5 Things To Consider Before Your Cycling Tour

March 25th, 2008 Olga Pizza Posted in Adventure Travel, Cycling Tours, Tours |

You know, we girls, don’t like much such a type of vacation. No luxurious hotels, comfortable transport and incredible restaurants. It seems to be not so pleasant… till we met the guy of our dreams who inspire us for such an adventure. He tells us about romantic sunsets and so heady feeling of freedom, incredible views and joy of life during the travel. During such conversations we agree with everything and really are excited about this trip… but you (notwithstanding your gender) should learn several tips in order to make your cycling tour really amazing.

First of all, you should decide how far you are going to travel every day. It will be twice the distance of your typical day trip, so you should train beforehand. It means that you should start to cycle every day three months before the journey. If you are a beginner, the first three days of your training will be horrible… as well as the first three days of your cycling journey. On a trip you will become stronger and at the end you will make a distance without difficulty. The other thing is to set the real goals. Thus, if you plan to ride 50 miles but can make only 25, you will be disappointed and exhausted. It is a trip for your pleasure, so don’t be in a hurry and have a great time without trying to be a record-holder.

Camping… If you have never do that, you should get some experience before your trip. Spend several week ends trying to find out how to pitch your tent and what camping gear is necessary. Talking about the latter I should mention about a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, fuel bottle, can opener, matches, stove, knife, spoon, fork. Be sure that even with the best gear and no experience you will be miserable. So, don’t ignore my tips about such weekend trips. If the above mentioned list is too challenging for you, choose only slight camping. In this case, you can purchase food and forget about the cooking gear. But still a knife, spoon, can opener are the must-take-things.

On the whole you should take as minimum things as possible. Read the following list and add some of your own things to it (though I don’t think there will be a lot of them)

• clean cycling clothes (take two sets of outer clothes and five sets of socks and underclothes, not including what you wear)
• a rain suit (even if you are sure that there will be good weather)
• not less than two bottles of water (fill them at every stop)
• scissors, thread and needle
• repair kits for bike and tires
• small flashlight
• a small bottle of lotion, a chap stick, sunscreen (no more cosmetics, ladies )
• some bright cap or bandanna (which protects your face and ears from the sun as well as help others see you on the road)

Tools
You may get tired, but your bike may get broken. So, what tools you should take. The first thing to consider is what tools you can use There is no sense to carry a tool in this case. But if we are talking about the tools which your bike requires, we should mention about any type of tool that helps you to tighten anything that comes loose. Nowadays the stores offer you all the necessary in a handy mini-kit. It should contain spare crews, a crescent wrench, tire irons, a flathead screwdriver and Allen wrenches. It is wrong time to study the contents of your kit when you are on the trip.

Hostels
For those who are not planning to spend the nights at woods (or just can’t stand it any more after two nights or so), such organizations as American Youth Hostels offer inexpensive places to stay. There may be no private rooms or bath, but you will be in a room with others of the same sex. You can find there all the necessary facilities and cook, all you need is a sleeping sack. As a rule, the hostels are located in some splendid places to visit, so, you can find them on various maps.

Maps
Everything depends on the type of trip you prefer. Whether you want to avoid main roads with heavier traffic. Is it desirable for you to buy food on the road? In any case, you should be aware of features which may not be shown on some maps. For example, mountains or national parks. In both cases, it will be rather difficult for you to cross them. The whole info about how wooded, mountainous or cleared is your route you can get from the 1:250,000 scale that is considered to be the best for cycling.

Food
Don’t be afraid to eat in restaurants if you don’t want to cook. But still avoid greasy food. Meat, fruit, vegetables and grains are the best choice for you. You should plan your ration and timetable, so that you will not feel hungry several miles away from appropriate place to eat. Don’t forget to buy something in the supermarket before you leave a town (even if it seems to you that it’s unnecessary. It is a rule, so don’t violate it).

On the whole, the main rule is to rest before you’re tired, eat before you’re hungry… and make sure that you are really happy