That said, I think there are a couple of ways to get more young people interested. One way would be if more well-traveled cyclotourers would visit elementary school classrooms with their bikes, equipment, and photos of their travels. That could indirectly trigger some interest in the sport and at least the kids would grow up knowing something about it. Another way would be for the randonneuring community to reach out to more youngsters. Randonneuring combines elements of racing with cyclotouring and may appeal as more of a “mainstream” sport to more people. I applaud any attempt to draw more people out of their cars and onto bikes.

Case in point, to get more people to be attracted to bicycle touring, especially the younger generation, means that people like me document our adventures, prepare them so that they’re accessible and entertaining, and well, spread the word. Which is what I’m trying to do.

I can’t agree about the age of cycle tourers either. There are many who are younger than 50 but perhaps you come across the old fogies of bicycle touring as a result of something in your own behaviour or movements. I am not sure but cycling as an over 50s thing is just not my experience on the whole.

To attract the 20s crowd, definitely is something worth giving thought to. In my view there absolutely no one right way to either travel, or tour by bicycle. That goes for what you wear, where you go and how you do it. Lots of young people are very interested in cheaper adventurous ways to travel. I see it on the travel boards but cycling just isn’t on their radar. They simply haven’t thought of it or been exposed to it. I myself came to it rather late at 42 for my first tour.

One of the attractions of cycle touring is that it is a cheap way of travelling. However the price of gear is just stupid sometimes, ditto the price of bikes. Of course it is cost effective on world tours and with regular touring but to get started is tricky for those without much money.

But as you suggest, bicycle touring perhaps needs to be sexed up to attract more younger people and to make it trendy even. I don’t see why masses of bicycle tourers would be a big problem EXCEPT that instead of perhaps a few people heading off into remote areas, you would have masses and with that means more insensitive, incompetent and inexperienced people. This could possibly reduce the hospitality that the current small group of cycle tourers receives from locals. For this reason, I think its important to teach (drill it into people) travel etiquette at the same time as the idea is being sold.

cheers