Bicycle Touring: A Beginner's Guide

For any of you who are new to bicycle touring, or you just want to get another take on some of the ways of bike touring, this is for you. There is a whole amazing and beautiful world waiting for you to explore, it just takes a bit of planning and preparation. This video can help you get started in one of the most rewarding, healthy, environmentally-conscious, and exciting activities you will ever discover. Cheers!

[@rcj4046]

A lot of sage advice here, folks. As a 54-year-old touring cyclist riding an old-school 80's-style flat-bar bike, I'll vouch for everything this video covers.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thanks for the affirmation!

[@rolandbrooks467]

Really happy that I’ve found your channel, I think I’m going to enjoy watching your vids. Found this one very interesting and helpful. At 72 and a life long Asthmatic whos recently been diagnosed with COPD as well, I’ve now been riding for around 6 months and managed a nice 30 miler last week. Really want to do some ‘touring’ and with the help of your vids I feel that I am one step, or peddle, closer to that goal, 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@TheBicycleTourists]

That is awesome! I hope you enjoy the vids, and more importantly, hope that you discover touring. No surprise that it's my favorite way to travel.

[@claudemarie9136]

Hope Roland won’t mind.... Some wonder ( like me) what happens when you have a critical mechanical in the middle of nowhere ? Whether you’re an elite professional endurance racer or an ordinary cyclist makes no difference if you have a tire wall damage beyond repair, you are stuck. It happened to Sofiane Sehili on his way to collect his new german competition rig between San Francisco to Reno and the incident is documented, check Bombtrack bicycles YT channel, title of the video reads “Welcome back Sofiane”. American kindness at its finest ! 🥰

[@TheBicycleTourists]

You know, that would've been a good section. Sometimes you're forced to ask for help from kindly strangers. We've certainly had to do that. It was a watershed moment for both of us, who are proud and self-reliant. I've also walked many miles for help. It's tougher here in the US, where towns and mechanics can be far and few between.

[@frankducett9]

Great advice on the higher spin. Very important. Thank you.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thanks Frank. It's something I have to constantly remind myself. I'm more comfortable with pushing through, but there is a better way in the long run!

[@markwinward500]

Great advice! I’ve been bicycling my whole life and finally have the time to check off a major item on my bucket list: the US Southern Tier (eastbound). This will be my first cross-country tour and will be unsupported - a kind of personal retreat. I especially liked your responses to perceived barriers to touring - which I’ll be sure to use as a response to people to why and how I could possibly do such a thing!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank you. That sounds awesome! Enjoy your adventure!

[@TonyNelsonCamping]

Hey folks, cant wait to get into this video....

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Hope you like it!

[@TonyNelsonCamping]

@@TheBicycleTourists it was very insightful, Roland. Thanks.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

glad to hear it!

[@siemenz1225]

Really inspirational! Thank you so much. Happy trails!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Glad you like it! Happy trails!

[@Josephsmith-iq6cp]

I absolutely LOVE your videos and watch them on the train during my commute to/from work. They put me in a happy place. I have done some bike touring and 100% agree with everything Roland said in the video. You do not have to be an athlete… all you need to do is start with a sense of adventure, do some planning (best to have a loose plan since it is more about the journey and the wonderful, colorful and interesting characters that you meet and the hidden gems of beauty that are off the beaten path that most people will never have the privilege of seeing), and do some reasonable training. Since cardio really helps get you up those hills, I would say that a three month 5k run training program would put you in a pretty good place but you could still have a good tour even without the 5k plan. The other suggestion that I have is to bike tour with someone that shares your sense of adventure. Roland and Julianna both exude this wonderful positive energy that enhances their experiences and makes the videos even more enjoyable!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank you so much Joseph! I have to say that the training DOES get harder every year. I've never been much of a runner (back and shin issues) but I always envy those who do it well. And while I would do this alone any day, having Julianna as a partner makes me one lucky guy!

[@maxdugan5319]

Another informative video. Even if you’ve ridden for awhile Roland always has new information that can help you be a better cyclist! Friday is pizza and wine night for Laural and I. Now it’s pizza, wine and Roland/Julianna👍.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Well thanks Max and Laural. That makes our day!

[@backyardrailroader]

Love the video. I have no plans on bike touring long distances. I purchased my bike October 2023 after 50 years of not riding at all. I spent the next 7+ m I nths testing both the bike and myself. Intook b a three day bike ride along the Great Alleghany Passage Trail around Meyersdale PA ( two days and 79 total miles) And one more day 25+ miles around Hancock Maryland It was enjoyable, for me.

[@Josephsmith-iq6cp]

I too have ridden the Allegheny passage and the C&O Canal toe path. It is a wonderful and beautiful ride. I loved every single second of the ride. It took 5 days to ride from Pittsburgh to DC. We did it in 5 days but my suggestion is to take 7 or 8 days and make more frequent stops than I did and to soak in the sights and historic areas.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thanks! the GAP is a great trail for an end-to-end or shorter rides. Lots of great rides in the area for trail riders.

[@spaceghost8995]

Hey man I did same thing! I finally bought a bike at 55 years of age and started doing some trips! GAP is great trail and I've stayed in Meyersdale along the way too! 😂

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yep, I remember Meyersdale. Many years ago, I was saved from a downpour by a chance vacancy at the Trailside Inn right off the path. Lovely town.

[@spaceghost8995]

On Amtrak with bike right now headed to Kansas City to start Rock Island & Katy Trail trip! Your vids helped further inspire me!❤

[@TheBicycleTourists]

We all inspire each other! Enjoy that lovely stretch of paradise!

[@allisonfrederickharteis7525]

I always appreciate that you don’t make the rides always look easy. You say and document the difficult things too. My husband, kids and I have done some touring and it isn’t always easy, but it is well worth it. Thank you for your wonderful videos. They are inspirational.

[@The-Scottish-Princess]

I "failed" on my first trip last week, expected to have to walk at parts i didnt expect the route i picked to be so bad. I did see people have done it although are recommend to get a ferry across a body of water although the road is a dogey road on the other side. I said fuck it all push it through, how hard can it be. Turns out my arms where dead and crawling through at a snails pace carrying up and down rock stairs! Lol. Although i did enjoy the time out it wasnt easy and took myself as far as i could but its a lesson for next time ! Listen to recommendations 😂

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank you Allison. While we're on the road we go with the flow, but it does take a fair amount of planning beforehand, to make sure you're not making climbs that are way above your abilities, or planning around weather. But there are always challenges, and that's why you can look back on it as an adventure, not a breeze.

[@kasinyvr9781]

Great video - again! We watched it in Cahors where we are in the midst of a 2,000 km bike tour of the Bordeaux and the Dordogne. You are right about “you can do it”. This is our 4th self-supported, credit card tour after about 6 commercial tours and there is no comparison. Doing your own is head and shoulders better. All your advice is excellent. The only thing I’d add is we are in our 70s and I had very little experience biking so we have used e-bikes for all of our self-supported tours. I simply wouldn’t have been able to ride 60+km every day for 6 weeks without e-assist. This year we shipped our bikes over from Canada and will keep them in Europe permanently, rather than continue to rent e-bikes. That’s how committed we are to bike touring. Everything you said about the joy of experiencing a village or region on a bike, the endorphins you generate from the exercise and the chance to simply be in nature for hours at a time is so true - bike touring is the most restorative and enhancing activity I can imagine. Thanks for spreading the word - your videos are terrific.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank you so much for your kind words. We have recently begun contemplating our move to eBikes, as Julianna's back may not allow her to ride much more without some assist. Also, we tend to favor routes with fewer hills, and I think it would be nice to open that up a bit. For example, exploring the Dordogne, very hilly but spectacular, as you are obviously aware. I also like your idea of having bikes there when you need them. May I ask how do you store them?

[@kasinyvr9781]

@@TheBicycleTourists We shipped our bikes to France via BikeFlights which was a fantastic service. Pricy but luckily for us, we and our bikes were in SoCal at the time and it was significantly cheaper to ship from there, rather than from Vancouver. After 55 days of riding our own bikes we are break even with the cost of renting and the quality is siginificantly better . We shipped them to a bike store in Bordeaux who received them, serviced them and we had to buy new batteries as you can’t ship the Li ion batteries via air. Our final destination on this trip is Nantes and we have found a TREK bike shop that will store them for us until we return in September and will service them so they are ready for our next tour. We have friends who cycle tour with Reise-Muller bikes they brought over from Canada (as oversized baggage, buying batteries here) and they have never had problems finding bike shops that will store the bikes and service them. They just did a massive tour, including the Pyrenees, finishing in San Sebastián - way too much elevation for us, and have left their bikes at a local R-M dealer. Our default plan, if we can’t find a willing bike shop is to find a small commercial storage unit which are as ubiquitous here as in North America. Small motorcycle sized units are quite popular in France so that seems to be a good option if you can’t find a bike shop. We highly recommend bike touring with e-bikes. Hills simply aren’t an issue any longer and in Provence last year, we weren’t bested by the Mistrals of which we had quite a few. With the e-bikes we anticipate bike touring for many years to come!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Your letter has encouraged us to discuss the eBike transition. Not quite ready yet, but soon, simply to be able to, say, tour the Pyranees, or the Alps, or the High Tatras, or even the Dordogne, regions that would be brutal on our bikes but doable on eBikes. Thanks for all your info. We're fortunate to have so many options these days!

[@DavidThomas-ec1ch]

Thank you so much, your videos are incredible and sheer enjoyment; I can't get enough of them, the quality, info and natural beauty is wonderful. I was so depressed when Julianna suffered a fall and injury, but also happy she was not seriously hurt. Keep up the splendid adventures!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank you so much David! You made our day!

[@davidjohnston1374]

Nice overall view of Bicycle touring and unlike many channels covering this kind of touring, i like the fact you're both not 20 somethings full of energy but an older Couple who still have the zest in getting out there and is encouraging for me to soon do the same.......I got the touring bike to do it, mostly now retired.....so all I gotta do is get some camping gear and head off into the wide blue yonder. I'll just do some 2 and 3 day overnighters to start....it's winter in Australia now and except for the winds, all the snakes and creatures are asleep and we have no bears to worry about.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Its a tough thing. I wish I'd done this in my 20s. But then I was spending all my energy on making a career, and then making a family. Now that we're retired we have the time, but you know, it's a lot harder now than it would've been 40 years ago. And getting harder every year!

[@StarEssences]

Thank you for positive encouragement and explanation in a lump summary, how to prepare for a Bike Tour. I discovered this activity back in 2016 and at that time learned much of how to prepare, what to bring, and what to expect through a young man named, Darren Alff; "Bicycle Touring Pro" who unfortunately, gave it all up last year. He had been Bike Touring for over 20 years of his life. I have yet to participate in a short trip (as you mentioned around 2 weeks or so). My hometown is San Diego, CA but since October of 2021 I have been residing in Las Vegas. We are going through the Hot Season which will last until the 2nd - 3rd week of September. There are bike paths, BDR routes, dispersed camping locations here within Nevada and also knowing that our neighbors are the following states: Utah, Arizona, California, Idaho, and Oregon. Lots to choose from. One thing for sure and where I know AI is beneficial; A bike rider can hardly GET LOST wherever they may roam. A good Bike GPS always guides where the bike rider needs to go.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yes, I remember Darren Alff. Put out a lot of great content. You're right about GPS. Everything is so much easier now than, say, fifteen or twenty years ago.

[@davidodell4687]

Hopefully, in 2 years, I can do cross-country all on rail trail. I'm hoping that it will be completely done. Love your videos.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Sounds like a great plan! I would caution, however, that the section between St. Regis, Montana, and say, Valentine, Nebraska, is a VERY long way from being completed. or even started, for that matter. With research you can find quiet roads to fill in the gaps, but the Great American Rail Trail is a vision, decades away from being completed. here are a couple of routing videos we've done, hope they help! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWe7fmNqZ8-lgpI kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZCamWCwbq-FnpY

[@davidodell4687]

@TheBicycleTourists Yes, I remember one of your videos. You basically flew out of Montana. I don't Blame you very dangerous. I'll avoid that completely hopefully

[@dennispiciullo8060]

I find this very informative. Yes, I have those fears. I think doing this alone would be hard, so a riding partner is a must. Since my wife isn't into it, I'll probably find a good friend. All in all, this sounds like fun, maybe one day. Thank you Roland!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yes, I hope you convince that good friend! One of the greatest feelings in life is overcoming fears, after all.

[@tonyorme6446]

Another informative video ..really enjoy your videos!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thanks, Tony!

[@ecorb6614]

Great job, Roland! As always. Thanks

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank you! And you're welcome!

[@HackHunter1835]

Im glad you didnt have any safety issues when you came into Columbus via the Camp Chase trail. The Hilltop / Valleyview area before you got to the Scioto trail, I myself would never ride that stretch of trail. There are just certain areas in the states that i wouldnt ride w/o a firearm.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

I didn't notice that there were any issues there at all.

[@lindahowes5949]

A wonderful way to kick off the weekend. 💜 Well done with great info. The bandage on your face @ 15:30 was concerning. I hope everything went ok! A bike incident?

[@TheBicycleTourists]

No, a bit of skin cancer. A nice, clean procedure which I'm recovering from now. All good!

[@claudemarie9136]

Salut Roland, So many points raised in just 19:05 minutes. Yet, there’s one particular point, I’d like to emphasize, it’s the importance of getting acquainted with the rules and regulations of the country/ies you are planning to travel. Let’s start with the 1968 Vienna Convention on road traffic which defines bicycle road worthiness. For the record, the US are a signatory to the Vienna Convention but never ratified it. Genuine question, is there something which defines bicycles road worthiness in the US ? As far as European countries are concerned, the Vienna Convention has been ratified by most (all ?) but it is not seriously enforced in many countries, Denmark being a noticeable exception. Since rear blinking lights didn’t exist in 1968, no regulation apply AFAIK. Per Germany's StVZO bike light regulations *no* flashing bike lights on either the front or rear of a bike. Ditto, NL and Austria. There’s a StVZO Reg which regulates front lights beam pattern (the aim is to avoid to blind other bike paths users and even other road users ( 🚗 🚛 🏍). I have no idea if it applies retroactively to bikes sold before that Reg came into force ? Then, old incandescent light bulbs “powered” by bottle dynamos hardly glowing in the dark never were an issue. Worth noting that European societies, in many ways, americanize, not necessarily a bad thing. Wrong time-wrong-place-Move-on-Nothing-to-see is no longer socially accepted. People, should an accident occur, do seek answers, rightfully so, and in court if needed. This works two ways, it protects cyclists but it’s only a question of time (if it’s not already the case ?) before some car driver invoked a distracting blinking light or that a bicycle wasn’t road worthy as a justification for having hit a cyclist.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Your knowledge of the law is impressive. I would hazard a guess that there are zero federal laws in the U.S. regarding bicycles. Zero. Local and state governments may have some regulations, but we have what I would call wild west rules. Do what you want until you hurt somebody. The regulations in Europe often chafe American's independent and lawless sensibilities, but I surely appreciate the reliability of the system, and the safety that comes with it. Interesting tidbit on flashing lights. We were shocked when a German police woman stopped Julianna and reprimanded her for her flashing lights. In the U.S., flashing rear lights are considered a mandatory feature (unregulated, of course!) of riding on roads.

[@claudemarie9136]

Ooops ! I should have remembered that incident mit die Polizei. Well, that’s no different in the Nederlands, I’d recommend you made a mental note about that, as well as in (unsurprisingly) Austria. Ah, knowledge of the law.... Good pupil syndrome, perhaps ? Then, how are you supposed to stay on the good side of the law, in particular abroad (I am far less concerned on home turf) if you have no idea of the law ?😉 Next, brace yourself, I am looking forward to discussing “Primitive camping” vs “Dispersed camping” vs “Designated campsites” your side of the pond. Spoiler : if you think that the US system is complex, wait until we compared it with Europe 🤪 You have gotten to “know” (virtually )me, I ain’t gonna miss an opportunity to demonstrate that the US compares favorably with 🇪🇺, should the opportunity arise.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

And I always defend Europe. Hard to compare the camping laws between the two. The US is full of public land, and wild places. It's much harder to "wild" or "primitive" camp in places with population and land ownership similar to Europe, as in, say, the northeast. But, yeah, much better camping and many more options here.

[@claudemarie9136]

It is indeed hard to compare 🇺🇸and🇪🇺 camping laws since this side of the pond, we have no european camping law, unlike the US we aren’t a full fledged federation, but 27 mind boggling camping laws, instead. If at first sight, the US system appears to be fairly complex, no matter what, understanding how one system works is simpler than 27 There’s more ! 🇬🇧 theoretically one country has very different camping laws whether you are in England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 or Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 ( also probably in Northern Ireland ?). In Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿, there’s a right to roam which compares very much with Scandinavian countries ( limitless regarding the later), « Right » to roam is much stricter in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 . Wild camping isn’t allowed at all in NL, even on someone’s private land with their permission. Then, you have Federal countries 🇩🇪 🇦🇹 and countries which aren’t officially Federations but where a Région, Región, Regione, Rejão or Provincie, Province, Prowincja can have various level of autonomy and where regulations may differ. France takes the biscuit with a very unclear legal definition of bivouacking (allowed) vs wild camping (not allowed). Last but not least, there’s that unregulated blurred zone in some particular places like the Alps or the Pyrenees where’s there might be a law (or not) governed by traditions more than by a law (again, if it exists?). You can’t be a shepherd and keep an eye on 🐑 all summer in the mountains without camping, bivouacking, whatever. Whether that ancestral privilege extend to visitors in natural parks should better be checked, on a case by case basis. Welcome in Europe, Roland !!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Quite the cluster! Especially in the UK (it brings up the question what is a nation vs. what is a country). But, it's all good as they say, When Julianna and I tour in Europe its more credit-card touring, we pack light and leave the camping equipment home in favor of staying in the guest-houses and inns. Gives us a bit more flexibility to wander the towns and soak in all that beautiful chaotic Euro culture!

[@SubtractiveMoves]

Hey Roland. Love your channel😊 I'm thinking of buying a touring bike and doing a coast to coast trip in the states and i was wondering if a 1995 Trek 520 is a good idea or i should buy a newer bike. I'm 55 and currently ride a Trek Madone 4.5 that i bought years ago when i was just getting into riding. I found out quickly that a race bike wasn't my style at all, but i still ride it. I know the 520 is a classic bike all around but I'm wondering if there is a better option out there. What do you ride?

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Hello, and thanks! I ride a discontinued REI brand bike: Novarra Safari. I love it. It's about ten years old. I'm not all that savvy with different models, but I've only heard good things about the Trek 520, a bike Trek has also discontinued. The brand and model are solid, but I would research to see if the age is an issue. For example, disc brakes are a great thing to have with all that weight!

[@SubtractiveMoves]

@@TheBicycleTourists thank you sir

[@KevinBeaver-h8u]

Roland, for domestic rail trail trips do you drive to trail heads, check your bikes on the airline, or ship your bicycles? If you ship I am curious which service you used? Also, for airlines, what kind of bike case do you use?

[@TheBicycleTourists]

All of the above. When we travel to Europe we check them on airlines. We use shipping bags (sorry, can't remember the brand and thy are packed away), and pack them with bubble wrap and swimming noodles. Julianna has a cousin in Switzerland where we rebuild the bikes and we store the bags. Many of the rail trails we've ridden here in the US we rode as part of a cross country ride, connecting long-distance trails. But we've also shipped across the US using BikeFlights.com. Once I used Amtrak to ship, very reasonable, using well-padded cardboard boxes.

[@jasonm4695]

When flying overseas, what do you do with your panniers???

[@TheBicycleTourists]

We have lightweight duffles that we stuff them into and put into checked luggage.

[@jasonm4695]

@@TheBicycleTourists perfect, thanks!

[@The-Scottish-Princess]

Where was this video 2 weeks ago !!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Dang. Timing is everything!

[@The-Scottish-Princess]

@@TheBicycleTourists ahh well i failed my first trip but learned a lot so can i really call it a failure ? lol

[@TheBicycleTourists]

No such thing! Live and learn, that's the only way forward!

[@robertmarr9104]

Everything OK? Been a while since you've posted any content.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank you for asking! Julianna's back has sidelined us and is requiring surgery in a couple weeks. By all accounts we should be back in the saddle sometime this winter or spring.

[@robertmarr9104]

Sending good thoughts your way. Back problems suck! Looking forward to seeing Julianna's (and your) smiling face down the road. Just watched a video series made by a guy who road his recumbent across the country.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

What's the name? I just started following a guy "something like bike" that has some of the best camera work I've seen.

[@robertmarr9104]

David Weber @davidweber9065