Touring styles
11-27-15, 12:43 PM
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In 1981 in Europe i asked a young woman if she knew what time it was, sshe took out a full sized clock radio, the radio part was busted, but she knew what the time was, at 1,000 times the wt of a watch. Another person instead of a hammer, had a 3" steel ball welded to a 6" gas pipe.
Sometimes too much wt. really is too much.
'
Sometimes too much wt. really is too much.
'
11-27-15, 02:35 PM
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At the risk of being controversial I'd say there's no such thing, a 'day trip' maybe but never a 'day tour'.
11-27-15, 04:12 PM
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I consider:
- Loaded touring, you carry your camping gear and cooking gear.
- Credit card, in motels, haul minimal clothng on bike, no support.
- Vehicle supported, that is where a vehicle (friend or hired person) hauls your stuff for you. May or may not include cooking too. A friend of mine organized a trip, we got the permits, designated the route, we hired an outfitter to carry our gear and cook our food. But, since we got the permits (national park campsites) and not the outfitter, I do not consider this fully supported amd we had no guide support.
- Fully supported, a guide is provided and also rides along in case you blow a tire and do not know how to change one. Motels and meals provided, but you might be on your own for some meals at restaurants. I have done two fully supported trips in Europe, they also provided the bikes.
- Bikepacking, I consider that to be on gravel or dirt trails, carry your own bare minimum of gear, probably only a few days of food, maybe a rack on the bike and maybe not, but probably not panniers. But they likely carry odd looking saddle bag and frame bag. Might be a mountain bike with partial or full suspension, or might be a fat bike, or just about any other kind of bike.
I did not use the term self supported, there are different definitions of that out there so it can be a bit ambiguous.
- Loaded touring, you carry your camping gear and cooking gear.
- Credit card, in motels, haul minimal clothng on bike, no support.
- Vehicle supported, that is where a vehicle (friend or hired person) hauls your stuff for you. May or may not include cooking too. A friend of mine organized a trip, we got the permits, designated the route, we hired an outfitter to carry our gear and cook our food. But, since we got the permits (national park campsites) and not the outfitter, I do not consider this fully supported amd we had no guide support.
- Fully supported, a guide is provided and also rides along in case you blow a tire and do not know how to change one. Motels and meals provided, but you might be on your own for some meals at restaurants. I have done two fully supported trips in Europe, they also provided the bikes.
- Bikepacking, I consider that to be on gravel or dirt trails, carry your own bare minimum of gear, probably only a few days of food, maybe a rack on the bike and maybe not, but probably not panniers. But they likely carry odd looking saddle bag and frame bag. Might be a mountain bike with partial or full suspension, or might be a fat bike, or just about any other kind of bike.
I did not use the term self supported, there are different definitions of that out there so it can be a bit ambiguous.
11-27-15, 04:41 PM
#29
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11-27-15, 05:35 PM
#30
aka Timi
Touring styles
That's a nice way of seeing it, "I'm going for a ride".
I guess in the end that's what we all do
I guess in the end that's what we all do
11-28-15, 02:36 AM
#32
aka Timi
Touring styles
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11-29-15, 05:41 PM
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One wild dream tour is to ride the perimeter of the USA (after I win a big lottery, with a luxury moble home as my sag wagon, driven by my wife 
). I discovered that there is a Perimeter Bicycling Association of America that maintains records of perimeter rides around various world-wide geographic and political regions.
). I discovered that there is a Perimeter Bicycling Association of America that maintains records of perimeter rides around various world-wide geographic and political regions.
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11-29-15, 09:05 PM
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I've only done one tour, but it seems I'm a bit of an anomaly. It seems many suggest either camping/cooking or hotel/restaurant, but no combo.
I personally love the camping part, but don't pack a stove and eat out most meals. Eating is my favourite part of travel, and exploring the local cuisine is definitely part of touring for me. So, I camp, but eat out. I don't drink coffee so I don't even need to carry a stove for that. Which is not to say I don't carry bread/fruit/cheese/snacks. But those are rainy day items to supplement food stops. I consider my style more "no frills" than cooking at camp. *smile*
So maybe, Independent/Foodie Camper? *smile*
I personally love the camping part, but don't pack a stove and eat out most meals. Eating is my favourite part of travel, and exploring the local cuisine is definitely part of touring for me. So, I camp, but eat out. I don't drink coffee so I don't even need to carry a stove for that. Which is not to say I don't carry bread/fruit/cheese/snacks. But those are rainy day items to supplement food stops. I consider my style more "no frills" than cooking at camp. *smile*
So maybe, Independent/Foodie Camper? *smile*
Last edited by rawklobster; 11-29-15 at 09:10 PM.
11-29-15, 09:25 PM
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I've only done one tour, but it seems I'm a bit of an anomaly. It seems many suggest either camping/cooking or hotel/restaurant, but no combo.
I personally love the camping part, but don't pack a stove and eat out most meals. Eating is my favourite part of travel, and exploring the local cuisine is definitely part of touring for me. So, I camp, but eat out. I don't drink coffee so I don't even need to carry a stove for that. Which is not to say I don't carry bread/fruit/cheese/snacks. But those are rainy day items to supplement food stops. I consider my style more "no frills" than cooking at camp. *smile*
So maybe, Independent/Foodie Camper? *smile*
I personally love the camping part, but don't pack a stove and eat out most meals. Eating is my favourite part of travel, and exploring the local cuisine is definitely part of touring for me. So, I camp, but eat out. I don't drink coffee so I don't even need to carry a stove for that. Which is not to say I don't carry bread/fruit/cheese/snacks. But those are rainy day items to supplement food stops. I consider my style more "no frills" than cooking at camp. *smile*
So maybe, Independent/Foodie Camper? *smile*
We'll make the decision as we go along whether we want to camp that night or stay in a hostel or hotel/B&B. And we'll make the decision as we go along whether we want to cook/make our food for that particular meal, or eat out.
If you have a look at my short tour report in the 2015 - Short Tours thread (https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/98...ort-tours.html), you'll see that on our overnight tour this past weekend, we opted to camp and Rowan made dinner ... but our lunches were at a restaurant. If the town we stayed in had anything open after about 5 pm, we may have had dinner out too.
It's sort of a 'whatever works' at the moment thing for us.
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Last edited by Machka; 11-29-15 at 09:28 PM.
11-30-15, 05:17 PM
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One way to categorize bike touring is by the "how" of it. Another way is the "why".
Maybe just riding the bike is the main objective. Could be e.g. to ride a long distance in a short time. Maybe the season or the terrain can make the bike riding a special challenge worthy of tackling.
One can also tour not so much in order to ride a bike, but to encounter the places along the way somehow. Maybe the idea is just to see the places, smell and hear them, to feel the hills and the wind in your legs.
But encountering a place can be more than just riding through. Of course one can take photos! Or stop a bit longer and sketch, or even paint places. Make notes about the plants and animals one observes. One can tour as a landscape artist or as a field geologist or a botanist. One can also be hunting, fishing, and/or gathering plant food along the way, tasting the land.
Biking is easiest on roads built by people - it is naturally more people oriented than backpacking. One can bike tour to engage with the human culture in one way or another. One could be immersing oneself in the language of a region, or the music, or the textiles and clothing, or the religion, or the architecture, the pottery, etc.
A bike tour need not simply be a process of absorbing the environment: one can do a giving tour. One might bike tour as a physician, a healer. One could tour as a musician, or a story teller. Yeah, there is a famous guy touring as a clown. One could tour as a religious preacher or a political campaigner.
Anyway, there are some more touring styles for the soup!
Maybe just riding the bike is the main objective. Could be e.g. to ride a long distance in a short time. Maybe the season or the terrain can make the bike riding a special challenge worthy of tackling.
One can also tour not so much in order to ride a bike, but to encounter the places along the way somehow. Maybe the idea is just to see the places, smell and hear them, to feel the hills and the wind in your legs.
But encountering a place can be more than just riding through. Of course one can take photos! Or stop a bit longer and sketch, or even paint places. Make notes about the plants and animals one observes. One can tour as a landscape artist or as a field geologist or a botanist. One can also be hunting, fishing, and/or gathering plant food along the way, tasting the land.
Biking is easiest on roads built by people - it is naturally more people oriented than backpacking. One can bike tour to engage with the human culture in one way or another. One could be immersing oneself in the language of a region, or the music, or the textiles and clothing, or the religion, or the architecture, the pottery, etc.
A bike tour need not simply be a process of absorbing the environment: one can do a giving tour. One might bike tour as a physician, a healer. One could tour as a musician, or a story teller. Yeah, there is a famous guy touring as a clown. One could tour as a religious preacher or a political campaigner.
Anyway, there are some more touring styles for the soup!
11-30-15, 05:22 PM
#37
aka Timi
Touring styles
Well written Jim! Thanks!
11-30-15, 05:51 PM
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a few examples:
?Johnny Appleseed Of Bikes? Spreads Joy Of Cycling | Gear Junkie
BICICLOWN.COM :: WEB OFICIAL DE BICICLOWN Y PROYECTO MOSAW
Musician Ben Sollee and His Band are Touring by Bike - Cello, Drumsets Included : TreeHugger
https://agilerascaltheatre.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Diu606Jmrjo
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/...ning-southward
?Johnny Appleseed Of Bikes? Spreads Joy Of Cycling | Gear Junkie
BICICLOWN.COM :: WEB OFICIAL DE BICICLOWN Y PROYECTO MOSAW
Musician Ben Sollee and His Band are Touring by Bike - Cello, Drumsets Included : TreeHugger
https://agilerascaltheatre.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Diu606Jmrjo
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/...ning-southward
Last edited by Jim Kukula; 11-30-15 at 06:11 PM.
12-01-15, 10:03 PM
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another example - birding! Biking for Birds: Adventure overview
12-01-15, 10:21 PM
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Sort of inadvertently, I have ended up doing "theme" tours.
My first Australian tour was an exploration of World Heritage sites.
And on our RTW tour, cows seemed to be the common theme.
In Luxembourg ...
In The Netherlands ...
In Western Australia ...
And of course the collection where we lived, and started the tour, and where we ended up for a few months when we finished the tour ... (click photo for more "artistic" cows than you ever imagined existed) ...
My first Australian tour was an exploration of World Heritage sites.
And on our RTW tour, cows seemed to be the common theme.
In Luxembourg ...
In The Netherlands ...
In Western Australia ...
And of course the collection where we lived, and started the tour, and where we ended up for a few months when we finished the tour ... (click photo for more "artistic" cows than you ever imagined existed) ...
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12-01-15, 11:40 PM
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There is also travel by bicycle which is not quite the same thing as a tour. I would call it a tour if the purpose is spread along the whole route, whether that purpose is just riding or whatever other activities get mixed in. I would call it travel is the purpose is just to get someplace, the purpose is concentrated at the end of the route.
E.g. a college reunion: Dedicated bikers ?cycle? energy into Reunion trip » Alfred University Online Magazine
E.g. a college reunion: Dedicated bikers ?cycle? energy into Reunion trip » Alfred University Online Magazine
12-02-15, 01:30 PM
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Here is an Exhibition Expedition!
Exhibition Expedition: Escape from LA | Adventure Cycling Association
Exhibition Expedition: Escape from LA | Adventure Cycling Association
12-02-15, 01:48 PM
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"My style? You can call it the art of fighting without fighting."--Bruce Lee, "Enter the Dragon"
