jeneralist 

I'm rediscovering the fun of cycling after, well, childhood. This year I started late in the season with occasional commutes to work (~8 miles each way) and have gradually increased my distance to 35 miles or so on a nice weekend day. My goals for next year are a metric century in the spring, an English century by the fall, and (if I can get the time off) a touring vacation.

Question for the group: any experience with/insight on Adventure Cycling's "Intro to Road Touring"? The thought of starting with a small group of other newbies appeals to me, but I also wonder if I might not be better off just doing a 300-mile or so "beginner's" tour (C&O, etc.) I've got some experience with *motorcycle* touring, so the idea of carrying everything I need in not too much space is something I've grown accustomed to.

Thanks!

raybo

The first tour I did was a fully supported, high-end Bicycle Adventures trip through Utah's Canyon lands. While it was a fabulous trip through Utah's fall colors, it was very expensive (high end meals and hotels) and while I spent a fair amount of time on my bike, I also spent a lot of time in the van! It is the only supported tour I've every taken (though, it is the only kind my wife may be inclined to take, so I may take more yet).

So, I recommend just jumping in. Gather your gear, get it all on the bike, and ride off. You don't need to start with a 300 miler, unless you want to. How about a quick week-ender to a nearby campground/state park just to see if you like it?

While there is nothing wrong with a 300 mile tour as your first taste, it might be a good idea to test out your body and gear on a shorter ride so that if something goes wrong or you simply hate it, you aren't stuck on a long ride you don't want to finish.

Ray

John Nelson

This seems like a personal decision. Do you think you'd like touring alone or in group? Do you want to make your own decisions and make your own mistakes, or would you rather have someone guide you? Do you have and want to spend the money on the class--it ain't cheap? Would you rather do your own independent study, or have someone teach you (both ways are very doable)? Are you in a hurry to learn, or do you have time?

My advice is if you think you would enjoy the class and can afford it, do it sooner rather than later. If you wait too long, you'll aready know too much to take it. Read this forum (and others like it) for six months and you'll already know too much to take the class.

I agree with Ray about your first tour. Ride out on a Saturday and home on a Sunday. It's a good way to learn.

cyclist2000

I always think that beginners to long tours should start with some of the supported cross state tours. These are normally low cost, well organized, provide frequent stops, have friendly people, carry your gear and will have sags. The larger ones have people of all speeds. Some will have layover days that you can ride addition loops or rest if tired. and you can carry your own gear if desired. Then you can see if the touring bug has bit you.

Cyclebum

Like John said, more of a personal decision. As you've got self supported touring experience on 2 wheels already, I doubt that a solo bicycle tour would have any huge hurdles for you to cross. Especially if you''ve conditioned yourself for long hours in the saddle. An overnighter to check out your equipment is strongly advised, supported or unsupported.

The social and logistical benefits of a supported group tour can not be discounted, if you've got the money and a high degree of tolerance for the idiosyncrasies of others.

Cyclesafe

I've taken four ACA unsupported tours. On all of them most of the participants were touring for the first time. Read this forum for a while and take a real ACA unsupported tour. If you're like me, you'll find that even in a group, people tend to ride independently and a solo tour really differs only in that you'll have to decide where you stay and what you eat for yourself.

sonatageek

I did my first tour late this summer with an experienced neighbor on the Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal trails. It was about 250 miles round trip and we all stayed in B&Bs 00 no camping so a lot less to carry.

That worked out really well -- sometimes we road together and sometimes we road alone for stretches, but we met back up at rest stops. It was nice having people to talk to, people to eat with and someone to turn to if a problem arose.

BigBlueToe

I've never taken any kind of organized tour. It's always been just me heading out. I've never even been able to find a partner, except once I took a group of 6th graders to camp at our local hiker/biker site - about 2 miles from home!

I've met bike tour groups on the road and they seemed happy. Happy to have someone else in charge, happy to have a support van, happy to make new friends. I met a group in Montana. I was riding along a big lake and some people in a pull-off flagged me down and beckoned me in. They had a portable table set up with ice water, ice-cold lemonade, fruit, pretzels, folding chairs, etc. and they were very willing to share. They were an organized tour from the American Lung Association. Riders carried no stuff. The two ladies in the support van carried everything (including sagging riders, I assume) stopped at various places along the way for comfortable rest stops, and set up camp prior to the riders arrival. It looked like a pretty fun, plush way to tour.

But there's definitely something to be said for being completely independent, and knowing that everything accomplished is done by you alone.

If you have the money and want to try a supported tour, go for it. (I'd like to try one but don't have the extra money.) I'm sure it would be fun, though undoubtedly not perfect. Anytime you have someone else involved in decision-making there are bound to be disagreements and compromises.

If you want to strike out on your own, go for that. Read this forum and check out some journals on CrazyGuyOnABike.com. I recommend some short tours to start - maybe a three-day weekend? It takes awhile to refine your packing list. What to bring and what to leave at home is the big question, and everyone has a slightly different answer. Keeping it light is vital, but only you can determine which items are must-haves.

Have fun!

sstorkel

I did my first tour this year: 500 miles down the well-documented ACA Pacific Coast route from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles. I did a "credit card" tour to minimize the amount of gear I had to carry and also the extra work associated with camping. I thought it ended up being a great first tour! For me, eating in restaurants and staying in cheap motels was a nice compromise between camping and doing an expensive organized tour.

njkayaker

Part of your decision might be whether or not you want to travel alone or not. One advantage of a group tour, even if you don't always ride with other people, is that you can camp/eat/etc with other people. (This is really important to some people.) If you can't easily find friends to travel with, the ACA trips solve that problem.

jeneralist 

Thanks for the feedback, gang.

The "read a lot, try an overnighter, then do what feels like it comes next" school is a lot more in-tune with my personal style. I'm in Philly, so there's plenty of great routes for me to explore for my overnighter...

next year, after the snow stops

cyclist2000

Good luck on your first tour, make sure you get a lot of training miles in, that will make for a good experience.

bstromberg3

[Question for the group: any experience with/insight on Adventure Cycling's "Intro to Road Touring"? The thought of starting with a small group of other newbies appeals to me, but I also wonder if I might not be better off just doing a 300-mile or so "beginner's" tour (C&O, etc.)

I spent much of last winter reading this forum, and learned a LOT. My interest had been piqued when I saw several pairs of touring bikes in Yellowstone National Park. I already had experience with packing, camping, etc. on wilderness canoe and kayak trips.

My wife and I attended ACA's Intro to Road Touring camp last June (we called it 'bike camp' ). I didn't really need it, because of this forum, but I'm glad I went because of my wife's interest. This was my wife's initiation to touring, although she'd done several supported road trips. She really liked it. For reference, we're in our 50's.

Couple comments: It was $600 for the week; you could do a lot of solo touring for that. The meal planning/prep is oriented to being with a group, like ACA non-supported trips. We had a great group of people and our leaders were just the best. With my wife, I'd start this way again in a heartbeat. If just me, like others said, go out for an overnight shake down, then a weekend, then longer.

Good luck and have fun.

meaculpa

Rivendell's got an article devoted to the idea that smaller excursions can be just as good: https://www.rivbike.com/article/bike_...ing_vs_touring.

Personally, I want to try out a sub24hr. Its sounds like a reasonable way to work out the particulars of self-supported touring...and you can always just grab a motel room.