3 Important Lessons From My Bike Tour in Northern California

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If you’ve been following me on Instagram or Facebook recently, you know that I just recently completed a short 5-day bike tour in the mountains of Northern California.

This was a short, but beautiful and challenging bicycle tour with lots of climbing, snow-covered passes, and run-ins with lots of friendly people along the way.

I’ll be sharing more photos and videos from my bike tour in Northern California very soon, but for the moment I thought I would share three of the important lessons I learned from this particular cycling adventure with you.

1. It Takes Some Time To Get Into The Groove

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The first few days of a bicycle tour are the most difficult. Even if you’re an experienced cyclist, it can take as many as three or more days to really get into the groove on a long-distance bike tour.

Many people quit their bike tours during the first three days, when things are at their most difficult. But this is a huge mistake!

Don’t quit when things are at their most difficult. Push through the first three days of your bike tour and I think you’ll find that your experience on the road will become easier and easier on days four, five and six.

I talk about this in great length inside “The Bicycle Touring Blueprint.” You need to go into your bike tour knowing that the first three days are going to likely be some of the most difficult days of the tour… and if you can just push past those first few days, you’ll likely get into the groove and the act of riding your bicycle for days, weeks or months on end will ultimately become a whole lot easier.

2. Bike Touring Is A Mental Game

Most people think that riding a bicycle for days on end requires an incredible stamina and a toned body. But the truth is, bicycle touring is much more mentally challenging than most people anticipate.

There are going to be moments on your bike tour when you are tired, thirsty, hungry, uncomfortable, in pain or simply want to go home and cry. That’s normal!

But you don’t want to quit just because you’re a little inconvenienced. The joy that comes with bicycle touring comes from accomplishing something difficult.

There will be difficult moments on your bike tour, but you’ll be happy after it’s all over that you continued on and completed your bike tour as intended.

Bike touring is not 100% physical. It’s more like 20% physical and 80% mental. Be prepared for that!

3. Do What You Can To Keep Yourself Safe

If you saw my video on Facebook this week, you already know that when I was on my bike tour in Northern California I kneeled down on the ground and put my knee directly into a poison oak plant, which resulted in a horrible case of poison oak all across my body. This was stupid of me and I should have been paying more attention.

Which is why I want to remind you that when you are bicycle touring, you should do what you can to ensure your personal safety.

There are numerous ways to remain safe on the road. Wear bright colors, ride with a bike mirror, know how to properly ride a bicycle in traffic, educate yourself on dangerous animals and/or areas you might be cycling through, etc.

But you should also do what you can to ensure that you arrive home at the end of your bike tour in one piece.

This might mean going super slow on a really steep downhill. This might mean getting off your bike and walking it over a fallen log instead of trying to hop over the log while riding your bike. And this might mean paying to sleep in a hotel for the night instead of trying to endure a cold and windy night in your tent in ill weather.

There are tons of different ways to ensure your safety on a bicycle tour… but I want to remind you that when you are doing a bike tour and you are far from home, you should take the extra precautions necessary to get you home in one piece.

Be careful out there… and don’t make the mistake I made this past week by kneeling down on top of a poisonous plant.

Stay aware of your situation and take the steps necessary to enjoy your bike tour while remaining safe and healthy at the same time.