Bicycle Touring for Beginners
Avoiding Pitfalls when Planning your first Bicycle Tour
Advice for people planning a first bicycle tour: know your limits, take it easy, travel light, take your own bike if you can
Cycling is a fantastic way to travel. You’ll see and feel far more of the country than you ever could in a motor vehicle. And of course it’s better for your health and for the places you visit. But if you’ve only ever cycled for day rides, setting out for a longer tour can be daunting. Here are just a few tips to help you avoid the worst pitfalls.
1: Know your limits. What sort of distance do you like to tackle on day rides? Do you feel ready to go out and do the same distance on the following day? Call this your comfort zone and don’t plan a tour that includes days much longer than this. Remember that you’ll probably be carrying more and you might be on an unfamiliar bike, so you may want to stay well within that comfort zone at first.know your limits, take it esay, travel light,
2. Take it easy. Don’t get carried away, especially on the first few days. Take your time and build in plenty of stops for espressos, wine-tasting or just generally looking at the sights (but watch your hydration if you’re really going for the wine!). After all, you’ve got all day. If you start easily you’ll probably get fitter after the first few days and then you might feel like adding in a few extra detours.
3. Travel light. You’ll naturally need to carry more stuff on a tour than on a day ride, but if you’ve got to carry it yourself it really pays to keep the load to a minimum. And just because an individual item is light, doesn’t mean it’s worth taking. A ton of feathers is still a ton. The guiding principle is ‘do I need it’? Of course there are many companies which organise tours where your baggage is carried for you, and this can be an ideal way to ease yourself into bicycle touring.
Otherwise, plan to have a roof over your head every night. It could be 5-star hotels but if your budget is tight look at backpacker hostels, youth hostels and the like. Cycle-camping can be wonderful, but even the lightest tents, sleeping mats and so on soon add up to a substantial load. If you really want to ease yourself gently into cycle-touring, why not see if it’s possible to plan a route that lets you stay with friends or relatives at least some of the time?
4. Take your own bike. If you can, do. Some airlines will ship bikes for a very reasonable cost, provided you pre-book, but packing bikes for flying can be a pain - and what do you do with the bike-box or bag while you're off touring? A greener and often easier alternative is to go by boat or train; this is very feasible in most of Europe, for example. There are even dedicated Bike Bus services in some countries.
The advantage of taking your own bike is clear. You’ll be more comfortable. You’ll know it’s set up correctly for you; you won’t find your knees starting to creak on Day 3 because the saddle isn’t quite the right height. And the saving on bike hire often easily covers the extra cost of shipping it.
Of course you need to know that the bike you have is suitable for the tour you’re planning, but then for a first tour it’s a good idea to stick to terrain and surfaces that aren’t too different from your regular day rides.
If you do need to hire a bike, and there are several good reasons why you might, check out the specification in advance and when you pick up the bike take it for a test ride before signing for it. Make sure it’s the right size, that it’s set up correctly for you and that brakes, gears, etc, are in full working order. Otherwise, this sort of thing can happen...
