Originally Posted by
Jaymcb
I'm a university student and I've got a four month summer break from May 1st to August 31st. I'm thinking about touring through Europe in credit card fashion, but without the implied cashflow. I'd like to carry nothing more than a Sili-tarp, a change of synthetic clothing and rainwear, minimal toiletries, and a toolkit. Hopefully I can get by without panniers —*I'm thinking a seat post bag and a handlebar bag. I'm planning on making camp with the tarp for the most part, using the odd hostel where tarp-ing would be unfeasible, and accepting hospitality that people I meet along the way may offer. Ideally I'd like to use a carbon-frame road bike, like a Trek Madone 4 or a similarly priced alternative.
I'm looking for feedback, warnings, or any tips or tricks that you guys or girls can give me about this idea I'm musing on.
Thanks
"Accepting hospitality" is all well and good as long as it's offered. You really need to assume nobody will want you anywhere near their home and work on the basis that anything better than your baseline is a bonus. Otherwise, as someone already said, you're going to be sleeping under bridges and in woodlands a lot of times.
You don't say where you live at the moment. If you're somewhere in southern England then getting to Europe is easy. If you're already in Europe it's easier still. If you're in north America, Australia etc you've got to figure air fares and shipping your bike both ways.
I don't doubt you can do an extended trip based on sleeping wherever seems warm and dry at the time, as long as you consider basic concepts like personal hygiene. Where are you going to wash, for instance? Where will you do laundry, and how often will you need to do laundry if you've only got a handlebar bag? You don't want to spend your whole trip doing laundry but you have to wash your clothes every once in a while or you'll soon be very unpleasant to be near. Of course if you look and smell like you haven't washed or shaved in a month but you're riding an expensive bike, you might draw attention from police who may assume you stole the bike.
At least give some consideration to how much space you're going to devote to carrying food. If you're doing this on the super-cheap you probably can't afford to eat out very many times so you'll need to get by on cold food you can buy and take with you, or the odd hot snack you pick up along the way. I'm sure some folks are hardier than I am, but I can think of few things less cheerful than spending a day riding in the cold and the rain with nothing to look forward to except sleeping under a tarp where you'll still be cold, and not even having a hot meal to look forward to. Take it too basic and you won't even have a hot cup of tea to look forward to.
Your call, but something done so cheaply makes no sense to me, especially if you're wanting to do it on an expensive bike, which will bring its own risks of theft etc.