Generic Touring Thread

Friends have done the touring round Sardinia and walked the GR20 in Corsica.. I'll ask them some questions about logistics

thanks

Morning all.
Does anyone have any suggestions/recommendations for a sub £100 full waterproof jacket?
Good for on and off the bike. I'm mostly finding that non cycling jackets are better value. Hiking specifically seem perfect.
There seems to be a lot out there so personal experience/knowledge would be much appreciated.
It's for a Scotland trip so really does need to be proper waterproof.

For the budget you're allowing then army surplus goretex is probably your best bet.

I use a Marmot precip for climbing/hiking/riding. Like all waterproofs it eventually gives up the ghost in sustained downpours but for the pack size it does everything I want it to. It was about £70 iirc.

For work I wear an old goretex jacket by karrimor. It's probably at least 25yrs old and keeps the rain out for 10-12hr days outside. It is however the sweatiest thing ever after a few hours. It was only a tenner tho.
I used to wear army goretex for work and almost certainly will again when I kill the karrimor. They're generally massive though.

In the sub-£100 catagory you'll have to choose between waterproofness, weight and breathability.

If you want a fully waterproof shell then I've got the Patagonia Torrentshell and would really recommend it. Really light, packs small, super waterproof, good quality. RRP about 100 but found mine for about half that.

The downsides would be not breathable - but if it's coming down hard enough to make you want to wear it while riding you'll be beyond caring - and no insulation, it's just a very thin waterproof shell.

I'm in the unfortunate position of having two waterproofs and can't decide which to take (California, then New Zealand then ???)

ME Firefox, big bulky, hardwearing, pit zips, very red.
Marmot Essence, lighter, slimmer fit, less pockets, very yellow.

Let's not even start on puffy jackets... :(

Nice one.
I'll take waterproofness over weight and breathability.
Marmot looks a good buy. I'll put that on the list for sure. Cheers.

Nice one. Good contender :)

Precips are on sale for £50 at The Climber's Shop in Ambleside, good experiences buying from there before (in store and online)

Legend.

That Calais - Ghent trip upthread is kind of similar to a ride I'm planning in the next few months - I'm looking at going Dunkirk to Rotterdam.

Does anyone have much experience of riding in the area - specifically, trying to decide whether to wild camp / bivvy roughly half way (near Bruges I suppose, but obv not in the city), is it going to be nice countryside with plentiful spots or does the flatness mean exposed and not that pleasant nights? Alternatively, any recommendations for accommodation around the same area - not fussed about big or small town, it's all a bit loosely planned at the mo.

In the spirit of touring, this is plan of mine is coming up:

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/295731/#comment13407710

If anyone would like to weigh in, I am stuggling the most with finding information about the Black Forest

I just won a bob trailer for silly cheap on eBay. This excites me!
Don't need it but couldn't say no.

Dunkirk is pretty bleak. The port isn't that close to the town proper, the roads are busy with lorries and there's no scenery to speak of. Belgian coast is ok, especially as you won't be going in the height of summer. I saw a few people camping along the Bruges-Ghent canal, and planned to do so myself, but stuff happened, so. It would be ok for one night, I think. But you could easily do Dunkirk - Ghent in a day, and stay there overnight. Ghent is lovely.

Corny, I've got tons of Corsica chat. More for walking than riding TBH, but have some useful info on train/ferry logistics. Let's have a chat.

Drop me a pm and we'll arrange a meet..

Hey guys! I somewhat recently completed a solo 3200km / 2000 mile tour from Vancouver, Canada to San Diego, California down the US West Coast beginning at the start of October til the end of November. I spent $13 total on accommodation - either staying with friends from the internet / Strava, wild camping, finding hosts on warmshowers.org or with complete strangers I met in the street.

Part of the trip was documenting it all... which ended up with me having over 600GB of GoPro 5 footage totalling over 40 hours of raw clips. I've been slowly working my way through it all and have been editing together a vlog for each day from when I wake up til when I go to sleep.

I didn't want to post anything pre-emptively, but I've now finished off the first 20 (out of about 55 to do!) so here's number 20... Be sure to check out the others if you're interested in exactly how unpredictable and fun a massive foreign solo bike tour can be!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkQAuM_qv1A

Thanks a lot mate! Way to boost a depressing Tuesday with more I-am-not-out-there-riding depression!
Extensive footage

Will watch at lunch, thanks!

Incredible!! Thanks so much for sharing.

Have been watching these all afternoon, hugely entertaining. Such a fantastic trip.

Enjoyed that

Only watched one so far, but it was fantastic. A trip down the west coast of the US remains on my to do list, so I looking forward to catching up on these over the next few weeks.

Thanks so much for taking the time to edit and share.

Looks like a really awesome trip, despite all the rain. Sea lions!! Must book ferry for this year's adventure.

General enquiry:

I am trying to plan a 4 days touring for Easter break, and wanted to do one of the great parks (except Lake District where I have been already). It should also be easily reachable by train from London. I'm thinking a 300/350km loop over four days, depending on amount of climbing.

Snowdonia? Peak District? Brecon Beacons? Which is the most stunning?