When you ride a bike in a new place, you become part of that place. Sensory memory, much more than physical exertion, is the powerful allure of bicycle touring. That is, if all goes well. Here are some tips to make sure it will.
There is one dirty little secret involved here: Bike touring is hard on your butt if you’re not used to riding. Utilize those advance months in the saddle to develop the necessary butt toughness.
Essential Skills
As the saying goes,
learning the skills necessary for an extended cycling tour is as easy
as falling off a bike. Luckily, once you achieve good balance atop your
two wheels, the falling will not be such a problem.
After that,
there are only three other areas to focus on: pacing, gears, and
braking. Cycling tours require several hours in the saddle, and you
won’t want to burn out your quads in the first few hours, so learn how
to pace yourself to go the distance. It is equally important to know
when and how to use your different gears. Keep in mind that you should
avoid changing gears as you push full steam up a hill. It’s just about
the fastest way to break your chain. Finally, touring demands you know
how to brake effectively, slowing yourself down without coming to a
complete standstill. Otherwise your pace will be broken.
Gear Up
Most
tour operators generally offer a bike-rental option, saving you the
headache of transporting your own bike. Make sure, however, the bikes
have a triple chainwheel, which means it has a range of gears that’ll
get you up those ubiquitous "rolling hills." Also preferred are drop
handlebars rather than mountain-bike-style bars: Drop bars let you vary
your hand position and tuck down out of the wind. Of course, if you
have become attached to your own set of wheels, you usually have the
option of bringing your bike with you. If you're traveling by plane,
ask a local bike shop to box your bike and prepare it as checked
baggage; the whole thing should weigh less than 70 pounds to meet
typical airline limits. Once you arrive, a guide on the tour should be
able to help reassemble it.
Then, of course, you’ll need something
for carrying incidentals like a camera and snacks. Some companies offer
handlebar bags for just this reason; you may find fanny pack works just
as well.
Finally, remember that there’s a darn good reason why
cyclists wear that odd-looking synthetic clothing: It dries quickly,
and the padded shorts prevent chafing in your nether regions. Bring two
or three sets, plus a water-resistant windbreaker (made of a breathable
microfiber) and tights if the weather might be chilly. You’ll also need
gloves and a proper helmet.
Speak the Language
Triple chainwheel: A three-cog setup in the front that provides a wider range of gearing than a two-cog chainwheel. Such gearing gives you a fighting chance of getting up long, hard hills.
Peloton: Any tightly packed group of riders. Also known as a paceline. Riders in a peloton can work together against the wind (generally a far more formidable foe than hills) by alternately tucking into one another’s slipstreams and taking brief turns fighting the wind at the front of the group.
Spinning: The key to both riding long distances and burning fat. Experienced riders "spin" at higher rpms in lower gears, allowing them to ride for hours while maintaining a moderate heart rate and suppleness in the legs, rather than pushing hard in high-resistance gears, which burns out knees and leg muscles.
Sag wagon: A van or car that sweeps a bike-touring route, providing bike tourists with sustenance, maintenance, and--if need be--a ride.
Honking: Refers not to what rude motorists do, but rather what you do to get up a very steep section of road (i.e., stand on the pedals and maintain a steady cadence).
