Panniers & Handlebar Bag

One of the first things any bicycle traveler needs is a good set of panniers. You’ll need one set of rear panniers and one set of front panniers. I recommend either Lone Peak or Ortlieb panniers. If you want a quality pannier at an excellent price, go with the Lone Peaks. They’re extremely water resistant, but not 100% waterproof. If you are concerned about keeping your belongings dry, choose a set of Ortlieb panniers. They’re a bit more expensive, but they’ll keep out the water and you’ll look good too! And don’t forget to purchase the matching handlebar bag for the panniers you end up selecting. The handlebar bag is the pride and glory for many bicycle tourists.

Digital Camera

If you don’t already have a digital camera, you need to get one right away! You are going to want to record all the magnificent places you visit on your bike tour… and there couldn’t be a better way to do document your trip than with a digital camera.

I am currently using a Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS and I take it everywhere I go (both on and off the bike). I highly recommend it. It’s a lightweight, high quality 8.0 megapixel camera with a 3x optical image stabilized zoom. In addition to being able to take incredible photos, the camera (like most digital cameras on the market now-days) is capable of shooting video as well. In addition to all the camera’s great features, its battery charger is well designed and really quite small (something that is extremely important for saving space and weight when traveling by bike).

If you’ve already got a great digital camera, you might opt a camera mount, which will enable you to take photos of yourself while traveling. I use the V.I.O. ANL016 Ultra Clamp, which can be used to mount your camera to items 1/8-inch up to 1 5/8-inch in diameter, such as a sign post, tree branch, or bicycle handlebar. Because I do most of my traveling alone, the mount acts as my cameraman and is the sole item responsible for most of the shots you see of me when I’m out on my adventures. Without my camera mount, I’d return home with nothing but pictures of cows, buildings, and back-country roads.

Tent

The bicycle traveler’s tent is important. Your test is your home when traveling by bike. It is your home away from home! So getting a good tent is of utmost importance. You want a tent that is lightweight and packs down to a very small size. Yet you don’t want to get a tent that is so small you are uncomfortable when inside of it.

I’ve been using the MSR Zoid 2 for a number of years and find it more than large enough to hold both myself and all of my panniers/belongings at night. If you plan to travel with a spouse or other companion, getting a slightly larger tent will be necessary. Click here for more tips on selecting a tent.

Bicycle Trainer

Most bicycle tourists travel in the spring, summer, or fall. But those wanting to get in shape and train for their upcoming adventures might benefit from the use of an indoor bicycle trainer. These standalone devices enable cyclists of all skill levels to ride indoors and get a healthy workout, all while in the comfort of their own home. They’re great for use in the winter when you can’t get outside and they’re even better for days when you simply don’t have enough time to go out for a ride. Just hop on for a couple minutes and ride your bike while watching TV, talking on the phone, or reading your favorite book.

I use a Blackburn Trakstand Ultra Indoor Bicycle Trainer, but there are a number of other great trainers to choose from. Just get the one that fits your style of riding and your budget. With bicycle trainers, it’s worth it to spend a little more and get a high quality product. You don’t want to get a cheap bicycle trainer and have it be such a bad experience that you never end up using it.

Rain Jacket & Pants

A high quality rain jacket is essential for any bicycle traveler. Pants are not 100% necessary, but they are nice to have in some situations. Over the past month alone, the Showers Pass Elite 2.0 has been flying off the shelves in the BicycleTouringPro.com store. The onset of winter has prompted an astronomical number of riders to opt for this great cycling jacket. Want to stay warm and dry on your bike? Then you need a great cycling jacket.

Apple iPod and iTunes Gift Certificate

One of my big things about traveling by bike is that you need to do what you can to feel at home while out on the road. Traveling by bike does not have to be uncomfortable. Bicycle touring is supposed to be fun… and for me, having fun means getting some time every once and a while to listen to music, watch a movie, or simply sit back and relax. Luckily, the Apple iPodhas enabled bicycle travelers to do just that. This handheld electronic device enables you to carry all your favorite music with your on your bike tours… and many of the devices even allow you to watch movies and TV shows straight from your iPod. You can listen to the music while you ride and then pull into camp at night and watch a movie. You won’t even know you’re away from home!

And if your loved one has already got an iPod, consider an iTunes giftcard. They can stock up on their favorite tunes and they’ll think of you whenever their favorite song shuffles its way into their earpiece.

GPS Tracking Stick

For high-tech travelers, a GPS tracking stick like the TrackStick 2 GPS Tracking System Data Logger might just be the ideal gift this holiday season. This small electronic device attaches to your bicycle and records your location, your speed, and your route as you pedal. You can then upload the data to just about any computer by way of Google’s free Google Earth software. With this device, your family and friends can track your location and make sure you’re safe… and you’ll be able to retrace your entire route online once you get home!

Sleeping Bag

In much the same way that you want a good tent to protect you from the elements, you also want to have a good sleeping bag to keep you warm at night. Dummy bags are best, and the smaller and lighter a bag you can find, the better! For more advice on selecting a sleeping back, just click here.

Road ID

A great gift this holiday season might just be something that saves your loved one’s life. The Road ID is an awesome piece of gear that in the event of an accident, tells emergency responders who you are, whom they should contact, and what, if any, medical conditions you might have. Available in 5 different styles, the Road ID is not just a piece of gear - it’s peace of mind.

Submit your order by December 14 and your purchase is guaranteed to arrive by Christmas.

Bicycle Books

Finally, if you are looking for a slightly smaller (cheaper) gift, you might want to get the bicycle traveler in your life one of the many great bicycle books on the market. The best part is, many of these books can be had for just a couple dollars! Some of my favorite bicycle books include:

• The Cycling Adventures Of Coconut Head - By Ted Schredd
• Spokesongs - By Willie Weir
• Riding Outside The Lines - By The Metal Cowboy (Joe Kurmaskie)
• It’s Not About The Bike - By Lance Armstrong and Sally Jenkins
• And of course… The Bicycle Traveler’s Blueprint - By Me!

More great bicycle touring gift ideas can be found in the Bicycle Touring Store.

What are you getting for the bicycle traveler in your life this year?

While the Web Event may be over, there is still a lot more to come here at BicycleTouringPro.com.

As we enter winter (here in the northern hemisphere at least), many of you are beginning to think about your plans for the summer of 2009. Hundreds of you will be departing in just a few short months to start your bicycle adventures. I realize this and I have a full line-up of articles, information, and news to share with you as your big bicycle tour grows closer and closer.

Before I get back to the regular routine here at BicycleTouringPro.com, I have just a few more news bites and shout outs to give:

Last Chance To Grab “The Bicycle Traveler’s Blueprint”

First of all, today (Sunday, November 30, 2008) is the last day to grab a copy of my very first eBook, “The Bicycle Traveler’s Blueprint” for the discounted price of just $14.95. With this book you will learn how to plan a bicycle tour, prepare for life on the road, discover what to expect from your travels… and a whole lot more. The book (much like this website) isn’t just about bicycle travel, but about the lifestyle that bicycle travel can provide you with. Think of it as a handbook for bicycle touring success, in a convenient eBook format.

To grab your copy of “The Bicycle Traveler’s Blueprint” now, just click here.

I’m Traveling For 6 Months… And I’ll Show You How To Do The Same

As you may have heard, I just departed on a six-month journey by bicycle. I rented out my home in Park City, Utah, put all my belongings in storage, and will be traveling to Europe shortly (I’m in California at the moment) for my longest bicycle adventure ever. All the while I will continue to be putting out great content for this website and sharing my secrets for a successful bicycle adventure.

In a way, I’ll be taking you with me as I travel the world. Through my own adventures, I’ll walk you step-by-step through the process of making your bicycle touring dreams bcome a reality. I’ll show you what I’ve packed for my tour, how I’ve gone about preparing for this adventure, how much I’m actually spending while I travel… and a whole lot more! I’m excited to share this information with you… so get ready for some incredible articles, interviews, and videos about long distance, self-supported bicycle travel.

Personal Training For Serious Bicycle Travelers

In addition to the normal articles, interviews and videos I produce for the site here… I am going to start working with a select group of individuals who want more personalized coaching as they prepare for their upcoming bicycle tours. Even though I will be in Europe, I plan to use the power of the Internet to coach a small group of bicycle travelers through the process of preparing for and executing their first bicycle adventure(s).

I’ll have more information about this coaching program in the coming month, but if this sounds like something you might be interested in, check back soon… and check back often!

This will be something you have to pay for (simply because it is going to take A LOT of my time and I can’t do everything for free), but I am working very hard to make it extremely affordable for almost anyone who needs the extra help preparing for their tour. In addition, there will be a number of perks and bonuses for people who sign up for my “members only” coaching program… and I’ll give out more information shortly, but for now… know that this extra support is coming!

Give The Gift Of Bicycle Travel

Over the past week or so I’ve received a few emails from readers (and even a few spouses and mothers of readers) who have asked me for gift giving ideas as the holiday season quickly approaches.

I’ll do an in-depth gift-giving article in the next couple days, but for those who want to get ahead of the game, any of the products in the Bicycle Touring Pro Store would be great to give to the cycling fanatic in your life. Heck! They’d even be a great gift to get for yourself – especially if you are planning a bicycle tour at any point in the near future.

Special Thanks To The Bicycle Lifestyle Web Event Contributors

I wish to thank the Web Event contributors once again. The event was a huge success and it wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and participation of these incredible companies and individuals.

• BikeCommuters.com
• The Metal Cowboy
• BikingBis.com
• Bike Friday
• Chris Guillebeau
• Adventure Cycling Association
• Ted Schredd
• CrazyGuyOnABike.com
• WarmShowers.org
• Momentum
• Road ID
• Yaro Starak
• CycleAware

Congrats To The Event Product Winners

Lastly, I want to congratulate, the winners of the product giveaways that took place during the Bicycle Lifestyle Web Event. If your name is on the list and you haven’t contacted me yet to claim your prize, please do so immediately. I still haven’t heard from a few people, so please get back to me as soon as you possibly can.

• Kathy Holwadel - Adventure Cycling Gift Certificate
• Dennis Francisco - Adventure Cycling Membership
• Dave Cornelius - CycleAware ViewPoint Bicycle Mirror
• Pam Weekes - CycleAware HeadsUp! Bicycle Mirror
• Andrew Green - CycleAware VuBar Bicycle Mirror
• Loren Apfel - CycleAware Wand-a Safety Light
• Joseph Vota - The Ultimate Guide To Free Lodging
• Carlos Mejia - Road ID Gift Certificate
• Roland Landsness - Road ID Gift Certificate
• Graeme Adams - Road ID Gift Certificate
• Beth Peterson - Lone Peak Rack Pack
• Brian O’Reilly - Lone Peak Seat Pack
• Robert Lawson - Lone Peak Seat Pack
• Darrin Forquer - Lone Peak Seat Pack
• Jennifer Tabor - Lone Peak Seat Pack
• Jack Moore - Yakkay Bicycle Helmet
• Carde Stuart - CycleAware Stow-Away Backpack
• Bob Torres - CycleAware Reflex Bicycle Mirror

And if you aren’t one of the people listed here, don’t fret! Because I’ve got a few more goodies in store for December… so stick around, contribute to the Bicycle Touring Pro commuity… and you might just be the next lucky recipient of an incredible cycling product or service.

So that’s it. But I want to hear from you! What would you like to see here at BicycleTouringPro.com in 2009? Would you like more videos? More interviews? More in-depth articles? What would you like to learn? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Then you need to subscribe to the RSS feed! Click here to subscribe now!

What Is RSS?

If you are unfamiliar with RSS and RSS feeds, RSS stands for “Rich Site Summary” and it is a way of delivering regularly changing web content to the people who want to be notified of these updates.

RSS allows you easily stay informed about your favorite websites by retrieving the latest content from the sites you are interested in. This allows you to save time because you don’t have to visit each of your favorite sites individually to see if new content has been added. Instead, RSS automatically notifies you when updates have been made and you can quickly and easily enjoy new articles from your favorite sites.

For a quick and easy explanation of RSS, watch the video below:

Bookmarking Your Favorites Sites Is “Old School”

The problem with bookmarking your favorite sites is that:

RSS Changes The Game

RSS provides you with a method of getting relevant and up to date information sent to you for you to read in your own time. It saves you time and helps you to get the information you want quickly after it was published.

Subscribing to an RSS feed is much like subscribing to a magazine. But instead of that magazine being delivered to you in the mail, your RSS feed subscription is delivered to your ‘RSS Reader’ every time your favorite website(s) updates.

Subscribe Now!

Subscribe to the BicycleTouringPro.com RSS feed by either clicking here, or by clicking the “RSS Feed” icon at the top of this page.

How To Get Started With RSS

If you are still not sure how this RSS thing works or how you can benefit from subscribing to RSS feeds from your favorite websites, you may want to read Darren Rowse’s article, “What is RSS?”

If you’ve got any questions, leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

In case you missed any of the information that was released today, here’s a quick recap:

• Ted Schredd started the day off with an excerpt from his book, Gramma Knows The F Word, all about how adults can discover more fun in their lives.

• Neil Gunton from CrazyGuyOnABike.com gave you an introduction to long distance bicycle travel.

• And the guys from WarmShowers.org discussed some of the free lodging options that traveling cyclists have available to them.

• Then I conducted an interview with Amy Walker from Momentum Magazine about bicycle fashion.

• And talked to Lee Gilbert from CycleAware about the shared responsibility that drivers and cyclists have in regards to keeping our streets safe.

• Continuing the theme of bicycle safety, Road ID submitted an article about the importance of identification for bicyclists.

• Yaro Stak talked about blogging and how this technique of making money off the Internet can give you the freedom to travel the world and pursue the things you really want in life… and not have to sacrafice your income in order to do those things.

• And finally, I finished the night with a streaming video broadcast where I talked about bicycle touring and answered questions live over the Internet. 222 people tuned in for the show. It was a lot of fun and I hope those who joined the conversation learned something.

In between all of this, we also gave away a number of great cycling products. CycleAware gave away three mirros and their Wand-A safety wand. I gave away a copy of “The Ultimate Guide To Free Lodging” - a workbook that walks you step-by-step through the process of obtaining free hotels and campgrounds for your travels. Road ID donated 3 gift certificates for any of their ID products. And Lone Peak donated a rack pack to one lucky individual.

If your name is listed below, you’ve won one of the products listed above. Please send me an email right away with your shipping address so I can mail your prize out to you first thing Monday morning.

• Dave Cornelius
• Pam Weekes
• Andrew Green
• Loren Apfel
• Joseph Vota
• Carlos Mejia
• Roland Landsness
• Graeme Adams
• Beth Peterson

Finally, this is your last chance to get a copy of the “The Bicycle Traveler’s Blueprint” for the reduced price of just $14.95. The book takes you by the hand and walks you through the process of planning your own bicycle adventure. The book has been discounted for this weekend… and this weeend only. So if you want to grab a copy, just click here.

As I mentioned during my live video broadcast, this is the end of the Bicycle Lifestyle event, but this is not the end of the great content here at BicycleTouringPro.com. I will continue to post new and exciting articles about bicycle travel… and I will take you with me on my upcoming journey to Europe as I travel around on my bicycle for the next six months. I’ll show you how I planned my trip, raised the money, and a number of other things. I’ll even be showing you what I am spending my money on, so you will have a better idea of how much these grand biking adventures actually cost.

If you haven’t done so already, go back and check out any of the articles or interviews you may have missed today… and thank you for participating in the first ever, Bicycle Touring Pro Lifestyle Web Event.

If you enjoyed the event, please leave a comment below… and let me know how I could improve it if I were to do it again at some point in the future.

Thank you once again for being a part of the community here at BicycleTouringPro.com and I’ll talk with you later!

Make it a great week!

In case you missed any of the articles today, here’s a quick recap:

• Jack Sweeny from BikeCommuters.com started the day off some tips for commuting to work on your bicycle.

• The Metal Cowboy (Joe Kurmaskie) followed that up with a story about how cycling with his family eventually led him to start an organization aimed at getting 1 million new cyclists on our streets.

• Then Gene Bisbee from BikingBis.com shared some ideas on how you can save money by traveling by bike this year. For more great cycling information and news, head over to BikingBis.com.

• Then the Metal Cowboy jumped in again with a hilarious piece that will help you determine whether or not you are a cycling addict. You gotta check out this article! I was laughing the whole way through.

• Bike Friday contributor, Lynette Chiang, shared how the low stepover feature on most folding bikes enable riders of all shapes and sizes to experience the joys of cycling.

• World traveler, Chris Guillebeau, encouraged you to get more freedom in your life

• And finally, Ginny Sullivan from the Adventure Cycling Association talked to me about the organization of a new U.S. Bicycle Route System that could one day connect every major city in the country. If you missed this interview, I encourage you to check it out now!

In between all of this, we also gave away a number of great cycling products. Lone Peak Packs gave away seat packs to four lucky winners. Yakkay gave away a stylish helmet. CycleAware donated a Stow-Away backpack and a Reflex bicycle mirror. And the Adventure Cycling Association gave away a one-year membership and a $25 gift certificate to be used in their touring store.

If your name is listed below, you’ve been selected as a winner. Please send me an email right away with your shipping address so I can mail your prize out to you first thing Monday morning.

· Brian O’Reilly
· Robert Lawson
· Darrin Forquer
· Jennifer Tabor
· Jack Moore
· Carole Stuart
· Bob Torres
· Dennis Francisco
· Kathy Holwadel

If you weren’t one of our winners today, don’t worry! There’s still 1 day left in this big “Bicycle Lifestyle” web event! And you could be one of our Sunday gift recipients!

Tomorrow we’ll be hearing from Ted Schredd, CrazyGuyOnABike.com, WarmShowers.org, Momentum Magazine, Road ID, CycleAware and entrepreneur Yaro Starak. We’ll also continue to give out more amazing cycling products and I’ll even close the night by broadcasting live via streaming video!

Finally, you may have noticed, but today I released my very first eBook, “The Bicycle Traveler’s Blueprint.” The book takes you by the hand and walks you through the process of planning your own bicycle adventure. The book has been discounted for this weekend… and this weeend only. So if you want to find out how you can grab a copy tomorrow for a super discounted price, just click here.

If you haven’t done so already, go back and check out any of the articles or interviews you may have missed today.

That’s it for tonight… and I’ll see you tomorrow!