Bicycle Touring

How far can you go on your bicycle? You too can answer the call of the road.

You’ve passed them before, that large group of bicyclists riding between towns; or one or two people on their bicycles, loaded down with all their gear, pedaling through a beautiful, scenic valley.

You might have wondered: "Where are they from, where are they going and what adventures have they had on the road?" You might have thought that you’re not ready to ride that far or carry all that gear. Well, you can do it, and this article will show you how.

Bicycle touring is a great way to travel. You can ride fast enough to cover a respectable distance in one day. But, you are going slow enough to actually experience the land you traverse.

Consider what you are missing in your car: As you ride you can hear a brook bubbling under a bridge, smell alfalfa from a freshly cut field, see cats sunning themselves outside a barn and feel the wind at your back and the sun on your face. You experience the rise and fall of the terrain as your body moves you efficiently down the road.

Bicycle touring takes many forms. This allows you to tailor your first trip to your current level of fitness, to the bike you own and to the amount of time that you have for your bicycling adventure.

Your adventure can be a ride to another town to spend the night, a weekend fund-raising ride, a week-long tour or a trip across the country carrying all of your own gear on your bike.

So, how do you pick your first tour?

The first thing to do is evaluate your bicycle, your camping equipment and your riding experience. What kind of bike do you have? What kind of tires are on it? Can you add racks for panniers (saddle bags) to it? What is your experience and interest in camping? Is your camping equipment big and bulky and more suited for car camping, or compact and lightweight? Do you like riding with a big group or a small group? How far have you ridden in one day? After answering these questions, you can then decide what kind of tour you want to try first.

A mountain bike with low pressure knobby tires takes more energy to ride a long distance on the road than a bike with smoother, higher pressure tires. It is advisable to exchange those knobbies for a smoother set. High pressure skinny racing tires, on the other hand, are great for high speed cruising but may not be well-suited to carrying heavier loads. A slightly wider tire may be a better choice. Your local bike shop can advise you as to what tires will work best. The shop can also tell you if you can add racks to your bike for carrying more gear.

If you like to camp, but are not ready to take everything you need on your bike quite yet, try this: Ride your bike to a nearby park or campground and have friends or family meet you there.

If you are not prepared to camp, you might want to try riding to another town, where you have arranged to stay the night at a friend’s house or at a motel. This is a good choice, whether someone drives your gear there or you carry just a change of clothes and ride home the next day.

If you dream of doing something more substantial, there are many organized bicycle rides and tours that have great support for the riders. Some are just for fun, but many are fund-raisers for various charities. You can indulge your wanderlust and do a good deed for society at the same time.

On these rides, your only requirements each day are to wake up, eat, and spend the day riding to the next town while enjoying the wonderful scenery and the companionship of other riders. Meanwhile, your gear is hauled between towns for you. What could be more fun?

Start planning now if you long for the open road; want to be self-contained and self-sufficient; and want to leave the world behind. First, choose a destination a reasonable distance from home. Then load up your bike and start pedaling. With each successive trip, pick a destination farther down the road.

Before long, it will be you riding through that beautiful scenic valley, and those people in the cars that pass you will be wondering, "Where are you from, where are you going, and what adventures have you had on the road?"

John Rider was one of the organizers of Wisconsin’s sesquicentennial bicycle ride from Wisconsin to Washington DC. John is an Effective Cycling Instructor and lives in Madison.