Touring - First mini-tour

On Friday afternoon my 13 year old son and I went on an overnight bike camping trip. Fall colors, cool weather, etc. We had a really nice time.

We rode from our house to a neighboring rural town, then up a canyon to a campground. It was mostly flat except for about 1000' of climbing in the last 3 or 4 miles. We are coming from an ultralight backpacking background so we packed pretty light. I was riding my Trek 7.3 FX with an Xtracycle, and my son was riding my old '89 Specialized Stumpjumper converted to road machine. The Stumpjumper had Lone Peak panniers. We were both quite happy about how both the bikes handled.

I have been commuting all four seasons for 26 years, have owned road bikes and mountain bikes, and have always wanted to do a tour. This really increased my desire to hit the road for a longer trip.

Here is what I learned:

1. A loaded bike picks up speed very fast on the downhills.

2. Once up to speed and cruising along the flats, it's not too difficult to maintain speed with a loaded bike. I'm sure that is not the case with a stiff headwind.

3. Busy highways are scary. We had only one short section on a highway with narrow shoulders and it was pretty unnerving having cars whip past at 65 mph. However, with all my commuting, zipping around town in traffic doesn't seem to bother me. Maybe you just have to get used to it.

4. Touring is really fun. My son is talking about when we can go again, but longer. We have big plans for the future.

Matt

Congrats. Sounds like a new tourer is here! It becomes addictive...

On #1 above, it's the old momentum, weight x speed; as weight goes up you really feel it when you try to stop! That's why dedicated touring rigs have beefy brakes.

Good job on getting started and involving your son. Take it slow and keep it simple and the fun should continue for a life time.

My 11 year old and I did a credit card tour for 5 days and had a wonderful time! I can't wait to do a longer one next year. I hope this is the start of a tradition for you!

Isn't it amazing how the bike wants to keep moving? Thank you inertia. My first tour was a maxi-tour--across the U.S. and then some. I used to be a riding snob and thought "Who wants to carry all that crap on a bike." At the same time, I wanted to cross the country at a pace slower than what supported tours were offerring so I bit the bullet and decided to join the "dorky" touring crowd, which included ditching my high-end Grio helmet for a basic Bell helmet is blazing yellow for visibility. Before starting the tour, a friend of mine who is a touring veteran tried to explain that it would not be as difficult to pedal a loaded bike as I was imagining, but I had a hard time believing him. I got my gear racks and panniers 3 weeks before the trip was to start. My first ride was flat with phone books in the bags. The second ride had a little more weight. Finally, I did a 62 mile ride carrying juist about everything I would bring with me on tour. I even through in a bunch of hills and rolling terrain. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that my friend had not been pulling my leg.

The trip hooked me so much that I ended up doing about 10,000 loaded miles during three trips over a year and a half. Then I returned back to "roadie" world and stayed there for 8 years. But the call of the wild became too much to resist. Now I routinely cross between both worlds. I do, however, now tour with a grio helmet.

You guys sound like you are hooked. I hope you can get to do some longer trips, but even the overnighters and long weekend trips are a lot of fun. I do several a year, and I have a week in Montana planned for next year.