Bicycle touring

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A type of touring bicycle

bike with specially made trailer for touring and offroad trekking

Bicycle touring is a type of travel or leisure activity which involves touring, exploration or sightseeing a region by bicycle. Though the Tour de France and other competitive events are sometimes called "tours", true bicycle touring is non-competitive; it is done for enjoyment and travel rather than sport and, as such, is a little bit like backpacking with the use of a bicycle.

1 Types of bike touring
2 The touring bike
3 Travelogues
4 Bike touring associations
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Types of bike touring

There are many different types of bicycle touring:

Many cycle tourists who prefer to sleep in a bed and have a roof above their heads stay overnight in youth hostels, hotels, pensions or B&Bs with local cafes, restaurants or local markets providing food for these travellers. This sort of bicycle touring, often referred to as credit-card touring, is very common in Europe.
In loaded touring (also known as self-supported touring) bicycle travellers take all their needs with them which include food, cooking equipment, and a tent for camping during nights.
Expedition touring or fully loaded touring is travelling extensively, often through developing nations or remote areas, with the bicycle fully loaded with food, spares, repair tools, and camping equipment so that the travellers are largely self-supporting.
In supported touring a support vehicle is used to carry most of the rider's gear from one destination to the next. This can be organised by the cyclists themselves or with commercial companies who offer guided bicycle tours: these include pre-booked and pre-paid lodging, luggage transfers, route planning and often some meals and rental bikes.

[edit] The touring bike

Main article: Touring bicycle

To go cycle touring you may want to have a bike that can carry some gear. Although many different bicycle types can be used, most cycle tourists prefer a special touring bike which is built to carry larger amounts of gear and water, and can be ridden more comfortably over long distances. Typical characteristics of a touring bicycle are: a longer wheelbase for additional stability and heel clearance, frame fittings for front as well as rear carrier racks, water bottle mounts for three bottles, frame fittings for front and rear mud guards/fenders, a broader range of gearing for the increased weight of equipment and touring specific tires which are wider and more resistant to flats.

For some, a recumbent bicycle provides all these features along with increased comfort. Although a recumbent bicycle is very comfortable for some riders, some tourists can't ride a recumbent comfortably and prefer riding in the upright position.

Another option to loading a bike with gear is to pull a bicycle trailer. This removes the requirement for a special touring bike and provides the option to leave one's gear easily for an unloaded side trip.

Finally, one can be fully supported and carry no gear by bicycle at all.

[edit] Travelogues

Many cycle tourists have published travelogues of their tours (either traditionally in books or magazines or on the Web) that are both entertaining and informative. Some notable examples are Rich Suleski, Thomas Stevens, Ken Kifer, Dervla Murphy, Josie Dew, Heinz Stücke, Alastair Humphreys, Janne Corax, Claude Marthaler, Andrew X. Pham, and Ian Hibell.

[edit] Bike touring associations

Many associations for cyclists, such as the Cyclists' Touring Club in the UK and Adventure Cycling Association in the US, began as small touring clubs, organizing tours and accommodation. These clubs gradually evolved into advocacy bodies campaigning on behalf of cyclists.