What Is Your Single Biggest Question About Bicycle Touring?
May
If you’ve already joined the BicycleTouringPro.com mailing list, then you’ve likely been asked to fill out a short survey about bicycle touring.
Since I first created that survey in late 2007, I’ve had more than 600 people fill it out and answer the question, “What is your single biggest question about bicycle touring?”
Here are some of their answers:
- How do I get myself ready – training in flatlands to climb mountains?
- Why doesn’t someone give me enough money to retire so I can tour to my heart’s content?
- Can I be safe alone in Central and South America as a single woman?
- How do I stay safe?
- How can I camp comfortably?
- How do I find long roads with good smooth shoulders?
- What does it feel like to ride a fully loaded touring bike?
- The logistics of getting to the starting point and then getting back home with the bikes and all the gear.
- Should I use a handlebar bag? I’ve heard some people say yes and some say they don’t like them.
- Besides Adventure Cycling tour maps, are there maps available to show the best roads in the US for cycling?
- My fear of cars! How do you get over that? I hate to ride on busy roads.
- How can I bring what I need and keep it very light?
- How do I know what the availability of services will be like?
- How to find camping?
- What do I need to know about making my own repairs on the road?
- How do I get paid to have this much fun?
- How can I mentally prepare?
- Can I get back into it after 18 years?
- Are there going to be head winds?
- How to do a self-supported, self-contained tour.
- What to pack and how much?
- Where should I go?
- How can I get my wife and kids to come along?
- How to find camping facilities other than formal campsites?
- Where can I get help planning?
- How should I handle my money while on the tour?
- Should I use a pannier or a trailer?
- Will I be able to do it physically?
- How many miles do I want to do per day?
- Where are the most scenic/bike friendly routes where I’m headed?
- How specific or detailed does the planning need to be?
- Will it be painful?
- How can I find a credible way to break from my job and take my entire family on a cross-country tour.
- Who takes care of important matters at home while you’re on tour?
- How can I afford to do it?
- How do I carry everything?
- What is the best bike?
- What is the best equipment?
- How do I stay healthy while on the road.
- How long will the money last?
- How to pack the bike for airline travel – both touring bikes and foldings bikes.
- How do I plan out my route?
- How can I do more touring in the future?
- How do I estimate the time it will take to complete the trip?
- Where will we stay overnight?
- How can you financially manage “stepping out of life” for that long?
- How can I get someone to go with me?
- How to choose a safe route?
- How can I finance my touring?
- How much is it going to cost?
- How do you travel with your bike on a train?
- How do you pack up your bike for an overseas flight without buying some expensive luggage for it?
- What is the most affordable bike and equipment?
- How can I get my wife to go with me on a tour? Or should I just figure she’ll never go with me?
- Finding the time?
- Where am I going to stay tonight?
- How do you know that you have everything, but aren’t carrying too much?
- What do you wear in the rain?
- What are the practical, day-to-day tasks that one might overlook the difficulty of before doing their first tour?
- How to eat properly without always eating in restaurants?
- What food do I need to eat in order to maintain 60 to 70 miles per day?
- How can I avoid a collision or keep from getting run over?
As you can see, the questions presented here span the gamut of bicycle touring related topics.
Over the next few months I plan to answer every single one of these questions (either here on my blog, in the articles section at BicycleTouringPro.com, via audio interviews with experts in the field, or through future BicycleTouringPro.com products).
If you have a burning question about bicycle touring that you would like to get answered, you can join the BicycleTouringPro.com mailing list and fill out my bicycle touring survey… or you can simply use the comments box below to enter your question.
