Mark Watson and Hana Black have been mountain biking and cycle touring for over 30 years. They bikepacked with homemade equipment long before the name became popular and have travelled by bike in 29 countries, as well as participated in many ultra distance cycling events and races, including Tour Aotearoa and Tour Te Waipounamu.

Both have a long association with the outdoor industry; Hana has worked in outdoor clothing and equipment design and development for over 25 years, while Mark has worked in soft goods manufacture and been a product reviewer, magazine editor, publisher, writer and photographer.

Bikes are not the only means by which Mark and Hana experience the outdoors and both have been climbing and tramping as long as they have been cyclists. 

As well as being committed bikepackers they are also route developers, having contributed classic routes such as the Trans-Mexico and Camino del Puma (Perú). Their blog www.highlux.photo is a well known resource in the bikepacking community.

Their home base is Lyttelton, New Zealand.