This previous weekend I spent 4 days backpacking within the mountains of Sequoia Nationwide Park (in California, USA) with an outdated highschool buddy of mine… and whereas I used to be on the market on the climbing path, I began fascinated with simply how troublesome it may be for folks, corresponding to your self, to get began with bicycle touring.
In any case, in the event you’re planning to conduct a self-supported bike tour (the place you may be tenting and carrying your whole meals, water, clothes, toiletries, and so on. in your bicycle), there are a whole lot of preliminary bills that you could put money into earlier than your bike tour can start.
You want a motorcycle, a tent, a sleeping bag, a sleeping mat, a range, cooking gear, clothes, and a complete host of extra objects. Check out my “low-budget packing record” for an instance of the kind of gear you would possibly want to purchase in your first bike tour.
The excellent news is, gearing up for a self-supported bike tour doesn’t must price quite a bit… and it actually doesn’t want to interrupt the financial institution.
Why is that precisely?
Nicely, in the event you’ve ever participated in any sort of tenting journey earlier than, you most likely have already got a whole lot of the gear you could go bicycle touring.
You most likely already personal a tent, a sleeping bag and a sleeping mat that you can use. You may need a range and a cook dinner pot already too. Heck, you’ve most likely already acquired all of the clothes you could go bicycle touring anyplace on this planet!
And in the event you don’t have all that gear your self, you’ve most likely acquired a buddy or relative who has all of the gear you want, simply sitting of their attic, basement or closet and never getting used in any respect. They’d certainly lend you the gear you could begin touring by bicycle!
You see, bicycle touring is similar to backpacking. With each actions, you get up within the morning, pack up your issues and canopy as a lot floor as potential. Solely to repeat the method the next day.
The distinction is: With backpacking, you stroll and transport your gear in a backpack carried in your shoulders… and with bicycle touring you journey a motorcycle and carry the burden of your gear on the body of your bicycle.
The 2 actions are very related… and the gear you utilize for each backpacking and bicycle touring is nearly precisely the identical. The one main distinction is the mode wherein you journey every day… and the quantity of floor you’ll be able to cowl. Study extra right here.
Should you do have to put money into a brand new tent or a number of new clothes objects in your bike tour, hopefully you’ll get some solace in realizing that the gear you purchase will also be used for all kinds of different out of doors adventures – like climbing, tenting, backpacking or touring in different methods (through kayak, motorbike, RV, and so on).
So, there actually are not any extra excuses! You most likely already personal a whole lot of the gear you could conduct your first bike tour. You may borrow the remainder of the gear you want out of your family and friends. And in the event you do want to purchase a number of important objects in your upcoming bike tour, you’ll be able to calm down a bit, since you now know that the gear you purchase can be utilized for all kinds of comparable out of doors actions.
Plus, you may have the Bicycle Touring Professional that will help you out and coach you thru your first bicycle touring expertise – so that you don’t must waste your money and time on gear you don’t want. And you’ll relaxation that little head of yours realizing that you just gained’t make the identical cycle touring errors that so many others have made earlier than you.
Bicycle touring is likely one of the very best methods to journey, see the world, calm down, get in nice form and have enjoyable driving a bicycle. The exercise doesn’t must be costly; nearly anybody can do it; and with the correct amount of information and slightly steering from the Bicycle Touring Professional, you can also conduct your individual unimaginable bicycle touring adventures anyplace on this planet!
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