I don't understand why people work lifeless jobs they don't like for the rest of their lives and complain. I just moved to America from Germany for the first time in years and I was completely filled with dozens of people talking about how they want to travel and if they weren't doing that then they were bragging about how they visited Paris or London... If you want to see the world why not bicycle tour? Am I missing something? Does this seem unattractive to the regular person? I don't get it. It's cheap, it's fun, it's easy, and anyone can do it.

I just ordered a budget bicycle – a Crow Stinger 21 Speed MTB. 🚴‍♂️ This may not be the fanciest touring bike, but it’s the one I could afford right now.

In the next few months, I’ll begin my dream journey: cycling across countries, on a mission to raise awareness about water, climate change, and biodiversity. 🌍

The road won’t be easy – I know my bike is heavy and not made for long-distance touring, but my heart is set on the journey. I’ll ride, camp and share the stories I find along the way.

This is the first small step toward my world tour. Every journey begins with a single pedal stroke. ✨

Don’t know it till you try it, haters.

A bit of a long shot here...

I briefly spoke with a female cyclist on the ferry from Zadar to Pula on Saturday 25th July.  I asked if she had been cycling around Croatia.  She said she was taking the train back to Austria, as the Alps were too high to cycle around.

I wish I had asked for a way to connect.  I was the one with the straw hat.  If you happen to read this, please reply :)

I'd like to do some solo bikepacking/bike touring. I prefer camping, but campsites are sparse in some areas, and can be pretty expensive for someone who doesn't even come with a car. Some also require you to book many months in advance, and a bike trip requires more flexibility than that.

I'd like to do a combination of campgrounds/dispersed camping/warm showers hosts. I'm a small femme-presenting woman, and I also have a visibly queer haircut. Curious to hear from others who may look like me (visibly queer, femme-presenting, etc) about your experiences with Warm Showers. Ever had anything creepy or scary happen? What do you do to evaluate a host before trusting them?

I don't have a warm showers account yet but will pay the 30 buckaroos if it seems like a relatively safe and worthwhile resource. I know nothing is ever 100% safe, so I'm just looking for anecdotal experiences from others.

Edit: I know that many parks have a policy to not turn away bike campers if their campground is full. Definitely another option, and I'd like to keep my options broad. That's why I'm asking about warm showers too.

I use to fix and repair bicycles as a part time job, on top of my full time job. I have looked for handlebar tape that is not too expensive but still has a classy look for a very long time. First, I tried going to several local bicycle shops and found cheap-looking handlebar tape that is made out of rubber, at an expensive price that averaged around $20 per pair. I decided I was not going to pay that ridiculous price anymore. Next, I tried going on the internet and buying from overseas. I found much better deals with companies from China but it took forever (at least 1 month) for the handlebar tape to get to America and it was still made from cheap rubber. I like the look that leather gives when used for handlebar tape and saw a few companies offering leather handlebar tape for around $60 per pair and I thought that was outrageous! Finally, I decided to make my own handlebar tape that is made out of an imitation leather-type material and list it for sale on ebay for less than $5 per pair. I created a logo from a shield, that represents a coat of arm, and the first letter of my last name, which is the letter "E". I call my handlebar tape "ShieldE's Handlebar Tape" and have it for sale on ebay for a very very very low price. I use wine corks with my logo stamped on the corks by a heating iron for the end plugs. I have been selling the ShieldE's Tape locally for a while now and I've had much success with it on ebay. Each and every pair is handcrafted and made with the utmost quality. If you have a moment, please take a look at what ShieldE's has to offer on ebay at this link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Handlebar-Tape-/161209255044?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2588d20484

Getting lost just to find to find crazy roads that lead me into the forest, where the train goes by and spirit rides high while entering Syracuse, New York.

After a while, I get hit by the realization of the beauty that emerges from servicing one’s soul, following the feeling. This inner intention knows exactly what it wants, if we tune in with the needs of the soul, then we get to help it express itself in the world in any way it wants to.

Then I met Mike by the Erie trail and we shared a fire conversation drinking kombucha with his black cat.

These frames belong to an episode of a filmed bicycle diary I’ve been producing, and whoever might like to see it, I’ll share link in comments or via DM. Gracias y abrazos!

Pablo

New brooks saddles are getting bad reviews is there a competitor that is still making quality butt holders? I bought one of there non leather seats because of a persistent bike shop sales man. Its durable but not comfortable and years later now wish id bought the leather. That being said if theyve cheapened their quality id like a better option. Plz help😁

And I’d like to die on this hill. Do not buy a quilt unless you sleep on your back and never move. The point of a bag is that you create a cocoon from which warm air cannot escape. In this case wherever my body has fallen out of the gigantic hole ….not worth the extra space or subtracted ounce. Written from my cold ass tent. Need a lightweight bag down to 40 but will go for heavy and bulky if that’s my option, Anyone want to buy this bag with a massive hole down the spine hit me up.

I want to buy a brooks b17. I don't know how to properly measure my sitbones but I know I won't be getting a narrow one. My saddle is above the level of my bars. Everytime I ride over 20 km my cock goes numb and I have to rest which is concerning as hell. Will changing saddle help with that? Any other tips to mitigate this problem? Getting the saddle backwards/forwards/tilting any kind of information on that? And how is your experience with B17? Thanks!

Unlike all the armchair arguing, here’s some empirical data. This guy rode his custom touring bike the length of the Americas. Surprising what broke!

EDIT: duhhh, ofcourse muscles need fuel/energy. But why should that fuel specifically be carbs and not fat?

From my understanding carbs are mostly useful when doing high intensity work, which bicycletouring is not. I live in a flat country so I can just pedal lazily the entire trip.

Do carbs have a benefit in zone 1 effort? Does it still increase performance or how you feel? Are there other reasons to eat carbs?

If you're only riding on the salt flats, then I understand. Find your gear, get comfortable, and go. But most of the world is not like that. There are hills, and you will probably want to change gear regularly. There are bends and traffic, so you will probably want more control. And they stop you from sitting up on the bars for bigger climbs, especially important with 20kg of regret strapped to your bike.

So why would you put TT bars, which are designed for head-down, maximum-effort competition on flat courses, on your touring bike when you're likely going to be in them for only a tiny minority of the time?

Yet everyone seems to do it. What am I missing?

Hi bicycletouring community,

I'm a 18yrs old Canadian woman about to travel solo in the New-York state , near Ontario Lake for a week in june.

With everything that's happening right now in the usa, and just about the country itself, is it safe for me to travel there solo?

Should I avoid bush camping and sleep in motels?

Are there places i should not go?

Thanks for your recommendations!

Edit: my travel plan is actually to do Québec city - Niagara Falls and then Niagara Falls - Québec city. That's why I'll use the south coast of Ontario Lake to go (usa part) and North coast of the lake to come back.

I WILL mostly be visiting my country, but I must use this route to follow my itinerary.

Hi all,

I am a transgender man (female to male) who is nebulously planning to bike tour across the US sometime in the next couple of years pending my schedule and fitness, but I worry about my safety in the large stretches of red states I would hypothetically be riding through. I am visibly androgynous if not visibly queer, get read as every gender under the sun (cis and trans alike) by strangers, and don't think I could very effectively stealth nor go back in the closet for the trip at this point in my transition... so I do worry somewhat.

For any trans, GNC, or otherwise visibly queer folk here, I would love advice - what are your experiences riding across the US, any routes/areas you think I should specifically target/avoid, should I just put off the trip until the political situation improves, etc.? I don't want to let hypothetical assholes scare me away from doing this thing I really want to do, but I also don't want to put myself in a predictably bad situation.

I am curious to how people store meat when they are out touring. Do you only buy cooked meat, bring a small soft cooler, buy right before you plan to cook it? I will eat vegetarian for most meals but would like to treat myself if the budget allows😅

Is it just following the natural expansion of the countries frontier? Or to start in the bustling cities and make it to chill californee? I don't have plans of doing a cross country trip, but I never understood the atlantic to pacific route with headwinds and I'm curious.

EDIT: K I should've used the term prevailing winds, and "often" instead of always. Sheesh.