250 mile tour, where to start??
 

Howdy everyone! Been a bicycler for the last six or so years, and despite the fact that I've always been interested in doing some camping via bike, have never had an opportunity. FORTUNATELY, I've recently met someone of a like mind, and am thinking of doing a mini-tour down the coast of Texas (from Houston to Port Aransas, one way).

The question is, where do you even BEGIN to plan for something like this? Are there any good references for route planning, how and what to pack, etc etc etc?

The plan is to pack as light as possible and take a good solid 3-4 days to get down there (camping along the coast), relax for another couple, then rent a car to come home.

Thank you in advance for any tips and tricks you could supply me!

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/
This website should have everything you need.
Selecting a bike, maintaining a bike, selecting tents, sleeping bags, stoves...
Fitness for Touring

You name it, somebody has written about it on Crazyguyonabike.

Basically you need to know only a few things. Does the route support camping, food acquisition, cycling. Are there any major issues like a huge city blocking your way, or bridges that may not carry bikes. Is it a mostly pleasant route. Are you in need of a very detailed plan because you have a huge to do list to punch (probably a bad idea). Can you bail if should need to.

If it is basically simple and non-threatening, then you really don't need to do much but start and keep on going. In ruralish areas often it is possible to wander without much concern and find camping food and water. Part of the charm of such trips can be the adventure of just playing the whole trip by ear.

Thanks for the link, that should keep me busy for quite a time!

And I like the idea of just wandering, not planning a complete route. Only slightly fearful of being lost forever :lol:

Has anybody had any experience purchasing and packing a fishing setup for touring? Being along the coast for a few days, would be an excellent chance for some fresh food...

Also, any suggestions for outfitting a carbon bike to carry SOME gear? My friend has a hybrid with mountainbike gearing and mounting points, so I figured I'd make them my pack mule, as I really don't want to go and buy a new bike for my first short tour.

Thanks guys. As always, love this forum :)

I don't think touring on a carbon bike is a good idea.
Touring bikes are built to take abuse.

Get an old used Mtn bike of decent quality and put Marathon Supremes on it.
And maybe drop bars.

If you are just getting started, anywhere will do.

But there is also the Rockies, the Pacific coast, I think it's called the Nashville Trace, it's a historic route in
the South I have been wanting to ride. You could fly into Burlington Vt and ride to Portland Me or Acadia, and fly out there.
Riding around Lake Champlain is great, except for some of the highways, you want to spend as much time hugging the coast
as you can.

Do a weekend trip first, even an overnighter. It will give you a much better idea
of what's involved.

It depends on how much you want to carry. Maybe consider a trailer.

Another resource is http://www.adventurecycling.org/ and especially http://www.adventurecycling.org/features/howto.cfm

That said when reading these remember that you can get your feet wet with very little and don't necessarily need all the high end stuff that folks might recommend. Cramming minimal gear into a saddle bag might be the way to go for you to start with.

Nachez Trace?

I would get a multi piece spining rod. If I don't have any idea what is available I normally carry ultralite since it is light to carry and normally a lot more likely to get you strikes, but it might be a bad idea for the ocean. I normally carry some generic lures like jigs. That said I mostly fly fish so I carry that kind of gear. In general though i avoid fishing on bike trips since it normally takes too much time.

A road bike can be really uncomfortable, be sure that you know the seat is actually comfortable on the longer days involved. I have had a lot of bikes that were OK for a few hours but not much longer.

If I was trying to get a rear rack onto that bike I would consider a rack that mounts to the rear axle. The top could be connected to studs lashed on with carbon tow and epoxy. P clamps sound like bad idea on carbon tubes.

As pointed out, read some crazy guy journals for some background. I have RV'd that part and a lot of the TX farm to market roads on that route are good. I don't know how you are going to get out of Houston. I know there is Brazos Bend SP where I would stop the first night leaving out of South Houston (or League City where I am for the next month or so) if not going to Galveston first. There are also some Lower Colorado River Authority parks and Brazoria County parks that have free camping or if you are going to motel it, there are places all along there. I am not too sure you get all that close to the gulf though as the roads seem to run a bit inland. Tons of RV parks if you want to take that approach and try and get a tent site at one. Sounds like a nice easy starter tour.

do you gave certain towns your looking at stopping at? Also, I would check with some of the local county sherrif offices about crossing some causeways if they are in your route. You may need to get an escort across them.