Generic Touring Thread

Yeah. It's been a while since I did that stretch on a mountain bike. I can't remember when it turns into out and out rocky single track.
I've done the Comer Road descent to Inversnaid more recently on the gravel bike which is a small portion of what you propose and it was....just about worth it to link up a great loop but not overly fun to ride.

From my shady memory:
Mountain bike wiv da skillz is OK.
Gravel bike a bit more tedious with more carrying.
Gravel bike loaded sprinkle on some more tedium.
Touring bike loaded, no fun at all. But you'd get through it eventually.

Someone with better knowledge will turn up soon.

That sounds more of a bikepackey, off-road ratio to me. I’d run whatever you normally do plus a tooth on the back. 2 tops. The luggage doesn’t slow you down as much as you’d think. I was on 42x17 with a couple of panniers, I know SS is different but I don’t think I’d want to be that much spinnier on the flats.

just saw this, I MUST know more, did you chat with him?

This looks quite similar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOQyLYYTE8w

Paul Elkins is the main guy producing bike campers on YouTube - his channel is excellent https://youtu.be/sc6ZXR0eAZI

Got back last night after my mini tour of northern France. Highly enjoyable and definitely will do it again.

Things I learned:

• Very little point taking a D-lock. I used mine twice and only because I knew I'd be away from the bike for a while. I reckon a cafe lock would have been fine but with only a couple of exceptions, I wasn't in built-up areas/major urban centres, so I'm guessing the risk of my bike being stolen was considerably smaller.
  
• Don't take a book, you aren't doing any reading. See also: a journal for jotting things down. At least half a kilo of deadweight there.
  
• Cobbles are a pain in the arse and to be avoided, especially when you have panniers on and are going down a twisty hill.
  
• There's always room for a few bottles of beer in the panniers to bring home.
  
• Comfy seat > lightweight saddle. I'll be replacing mine a.s.a.p.
  
  

I think I was lucky with the weather, although it was ruddy windy on a couple of days and that killed my 'speed'. Conversely, that helped when I washed my shorts and hung them out on the hotel room balcony rail to dry. No punctures either despite going over some pretty tricky surfaces.

I've no idea how you'd go about packing for a longer tour, though. Do you get less fussy with the state of your clothes? Or make sure you always plan a stay somewhere with washing facilities? I reckon 90% of the weight I was carrying was clothes and I wore the lot in five days/four nights.

Don't take a book, you aren't doing any reading. See also: a journal for jotting things down. At least half a kilo of deadweight there.

Disagree. If you're caught in your tent expecting days of rain and don't want to roll out, having a book is great.

Everything else sounds pretty spot on :)

Do you get less fussy with the state of your clothes?

Yes. But having things like merino stuff that doesn't stink, helps a bit, if you're feeling self-conscious going out.

In Bormio, I was wearing the same stuff every day. No fucks given.

If you're more fussy you can sink wash undies and socks in any built up places. If the weather is good you can bathe in streams and wash your t-shirt type stuff.

I machine washed all my clothes, today, for the first time since...I think...Budapest which was 6th May. (When I say I, I mean the lovely host I'm staying with at the moment)

Sink washes and wearing stuff waaaay too long and sweating into it and not giving a fuck are underrated. Bibs get rinsed often.

I don't smell much, naturally, it seems. I have met some lads on bikes and ridden down wind and its all the motivation you need to drop them.

Off the bike garms are shorts, 2 t shirts, inexplicably a pair of jeans, 2 pairs of boxers and a light weight short sleeve shirt and some light trainers. Sent my down jacket home. Been on the road since April 19th.

Do you get less fussy with the state of your clothes? Or make sure you always plan a stay somewhere with washing facilities?

Top tip: Stand next to a camp fire or BBQ so you smell of smoke for the rest of the tour rather than BO.

Also: Merino.
Also also: The Trust deodorant in this bundle is really good.

Interesting little kit. Not seen those toothpaste pills before - anyone used them?

I have. They're OK but not massively flavoursome, so you don't feel 'minty fresh' after brushing. But they work and are light/don't take up much space.

They do, however, look massively suspicious. Mine have 'D' and 'F' imprinted on them, which I jokingly refer to as early precursor to E and 'next-level' pills.

Disagree. If you're caught in your tent expecting days of rain and don't want to roll out, having a book is great.

Is a fair point, but given I was staying in hotels and the weather was delightful, I was out every night.

Aye, +1 to what ketsbaia said. I really like the bamboo toothbrush too.

haha

Fair. I like my little tube of toothpaste. I use so little toothpaste per brush (not like the ads!) that it lasts for ages anyway.

Yeah, I'm thinking back to my 4 months or so on the road. I was camping when I could and I LOVED having my Bill Bryson book with me.

+1 for book, well Kindle. Especially for the billy no-mates tours that I do.

I'm still using the free bamboo brush I got from Transiberica at least, since my free airline one snapped :(

I'd also keep the D lock too. I used it every night at the campsite overnight and a few other times. Would much rather have the 1kg than not have a bike.

Peg your tent through the bike.

Totes secure.

Oh, for sure, if I were considering camping, I'd take it for the extra security/peace of mind. But given I was staying in hotels and each allowed me to store my bike safely indoors, it was overkill. I used it twice - once at the cafe at Westvleteren brewery as I was going out back for a long lunch and once at Dunkirk port waiting to board the ferry while moseying around the duty free shop. But the extra weight didn't really bother me either - 'rolling' countryside at best and mostly pan flat, so I barely noticed it.

I took a D-lock to use similar to you. I took the wrong key though! I bought the biggest padlock that had in the supermarket (left the bike at the tills) and used in conjunction with the cable I took too. I locked the bike to a pole, then moved it when the horse in the field next to the site took too much of an interest in my bike so just laid it, locked, the other side of my tent at my head end and balanced my saucepan on it. I locked it to a sizeable tree at the next site but didn’t lock it at all at Dunkirk ferry port. I figured no one was going to nick a fully loaded bike when they’d have no where to hide it.
Overall I was really happy with my setup, except I took too much cycle wear and will limit to two complete sets for my next trip. I’ll also practice one pot cooking at home. It’s daunting in a supermarket looking for something appropriate to cook so practice beforehand would be a massive benefit.

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One set of on bike clothes, washed every night, one set of off bike clothes, washed rarely. If it’s a long tour, everything gets a machine wash once a fortnight while I sit around in swimming trunks. Not sure why anyone wants to carry more than this on a tour but each to their own. Setup for 2 months in France a couple of years ago:

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This can work in summer but I was often putting damp kit on next morning if I'd stayed in a youth hostel or camped at a cold/wet site. I now carry waterproof MTB shorts and they do the job of off-bike and washing day clothing. I left my merino top in my drop bag during ALPI so did dinner in my washed but damp jersey one night - it was like free aircon :) but could've been grim if it was colder.

If you don't wash clothes in the campsites, what do you hang off your pannier rack the next day????