Introduction
What is touring by bicycle? Touring by bicycle is an amazing journey. It helps to feel boundless freedom. You can tour in a month, a year or as your wish. Whenever you want, you can go for cycling tour. Firstly, be mentally prepared, select a date for the bicycle tour, and set a minimum budget, because it determines how many days you will stay on the bike tour.
Budget is very important for touring by bicycle. After that, choose the best bicycle which is perfect for your tour. Buy some necessary things like a helmet, bike coat, raincoat, shoes, socks, a bag, a water bottle, some dry food, and some clothes, etc. Obviously, choose your location and the season in which you want to go for the tour.
Season and spot are related, as spots change according to the season. And the most important thing is that the spot helps you in fixing all the decisions involved with your biking tour. These elements are enough for your tour.
If you are a beginner, you should choose a better road to ride and ride carefully. If you can’t ride a bicycle, you should try to learn because you can’t imagine what you are missing in life. An expert rider knows everything and just needs proper guidelines to go on a bike tour.
Touring by bicycle can be done by a single person, a couple, or a group, etc. Whatever it is, it will give you immense joy. It will remain an amazing moment in your life, and it is something you should do because it will give you a wonderful feeling in the end.
Choose the right bicycle
You choose the suitable bicycle for touring by bicycle because it is your choice, and comfort is a must. Without feeling comfortable, you will not enjoy the cycling tour. If your bicycle is not perfect, you will not get proper satisfaction from cycling.
Also, when you choose a bicycle, you should check its durability. You can take any one from road bike, mountain bike, gravel bike, hybrid bike, etc. Since your tour is long- distance, your bike must be strong and durable.
Choose a Helmet
Your safety is very important. There is no hesitation when it comes to your safety. During riding, you should always wear a helmet, and if it is a touring time, you must wear a helmet. You can buy any helmet of your choice. Before getting ready for the bicycle tour, you should ensure that you take a helmet.
Take the Riding shoes, socks, gloves, and other essentials
When you have already made the decision to go on a touring by bicycle, you have to buy some essential thing like shoes, socks, gloves, a bag, a gear bag etc. You may think these things are too expensive, and your tour cost might exceed your budget.
Normally, these things are highly needed. You can’t go on a biking tour without these elements. You should fix a budget after learning about the prices of these elements because they are surely needed.
Food and Clothes
Since this will be a long distance touring by bicycle, you would take some dry food. Also, when you eating outside food during the tour, make sure to judge which food is good for your body, because if you get food poisoning, your tour may be ruined and you may miss all of wonderful moment.
So, you should take dry food with you and eat healthy food at a hotel or food shop. Clothes are also needed for a bicycle tour because it may rain or the sunlight may be too strong.
You should wear raincoat during the rain and a biking outfit while riding. Since it is a long tour, you will need extra clothes to change into every day.
Water bottle and GPS tracker
You will be tried after a long time riding a bicycle. If it is a summer day, you will need more water than you would on a normal day because your body is biking hard hour by hour, and your body temperature will be high because of sunlight.
You need to drink water at any time, so you must take a water bottle to start a bike tour. A GPS tracker will help you to find your path to your targeted location. May be you have never been there, so you need a GPS tracker to find the road.
You will cycle on a new road every day, a road you don’t know, but the GPS will help you go the right way.
Choose the Location
To be prepared, you choose the location which is chosen by you. It is the main factor for enjoyment because the beauty of the location makes you happy. Every location has different beauty. So, you fix your location. The location may change with the seasons.
You will feel comfortable depending on the season you choose for your long tour. After selecting the location, you can fix your budget. Sometimes, there may be quarrels about the targeted location among the team members.
So, it is a better decision for all members to choose the location before the tour, so that there are no problems among them during the tour.
Mentally prepared
Touring by bicycle is not only physical but also a mental tour. You have to maintain yourself in bad situations. Not every day will be perfect for you because any day, at any time, you may get injured. So, you should be ready for any kind mental pressure; otherwise, you won’t be able to complete your tour and will return with mental and physical illness.
Take an expert or guide for beginners
Some riders may be beginners. They are not experts in cycling, or it could be someone going for the first time on a long bicycle tour. So, they do not have enough knowledge about how to start or what to do on a bike tour. Therefore, it may be better for beginners to take an expert in their team so that they can get help, advice, or solutions for any problems during the tour from the expert.
First aid
You must always carry first aid with you or your team. If anyone gets injured, give him or her first aid treatment before going to the doctor or hospital. It can help keep anyone safe from further danger, because sometimes the patient may be late in reaching the doctor or hospital.
So, first aid is really an important thing for any kind of tour, especially touring by bicycle, because you may be going to an area where there is no doctor or hospital, and in that case, first aid is your main hope.
Enjoy the bicycle tour
When you are already on a bicycle tour, make it enjoyable. Stay far from all your problems. Do not think about your life’s weaknesses. Go ahead with your team members and just enjoy the bicycle tour.
When you get back after finishing the tour, you can feel the benefits of the bicycle tour and how much impact it has on your life. If you do not enjoy it, then you cannot get its benefits. So, you should enjoy it during the bicycle tour.
FAQ
Is touring by bicycle too expensive?
It depends on many things like number of days, destination, route, personal costs, food, and if someone gets injured, then treatment cost, etc. If you do not have a bicycle, you need to add the bicycle cost, and it may also happen that you carry someone’s cost, so your budget may become more expensive.
What type of bicycle is the best for touring?
There are best options like road bikes, gravel bikes, hybrid bikes, bike packing bikes, fat bikes, etc. All of these bicycles have different brands. When Choosing a brand, you should notice or pay attention on the tires, frame, handlebars, color, capacity, durable, etc.
Which type of weather is ideal for a bicycle tour?
The ideal weather for a cycling tour is one with moderate temperatures, manageable winds, no extreme winter conditions, and dry weather throughout all seasons. The season can be anything, but the weather must be comfortable and stable in combination with the rider’s body.
Conclusion
We discuss the whole preparation for touring by bicycle in this article, from beginners to expert riders. Everyone has curiosity about how to prepare and go on a bicycle tour. It is very normal because we don’t know everything.
We have to learn new topics every day. The topic of cycling tours is like that. A bicycle tour is a unique way to know the world with enjoyment, adventure, fitness, socialism, etc. Here, you get the chance to experience new nature, weather, environment, culture, people, society, etc.
During the tour, you need to struggle every moment to survive. You will have to face many challenges during the tour. You prove yourself by facing any kind of obstacle and moving ahead.