes at night? As you might imagine, having your bike stolen 150 km (100 miles) away from home in the middle of nowhere might be a harrowing experience.
We’re afraid that locks won’t work because the thieves would literally have all night to remove them. There also might not be something to lock to (what do you do if you’re sleeping in an open field?). Furthermore, a group of expensive-looking bikes laden with camping gear would probably be an attractive target for thieves. Any tips?
With multiple bikes, locking them together prevents them being picked up or ridden off. The latter is often the biggest risk when camping - simple opportunism.
A reasonably long cable lock would lock all the bikes together (also outside cafes), and if you use it in an awkward position (down near the chainrings), getting cutters to it would be noisy, and tricky in the dark.  I like my Masterlock Python  for this sort of thing - it can be pulled tight meaning less stray cable at risk of cutting. It could extend into your tent locked to a bag right next to you, if you're worried. In fact even a piece of ground-coloured cord tied to the outermost bike and run through the grass into your tent, where it's tied to your bag or your cooking pots is an effective alarm; you're worried about theft in the dark, so mainly someone quickly picking up a bike and taking it away - if they make a lot of noise they'll run away empty handed.
There are ways to lock bikes to the ground, which I've used while camping. I doubt they're necessary, but I've used this when leaving the bikes on site completely unattended during the day. What I've done is to buy two corkscrew dog stakes, and screw them into the ground as close together as possible. A cable lock run through the triangular handles of both (not the free-spinning leash points) and through the bike(s) is too stiff to allow the stakes to be unscrewed from the ground. If you lean the bikes against each other the right way up, with this arrangement underneath, you can also lock the top tubes together. It can be tricky on rocky ground. Another secure anchor is two sturdy stakes hammered into the ground forming an X, locked together through holes where they cross. This probably means carrying too much weight.
Another suggestion, an additional measure, is to peg down a tarp over the bikes (and any other kit that won't fit into your tents).  This will slow down a potential thief, especially if you bang the pegs right down into the ground.  They either have to pull the pegs or cut the tarp,   before they can even discover how well-locked your bikes are.  In addition it protects your stuff from the elements.