Generic Touring Thread

I have also always wanted to go to Shetland, but would have to get the
ferry from Aberdeen I guess? Maybe save that trip for another time.

This would be possible with a flight from Aberdeen but would probably limit you to a hiking expedition, if you did want to do that I could sort out free airport parking for you as I work nearby, send a PM. Saying that, you could always fly/ferry from Orkney!

The car limits me to doing circular routes starting and ending at the
same points, which is a bit annoying, as I can't ride from eg. Fort
William to Skye.

Actually, I would think this would be possible, if you dump the car in Fort William, pedal up to Mallaig and ferry across, do a loop, have a hike up a Cuillin, pedal back over the bridge and down to Fort William, back to the car, obvs this is a multi day jobby but doable.

if you did want to do that I could sort out free airport parking for you as I work nearby

Kind offer, thanks! I'll have to think about it as Aberdeen is a long way from the other stuff I was planning

Actually, I would think this would be possible, if you dump the car in Fort William, pedal up to Mallaig and ferry across, do a loop, have a hike up a Cuillin, pedal back over the bridge and down to Fort William, back to the car, obvs this is a multi day jobby but doable.

My concern with something like this is that I'd have to take all of my walking gear on the bike (boots, jackets, poles?, walking clothes, etc.) but I guess there's a fair bit of overlap. Maybe I should just do it all on a bike and go 4-panniers-and-frame-bags touring with 40kg of stuff...

@pastry_bot

I spent a month touring around Ireland

Very interesting! I hadn't considered Ireland.

I'm not sure how they would fit into your plans, but a local youth hostel or pub might be able to help with parking/bike storage of you stay for a day or two

Great idea :) to be honest I wouldn't be too worried, it'll be September so most of the holiday-makers will be back at home, and crime is pretty low-level out in the Highlands.

No worries, I'm just being biased towards Aberdeen as I'm over this way, as for biking the whole way round Skye fully loaded, that would be quite an undertaking, hopefully some more sensible chaps can come along with better ideas.

Could you post your route? I did 4 days around Mayo a couple years ago, been thinking of maybe taking a week off when my missus is away

touring around Ireland

On an Ardèche campsite (Vogüé) with the kids, hiding all day for the bloody heat (38 Celsius today), drinking local Rosé wine at night and gazing maps for my next week's tour: 10 days just me, myself and I from here to Bern in Switzerland over a multitude of Alpine passes. Countdown to wednesday when my kids' mom arrives and takes them with her on their holiday.

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;)

I don't have a route mapped per se, since i did most of it on the fly with a map at the time, but I can send you some Strava links if you send me a direct message.

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Anyone got much experience of touring / bikepacking in Georgia (Europe/ Asia, rather than US). Thinking of going towards the end of October, and keen to know:

• will the weather be any good?
  
• is it a stupid idea to try and cross any of the big mountain passes due to snow..?
  
• what the dirt roads are like and if my cx bike will be alright...
  
  

This is my current route, an edit of one I found on bikepacking.com

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28239312

pic of speedo at 45mph

On the phone drivers thread >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Any updates from @Tijs and his monster tour?

Arrived in the Lake District today; very beautiful. Took a bit longer than expected, so think I'm gonna stay here a few days and explore, then use the remaining week to cycle to Newcastle. From there I'll take the overnight ferry back to Rotterdam.

Looks lovely - have fun!

Mini spam, there’s now a dedicated trailer thread in case anybody would like to impart photos and wisdom!

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/324007/newest/

It's km/hr.

4 th day of my tour from the Ardèche (France) to Bern in Switzerland. Temperatures remain piping hot, turning climbing into something infernal. Crossed 4 mayor mountain passes so far: Col de Menée, col d'Ornon, col du Glandon and today col des Saisies. Tomorrow les Aravis and la Colombière are scheduled.

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ferry to Orkneys

Sounds great. If you want a couple of Air BnB's just let me know, Wheems is worth checking out

Presume you've seen these

http://www.bikepacking.com/routes/caucasus-crossing/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/adventure-blog/2015/12/16/the-trail-to-kazbegi-a-bikepacking-adventure/

Looks like an epic trip. I’m super jealous! Keep them pics coming ;)

I'm going to cycle Central America later this year, Mexico to Panama - do we have a thread on C Am anywhere? utfs'ing doesn't throw anything up.

Also, could I use my old Look roadie for it, or is there any reason why that would be a bad idea and a specialist touring bike would be better?

Yes Tijs! Good to see you're in the UK. Hope it treats you well.

May be some rough roads so you may want thicker tyres, plus it depends how much you plan to carry?

Unconventional for sure, but not impossible.

Definitely thicker tyres, and I'd be planning on packing as light as possible for a couple of months. I live on a boat, so space is at a premium - I really can't be buying too many more bikes. My only other prior tour was South Africa by fixie, after looking at distances on a map with no contours - I will accept that this was foolish.

I've not cycled there, but have visited Costa Rica, and the majority of roads were gravel/dirt. I'd want some wider tyres as a minimum. An old MTB would probably be a better bet.

being poverty stricken, and not camping out while its cold, what sleeping mat would come in best for cheap and packing small ahead of comfort/insulation?

a thermarest ridgerest classic is £18 on amazon

Thanks, @Pawlus it certainly is a very heavy trip, mostly because of the heat.
Yesterday arrived near Lac Léman after climbing Aravis and Colombiere. Today rode from Thonon to Chateau d'Oex in Switzerland over col des Mosses. A sometimes rather steep, 17 km climb to 1445 m. Switzerland is bloody nice but sooooo expensive. Will have to sell the bike to fund the meals here. ;)

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Day #10 posted https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/322324/?offset=25