BootsnAll Travel Community

So anybody here traveled distances on a bike. If so were you always a avid biker and just took the skill to the road or did you travel for the first time on your bike.

Curious about how one starts to Bike long distances. How did you get started.

This is the longest bike ride I have been on.

It involved a lot of training of different types. This ride is basically a party on wheels across the state. I have been an avid biker off and on in my life.

Madhu,

Are you talking about eventually traveling a country and using a bike as the soure of transportation. Or are you just talking about doing a long ride over a few days. Say riding from SF down to SD to come down and see me. I do need someone to kill those spiders for me after all

Anyhow, there are a couple of ways to go about it depending on how serious you want to be and what your ultimate goal is. Let me know whay you were thinking of doing and I'll give you what help I can.

So what am trying to look into is should I walk across Spain or bike.

So right now in a evaluation stage.I'm not a biker but on the other hand i know its better on the knees and my back than walking.

So..am still in the thinking stages. I have time so want to make sure either option am prepared.

and nine...stop being such a wuss.

I reckon horsebacking it would be a great compromise between walking and cycling - you could even walk a bit when the bum was sore and leading the horse carrying your gear would be easier than wheeling the bike.
Even Madrid has this huge open area right alongside the city so tethering the horse for some grazing may not be too much of a problem.

Horse is not an option.

The problem is am not good with animals..i don;t know what to do with them and they know that too. I first time a pet a dog..really pet one was about 2 years ago. I'm not squimish but I don;t seem to connect with them. A horse def would know this. I rode one last year and let me tell you that took a lot of courage on my part. She knew my discomfort.

I'm reading a book right about this guy who took a Donkey as his means of transport...reading this book is not encouraging.

Thanks though...

Cheers
M

Step 1) Buy a bike
Step 2) Ride!
Step 3) After an hour or so wonder what the hell you were thinking off
Step 4) Collapse into a guesthouse and drink lots of liquid.
Step 5) Repeat for however long you want.

I decided on a whim that I would try cycling tour, so I bought a bike in Singapore and five months and 3000km later ended up in Bangkok.

My previous experience was that I had bought a bike about a year before, my first bike with gears and would sometime ride a total of 20 miles at the weekend.

As long as there is plenty of shops/guesthouses on the route and not too many hills nothing to worry about

If it wasn't for cycling I would never see dawn

I biked around Greece for a few months. I'm still planning a bicycle tour across Europe. Just waiting for the right moment...

A few photos from the trip here: gallery.linuxfortravelers.com

I'm back on a bike again! Cycling North of Thailand just now. Biking along flat roads is very different from chugging up and down hills though.

I'm in Thailand as well, and spent all of last week in Hua Hin. I just missed meeting a couple of RTW cyclists at my guesthouse by a couple of days. They've been at it since 2002, here is their site: www.downtheroad.org

Hi Madhu

I don't know where you got the idea that walking is bad for your back and knees. It's quite wrong. Often the contrary.

The choice could be made by the time available. You obviously have plenty. Consider how long it would take to walk your chosen route and then how long it would take to ride it. See which you prefer.

Cycling such distances is probably easier than walking.

How to do it, you just make a choice, the rest should follow.

Hey Madhu,

My wife and I go out for a month long bike tour every year and in June of 08 we'll be leaving for a 6+ month tour with no real plan (at this point).

To focus on what I sense is a concern:
Every year we meet people that haven't ridden bikes since they were kids before deciding to head off on 3,000+ mile self contained tours. All have seemed to be having a great time.

We backpack as well but bicycle touring is what we prefer.

I happen to be the creator of a unique photo gallery of expedition bicycles. Check it out: www.fullyloadedtouring.com

I get images from around the world and to limit my workload I set the gallery requirement for front and rear panniers. You can carry enough in a trailer alone or depending how you go, with just two panniers. You can also find a bike that will work for this purpose for very little $ depending on where you look. Some of the bikes in the gallery are little more than old mountain bikes.

Cheers

Not sure this is still an issue...but I reckon I keep the thread alive for others who are interested.

I've done cycling trips in California (SF to Santa Barbara) and here in Western Australia (Perth - Bunbury, 210 km on the road and Munda Biddi Trail, 320 km off-road).

I'm currently planning a bike trip in Tasmania with a few friends. There's either 1000 km on the road....or a mix between off- and on-road routes.

Recently, I've been reading quite a few travelogs by cyclists in Asia....and the idea is forming to ride through Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

As much as I love cycling, I never thought I'd consider such a trip. But I'm starting to get convinced that the 'slow way' is probably the most intimate one to travel a country.

As for training...obviously every ride that you do helps. But...you tend to build up fast and best while doing it. Day 3 and 4 tend to hurt anyhow - whether you trained or not. So, just get used to the saddle a bit, and then jump in.

Would love to hear from / talk to some people here who did long tours in Asia - especially Indonesia, as this seems the least cycled country around there...

a.

I have found the pleasures of bike touring in other countries to outweigh the travails by quite a bit. Most of my best travel experiences have been on a bike.

I did a fun but difficult 2000km tour along the dirt roads of Patagonia for three months in 2002:
Biking Patagonia

And about a month of cycling around N. Thailand last summer:

SEA Blog

And here is a great BnA-esque bike touring website:

Crazy

Just been reading through your Thailand bike adventures Mark. Good trip, good writing. Kudos.

The bike gets more and more appealing to me. Obviously, we will wait till we accomplished our 1000 km Tasmania trip before we'll make any decisions on an extended Asia bike tour. But...for some reason I believe that Tasmania will only support the current tendency.

Again, if there are any other bicyles tourers around here in BnA: please share your touring experiences.

Adrian

I'm going off in one, two, three, four, 5, 6, 7...21 days (whopee!) to make a tour around Britain and Ireland. I guess I'm one of those who just decided extempore to make a bike tour abroad without too much experience on long distance cycling.

I was first planning an interrail trip or equivalent in Europe, but then decided to concentrate on the British isles since the culture(s)interest me very much and I have only been there when I was a wee baby. First I thought of purchasing a train/bus card, but because they're so expensive and the isles are rather small I opted for a bike. It allows one go where one likes and is a lot cheaper at least on short distances.

I guess I ought to make a couple of longer rides here home before setting out on the big journey, but I only have an old city bike which doesn't quite temp me to go.

I wouldn't worry too much Anttipop - look at it this way: if you are really unfit and ride really slow, say 8 - 10 km/h, and you get up early - you'll still be able to easily ride 60 - 80 km a day.
I'm somebody who prefers short and fast rides in the 20 km/h area (obviously that depends on the topography and is only really possible on tarmac). I always find the biggest issue I have at the end of the day are not my legs...but my back-side. So, I'd rather ride 5-6 hours hard than 8-9 hours slow. But that's me.
I don't think you need to train before your trip. Just make sure your first 2 or 3 days are not too long and plan a break after day three (to me day 3 and 4 are always by far the worst...afterwards it's getting better). Afterward you'll just get strong and will be able to raise the bar.

Are you going to ride alone? Or will you be riding with (a) friend(s)?

Let us know how it is going! Would be cool get a few riders writing here....

A.

quote:

The bike gets more and more appealing to me. Obviously, we will wait till we accomplished our 1000 km Tasmania trip before we'll make any decisions on an extended Asia bike tour. But...for some reason I believe that Tasmania will only support the current tendency.

My only thought on this elAdi is that you could cycle SEA when your 55. And there are many overland routes that you're thinking about doing that you may not be as enticed to do as you get older and older. Overlanding Africa by your own vehicle comes to mind. It's just my opinion

But, I myself have quite a few cycle journeys in mind as well, but I am just way to young to do them yet. And SEA, I'll probably be doing that when I am 70.

Not quite sure I get the logic behind this, halfnine. I do see the basis of your argument. However, to me the things 'I will do when I am old' are more in the line of safaris, sight-seeing, etc. I'm not sure if a 12 - 18 months cycling tour starting in Indonesia is really something I'll consider when I'm 70 (plus, I won't reach 70 anyhow, so there! )
I do see the point that there are other places where we could cycle. But my gf hasn't been to SEA and wants to go...and 'backpacking' through SEA just bores the hell out of me. So, the compromise is a extended cycling tour. Who knows, maybe a cycling tour in Africa will be next on the list. 'One thing after the other, like they do in Paris.' (Strange Swiss German proverb, that I have no clue where it has its origins.)

We have been and are still thinking about actaully starting in PNG and then entering Indonesia in Papua. 99% of people tell me it's impossible - but there is one guy who did it: Cycling Home From Siberia. Would that be hard core enough to warrant the trip?

quote:

But my gf hasn't been to SEA and wants to go...and 'backpacking' through SEA just bores the hell out of me. So, the compromise is a extended cycling tour

I understand now. I'll be checking out the progress on your website either way.

Thanks for the link.