“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
– Albert Einstein
If you are preparing for your next bike excursion outside the state or country, planning, and packing may take a lot of time. From crafting the route to handling unexpected turns, safety measures, managing luggage, and more.
These challenges shouldn’t dim your excitement to explore new places. After all, the best way to enjoy a trip is on a bicycle! Being well-prepared reduces a lot of stress as you know how to handle tough situations. It makes an individual strong while staying down-to-earth.
So, why wait for the perfect moment? We present an easy guide to bike touring with tips for best bike selection, gears, and routes, packing smartly, and controlling on-the-road issues, to enjoy an adventurous journey. Also, learn about Exploring the USA on an E-bike by reading this article.
Pick the Best Bike for You
Your biking experience is enhanced if you pick the best bike that is sturdy and reliable. Nowadays, bikes are designed with many advanced features to travel long-distance comfortably and carry backpacks, without compromising the weight, balance, and strength to cross challenging terrains.
Apart from the duration, weather, and location, a few factors to keep in mind while selecting a bike for your journey are:
A long wheelbase for stability, steering speed, and balance.
Strong wheels with wide tyre and fender widths to endure difficult roads.
A low gear ratio is necessary for climbing steep hills.
A super stiff frame with good brakes that allows more control and balance while resisting force between front and rear loads.
Bicycle accessories – bike attire with helmet, GPS smartwatch, torch, portable charger, first-aid kit
THINGS TO CONSIDER A bike designed for bike touring will have lots of Braze-ons which are threaded fittings that accept bolts for attaching racks, water bottle cages, and accessories.
Craft Your Signature Routes
After picking the bike, the next step is to select a route for your journey. Whether you are a beginner or a seasonal biker, the type of travel you want to explore matters as much as the number of people you are traveling with.
It is easier to craft a signature route when you are solo biking, but it also means safety challenges. Bike touring with a partner or in small groups is the most popular. A few things that will assist you in mapping your biking trail are:
Type of terrain – hills or adventurous, cycling on the road or highways, mixed terrain, etc.
Season and weather for cycling
Consider traffic, road conditions, and distance
Create an online or offline map charting the complete journey from the starting point, stopovers, and final destination.
You can also use a cycling route app to plot and follow specific biking routes.
Prepare navigation tools for discovering new paths along the journey.
FUN FACT Ho Chi Minh Trail, Vietnam is one of the most popular cycling routes with a 2,000 km distance through jungles, mountains, historic sites, and cities.
Pack Smart Strategies
Packing smartly for a bike tour is relevant to managing balance while traveling. Carrying portable and weatherproof gear and clothes is necessary along with safety kits. However, if you are touring abroad, taking a bicycle in a cardboard box is unsafe.
What about incurring the extra fee during the airport luggage check-in? Well, we have a perfect solution for you – a bike box or travel case built exclusively for bicycles.
Yes, when your journey isn’t simple and assistance is required to pack a bike for touring, you need a sturdy and reliable bike box. With Ventoux bike box gear selected and routes plotted, packing properly prevents problems.
These bike boxes are lightweight, made of sustainable aluminum, available in different sizes for different types of bicycles, and can be customized as per requirement.
To enjoy a mile-high trip, your checklist should include the following:
Bike Gear – rack, panniers, typer pump, patch kit, inner tubes, chain oil, multi-tool, helmet, bike lock, and tail lights.
Clothing – 3 to 4 tops and bottoms that are weatherproof and sweat proof, inner wear, gloves, goggles, breathable shoes, and socks.
Besides these, choose between camping or staying in a roadside motel/hotel. Whatever type of adventure is feasible for you, it should be safe and provide easy access to restaurants. If you are traveling cross-country, remember to keep your passport and other IDs in a safe pouch.
Handling Life on the Road
As you pedal through challenging twists and turns, you may encounter unexpected events that may halt your journey. Though there are dangers on the road, it is always better to be prepared in advance. Here are a few things to keep in mind during bike touring:
Replenish Nutrition – Refuel energy stores constantly snacking small carb bites every hour and staying hydrated with electrolyte-infused waters, preventing dangerous fatigue and cramps while keeping power steady. Well-timed nutrition sustains.
Identify Safe Stopovers – Taking care of your safety should be your primary concern even if you decide to tour a well-known place. While biking, be sure to map out safe stopovers not just for checking bike tyres and brakes, but also to stay in a safe motel.
STATISTICS The graph here shows the growth and forecast of the U.S. cycle tourism market size by group from 2020 to 2030.
Riding Safe Out There
Precaution is better than cure, and when on a bike tour, it is necessary to be ready and take impromptu action in case of emergency. These are the tips highly recommended for riding safely on a bike tour:
As we mentioned earlier, keep a portable first-aid kit to recover from any accidents, as well as pills to relax our sore muscles.
Though it’s exciting to start an adventure of your own without the involvement of too many people, it’s always best to keep your close friends and family informed about your location.
If you are a beginner, then start your tour with a biking community and gain knowledge of the basic safety measures.
Document your journey either in a diary or through vlogging to have proof in case of any mishap that you need to report to the authorities. This habit also prevents many thieves from approaching you when you are traveling in a foreign country.
Overcome Bike Touring Challenges
Challenges in life or while bike touring can either hold you back or make you stronger. No borders can stop bicycle enthusiasts from crossing difficult terrains. To enjoy your ride, keep in mind the following things when cycling:
Check all safety bike gears before starting your bike tour. Expert cyclists suggest checking and changing your bike brakes beforehand is a good idea to prevent sudden accidents. Also, train yourself for at least 3 months before the trip to help your body and mind adapt easily. Learn bike repair and keep all your gear in an easily accessible place in your backpack.
Thriving Health – From boosted cardio fitness to strengthen legs churning uphill miles to building muscle – bike touring fosters tremendous full-body conditioning, benefiting lifelong active living goals. Achieve epic longevity!
Stress Relief – It’s a great way to explore the outdoors, away from the busy life that makes us anxious. The fresh air and meeting new people relieve stress and rejuvenate the body and mind.
Eco-Friendly – Though we cannot do much about climate change, when traveling, bike touring is eco-friendly, compared to other modes of transportation. Also in trend are e-bikes equipped with advanced features for navigating safely in unknown areas.
Conclusion
Bike touring brings great joy to people. It is a refreshing new way of traveling, exploring new places, and meeting locals. You may encounter many challenges throughout your journey. Some you may be prepared for and others may prove to be a hurdle.
The important thing to remember is to keep moving at your pace. Keep in mind all the suggestions offered in this article for a successful trip. And as you pedal on two wheels and happily travel through dynamic terrains, be ready for the adventure of a lifetime to remember.
