Bicycle Touring

[InbetweenDreams]

Firstly, has anyone done any bicycle touring in the US, if so I'd love to hear all about it.

So when I was a kid I enjoyed biking all over the neighborhood. Never did any kind of race or really went very far as a kid. Once we moved here to NC stopped riding, parents weren't comfortable with the idea of us riding along the highway and that's all understandable.

Since I have been training for this triathlon I bought a new bike and started biking around and I really enjoy it. Then I started wondering if how far people have gone on bikes hearing about century bike rides and so on. Well turns out bicycle touring is fairly popular. There's folks who bike the whole globe bringing only what they need in panniers.

So I have been thinking about doing some bike touring around the area where I live. Figure I would start off doing a 3 day weekend once I have all the appropriate gear to do it. Then if it all goes well I think I might go for a longer tour and go across the state.

So for those who don't know what bike touring really is, I mean I'm pretty sure everyone gets that it is traveling on a bike, but how it all works. Here's kind of what I have gotten from it all.

Most people recommend a touring bike which are similar to a road bike but are designed to be more comfortable and have mountain bike gearing, they have very low gears for climbing steep grades, wider tires of some light off road use and because they are made out of steel are a bit more flexible than rigid aluminum/carbon frames. That being said you can tour on any bike...even a Wal-Mart bike if you're willing to throw money into it.

In my case I bought a bike for doing the triathlon with, it's a hybrid bike which is supposed to be a crossover from a road bike and a mountain bike but rest assured it's a road bike with wider tires, not at all suited for going off the pavement in my opinion. The problem with the bike I have is it is aluminum and had cheap rims on it and probably could use lower gears for climbing. So I have some upgrading to do i think, I'll have to consult the guy at the bike shop. Although here in the US most people bike for sport and not so much for travel/tourism, so might be a head scratcher for some.

I've watched several documentaries about people biking across the country which has inspired me to seriously consider it. I think it would be very rewarding to travel afar on a bike and being able to see the world in a way that most people don't get to experience. I mean I can go to the grand canyon by car in 5 days but you miss out on a lot, the small things, the cool, the weird and the adventure element.

I think a good place to start is a how to. I'm leaning towards pulling a bike trailer over using panniers. I think keeping the weight off the bike would be a good idea, less likely to have issues with the wheels, broken spokes and so on.




Another very good documentary, just to show anyone can do bicycle touring...you don't have to be an olympian. Although I do suggest that someone get a physical to make sure they do not have any underlying health issues.




This guy is kind of a pothead but also a pretty good documentary, a lot of good stuff with the scenery...





The other thing I gave some thought about was recumbent bikes, particularly the trikes. I like the idea behind them however I also think that being so low to the ground that visibility may become an issue. This guy bikes all over the world on a very expensive recumbent trike...

Also has a lot of good videos on touring...

[JohnMusic]

I love riding my bike and yesterday rode it 20 miles in 90 degree weather. It really pisses me off seeing people on cell phones riding around in their metal protective box while people on bikes have no protection from that except to be very very very very careful. I would like to get into good enough shape to do this also. But i do not think i am yet. Good luck with this.

[InbetweenDreams]

Well if you're doing 20 miles you're doing pretty good. The thing about touring is that it isn't a race, you can 40 miles a day and be just fine. In fact that's what a lot of people do, about 40 miles a day...stop a lot, eat, drink...take pictures and so on.

I'd love to find someone to do it with me but that's not very likely lol

[JohnMusic]

Well if you're doing 20 miles you're doing pretty good. The thing about touring is that it isn't a race, you can 40 miles a day and be just fine. In fact that's what a lot of people do, about 40 miles a day...stop a lot, eat, drink...take pictures and so on.

I'd love to find someone to do it with me but that's not very likely lol

Me and me boyfriend sometimes take snacks.

A few years ago me and my bf rode to the beach. We had to cross the santa cruz mountains from san jose to santa cruz.. It took about 3 hours and i do not think i can do that today. We took a bus to get back over the mountain. By the time we got there we were too tired to do anything but get on a buss and get back home. But it was fun.

[InbetweenDreams]

[MENTION=23514]JohnMusic[/MENTION] Yes, definite take food if you're going to be hours. Climbing mountains is very difficult. I live on the eastern side of the country so had to google....looks like that in one way is close to 40 miles...that's a lot especially with a lot of climbing.

Don't get me wrong there are people who can do 100 miles in a day and even more possible if it is downhill a lot, but otherwise you have to be able to put out a lot of energy and be able to take it in too.

Now here's the thing I'm trying to decide on is whether to go with a trailer or by racks and throw panniers on the bike. I'm almost convinced to go with a trailer. This way I keep the weight off the bike reducing the stress on the wheels, spokes and so on. Plus if I decide I want to haul more stuff I can add an additional rack to the trailer or to the bike itself and carry panniers...however I think that would be a great deal of weight to carry.

Here's what I'm looking at...
https://www.rei.com/product/882667/burle...ke-trailer