george yes done a few tours up your end of the country beautiful ,but valygrl is spot on you would need to extend this to a couple more days at least theres loads of campsites up your end mind you there all closed by now.when are you thinking of doing this maybe i could drive up to you a do it with you as long as your not looking for too much money lol.
btw george a picture paints a thousant words get it in your local rag.

I describe what I do as self-supported, fully loaded, or bike camping, depending on who I'm talking to. To myself I usually think self-supported to distinguish from a tour with a support vehicle.

It was interesting that the original poster said, :Self-contained touring lowers the overall cost of touring, while increasing the potential enjoyment and experience level." I agree, but I'll bet some don't. That's why touring companies with support vehicles can find customers. The original post also only mentioned racks and panniers. Again, this is my preference too, but I've toured a couple of times with a Bob trailer. It was self-supported.

Hi stephenjubb good answer (travel with no dependencies) Valygrl if you go to the first tread you will understand, george

Hi anto Tullymore forest park is open all year round, doing that wee tour in about 2/3 weeks, it might be snowing at the time like to meet you befor then george

I'm from Russia! We basically go in autonomous Biking tours. Because we do not have camping, etc. All the things we carry on a bicycle, as well as products for several days, preparing a meal over a campfire, cleaned in a lake or a river. If you want to autonomous tourism, come to Russia.

:)

"Autonomous" I like it...it fits well.

Hi BigBlueToe what did you think of the Bob trailer compared to panniers
george

The service that would be provided would be a good beginner's introduction to bicycle touring. We always talk about doing these million mile treks, and sometimes that can overwhelm people to plan out a long tour like that. You could call it the KISS tour, 'Keep It Simple, Silly'....

Not Big Blue Toe here, but I have toured with both. I prefer panniers. They are lighter than a trailer, have one less wheel and tire to be concerned with, and I found a trailer arrangement was far less stable when parking the bike. A trailer option also takes up more room...Amtrak, back of "pilot" pickup truck, in a motel, ETC. My trailer arrangment was dead solid on the fast downhills though...but so is my LHT with panniers.

We all depend on others to survive. In cycling, we ride on roads that others have built and maintain, buy food that others have grown and prepare, clothes others have fashioned, not to mention ride a bike that others manufactured. So I would say its very unlikely that any one of us could be fully self-maintained.

as far as carrying all the necessaries needed to survive, this potentially includes a credit card, passport etc. under some conditions its fruitless to bring a tent and a stove, in others extremely useful.

so I would argue for simply indicating what one carries versus what one obtains along the way from others, realizing theres always going to be a combination of the two.

hemmm i never toured in winter that should certainly test out the gear ,but not sure if i could make it but let me know what your plans are and i'll let you know.

In Russia no one is using a trailer, because we have poor quality roads. We are due to all this stuff we carry on luggage in a backpack. In general, cycling in Russia is different from cycling in Europe. We have a few days on the road can not be shopping, camping does not exist, credit cards are accepted only in big cities. In Sweden and Finland can not be considered an autonomous tourism in comparison with the Russian, as We have very few that are from civilization. Vobschem if you want to stand-alone tourism, come to Russia.

Absolutely Incorrect.

+1

I don't think I understand what the OP is asking either.

OP ...

Are you asking for a definition of what this tour of yours will involve? And this definition will go into a brochure or onto the internet?

Are you expecting people to pay for this "self-supported" tour?

What will people get for their money?

from OP

I am looking for the best shortest explanation of what a FLBT

Least words to explain a FLBT so other people that don’t know what a FLBT is

i.e. What is a Fully Loaded Bike Tour ?

thank for that stephenjubb
george

If stephenjubb's post is in answer to my post ... it doesn't answer my questions at all. But I guess it doesn't matter. If the OP doesn't want to answer the questions, the OP doesn't have to answer the questions.

Machka its really not that important

I am looking for the best shortest explanation of what a FLBT

Least words to explain a FLBT so other people that don’t know what a FLBT is so they will understand

i.e. What is a (FLBT) Fully Loaded Bike Tour ?

My Interpretation of a FLBT is

Its when a person will cycle on a bike and carry with him/her all the necessities needed to survive.
george

Hi Machka I have got the one I want
posted by Spatulor,

(I go camping, and carry everything on my bike) this is a FLBT

this is the one I will use
thanks for all the posts

Hi Machka my daughter suffered a Brain Tumour only this year and lived to tell the story, I do FLBTs for Brain and Heart victims
Cycle for your Heart & Mind living a dream.

If that's all you are after, then what was all the rest of the stuff in your first post about??

Fully Loaded Bike Touring is probably better called Self-Supported Cycletouring these days.

And yes, Fully Loaded Bike Touring is quite likely as you describe ... it would be what a cyclist cycling through the Northwest Territories or across the middle of Australia might do. With the exception of cycling into some very remote areas, Fully Loaded Bike Touring is an old-school way of doing self-supported cycletouring. Back in the old days, cycletourists did exactly that ... they carried everything they needed to survive for the length of their tour.

These days most cycletourists tour in areas where they can buy stuff as they go. They don't need to carry several week's worth of food with them anymore because they can stop at a shop along the way each day. If the temperature is chilly, today's cycletourist can stop in at a Walmart, or Op Shop, or wherever and buy clothing. If a cycletourist has three flats in a row and uses up all his/her tubes, he/she can stop in at the next bicycle shop and get more.

So Self-Supported gives the impression that the cycletourist has most of what he/she needs for the day, and the wherewithall (money, availability of shops, etc.) to get anything else he/she needs along the way.

Which brings me back to the questions valygrl and I were asking ... if this term is going to be used to describe a 25 mile tour into a local park, do you really think the term Fully Loaded Bike Tour would apply? How far away are things like shops, restaurants, etc?

Machka as I told you its really not that important
its only a small Fully Loaded Bike Tour of around trip of 50 miles for my local Hospice
the people that don't know what a FLBT is I thought I would try to explain in lay man terms what a FLBT is
(I go camping, and carry everything on my bike)
just for the locals to know what I am doing
I am not talking about going into the Sahara desert or a FLBT around the world

So call it Self-Supported Bicycle Touring then ... that might be easier to understand.

Support will not be provided to the cyclists, like it is for some tours, but you can find your own "support" (i.e. buy dinner at a shop) along the way if you want to.

Fully Loaded Bike Touring implies that cyclists will indeed need to bring absolutely everything they might need because there is no "support" to be had anywhere of any kind for the duration of the tour. These days, for most cycletourists, that sort of situation is rare.

I have already used (Im go camping, and carrying everything on my bike) so the locals will understand
but thanks anyway