r/bicycletouring

10,000 miles, 17 countries, and 18 months later, I've finally finished my ride from Tangier to Cape Town! The last few months have been extremely crazy with bike troubles and visa problems in the DRC, but I've finally had a chance to sort through all the SDs. If you have any questions about to the journey, expedition logistics, the photos, distance cycle touring, or anything else just drop a comment- would love to hear from all y’all!

1 - Bushwacking, Sierra Leone 🇸🇱

2 - Speak Softly, Benin 🇧🇯

3 - Sahara Tailwinds, Mauritania 🇲🇷

4 - Bespoke, Senegal 🇸🇳

5 - Presidential Crocs, Côte d'Ivoire 🇨🇮

6 - Orderly Springbok, Namibia 🇳🇦

7 - Talk to Me, Western Sahara 🇪🇭

8 - Shotgun!, Guinea Conakry 🇬🇳

9 - Tidepool, Morocco 🇲🇦

10 - Shopkeep, Angola 🇦🇴

11 - Kickabout - Morocco 🇲🇦

12 - Slow Burn, The Gambia 🇬🇲

13 - Camel Crossing, Mauritania 🇲🇷

14 - Battery Picnic, Morocco 🇲🇦

15 - Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (redux), Namibia 🇳🇦

16 - Rainy Season, Sierra Leone 🇸🇱

17 - Fresh Paint, Nigeria 🇳🇬

18 - Bath Day, Senegal 🇸🇳

19 - Shortcut, Namibia 🇳🇦

20 - Free Miles, DRC 🇨🇩

Been wanting to get one, and was finally ready to pull the trigger and replace my aging garmin edge 530. Aaand it’s gone

So, now I need to decide if I want to wait for the new one, or suck it up and get a garmin/wahoo/hammerhead. I’m kind of expecting the new Dura to end up around the $500 mark like all the other ones, but might be worth waiting to find out?

What’s the go-to bike computer for touring and randonneuring other than the Dura? I was really looking forward to that mega battery life

Hi all, I've completed the recce of my new ultra race that I am organising. Certainly a growing gravel cycling community here in Saudi... And with good reason, it is stunning with some incredible mountains. Any big ultra riders will know why I called my race Arabia Divide!

I did it guys! Took the train and bus to Furka Pass and then unicycled to the Geneva Lake.... Took me almost two weeks and all my willpower to ride against the wind that CONSTANTLY blows in this valley in the afternoon, but I did it!

This was a solo trip, but my girlfriend joined me for a weekend and it was great having some company for a little bit. Also said hi to a few friends who live in the area.

I had sooo much fun, the mountains were absolutely beautiful and people were always very kind to me and asked lots of questions about my unicycle. Going down the Furka pass was incredible! I was wearing a hi-vis vest with a uni on it to signal that i was slow and unstable and cars, motorcycles and yes, even cyclists were very mindful when overtaking me. And soooo many people gave me thumbs up as they did or waved at me. It really warmed my heart <3

Sleeping in campgrounds was a lot of fun too, I got to experience a lot of different vibes, from very natural bare bone campgrounds where i slept in a forest to the big touristy kind. My favorite campgrounds were the ones at the beginning of the trip, they were smaller and full of bikepackers and travelers when the bigger ones were mostly filled with families who were staying the entire summer. Kinda felt like I was intruding sometimes by staying just one night hahaha

I must admit I took the train twice so I didnt actually ride the planned 200km.... The first time was between Niederwald and Mörel to avoid a big detour with lots of climbing involved, and the second time was between Leuk and Sierre where it follows a very busy road that seemed dangerous and not fun at all to ride. I could technically have powered through both or even walked but I was on vacation ffs! Enjoying my trip is more important to me than making it perfect!

I rode around 15-20km a day, which doesnt seem like much until i remember my unicycle weighs around 20kg and I am still very far from being an athlete lmao. But exhaustion wasn't the real limiting factor. Just as last year when I rode around the Neuchâtel Lake my biggest enemy was pain. Despite my new padded bike shorts, my new handlebars taking some of my weight off the saddle, having only water and a few other small things in my backapck and taking as many breaks as i needed, my crotch was HURTING. And I'm not talking about chafing but just pressure on my perineum that got unbearable after a while. I might try a different saddle and will definitely switch from a backpack to a running vest so I'm not tempted to load it too much.

No serious falls to report, and the only injury I sustained was severe chafing the first day when the rain soaked my bike shorts and washed away the anti-chafing cream. It took almost a week of drowning it in bepanthen every night for it to stop hurting. Ouch. But manageable.

In conclusion I'm just so happy I did this, will plan a week-long trip for next year because this one was honestly too long and I started getting bored of riding at the end (and tired).

If any of you is thinking of traveling on a unicycle: do it. I'm a chubby not-very-active idiot and I did it! All you need to know is how to ride, and have light camping gear. DO IT!!!

Spent a week in Norway back in July, a first time for me and wow what a country to ride a bike.

The views were insane (these are a few of the 1 billion photos I took) and the gravel roads have to be the best gravel I've ever ridden.

Tarmac between the gravel was super smooth, you're allowed to wild camp and everyone I met was friendly. Plus you hardly needed lights, mainly just in tunnels.

Weather was 50/50, unseasonably cold and wet (Inc snow) at the start of the week but sunny and warm towards the end. So it was a take all the kit type trip 😂

I originally went to race the Bright Midnight but it didn't go to plan.... so I switched it up and got to enjoy bikepacking taking it all in.

I made a video of my trip if anyone is interested in seeing more of Norway and what it offers:

https://youtu.be/NXJj2Tuv7-k?si=O0TXCiGabQHLQzxM

Suggest your coffee brewing setup.

I am upgrading my setup and would love recommendations.

I am using panniers so have space. It's also comfort touring, going remote, though like to minimise weight but for a good cuppa happy to pay weight plenty.

I read good things about aeropress.

Starbucks via and other similar instant are also mentioned that some like and happy with that.

Recently came across 3 in 1 coffee makers

DENOKIN 3-in-1 Portable Espresso Coffee Machine With Digital Display Removable Battery for Car & Home Camping Coffee Maker

What's your setup, what would you choose for multi week remote trips, what worked and what didn't.

If you are starting again what would you do differently.

Pic for attention

Just one bikepack for the month of July. Summer is drawing down. We really only have 2 warm months with light left. October is a last gasp and November can end real fast (last year winter came early).

I thought I'd take it easy and follow some of the TATR. Not that I think the TATR is a rail trail but most of the sections I've been on have been better than my normal life exploration rides. Mainly lacking the constant blow down due to sections getting cleared from time to time each year. This section was very likely the worst I've done and I wouldn't recommend it.

However only about 2-3 miles sucked. Just not sure the juice was worth the squeeze to form a loop.

Once again, total respect to the folks that line up and complete the TATR OG. Keeping in mind I had 52mi planned which is a little less than 10% of the TATR and I was glad when I got through the crappy section.

Some highlights were the lake at sunrise and the absolute silence overnight having the entire place to myself. Me, the dog and the loons. 30 miles with wet feet, including all but 10 minutes of day 2. Hundreds of feet riding/walking through chest high grass (no ticks though). Probably close to a mile of riding through ferns and grass where I couldn't see the ground at all. At least one unbridged swamp crossing. Deer flies for days, and mosquitoes made a solid appearance.

At times I thought "this is pretty nice" and the gravel was very nice. I saw virtually no one. Zero cars passed us off-pavement and the pavement sections were pretty quiet as well.

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Hey everyone!
My girlfriend and I are planning a road bike(packing) trip starting in Bordeaux and heading south along the Atlantic coast, with Porto as our minimum destination. Depending on how we’re feeling, we might continue further south towards Lisbon.

We don’t just want to get from A to B as quickly as possible. A big part of the trip for us is actually seeing the coast and discovering beautiful places along the way.

So I’d love to hear recommendations from people who know the French, Spanish or Portuguese Atlantic coast well:
What are some places we absolutely shouldn’t miss?
Any particularly beautiful beaches, coastal roads, viewpoints or small towns?
Are there places that are worth making a detour?
Any sections of the coast that are especially beautiful to ride on a road bike?

On the other hand, are there sections you’d recommend skipping or avoiding because of traffic, bad roads, or simply because there’s a much nicer alternative nearby?

The rough idea is:
Bordeaux → French Atlantic coast → northern Spain → Galicia → Portuguese coast → Porto → potentially Lisbon

If you’ve ridden parts of this route before, I’d also love to hear which sections were your favourites.

Thanks! <3

Hi everyone. I saw a few other cycling apps had added fire layers to their route builders but the ones I looked at were behind paywalls.

I've added the USA and Canada fire layers to my website, GoBikeCamping.com . Those governments give that data away for free, so you shouldn't have to pay for it to see if your route will be impacted. Upload your GPX file to see if your route goes near a fire, or just scroll around on the map.

You need to turn the fire layer on in the sidebar to see them.

Happy riding!

Thinking of riding the LVRT starting in St Johnsbury area, but not really psyched to make it an out and back. Are there any decent gravel routes for the return east? Will be camping and have some time. Really don’t want to ride pavement! Amenable to taking the rail trail back to St. J and doing gravel west as well. Thanks all!

We are flying into Fukuoka and cycling through Kyushu for 20 cycling days across 14 planned stages, with rest days planned in Nagasaki, Kagoshima and Beppu. After returning to Fukuoka we will travel further (without bicycles) for sightseeing in the Osaka area.

Would love a sanity check from people who know the island.

Map of the route is attached. We have read a lot of blogs and GPS tracks but nothing beats hearing from people who have actually ridden this stuff, so any input is welcome, big or small.

A few spots we are still going back and forth on:

1. Nagashima Island to Kagoshima. Coastal road or cut inland?
2. Beppu to Fukuoka. Going straight west via Hita looks like a brutal climbing day. Tempted to go the long way around via Usa instead and trade distance for less suffering. Anyone ridden both?
3. Yakushima. We have 2 spare days in the schedule. Worth squeezing in?

Starting September 20th. Any tips, warnings, or "wish someone had told me" moments from your own trips are much appreciated.

Detailed GPX: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/56731157

We're gonna bike from Resia Lake (you might have seen a pic somewhere, there's a Bell tower in the middle of the lake), and we're gonna travel until Verona.

It's only 260km, around 60km per day.

First trip. Any advice? Should I bring tires? It's a well serviced bikeway,, and our bikes are quite new and well kept.

^(My wife drives a Legnano, I'm on a Kathmandu Pro)