Although it has been a few years since my last significant bike tour, I don't recall ever having met another bike tourist who was anything but welcoming and kind. So I guess the above post comes as a bit of a surprise.

In my own case, I did most of my touring during college and grad school, but with a subsequent job and family found that my time really was no longer my own. I have a few months this summer where I hope to be able to reverse the trend.

Some things have changed significantly since then, probably most notably how people pack and what kind of bikes they ride. When I last did this, the Central Dogma was that you needed larger panniers on a back rack, smaller ones on the front (preferably attached with low-riders), and if you were like me, you then had a handlebar bag, as well as a (heavy) tent, pad, and sleeping bag strapped to the rear rack. A bike like a Trek 520 seemed to be the standard option.

The ultra-light approach came along while I was distracted by life, so in some ways I probably know less than someone starting out for the first time, since a lot of my assumptions about how to do stuff (both implicit and explicit) are obsolete. So I ask a lot of questions.

While I watch the seemingly endless rains (90" as of today) on the CA coast, I'm trying to assemble what I need to try some light-packing for on- or off-road touring this summer, and have found the input of many here to be exceptionally helpful and valuable.

I think if this sub-forum were to become an exclusive club, it would be to everyone's disadvantage.

I have yet to tour, and with so much going on it appears I will never tour. Oh, I go for weekend getaways but not for weeks on end. That said, I don't contribute much to this subform but I learn a lot here and live through those who do getvto tour. I have the bike and equipment and the desire. Just not the time. Maybe when I retire.....

I think you've just taken something out of context. The Touring forum is generally pretty helpful and welcoming of various touring experiences. There is, however, a history here of folks with little to no touring experience wanting to argue a position they've arrived at w/o basis. They read something on a hiking forum, they intuitively "feel" some component is inferior, etc,etc. BF is going to allow anyone to participate, it's the numbers that count for them. Forum users have to decide if someone's a flake and not worth the time. We've survived liars, braggarts, thieves and actual crazy people! That's part of the fun.

It's also great preparation for wide variety of folks you'll meet when touring.

On this forum, as in life, if you keep feeding the trolls....

State your experiences and knowledge and let go. It is up to the receiver of the info to discern what is best for them. The constant back and forth between all the "experts" really does nothing for the person asking for advice, just share what you know, and move along.

Weekend getaways are touring. Ride somewhere. Sleep not at home. Return. See S 240. ( Sub 24hrs) too.

We need this

BF Touring Forum:
I first discovered this forum after a 30-year hiatus from touring. I wanted to learn what people were doing and learn about the equipment & techniques people were using, especially what had changed in thirty years. First hand experiences of recent practitioners doing longer self-sustained tours was what I read and found to be highly valuable. After completing my first modern-era tour I started to post here in an effort to help by adding my first-hand-experiences to the knowledge bank.

What makes this site valuable to me is first-hand, real-world, touring experiences. I've got no problem with people trading ideas, dreams, and fantasies as long as they clearly portray them as such, and not as something they've done or used in the real-world.

IMO: People who live in a fantasy-world and post as expert touring practitioners are trolling for their own self-aggrandizement. Calling these persons out is reasonable and important to the integrity of the group. Asking only for up-front and truthful posts/posters is reasonable and should not be considered exclusionary.

I read, thought, planned, read some more...then went on a tour, now I feel authorized to speak as well as reading, thinking, and planning some more...

Unless you are going to name names and specify objectionable posts, there is no point in asking the mods to ban certain people. Standards, if there are any, are highly subjective. If you feed the trolls, then stop. If you ignore the trolls, they will eventually tire and move on to more fruitful territory. Also, it may help if you don't take this stuff so seriously. Everything is in your control, if you want it to be. If someone crosses the line and attacks another member unfairly, then the mods can and should step in. Best advice: grow thicker skin (HTFU).

Dunno, that is up to the mods.

I do know without this forum, I may have never gone on my first tour, and almost certainly wouldn't be headed on my second. I agree with wgscott, if it were just highly knowledgeable folks sitting around talking, it would be a detriment.

In any case, the one benefit of much of the arguing? It quickly gave me an idea of who can actually back up and prove what they were supporting (i.e., knows what they're talking about), and perhaps more importantly how different individuals preferred to do things, that has been invaluable in applying widely varied opinions on a broad subject to my particular situations.

Sensible and to-the-point.

I haven't toured yet, so I hope I'm not lumped into the OP's theme. I probably ask some stupid questions, but I feel that I have a decent amount of experience both in bicycles and backpacking that I can use to contribute.

I also feel that if someone is not maliciously trolling, and just asking a newbie question in the proper forum, then by golly its all good. I doubt that Touring sub in BF is meant to be exclusive to only people who have touring experience, because without verbal intercourse, there is no exchange of information and no validation for what you have accomplished.

I used to post in this section alot as I genuinely wanted to ride out to California (from Mississippi) on my Trek. I had rode a sportbike there a few years prior and just cant stop rambling or at least itching to.

I would study maps, study here on BF and ask questions freely.

I never actually lost interest but the fears scared me too much. I was riding a Trek 1200 at the time and was eyeing a LHT or a 520. Just never envisioned me being able to actually travel any actual distance where there were hills involved- as in Vicksburg right before crossing the river. Also, how do you cross the river unmotorized? Then I figured I would die in desolate west Texas from the heat, sun, lack of water and no stores for miles and miles.





I do love seeing you guys on the road loaded down though!

Experience does not necessarily bring knowledge. And vice versa.

So, are you going to be drawn to the flame like a moth?

Closed.
The quote in the OP is from a "Foo" thread, not a Touring thread.

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