Touring - Are we having any fun yet ?

As I read several journals about bike touring, alot of the long cross-country tours sound like drudgery veiled as a personal challenge. For shoter trips, what is your advice on maximizing the enjoyment factor in terms of equipment, ride locations, length, accomodations (motels or camping), road or trail surfaces, food, other activities...while on tour ?

As I read several journals about bike touring, alot of the long cross-country tours sound like drudgery veiled as a personal challenge. For shoter trips, what is your advice on maximizing the enjoyment factor in terms of equipment, ride locations, length, accomodations (motels or camping), road or trail surfaces, food, other activities...while on tour ?

I did a tour on the eastern shore MD, DE, NJ. Got as close to the ocean as possible, sort of took my time on the way down, and stopped at MANY of the local pubs, stopped to talk to folks fishing, stopped at a couple of nature centers, in fact I was stopping and not riding for a good part of the trip. It is not for me at least about the miles, it is about the things to see and do along the way. Not on that tour at least.
I prefer to camp, if you hotel, you get in your room and never meet your neighbors, but if you camp almost always, there is some interaction with the folks around you.
I had a destination and about 2 days time extra to meet it. Relax. Enjoy. Look. Smell, etc, its a vacation right?

When it becomes drudgery, I stop riding and do it in a car and at least be more comfortable.

Happy New Year.

#1 Get up early. Get on the road early. The morning is a delicious cycling time in mid-summer. Not only is it the coolest time of day, but the light is soft and the traffic is light. In addition, thunderstorms usually crop up in the afternoon and the winds of Wyoming power up in the afternoon, too. So start early and plan to take a very long lunch break in some nice town or park - then if it is too hot, too stormy, or too rainy - just call it quits for the day.

#2 Slow down. One of the biggest recipes for exhaustion and frustration is to try to cover too much territory. Surely, the killer goat hills of Missouri or mountain passes of the West call for a day with fewer miles. I find that I see far more on my climbs uphill rather than my zooms downhill. I also stop frequently for photos and cookie breaks, thus mountain passes are no big deal. The other piece is not being close to your destination with the sun low or below the horizon. Have options for early stops so that you are not biking frantically sunset.

#3 Stop for a meal or snack each day at a real "Mom & Pop" diner. I love chocolate milkshakes and have far too many on my tours. But I also get to talk with folks who see my bike out front and find out about little towns along the way. It's funny, but I don't mind the "101 Questions" nearly as much in this setting than at a rest stop or mini mart since there is a real conversation taking place - not just a few quick words.

#4 Camp in beautiful places. Do a little research beforehand to find national forests or state preserves with small campgrounds or walk-in camping. Most state parks in Washington, Oregon, and California have these. Some national parks do, too. Unfortunately, most parks in the rest of the U.S. don't and you may find yourself crammed in between a fleet of Winnebagos playing Lawrence Welk until midnight. Private campgrounds in towns are often even more cramped. Unlike the person above, I usually want more privacy and quiet when I call it quits for the day. This almost always means no showers and sometimes it means having to filter my water. In exchange, I get to hear meadowlarks sing at dawn.

#5 Allow time to do something besides ride. Allot extra days for the unexpected. Having to play catch-up with a rigid schedule is no fun. But, having the extra days also allows you to go exploring when the whim hits. How about the ghost town in Nevada? Or hiking on the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park?

Yes, there will be times when you question your sanity. The rain is pouring down on you in the middle of nowhere as you sit under your rainfly stretched between you and a barbed wire fence. I remember getting to know one scrawny black spruce in the Northwest Territories very well over, perhaps, two hours. But you know what? I can still picture that tree perfectly in my mind's eye all these years later.

For those of us who do this crazy thing called bike touring, the rewards far outweigh any minor inconveniences.

Enjoy your trip.

Best - J

For shorter trips, I've found that being in good shape at the start is very important. On a long, cross-country tour, I can ride myself into shape. The first week or so could be tough, but after that it's not an issue. On a brief tour, 3-7 days, if I don't have my legs from day one then the entire trip could be a chore. I'm a bit of a slow starter...it takes me a while to get comfortable on the bike. Long tours have provided the time to find a nice groove.

As for locales, I'm partial to the solitude, even the isolation, of wide open spaces. The Great Plains of middle America and up into Canada...just me, my bike and the white line. Once again though, such areas seem better suited for longer tours. If pressed for time, then perhaps cycling in more developed regions would be a better choice. I certainly wouldn't object to spending a few days tooling around the resort areas of, say, western Colorado...or similar locales in Europe, etc.

Anyway...

As I read several journals about bike touring, alot of the long cross-country tours sound like drudgery veiled as a personal challenge. For shoter trips, what is your advice on maximizing the enjoyment factor in terms of equipment, ride locations, length, accomodations (motels or camping), road or trail surfaces, food, other activities...while on tour ?


Equipment:
1) get a good mattress. Do not skimp on the mattress because if you are uncomfortable sleeping at night, you'll be tired out and cranky the next day. I did my Australia tour with a tiny piece of foam = back ache!! I have since purchased a Thermarest and used in on a number of occasions and it is much better.

2) bring warm clothing. I have done a couple tours now where I FROZE while I was riding and especially once I got off the bicycle and began setting up camp. Warm clothing can even be just an extra sweatshirt and pair of wool socks ... just a touch of extra comfort.

3) travel light. Even though I just suggested bringing a good mattress and warm clothes, do not bring half your house with you ... you'll have to carry it up hills and that's not easy!! Hauling a heavy load around all the time can put you in a very bad mood.

Ride Locations:
This will depend on how adventurous you are ... personally, I like there to be towns and civilization relatively frequently. I don't like the idea of being in a completely remote area.

Length:
This will depend on how much time you've got. Personally, after some experimenting, a fun tour would be one where I didn't have to put in any more than about 75 kms a day, 4 days out of 5 ... but I could do more if I wanted. That would allow me to make stops to eat a leisurely lunch somewhere or to check out tourist attractions and so on. So the next tour I do, I think I'll use that to calculate out how far I can go. But you might have to experiment and find out what distance suits you.

Accommodations:
I like camping, even stealth camping, but a couple times a week I like to stay in a place where I can get a shower and where there are flush toilets, and once a week, I like to be inside (hostel or motel)

Road Surfaces:
They have got to be PAVED!! I hate gravel. I crashed on gravel in Australia which took me out for a week, and has permanently scarred my knee. The only way I would ever ride gravel on a tour again is if I had WIDE tires.

Food:
Lots of it!! Don't skimp on the food!! We did that at first in Australia because we were trying to save money, but it only weakens you and makes you very grouchy.

Other Activities:
Take in as much of the local tourist stuff, and even just local activity (pubs, craft fairs, etc. etc.) as you can. Riding a bicycle is a conversation starter with the locals, which can be a great way to find out about the area ... IMO a bicycle tour is not meant to be spent sitting on a bicycle every waking hour.


I will add one more thing: Preparation!

Before a short tour, be sure you can ride the distance you plan to cover each day. For example, the Golden Triangle tour is 3 days long and each day is 100 kms. In their advertizement for the tour, they strongly suggest that cyclists have ridden at least one 100 km ride at some point a few weeks before the tour. It just makes the event so much more enjoyable if you aren't struggling with the cycling part.

If you're going on a longer tour, I would strongly suggest doing at least one weekend tour before, bringing with you everything you are thinking of taking on the long tour, and covering the distance you are planning to ride each day of the long tour ... so maybe 75 kms out to the campground on Saturday, and 75 kms back home on Sunday. That way you can get an idea what it is like to ride with a loaded touring bicycle, and you'll also get an idea if you need as much stuff as you are carrying ... or maybe if you need to add something or change something. Then when you set out on the longer tour you aren't struggling with equipment, handling, and distance issues.

I would also suggest training in the type of terrain you'll be riding in. So if you'll be riding across Manitoba, my suggestion would be to ride into as much headwind as possible during your training. If you're planning to ride in the Rocky Mountains, my suggestion would be to do as much hill training as you can. And do some of the training with some weight and bulk on your bicycle ... like loaded panniers ... so you get to know how the bicycle rides into gusting head and crosswinds with the panniers, and how the bicycle handles going up and down hills with the weight of the panniers. Stuff like that.

If you've prepared and trained for the event, then you can just relax and enjoy the event because you know you can handle it.

some of these things can't be imparted. especially what "travelling light" means. i've always fancied myself as a minimalist, but every time i tour, i find that i can carry less than the last time.

keep track of what you don't actually use, and don't pack it next time.

Thanks to all. Good stuff. Looks like my first tour will be a February tour of northern florida using a bob and my rigid MTB. Planning on camping,riding and snorkeling for a week but without a schedule or set agenda. Looks like plenty of camping options, so spontaniety will be the order of the day.