Generic Touring Thread

i've always put in 'padding' aka all my stuff which i couldn't fit in carry on

I live over here now so PM me if you have specific questions but I'd recommend seeing as much of the West coast as possible. There's the Wild Atlantic Way, the Greenway and the royal cancal West of Dublin.

Perfect thanks for the replies guys

So I've just purchased Ryanair tickets and plan to put my bike on as normal baggage, their maximum dimensions are 119x119x81 and maximum weight 20kg I should be within the size and weight restrictions with the bike disassembled. Anyone done this before?

Don't tell them there is a bike in the box. Or they'll try charge you. I bet!

Its my grandmothers wheelchair!

Best excuse I've ever heard

I travel with bike bags that are within normal luggage limits. Be careful about mentioning that you have a bike inside, as its a higher separate price, they'll try to charge you more. I now travel with the airlines baggage terms n' conditions printed out and a paper tape measure, it makes it easier when checking in.

No where does it ever say that you can't take a bike as normal luggage as long as the holder/case is within the size limitations. The worst I've had is with Norwegian Airlines where they tried to make me sign a disclaimer claiming no responsibility for any damage whilst in their care.

Legit. That's good.

Sweet thanks for the replies, Muppetteer that puts my mind as easy slightly!

Has anyone done a 2-3 day round trip from london to the south coast on tracks/offroad/gravel? Preferably not Brighton as I've done that a couple of times already...planning on camping too. Or a 2-3 day world trip from london to anywhere scenic.

Thanks!

Anyone doing any rail/sail type activity in the Netherlands before the end of this month?

I have two 'any station to any station' train tickets that were unused during my trip last year. They expire on 1 July and was hoping I could swap them with someone who is travelling this month, thereby extending the validity, as I'm planning on heading over in Aug/Sept.

Any takers? I'll buy you a beer :)

London > Winchester > South Downs way > Eastbourne > London?

Have you done any of the south downs way/ is there a route?

Im planning on doing at some point in the summer.. Need to test bivy / sleep bag.

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/248905/

We are going to do London to Winchester to Brighton in two days. We considered the south downs way but I'm doing it sscx so that won't be possible due to what people said on the thread, does anyone know a more forgiving route from Winchester?

Rode about over the weekend from Friday in Surrey, meeting in Richmond, mostly offroad on Thames path and woodland trails, with about 25 people, only 6 of those adults. Was lots of fun.

Funniest bit was joining on the back of a military marching band procession in Walton (or perhaps some town near Walton). Guy probably from local rag starting taking pics of us, perhaps assuming we were part of the 'celebrations' for the Queen. We weren't.

Was using all-SuperC setup of barbag & four panniers, rears lined for clothing/sleeping gear, nothing got wet whilst on the bike despite being quite wet on Saturday evening & Sunday morning (mainly whilst pitching and cooking breakfast & packing).

Made me realise I ALWAYS carry too much stuff. Next time I pack, I'm going to try to lay all the stuff out before packing it, then have a cull before packing anything away. I somehow managed to have four hats! FOUR!

Great start to my mini-tour.. Sat on the train to the airport and I've realised I've forgotten my cleats

It's really gone to shit now... I was buying my train ticket and left the trolley at the edge of the queue. Bought my ticket and went back and my bag with my Garmin, batteries, clothes and chargers had gone. Pretty shit.

Sat in the police station now. Not sure what I'm going to do

That is pretty shit man, my stomach would sink through the floor if that happened to me, absolutely gutting. One thing you could do, get incident number, go on trip anyway, buy new clothes and bag, cheap charger for phone and hope some kind of insurance will cover your loss, get a bin bag for a waterproof gilet. Saturday and Sunday look like they could be dry, Friday is wet (no idea where you are planning on cycling, just looked at london and cornwall) It would be a shame to miss out on your trip because of some arsehole robbing your bag!

Anyone out there with tips on route LYON - PARIS?

@Bernhard yeah I felt like shit.

Two hours later in the police station I left the airport with a crime reference number. I'm staying at a friends house so at least I've got that.

Tomorrow they're taking me to a giant second hand bike shop to get the stuff I've lost.

In regards to the Garmin I feel I'm just going to have to bite the bullet as I've got TCR next month anyway, worry about insurance later.

Glad to hear you have a plan, hope you have a great trip, best of luck!

This is the grimmest tale I've heard. On the plus side it probably can't get any worse and you'll have a story to tell when you get back.

Which bits of Ireland? Have a friend who is from near Dublin and she's done a fair bit of riding in the southeast of the country.

It's actually for a friend who's coming across from the US so I'm not 100% sure. I'm waiting on a reply from him but I just thought I would put the feelers out