irpheus

Hi bikers,

I'm in the process of planning biking worldwide and am looking for books that can give me an idea about:

- the best time of the year to bike in different parts of the world, including wind directions, monsoons or the like,
- other information that is relevant for biking in different regions

I've borrowed Stephen Lord's "Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook" and find it to be fine, but before buying it would appreciate a second opinion.

Book Pdf files or similar is preferred, as I'd like to travel lightweight.

Thanks for looking - and will appreciate suggestions.

Greetings,

Jesper

fietsbob

this is a good place to start : https://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3327

CTC is a 130 year old Cyclist's organization in Britain

irpheus

Hi fietsbob - I took a look at the link but am not quite sure what to look for ... Do you have a specific link in mind?

Regards,

Jesper

mjww

May I suggest "Adventure Cycle Touring - Worldwide Cycle route and planning guide" by Stephen Lord. I have edition 1 but Edition 2 is now out. For specifics on individual countries, the Lonely Planet series can be expensive if you buy one for each country, but is an invaluable source of information.

Mike

fietsbob

I'm suggesting CTC is the oldest cycling organization in the world,
they will have all that accumulated knowledge. of thousands of cycletourists.

why not use the Join link, first? https://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4088

fietsbob

read lots of journals on
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/?o=lt

Pre Tech .. I tended to just get a paper map when I arrived , not much for micro-planning.
photo copied part of one of the maps on file at the University's Map Library, part of the Geography Department.

Maybe there is a Kindle version of everything FS, thru Amazon, to use on their hardware.

Machka 

Since you seem to be mainly interested in weather, check out this site:

https://www.timeanddate.com/

Check out the holidays in the right column, then type in the name of the city you want information on in the search box in the top of the left column. You'll get weather for that city, plus a whole lot more.

These are also some useful resources:
https://www.voyage.gc.ca/preparation_...n/menu-eng.asp
https://www.voyage.gc.ca/publications/bon-voyage-eng.asp
https://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/menu-eng.asp
https://www.intercultures.ca/cil-cai/...uspays-eng.asp
https://www.customs.gov.au/site/page4224.asp
https://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/re...Travellers.pdf

Rick Steves mainly talks about travelling in Europe, but you can get some decent travel advice there. I love watching his shows.
https://www.ricksteves.com/

Some other sources of information ...

Lonely Planet: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/

Fodor's: https://www.fodors.com/

National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/

Outpost Magazine (HI Canada's magazine): https://www.outpostmagazine.com/

Hostelling International: https://www.hihostels.ca/

irpheus

Hey all,

Thanks for your suggestions and ideas :-)

@Machka: Yes, I'm pretty interested in the weather. There's a Dane travelling a lot on bike and in one of his articles in the magazine "Opdag Verden" - it's Danish and means "Discover the World" - he mentions how he rode three weeks in head wind in Iran. I'm not into comprehensive planning but would like to discover things like that beforehand. Not that I hope to ride the world with a tail wind :-), although it might be speedy - but head wind for a longer period of time takes its toll on me. And I guess one month of constant rain would do the same. So it's something like this I'm after..... Or the impossibility of getting through Burma - as I understand it in Stephen Lord's book.

@Mike: Yes, Stephen Lord's book is interesting. I'm reading the first issue right now and my reason for starting this thread really was to hear if there was a "better" alternative - preferably in electronic form. But I find it has a lot of valuable information so will buy it as a reference and use other sources as a supplement.

@Fietsbob: Thanks also for suggesting the crazyonaguy link. Looks interesting as well. And just a brief note on the Kindle - as far as I understand Kindle books can also be used on a PC so it's not only on a Kindle. I hope to bring a ~ 10" laptop and if I can would like to keep all my information here. And as far as I can see Stephen Lord's book has not been published electronically.

Thanks again for suggestions and reading :-) Look forward to riding and meeting people & the world, although there's still a bit of time before leaving .....

Jesper

Machka 

Just keep in mind that the information you'll receive will be the average or the norms. There's a good chance you'll encounter those conditions, but it's not a guarantee.

Australia is supposed to be a very dry place, for example, but I have been here for a total of 17 months in 3 different visits, and as I've travelled around, I've completely lost count of the number of times I've heard, "It was a lovely, sunny, dry day here yesterday, we don't know what happened" ...... as I'm standing there in a cold pouring rain.

So, just because the weather information you get says that the normals are one thing, don't mail home all your the clothing to deal with other things.

irpheus

Hi Machka - thanks for considering. Yes, I realize that being out there may be different than predictions assume. I'm hoping to get an overview so that I can either avoid or foresee major obstacles.

As for now I've sent an email to trailblazer guides publishing asking them if Stephen Lord's book is/will be available in electronic form.

Enjoy your sunday - if it's still sunday where you are...

Jesper