Cycle touring means constructing your own mini-world, one in which you use your own transport and carry your own belongings. Do you go the credit card lightweight tourer route or fully loaded comfort with solar panels and a chair. Solo, couple, group, self-supported, supported. There are lots of decisions to make even before you get to the question of equipment and of course the all important bike. Budget is always a consideration and will need to be considered early on in your planning though I would say that a good place to start is with your vision. The vision for a cycle tour is a statement of what your tour will look like, how it will feel, and what the experiences are likely to be. This is quite difficult. My first cycle tour was in 1981 when I was 16. The cheap bike I aquired only just made it home and my kit consisted of whatever was in the drawer. I still have a scar from crashing on a steep descent in heavy rain. This was a time when youth hostels in the UK still operated as affordable youth accommodation.
A lesson learnt from my more recent cycle tours is that you cannot rely on a single source of information; accommodation is the most obvious example where you might want to use a variety of methods to find a bed for the night especially when camping. With that in mind here are some web sites to get us started and I start with the co-author of the book I am using for this tour.
The Cycle Touring Festival provides huge amounts of information and runs an annual festival of talks. It's a great way to get inspiration for tours you might want to do whether in Norfolk or Mongolia.
There are lots of sites by individuals sharing their extensive experience on tour routes, bikes, and equipment.
Some sites just like to talk about cycling and offer up book reviews, ideas, inspiration and insight.
Personal blogs can provide good insight into the considerations that go into planning a tour including information on the environment, sustainability and biodiversity.
France is easy to get to by ferry from the UK and this site includes alot of practical information specific to that country.
Looking at Europe more generally the Eurovelo routes are a good start whether you do a whole route or link together segments.
Belgium has a strong cycling culture and a number of cycle routes.
These two UK focused organisations can help with the practical aspects and also provide standard routes.
Cycling lends itself to traveling in an environmentally friendly way where the big win is to avoid flying. The site includes lots of great advice and links for the touring cyclist.
If food or wine is your thing then you can use the ratings provided by Google Maps, an online source, or your preferred food writer.
Find something that inspires you or might provide a basis for building a tour. Here is an example if you wanted to enjoy your cycling trip with a non-cycling train enthusiast.
Finally, if you want to post photos and messages to let family know you are safe - and hopefully having a great time - then there are many blogging sites including the easy to use Blogger and some adventure focussed ones which plot your location and journey such as Find Penguins and Polar Steps.
It's one thing having the toolbox, the bag of tricks, but at the end of the day you need to practice. Due to a shortage of punctures I realise I've never had to remove either of my (newish) bike's wheels so I resolve to practice this as the new skewers use a hex bolt and I naively didn't know if I needed one or two hex (allen) keys to remove the wheels. One as it turns out. I also managed to review the bike storage on my South Western train while travelling on one; they include straps to restrain your bike.
Using public transport with your bike is required and these sites provide a good starting point though the main recommendation is to check with the provider you are planning to use before booking.
- Flying; Cycling UK has great advice on flying and recommend using a simple heavy duty plastic bag as the luggage handlers can see what they are dealing with. Using a lightweight duffle bag is an option for stashing your panniers or bike-packing bags in a single bag to go in the hold. It's the rear derailleur hanger that can get bent so removing that and taping it to the bike is an option.
- Trains; The Man In Seat 61 covers all things trains and includes cycle information. Judicious use of trains can enhance a tour though you do need to do your research where bikes are concerned. My top tip would be to build in contingency in case there are train strikes, cancellations, missed trains or the guard does not let you on the train. Some sleeper trains such as Nice to Paris cater for bikes though you need to book your bike.
- Ferries; Free Wheeling France has articles on the use of given routes though again check with your chosen provider.
- Bus/Coach; European Bike Express will get you from the UK to France or Spain. Although they have limited routes they stop at many locations so it is easy to plan a tour around the bus. The big selling point is that you wheel up to the bus stop, turn your handlebars through ninety degrees and they load your bike on a trailer with you in the coach. I haven't used them but suspect you need to book early. Flixbus is another option when in Europe.
For overnight accommodation you might want to think about whether the accommodation dictates the route or vice versa; though it may well be a trade off between price and convenience. As well as AirBnB, Booking.com, hotel chains and various campsite listings using Google Maps is an option if you want to stay on your route. There are two interesting options:
- Warm Showers is a reciprocal hosting option for cycle touring though with limited options this will dictate your route
- Camp In My Garden or CampSpace as it is now called allows you to camp on someone's lawn or small campsite. This could be a good way to meet people if you choose wisely though now it appears to be a campsite directory
- Welcome To My Garden is a useful site for camping where you get access to water, a toilet and maybe a shower.
Cycle touring as a discipline has many sources of information.
- Crazy Guy On A Bike is full of information and links
- Adventure Cycling Association is included here as an example of the information and support available.
- Thighs of Steel is a group who, as the name suggests, go in for big challenges. I mention this as an example of the types of organisation that exist. My thighs of firmly set jelly would not qualify.
I haven't mentioned the commercial offerings but there are many companies that offer supported cycle tours and these will come up all too quickly in internet searches.
Some travelling with a bike quick cheats as an indication of the things you need to think about. Though these focus on bikes on planes from the UK taking the ferry to Europe is easy and benefits from a much lower carbon footprint.
- Plastic bag for bikes on a plane
- Lots and lots of zip ties and the means to snip them off
- Optimus Polaris multi-fuel stove when maximum flexibility is required
- The MSR Hubba Hubba tent is popular (as of 2023); think about using a free standing tent
- No mudguards on a plane as they will get bent and some makeshift ones made from plastic milk carton or similar
- MSR folding chopping board for the gourmands
- Go for 22 front chainring and 46 rear cassette if tackling tough terrain; I go 34 and 34 on tarmac which is enough for France's 10% maximum gradients
- A bike stand can be useful especially if you like to jump off the bike for photos regularly
- A chair is a must have for some such as the Helix chair
- Pipe lagging can help protect your bike in transit if you are flying
- Dummy hubs can protect the forks and chain stay when removing wheels for transit
- Disc brake inserts can stop pads and pistons popping out especially if you lock the brakes on with a cable tie
- Brake lever elastic so you can fix your brakes on; a sort of parking mode
If its the sport you are interested in then the cycling press is there.
https://bikeraceinfo.com/index.html has good reference information
