Bicycle Touring: The First Steps

In December 2007 I decided that I'd like to travel around the world, so I sold my motorbike and bought a touring bicycle. This would enable me to travel for longer as I wouldn't have to pay for petrol / gas and bicycles are cheaper to repair than motorbikes. There was also the added bonus of getting fit along the way.

Although I used a bicycle for short commutes to work, I had only ever ridden fifty-miles in one day on three occasions and those trips were many months apart. I planned to start in July 2008 which gave me seven months to find out as much information as possible about what I was letting myself in for. I got some good advice from people I contacted over the Internet and I was warned many times about the "dangers" on the road, this advice was generally dispensed by people who had never never cycle toured before.

I hope that this hub (and future posts) will inspire you to get on your bike and ride, Ive ridden over 25,000 kilometers / 15,534 miles and I'm still on the road nearly two and a half years down the line. I'm currently in La Paz, Baja, Mexico (Dec 2010).

When buying equipment you've got to make sure that it is 'fit for purpose', there is no point in purchasing a summer rated sleeping bag if you are going to be in the mountains in winter.

The Bicycle: There are so many options when it comes to choosing the right bike and what is 'right' for me may not be 'right' for you.

I planned to travel in Asia and South America, where it is very difficult to get 700cc wheels, as the 26" mountain bike wheel is king in this areas. I also decided to get a steel frame as this would make it easier to get repaired if I have a problem on the road, this is also the reason why I chose "old fashioned" rim brakes. Another concern I had was about getting stranded at the side of the road (I later learned that when you travel by bicycle you meet wonderful people who will go out of their way to help you), so I decided to buy the best bike I could afford, a Thorn Exp from www.sjscycles.co.uk

Camping: In order to maximise my time on the road and minimise my expenses, I decided that I'd mainly camp and intended to use a mixture of campsites and wild camping. I hadn't camped for years though and didn't have any suitable equipment, so once again I had to do some research into what equipment was available. I hoped to be on the road for an extended period and had to prepare for whatever the weather was going to throw at me. I also need equipment that was fairly lightweight, durable and packed away small.

For these reasons I decided to purchase a Terra Nova Voyager tent, which generally had excellent reviews and I bought down sleeping bag that was rated to -12c / 10.4f. I knew that the sleeping bag would be too warm to use for the first few months, so I bought a cotton sleeping bag liner which I used during the summer months. Next up was a sleeping mat, pretty essential when you are camping on cold nights in the mountains. I'm not a fan of Thermarests and did a lot of research into alternatives and eventually settled on an Exped 7 Downmat, which is extremely comfortable and also packs up real small.

Cooking: Next I had to decide on a camping stove and I settled on the MSR Dragonfly. It is slightly bigger than most stoves and it's also pretty load when it's on full power, but the beauty of it is that it runs on unleaded petrol / gas, white gas and diesel and it has a simmer control. Once you leave the 'comforts' of Europe, camping gas is not always available (especially in Iran and Pakistan) but I could always get my fuel from a petrol / gas station.

I bought MSR Titanium Cooking Pots, a titanium cup and a titanium spork, they cost more than other sets, but they are lightweight and durable. I also purchased a stainless steel plate and bowl, which can double up as a small frying pan or pot.

Clothing: This is the hard bit. How can you fit two plus years of clothing into a pair of panniers? I decided on two pairs of cycling shorts, three cycling tops, two pairs of cycling socks, two pairs of cycling gloves (long and short fingered), two pairs of underwear, waterproof jacket and trousers, down jacket, casual shirt and lightweight hiking trousers (zip off legs).

Maps: "It's a small world", "the worlds getting smaller every day", how many times do people say these expressions a day? Well the world is not that small when you're on a bike and the best way to navigate my way around it is by a combination of paper based maps, a compass and a GPS unit.

I bought a Garmin eTrex Legend HCx, which is a small unit that I can clip on to my handlebars and I chose the Europe set of maps. This unit is excellent, especially when entering / exiting a big town, but as with all GPS units (that I've used) the directions can be a bit hit and miss, especially if you use the Bicycle Routing option. The batteries (2 x AA) seem to last forever (25 hours according to their website), the GPS remains in my handlebar bag most of the time and I use my maps for general navigation.

I bought several sets of maps before I left and they took me all the way to India. I always kept the current map attached to my handlebar bag with an Ortlieb map case and this never leaked despite having to deal with temperatures ranging from -11c / 12.2f to 48c / 120f.

When I was in Frankfurt, Germany, I asked my riding partner to plot a route out of town, he had the same GPS unit, but didn't have any maps.... His GPS told him that it was eighty (80) miles and plotted us a route. We decided to follow my map down the River Maine and came to the town five (5) miles later. Do not rely on GPS alone....

Luggage: So, how do I carry all of the above equipment? I need luggage that can protect me from the worst of the elements and that are 100% waterproof. For me there was only one brand to choose at that is Ortlieb, there are lots of other brands available, but none (in my opinion) can match the Ortliebs. They have various products, but I settled for the Ortlieb Classic Panniers Front & Rear, Rack Pack & 10 Litre Bar Bag. I'm still using them two and a half years later.

That's all for this first hub. In future posts I'll write about Wild / Stealth Camping, people I've met and countries I've been to. If there is anything you'd like to hear about my time on the road, please leave a comment below.