A place to let everyone know where your are, how you're doing, what you have planned. Pretty much anything you don't want to make a post about.

Hi,

I (20M) am planning a cycling trip for this summer and need advice/support First of all, it will be my first long tour (approximately 550/600 kms), and I will be all by myself so I'm kinda scared.

I'm planning on doing a tour across Brittany in France in July 2025 and I'll probably be cycling for about 20 days (not a fan of doing 150kms per day, like to take my time, it's trip not a race you know). I think that I will mostly do wild camping and maybe a few real campings to take a shower, stuff like that.

I came here for advice : -knowing that I cycle a lot, have already done cycling trip over a day (up to 150kms) and will do overnighter/2-3 days trip before the one in July, do you think that it's too ambitious?

-how do you guys deal with food for such a long time ? Do you bring stuff to make your lunch/diner or do you solo rely on restaurant/sandwichs?

-concerning lonileness, is it really hard or is it doable to make friends along the way/you get used to being alone ?

-if I don't cycle during the entire day (I will probably do some stages that are 20ish kms long for my rest days), what do you do the rest of the day ? Sleep, get bored and voila ?

I hope that I've been clear, since English is not my main language, don't hesitate to ask if you need precisions

Next summer, I'll have 7 weeks free, maybe 8. I really want to reach the nordkapp, but also see some of the norwegian fjords. I'm thinking of going through sweden to the nordkapp and then head down to tromsø or even bodø to take the plane home. An other option is from sweden to bodø and then to the nordkapp via ev1. I could prabably catch a plane home from Alta.

For norway, I'll probably follow the eurovelo 1

For sweden I've looked at the eurovelo 7, european divide trail and the sverigeleden route.

For Finland, I've looked at just following the eurovelo 7 or taking a piece of the Arctic Post Route

I would love to hear your experiences with these routes and what you would recommend. I know i can do 100km/day easily, expecially in sweden. But i dont want to rush everything.

Hi fellow bicycle tourists,

I searched for posts about this but didn't see any.

Let's assume 8-10 mile hike, 3 hours over reasonable trails in dry and warm conditions. I am trying to think of ways to avoid carrying heavy trekking shoes (not boots).

I figure I can unscrew the cleat and put in a plug to improve walking performance when I go hiking since this would be occasional. I will use overshoes on the bike when it is cold or wet.

I am willing to compromise on pedaling stiffness a bit but I need something stiffer than a sneaker.

I am a 35 year clipless user and my body and riding style is totally adapted to it so platform pedals are not an option.

I would appreciate any advice or recommendations.

I had a Poseidon X that I was using for biketouring and wanted a steel frame. I found a used Jamis Renegade Escapade steel frame with carbon fork. I took the Microshift Advent X drivetrain with Sword brifters off the X. I installed Velocity Cliffhanger wheels with Hope Pro 5 hubs and the Redhift Kitchen Sink bar. Looking forward to my next biketouring adventure!

https://preview.redd.it/sikgm0g1ww3e1.jpg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2309433f394b9ba72aeee685df4e81aed8891baf

Hello everyone! Has anyone had success mounting Ortlieb Fork-Pack front panniers on a fork with a non-constant diameter and without threads? Thank you!

I am looking to replace my old, upper-entry-level hybrid bicycle (used for daily commuting and long-distance touring) for a new, higher-spec’ed (though not necessarily top-tier) gravel bike. This replacement/upgrade is motivated by the increasing costs of repairing my current bike as things break and wear out, and the fact that I am now a much more capable cyclist compared to when I originally bought it, and I could probably benefit from / appreciate some of the upgrades.

I am looking at aluminum bikes due to their perceived greater durability and lower cost compared to carbon fiber, and comparable or lighter weight than steel. Importantly, I want a durable bike that can easily be equipped with fenders and a rear rack for paniers, which excludes a few top brands from consideration that greatly de-emphasize this capability from their designs.

Right now, my top choice is a Cannondale Topstone 1 (aluminum alloy) bike, which my local shop has on sale since it is last year’s model year. Functionally, I expect no discernable difference between last year’s versus this year’s design, so I like the idea of getting it at a significant discount while retaining a new bike, and therefore need not fear some hidden defect in a used bike sold by an individual.

I have read some things online criticizing Cannondale, in general, and/or the Topstone, more specifically, for their poorer quality components (especially crank and bottom bracket, stock wheels, and other proprietary parts) compared with other brands. I do not know how much truth to this there is to this criticism, or how it applies when discussing recent or to significantly older models.  If you look hard enough, surely you will find both die-hard fans and people complaining about any bike/brand, and most of the top brands are more or less all of the same quality.

What are you thoughts on the Topstone, in general and/or the components, especially in regards to potential long-distance touring usage? At what price point does it become a ‘slam-dunk’ choice, compared to its gravel peers from other brands (e.g., Specialized Diverge Elite E5)? Other thoughts? Challenges to some of my assumptions?

Ive been cycling my whole life mainly road and gravel and I’m looking to start touring next year but my knowledge of gearing with a fully laden bike is pretty limited. I have a Cannondale Topatone gravel bike I intend to use, it currently has a 1x Shimano GRX Groupset with a 40t chainring and a 40t cassette and for gravel including nasty hills it’s been fine for me. However I know with a fully loaded bike it’ll be vastly different. Most of the touring I plan to do won’t be extensive, maybe less than a week at a time. So is my current 1-1 good for touring? I also have a spare 36t chainring I could fit, would that suffice for a fully loaded bike on hilly routes? Or would a smaller chainring be better? Thanks!

I'm strongly considering a bike tour in Uruguay, but need route ideas.

I tried looking through this group, but mostly found posts from people only going through all South America.

If you are Uruguayan or have done a Uruguay tour, please help!

Half way through my recent Eerie canal tour, I remembered I had tried Geocaching a few times in the past, just for fun. I decided to boot up the app, pay for the basic account to see the location of caches, and get to hunting occasionally on my ride.

Man, I'm surprised at how well these 2 hobbies go together! Searching for caches serves as a great way to break up the tedium of long rides.

In addition, because you're covering such a huge distance, you can often pull up specifically well know higher-rated caches along your route. Terrain difficulty 4+ caches tend to be really cool and unique, so I filtered by those and had a blast! At one point I discovered an old abandoned schoolhouse outside Seneca Falls, that was hidden behind a thin layer of shrubbery - I never would have spotted it otherwise. Another time, there was a Terrain diff 5 cache that involved climbing pretty high up a tree, by myself. It was heart-pounding, but man, what an adventure. Some of my favorite moments on that trip were tied to those caches.

Just wanted to share! It's something I never would have thought about, until I got lucky and a stray random thought hit me.

We saw the REI ADV 1.1 yesterday for just over $1000. It looks almost perfect. I've exclusively ridden bar-end shifters on my last three drop bar bikes so that's fine. Disc brakes are great although I'm a little nervous about dealing with the hydraulic system if I have to break the bikes down to pack for flying.

What really makes me drool over this bike is the fork. Cast crown, tapered and curved blades like my wife's 1989 will hopefully give that amazing "Steel Is Real" ride. On the other hand, without having ridden it, can anyone comment on the "feel" of the frame? Is it supple or a brick? I'm not concerned about it being able to handle the load, rather will it feel good when lightly loaded?

My family has Trek 520 touring bikes. We love them... but my wife's 1989 has 27" wheels which make getting tires difficult. My secondhand 2016 has/had a slightly bent frame (partially straightened by a shop last week) and is really one size small for me. We don't "need" new bikes but these would be our first brand-new bikes this century and the deal gives me FOMO.

Hi all!

Wondering if anyone has any recommendations on bike tours/trips in Spain for February?

Looking for something that might be about 40-50km/day, probably something middle of the road in terms of how strenuous it is. I’m pretty active so fairly fit, but not necessarily looking to push hard on this trip as I’d also like to enjoy the scenery and make some stops along the way.

Would be open to considering routes for 2-5 days (and staying at cheap-ish accommodations en route), or basing oneself out of one city/town and doing one or two bike rides from there if there’s a nice city to base oneself in for cycling.

I won’t have my bike with me so would need to rent. If anyone has recommendations on bike rental shops that rent bikes for a reasonable price, would also be open to hearing those recommendations.

I really enjoy getting off-the-beaten path, and also enjoy nature including mountains and ocean. I’d also love to visit some small, quaint towns that aren’t on the main tourist radar.

Thanks!

Hey guys,

Big Agnes currently has a sale for many of their tents. I'm currently debating hard whether i should buy the Tiger Wall UL1 (it's only 250€ right now!). I decided against the Fly Creek because of the coffin shape and extra vestibule space.

The thing is: I currently have a (quite heavy) 2p decathlon tent, so I want to upgrade for a longer time. Sadly the bikepacking versions of the tents are not on sale and ~600€. I just don't want to regret not saving more money or not getting a bikepacking tent with shorter poles. But since the normal Tiger wall UL1 is still "only" 43x13cm, I could attach it to my frame (bag). I'm also still riding with panniers - having no room to put my tent would not be a problem.

Any one of you got an opinion on that? Would you "never go back" after purchasing a specific "bike packing bike"? Nehmen are there any other advantages I'm missing?

Or this is not a thing for this category?

Edit (for clarification and to keep everything in this thread):

I'm looking for a new bike that can withstand a lot of weight (350+) and is around 1500$. Hydraulics is a must and 1x might be better(?).

I will use it mostly for commuting as well as occasional 5days x 50-70m touring.

Do I need a touring type of bike or an mtb with a front sus will be ok for my use case?

What are my current available options?

Anyone touring with tubeless?

I would really prefer it as I do a lot of mixed-surface riding, however I just can't figure out the logistics.

Need for a full-size pump to seat the tire, special repair kit, sealant, etc...

Also flying - do you leave the sealant in the tire, or fill at the destination? Do you buy CO2 when you arrive? How would you seat the tire if you had to after a flat or repair?

Starting Bangkok in early Jan, heading north through Laos --> Northern Vietnam. Thinking about heading towards China after cycling through the Hanoi region. The alternative is going south through Vietnam and crossing back over in Thailand at some point (Cambodia?). But China is enticing - never been there, fascinating culture. Is this fun in late Jan/Feb? What sort of temperatures/weather can I expect? Maybe Guangxi province would be easie/warmer? Is it also pretty? Or Hainan island? Easy to get to? Good cycling? Would also need to somehow get back to Bangkok early March for my flight home, I'm hoping there's flights available from most major cities..

thanks guys

Considering factors like weight (sometimes it's mostly pushing, carrying, walking, not riding), pedalling efficiency, parts availability, ease of repair, durability etc. There are other colours available. Not looking for a premium/good bike (already have a high end bike), cheap (under AU$400 or US$260) and non-thief magnet is the priority.

Reid alpha fat (16.6kg): https://www.reidcycles.com.au/products/reid-alpha-26-inch-fat-bike-charcoal?variant=30327278665808

OR

Progear cracker fat (14kg, shorter wheelbase, only one size): https://www.progearbikes.com.au/products/cracker-hi-vis-green-1

Is this something to add to my setup if I am trying to be as light and fast as possible? Is it worth it?

Hello friendly folks of the world.

I'm planning a one way trip in January between San Diego and Pheonix. I'm curious what people use to look up historic wind direction during certain months.

I'm not sure which direction to go SD->PHNX or PHNX->SD

Hi everyone! I'm working on this website that maps all of the cyclist friendly campgrounds in the USA - and I'd love your feedback. You can check it out here:

https://gobikecamping.com/

If you've toured in the US, or are planning a future one, any perspective you have as a touring cyclist would be greatly appreciated.

Here is what you can do on the site right now:
- look at a map of all of the campgrounds
- filter to show just the free ones
- leave a review of the campground
- submit campgrounds for the map
- favorite campgrounds
- add campgrounds to a collection that you can keep private or share

What else would you like to see? Could be other kinds of data, like places to fill up water.

Here are some prompts to get you thinking about features:
- What would this website need to do in order for you to be willing to pay for it?
- What would it need to do that would get you to immediately text it to your cycling friends?

Thanks for taking the time to help me make this better.