Generic Touring Thread

Don't ride from Peterborough to Lynn! It's flat and boring ....

Perhaps get off @ Ely and then ride up to Swaffham instead

Go to Cambridge and go to King's Lynn via Ely. The timing should work nicely so you can eat lunch on the lawn in front of the cathedral. It's great.

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Quite a nice Ely to Cambridge route

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/13421323

It's duelling banjos country......

If you want to go a bit further south in East Anglia this is a ride I did from Colchester to Lowestoft. Takes in Dedham Vale, Sutton Hoo, Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh, Sizewell power plant, RSPB Minsmere and Southwold. About 25-30km of it is singletrack/gravel and the rest is mostly nice lanes.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19234277?privacy_code=GXrZ7lw1rFm8zj7e
?privacy_code=GXrZ7lw1rFm8zj7e

Journal/book from 1894 of two fellas who cycled from Istanbul to Beijing.
https://archive.org/stream/acrossasiaonbicy00alle#page/n0/mode/2up

Quite a contrast to todays tours where you can catch a plane, train or taxi from pretty much anywhere in the world. Interesting but long (250 pages) read.

Sounds great, will look forward to that, thanks.

I love looking through old publications. Here's also from 1897.

A veteran English cyclist gives the following advice on
Touring: " I assume, of course, that the intending tourist has
already had some experience in riding ; but even in this case,
imless he is in full practice, a certain amount of preparation
will be necessary before either he or his mount will be fairly
ready to start. The best machines demand a certain amount of
adjustment to the needs of a new owner, and it is only made
right by degrees, as experiment shows the points wherein it is
relatively defective. Further the rider himself has to get into
condition, A rider contemplating a tour should prepare himself
by ten days' steady practice, beginning with five or ten miles,
and increasing from day to day until he feels that he can travel
with ease a longer distance than he actually purposes as his
maximum. For the last day or two his rides should be in full
marching order, i. e., carrying the full amount of weight in the
way of luggage, etc., that he proposes to take on his tour.
Naturally, the question of dress arises. Much must remain
indefinite on this point because of the widely varying require-
ments of different riders. My own kit for a week's summer
tour is : In actual wear — lounging jacket, breeches, flannel shirt,
woolen stockings, necktie, shoes, gloves, cap and handkerchief.
In bag — vest, trousers, flannel shirt, woolen socks, nightshirt,
soft slippers, handkerchief, soap, comb, hair brush, toothbrush,
collars and cuffs, pair kid gloves, court plaster, nail scissors,
pocket testament and a few simple medicines. In handle bar
bag — a waterproof cape, a few tablets of chocolate, a flask of
cold tea, maps and guides. These articles may seem somewhat
numerous, but it is surprising into how small a space they can
be packed.

lounging jacket, breeches, flannel shirt,
woolen stockings, necktie, shoes, gloves, cap and handkerchief.
In bag — vest, trousers, flannel shirt, woolen socks, nightshirt,
soft slippers, handkerchief, soap, comb, hair brush, toothbrush,
collars and cuffs, pair kid gloves, court plaster, nail scissors,
pocket testament and a few simple medicines

Best packing list ever!

Route for Harwich to London anyone? Paved plz.

Obvious question is obvious.

Hey all you intrepid types.

Does anyone know of an app/online resource that allows you to map routes which actively avoid busy roads ... like to get through a section on your journey, it would ALWAYS intelligently route you avoiding two miles via the A333, in favour of two point four miles via the by road with grass growing down the middle?

I don't mind working these out for myself but I just wondered, for a long-ish schlep, if there's a way to get help with this.

http://cycle.travel/

is pretty good in general, I've only tended to use it when quite far-flung places but it automatically goes for designated cycle-friendly routes and byways

try OpenRouteService or BRouter - shameless plug

& @platypus thanks, will investigate these

Cross-post from AQA:

Seeking recommendations for drops for casual touring. Nothing too hardcore but comfy over time and ok on gravel tracks etc. It's for upgrading an old MTB which has had cut down flat bars + wrapped bar ends for years and fairly good position-wise so thinking to raise stem to get hoods in similar place. Looking at Salsa Cowbells but not sure if they're easy to get hold of.

Cowbells are very nice. Dunno where you're based but justpedal.nl sells them

^+1 for Cowbells

I'm going to be selling some Nitto B135 bars shortly. Might do the job.
Comfy all-day touring with flared drops.
Let me know if you want more details.

Oh tempting. I'll pm.

Any android app recommendations for mapping? Must be able to view .gpx files and download maps.

osmand is my default android mapping recommendation

Seconded.
Offline maps are great when off-grid and you can plot an impromptu .gpx if you really need.

Thirded. There are a lot of options in there and not everything is that intuitive so it is worth having a bit of a play with it to get it set up as you want and work out what it can do.

nice one, hopefully the new phone will be here soon and I can give a try.

ok on gravel tracks

A friend of mine swears by the Love Mud Bombers for this exact reason. Super comfortable on the road and great on the gravel. £25 delivered from alpkit.