Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Touring
Reload this Page >

First tour! Help wanted...

Search
Notices
Touring Have a dream to ride a bike across your state, across the country, or around the world? Self-contained or fully supported? Trade ideas, adventures, and more in our bicycle touring forum.

First tour! Help wanted...

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 09-19-18 | 01:46 PM
  #26  
Banned
 
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 43,586
Likes: 1,380
From: NW,Oregon Coast

Bikes: 8

OK in Spanish? how about Argentina/Chile?
fietsbob is offline  
Reply
Old 09-19-18 | 02:00 PM
  #27  
spinnaker's Avatar
Every day a winding road
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 6,538
Likes: 63
From: Pittsburgh, PA

Bikes: 2005 Cannondale SR500, 2008 Trek 7.3 FX, Jamis Aurora

Originally Posted by axolotl
You ignored all of the OP's criteria entirely. I don't know why you bothered responding when you have had zero experience in going to the places the OP mentioned. It's also clear that you have no interest in going to the places the OP mentioned.
Again who elected you the forum police?

OP is considering going to Asia so that blows your whole criteria theroy out of the water.
spinnaker is offline  
Reply
Old 09-19-18 | 02:05 PM
  #28  
spinnaker's Avatar
Every day a winding road
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 6,538
Likes: 63
From: Pittsburgh, PA

Bikes: 2005 Cannondale SR500, 2008 Trek 7.3 FX, Jamis Aurora

Originally Posted by Chr0m0ly
Lots of good stuff, and some off topic stuff that’s still good stuff!

The about to be newly Mrs. Chr0m0ly has her heart set on Asia. She’s mid thirty’s, I’m about to be 40, so before kids she wants a big adventure.

I know it’s a stressful thing, and it’ll be a learning experience, but it’s still happening. We may end up in Cambodia without bikes, but we’re looking at SE Asia.

DUN dah DUUUMM!!
You could always rent and do sort of a spoke and hub tour. Making a day ride out and back from a central location.
spinnaker is offline  
Reply
Old 09-19-18 | 03:34 PM
  #29  
mev
bicycle tourist
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,626
Likes: 464
From: Austin, Texas, USA

Bikes: Trek 520, Lightfoot Ranger, Trek 4500

A few general comments on what you asked:
1. I really enjoyed Thailand and found it pretty easy to tour and not too expensive assuming the air miles got you there first [knowing nothing else that what you posted, this would be my preference].
2. I've also toured in Cambodia and Vietnam. In comparison, I found Vietnam a bit more hurried and chaotic and Cambodia less developed, though I'm guessing this also depends where you ride.
3. As far as touring inside the US goes, Amtrak from CHI to NOLA is pretty simple. However, at least the roads I picked were a bit narrow and busy. There might be better choices. Some of the roads I picked in Florida were also busy, though I found at least the interior (away from Orlando) to have some quieter choices. The nights in the Southeast will be warmer than going further Southwest where the lower humidity also results in more of a day/night swing.
4. Personally I also enjoyed cycling in Baja Mexico. It took me longer than the two weeks you have allowed, but riding down the Baja Peninsula was a trip I enjoyed and there were plenty of tour reports I found of others doing a similar trip.
5. My own Christmas trip this year is likely to be starting in Brownsville, TX and cycling north up to Abilene. South TX is ok over that time, though slight possibilities of freezing/icing roads to watch out.
But even with all that if you can get there with air miles, I still like Thailand .
mev is offline  
Reply
Old 09-19-18 | 05:19 PM
  #30  
Chr0m0ly's Avatar
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Titanium Club Membership
10 Anniversary
 
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,619
Likes: 385
From: Back in Lincoln Sq, Chicago...🙄

Bikes: '84 Miyata 610 ‘91 Cannondale ST600,'83 Trek 720 ‘84 Trek 520, 620, ‘91 Miyata 1000LT, '79 Trek 514, '78 Trek 706, '73 Raleigh Int. frame.

Hey guys! No need to get heated!

My thoughts were with two weeks (We do have those weekends on either end, so 15/16 days) my original thoughts had been maybe the south west or Mexico. But when I was talking to my sig. she had the whole Asia thing in mind. Wasn’t phased by the 24 hours on a plane each way either.
I really don’t care where we bike, I just want two weeks where our “job” is to wake up, pack up, eat a thing, and get to the next dot on the map. So for me the rides the thing, and for her, she wants to see jungles and ruins.

I am ABSOLUTELY aware that this is a huge bite to take on, and will be stressful. But she wants an adventure. The difference between a vacation and an adventure is an adventure has a larger possibility of failure.

Its true we have not bike toured. But I have loads of hiking experience, and general “being outside all the time for a week or two” experience. We both have spent days in the saddle on occasion, and we are aware we are inexperienced.

So I figure starting easy with mileage for a few days, get used to the bike handling etc. Take some overnights before hand, long weekends before we go, we’ve got months to train... take some loaded mini camping trips.

Besides you know I’ll be posting about it, it’ll be way more entertaining to hear about how we had to backtrack 82 miles when a bridge was washed out than how we had a delicious Key Lime Pie at a lovely diner, right?

I’ll start looking at tickets, and the miles, and I’m going to edit the opening post to include the new information about south east Asia. But Cambodia is looking tempting. Maybe I can get a few days on one or the other end of the break to make it less crazy of a time line.
Chr0m0ly is offline  
Reply
Old 09-19-18 | 05:48 PM
  #31  
spinnaker's Avatar
Every day a winding road
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 6,538
Likes: 63
From: Pittsburgh, PA

Bikes: 2005 Cannondale SR500, 2008 Trek 7.3 FX, Jamis Aurora

I thought is was this December? You only have 3 months. That is not a lot of time.

Another US based suggestion would be Georgia. You could even drive there from Chicago. Georgia has lots of pretty little towns to explore.

As far as Asia. As I suggested why not consider a combo tour / vacation spot? You could back bags for a few overnights and for a ride from a "home base". Don't be afraid to use a train or a bus to get you out of the city if that is were you decide to stay. Something like that would require a lot less planning. Just pick a location, throw some stuff in a bag and go. Return to your home base and repeat the next day or two. You would get your adventure without too much risk. Heck just going to Asia is an adventure on its own.

With your 40 mile limit, that is going to require some real planning if you want to do a multi day tour. No matter where you stay tent or hotel, you will need a place each night. Not too awfully difficult to plan but 3 months is not a whole lot of time to figure out where to stay, what route to take etc etc. Personally I would want at least a year to plan such a tour. Something like the Great Allegheny Passage that I have done so many times, yeah give me a couple of hours to pack and I am off. But Asia? That would take me some time to plan.
spinnaker is offline  
Reply
Old 09-19-18 | 06:31 PM
  #32  
Member
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,080
Likes: 170
I would suggest you look at some online resources to get information about accommodations and ground transport options for Cambodia, Thailand, & Vietnam:

Rough Guides & Lonely Planet have good sites. For example, here's a link to the Rough Guides description of accommodations in Cambodia:

https://www.roughguides.com/destinat...accommodation/

I also suggest you look at some trip narratives for your potential destinations on crazyguyonabike.com: Bicycle Touring: A place for bicycle tourists and their journals

I found that touring in Thailand was just as easy as touring in North America or Europe, and in some ways, easier. Laos isn't as developed and has a much smaller tourist infrastructure and population density. I haven't been to Cambodia. A guy I toured with in Laos much preferred Thailand & Laos to Vietnam. I never made accommodations reservations (except for my first night when arriving in Bangkok or Chiang Mai). I don't think you'd have too much of a problem with a 40 mile limit in most of Thailand. I don't know about Cambodia. Like mev, I preferred Thailand among the countries I've toured through in SE Asia.

Around xmas & New Years, you're probably looking at an airfare of at least $1,600 each. Prices are about half that a few weeks later. You also need to see what the baggage rules are for each airline you're considering, esp. if you're bringing your bikes.
axolotl is offline  
Reply
Old 09-19-18 | 07:05 PM
  #33  
spinnaker's Avatar
Every day a winding road
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 6,538
Likes: 63
From: Pittsburgh, PA

Bikes: 2005 Cannondale SR500, 2008 Trek 7.3 FX, Jamis Aurora

Maybe you could find a supported tour there? It would be more expensive but all the planning would be done for you. And you could do more miles since they will be likely hauling your gear. The issue would be timing. A tour might not match up with your weeks you want.
spinnaker is offline  
Reply
Old 09-19-18 | 07:06 PM
  #34  
djb
Senior Member
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 13,910
Likes: 1,241
From: Montreal Canada
Se Asia it is then.
do take into account the time to get over jet lag, 12 days is pretty short to deal with 6 hrs plus of time difference.
If at all seriously interested in biking in SE Asian countries, look up recent trip journals on Crazy guy on a bike, where searching for a given country will give you more insight into riding in x country, including real cyclists views on traffic and whatnot.
General take I've seen is that no need to take camping gear, and accommodation and food is inexpensive, outweighed by sometimes wackadoodle driving from folks.
Crazy guy is a great resource for good solid info, I used it a lot researching trips in Mexico and Central America.
As an aside, Southern Mexico and non touristy areas were really neat riding through and people very friendly.
As someone who has toured a fair amount, I'd just add to be realistic about both of your riding comfort zone around traffic and being both calm yet fast reacting to potential dangerous traffic situations.

Have fun planning.
djb is offline  
Reply
Old 09-19-18 | 10:13 PM
  #35  
saddlesores's Avatar
Senior Member
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 3,814
Likes: 434
From: Thailand..........currently Nakhon Ricefield, moving to the beach soon.

Bikes: inferior steel....alas....noodly aluminium assploded

Originally Posted by fietsbob
....FWIW a friend is teaching Music* in a school in HCM city, Vietnam, now..* (He came back and picked up his recumbents* to ride while there....

well, there's your answer. you have a friend in saigon who happens to be a biker.


can you say "ấm vòi sen chủ nhà"?


roundtrip to saigon, spend the first day there with your friend recovering from jet lag, get some riding advice from friend, ask friend to store your boxes for a couple weeks, spend 10-12 days riding tropical southern vietnam while your friends back home are freezing their "mông"s off, return to friend's place, pack and fly home.


should be plenty of options around hcmc to keep you occupied. alternate would be to fly into phnom penh (visa on arrival), then cycle to saigon (need visa in passport first), have your friend get some bike boxes ready, fly out of hcmc.


you can arrange your visa for vietnam online if flying into the major airports. if crossing by land, you need a visa in your passport from an embassy first.






Last edited by saddlesores; 09-19-18 at 10:19 PM.
saddlesores is offline  
Reply
Old 09-20-18 | 12:46 AM
  #36  
Banned.
 
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 1,030
Likes: 5
From: France

Bikes: Brompton, Time, Bianchi, Jan Janssen, Peugeot

If you choose SE Asia you need to be aware of several things.
  1. Health. If you're going to cycle in rural areas such as the Mekong delta of the parks of Thailand consider rabies shots. Dogs are everywhere and they tend to steer clear of humans, but rabies is endemic and frequently, at least in Thailand, rabies regions are declared. You'll also need Hepatitis A and Typhoid, though I'm not convinced by the latter. These are the Air France recommendations, by the way.
  2. Medical insurance. Be aware that both health and care can be primitive, certainly in Cambodia and parts of Vietnam, so health insurance that covers evacuation you to a Thai hospital is a good idea, Thailand has the best facilities in the region, outside of Singapore and Malaysia.
  3. Camping. As someone said, forget the camping gear, you won't need it. Hotels and hostels can be had for very little in all three countries, plus food if you're willing to eat off the street (I do)
  4. Water. Buy it, don't drink tap water, and don't wash your teeth in tap water either. Make sure your bikes have 2 bottles each, and fill wherever you can.
  5. Clothes. If you can find a locker at the airport or a hotel dump your winter clothes there, you won't need them. Wear high visibility T shirts - see 11 below.
  6. Heat. Travel in the early hours, and stop early. I'm having to do a 100km leg in Cambodia early next year. Thankfully there are buses on my route and I'll be taking a folding bike, which trains, taxis and buses usually take without a problem. How many would accept a touring bike, I don't know.
  7. Planning. You need good maps, and, if you're using a smartphone, download the maps you need before you go. Companies like Komoot have extensive maps, though areas like Tonle Sap don't have much more than the main road marked.
  8. Language. In rural areas no-one speaks English, and even in the major cities you won't find many outside the tourist industry.
  9. Smartphone. Assuming you have one, buy a SIM on arrival - you can do so easily at the airports in Thailand, and there readily available HCM. You'll find them easily in Phnom Penh too, but, if you choose to go over a land border, they're not so easy to find. The big advantage is the prices are cheap, local calls are often free, and you can use the in-built GPS for next to nothing. Well worth the effort.
  10. Food. Eat in the busiest places you can find. Street food has a fast turnover and is usually fine, especially in the popular places like Yaowarat Road in Bangkok. Similarly, the tourist restaurants in Siem Reap are fine.
  11. Traffic. It's your choice, but Thailand has an unenviable reputation for accidents on the major highways. Smaller roads are fine, and you'll now find bike paths in some areas, including, paradoxically, Suvarnabhumi Airport. For the major cities, especially in Vietnam, motos are a real menace.
  12. Tourist havens such as Pattaya (don't go) or some of the islands have every rip-off imaginable, so be wary both of friendly locals and tourists offering great deals, to help you out etc etc.
My picks? Siem Reap, because everyone should visit one of the great sites on the planet, Angkor, plus the Cambodians are lovely people, and the roads are quiet so cycling between the sites is easy. Big selection of accommodation. Second would be Hoi An in Vietnam - again, good infrastructure, plus you can visit the thriving city of Da Nang then continue to Huế on a spectacular railway trip that crosses a range of hills/montains on the coast. Third choice would be Hua Hin and south to Bang Saphan, which takes you through some National Parks and lovely coastal areas. There's a bus that connects Hua Hin directly to Suvarnabhumi, so getting there is a breeze, and you can sleep off some of the jetlag on the way.

One final thing: do check with your Foreign Affairs department for travel warnings before you leave. Border areas in particular can be hot spots.

Last edited by avole; 09-20-18 at 05:44 AM.
avole is offline  
Reply
Old 09-20-18 | 05:34 AM
  #37  
djb
Senior Member
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 13,910
Likes: 1,241
From: Montreal Canada
Chromo
please take all these points into consideration
Avole-excellent points, and most will apply to a non biking trip as well

Chromo, in my opinion, taking points like these into consideration and seriously is a given when planning a trip like this. Being both aware and planning ahead of time for possible eventualities is part of the "plan for the worst, hope for the best" attitude to responsible trip prep.

I absolutely agree on eating in popular frequented eateries, this was my rule in Latin America.

Last point, if you end up biking, use mirrors and hone your constant glancing into them, and being extremely situationally aware at all times.
i use a Take-a-look mirror mounted on my helmet visor. Visors help a lot with strong sun.
Daydreamy riding is not recommended--again, I'm relating to my experiences in other parts of the world, not asia.
djb is offline  
Reply
Old 09-20-18 | 09:26 AM
  #38  
alan s's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 6,977
Likes: 191
From: Washington, DC
By your name, I’m assuming you will bring a steel bike so the local smithy can fix it.
alan s is offline  
Reply
Old 09-20-18 | 10:52 PM
  #39  
Senior Member
 
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,150
Likes: 49

Bikes: 2013 Surly Disc Trucker, 2004 Novara Randonee , old fixie , etc

Originally Posted by Chr0m0ly
Hey guys! No need to get heated!

My thoughts were with two weeks (We do have those weekends on either end, so 15/16 days) my original thoughts had been maybe the south west or Mexico. But when I was talking to my sig. she had the whole Asia thing in mind. Wasn’t phased by the 24 hours on a plane each way either.
I really don’t care where we bike, I just want two weeks where our “job” is to wake up, pack up, eat a thing, and get to the next dot on the map. So for me the rides the thing, and for her, she wants to see jungles and ruins.

I am ABSOLUTELY aware that this is a huge bite to take on, and will be stressful. But she wants an adventure. The difference between a vacation and an adventure is an adventure has a larger possibility of failure.

Its true we have not bike toured. But I have loads of hiking experience, and general “being outside all the time for a week or two” experience. We both have spent days in the saddle on occasion, and we are aware we are inexperienced.

So I figure starting easy with mileage for a few days, get used to the bike handling etc. Take some overnights before hand, long weekends before we go, we’ve got months to train... take some loaded mini camping trips.

Besides you know I’ll be posting about it, it’ll be way more entertaining to hear about how we had to backtrack 82 miles when a bridge was washed out than how we had a delicious Key Lime Pie at a lovely diner, right?

I’ll start looking at tickets, and the miles, and I’m going to edit the opening post to include the new information about south east Asia. But Cambodia is looking tempting. Maybe I can get a few days on one or the other end of the break to make it less crazy of a time line.
I think you have a solid plan. You're already bikers & backpacking seems more demanding than bike touring anyway. US tours can be fun but nowadays there's less regional differences & also not the same challenge as int'l touring. Many folks say taking bikes overseas can be easier than domestic airlines. Starting off with lower-mileage days will also make it easier to get used to time-zone difference I think.
DropBarFan is offline  
Reply
Old 09-21-18 | 12:32 AM
  #40  
saddlesores's Avatar
Senior Member
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 3,814
Likes: 434
From: Thailand..........currently Nakhon Ricefield, moving to the beach soon.

Bikes: inferior steel....alas....noodly aluminium assploded

found this online....bike tours with bikes included, or bike rental. not a recommendation.....and there must be others out there.



https://www.spiceroads.com/destinations/cambodia


they have a 14-day tour from saigon to bangkok. a bit expensive at $2750, or can rent bikes in bangkok or chiang mai at about $15/day.


and googles shows us a bunch of bike rental shops in saigon....imagine schlepping two bikes to o'hare in the snow and slush would be a miserable experience.
saddlesores is offline  
Reply
Old 09-21-18 | 03:13 PM
  #41  
Full Member
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 428
Likes: 24
From: No certain place. Catch me when you can.

Bikes: I'm not a guy - brand doesn't matter.

Wasn't going to contribute but since someone above suggested southern Cal, here's an idea. Fly into LAX or SD airports and bike part of the coast or inland area. 3 years ago from Nov-Feb, I biked from Oceanside down to the border (lots of things to see and do for free), then east over the mtn pass into Imperial County. (This is Mexicolandia, so altho I don't condone it, you could use your Spanish to your heart's delite.) then back to Oceanside and north along the coast to SLO. Imperial county is flat and all farm land - easy to camp next to haystacks. SD County is hilly. Then you could bike up the east side of Salton Sea to Joshua Tree Natl Park. You could use Amtrak to return to either airport. I did this portion of the trip in 3 weeks, but was only biking about 20 miles a day max. It gives you a varied landscape ( ocean, desert, farms, etc) and terrain. Temps can be chilly, but not like in the north. And the state is in a perpetual drought, so altho winter is the rainy season, you probably won't see much.

Last edited by travelinhobo; 09-21-18 at 03:18 PM.
travelinhobo is offline  
Reply
Old 09-28-18 | 06:40 AM
  #42  
Member
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,080
Likes: 170
Originally Posted by Chr0m0ly
I’ll start looking at tickets, and the miles, and I’m going to edit the opening post to include the new information about south east Asia. But Cambodia is looking tempting. Maybe I can get a few days on one or the other end of the break to make it less crazy of a time line.
Any update on your plans?
axolotl is offline  
Reply
Old 10-16-18 | 09:46 PM
  #43  
Chr0m0ly's Avatar
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Titanium Club Membership
10 Anniversary
 
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,619
Likes: 385
From: Back in Lincoln Sq, Chicago...🙄

Bikes: '84 Miyata 610 ‘91 Cannondale ST600,'83 Trek 720 ‘84 Trek 520, 620, ‘91 Miyata 1000LT, '79 Trek 514, '78 Trek 706, '73 Raleigh Int. frame.

Update!

Here it is.

We are packing our bikes onto an Amtrak in Chicago, and heading to Louisiana for a Hanukkah ride to end in New Orleans for New Years. Other than Chinese and a Star Wars movie on Christmas is there anything else to check out? We’re thinking about getting out in Hammond and bike to Nola along the Mississippi.

What do you’all think? Good riding around Nola? Places to hit?

Last edited by Chr0m0ly; 10-16-18 at 09:49 PM.
Chr0m0ly is offline  
Reply
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
claire
Touring
1
04-01-11 11:00 AM
TSaldiran
Touring
21
09-30-10 09:26 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.