Generic Touring Thread

Yeah a soft bike bag seems like a good call, will be taking the train every few days I'd Imagine and will try to avoid having to constantly Hop on and off. Planning on packing as lightly as possible

Saw this had to think of your post

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

Does anyone have experience of cycling Austria in the winter? I'm hoping to ride from Innsbruck to Zams via the R1 and R4. I know they have high levels of snow in the mountains but will these lower routes be passable?

I was advised not to ride via Kuhtai due to snow but i think thats another 1000m higher.

I'm pretty clueless with this part of the world and with altitudes.

Also where can I stash my bike bag near the airport???

I hid it under some corrugated iron sheeting in Sofia for a week and that seemed to work ok but I'd prefer something more refined.

Some airports have bike storage available that you could throw it in.

Or even left luggage maybe.

cross posting from the bargains thread: £30 bike bag on Merlin.

Does anyone have experience of the TMV route through the Vosges and/or traveling on trains with a bike from Basel into France? That seems like the easiest option as no one flies direct to Strasbourg from the UK as far as I can tell.

just seen this! thanks

Anyone toured in Picos de Europa?

Question for the hive mind on distances. I've not done any touring before and I'm looking at a multi-day ride along canals in France. Most of the itineraries I've seen are clearly aimed at bike hire / non-cyclists -i.e.: 21 km a day. They are great for planning stopping points but otherwise useless.

For a flat terrain and sedate pace what should I plan for each leg? ~50km a day? 70km? I don't want to undershoot and end up arriving at booked accommodation at 2pm everyday. Equally, I don't want to skip past stuff because I have too much distance to travel. Thoughts?

I rode a total of 300k with my girlfriend (who didn't prepare at all) this summer.
We managed between 50 and 70 each day. We took plenty of breaks and left camp between 9-10 every day.

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Thank you.

That looks great BTW, more gnar than canal paths too.

Last one we took a wrong turn from the gravel bike path and ended up on the mtb trail - the morning after a downpour. I was not the most popular map holder at that point. It was pretty though.

I think it depends upon how much stopping and trips away from the canals you want to do. The canals while pretty in and of themselves, IMHO do tend to get a bit monotonous (excluding the lovely lock-keepers cottages) after the initial high of having the place to yourself/selves. As MisterMikkel said, 50-70km a day should be easily doable given how flat the canals are. I would have thought 70-120km as a descent stretch goal given how flat it'll be and no stopping for route finding required.
My advice would be to assume 50-70 the first few days and then when you get a feel for it on the ground, you can adjust the distance upwards if you are arriving too early...

On the Nantes-Brest canal, I would say 70k a day is easy if you have 32c or wider tyres

Easy, don't book accommodations before you get there :)

Depends on what time you want to start and stop (i.e. how many hours you want to bike) and how fit you are.

When I was touring through France, I hopped on my bike at 6 in the morning (because of the heat and because I liked it). That gave me loads of time to comfortably ride 100k per day, have plenty of breaks, and arrive at my destination around 3 in the afternoon (sometimes earlier). This way I had more than enough time to set up my tent, get groceries, etc without rushing.

After I found this out, I just planned my destination ahead of time, but also looked for possible destinations closer and farther (in case that was needed). I stayed at campsites though, which I never booked in advance. That gives you a lot of freedom when it comes to how far you 'need' to go each day (like @Heldring suggests).

Thank you all, the advice is much appreciated. This will be a shortish break so credit card touring rather than camping. It's the Canal du Nivernais and it's only 200km long. We did a short stretch on a canal boat 2 years ago and I have always wanted to head back. I will plan for 70km a day will simply have a longer lunch if I need to adjust my arrival time. It is Burgundy afterall.

I know that stretch. You could do that in one hard day, two good days, three long lunch days. Any longer and you'll either want to find a lot of detours or get really pissed at some vineyard and pass out for an afternoon. Bonus points if you fill your camelbak with wine.

I'm long lunching that and seeking vinyards. Solo holiday with fam back home. All teh chableez.

Sounds like a great plan!

Planning a route to either go through Serbia or Croatian coast /Albania - any experiences of either people?

I hear Croatian coast is beautiful just know nothing of Serbian countryside yet

Me and my GF toured through Serbia 2 years ago. We faced the same dilemma as you do right now.

We went along Danube from Budapest all the way to Romania. Serbian people are great, I mean really great, and it was especially nice since Serbs love Poles :). We crossed Croatian/Serbian boarder in Backa Palanka. Because the traffic was rather busy we took a detour to Fruska Gora National Park, there was no traffic but you go up and down all the time and the sights weren't anything special. On the next day we took a train between Nowy Sad and Belgrad because it was pouring with rain that day and the roads were very busy. Belgrad is a nice city to visit, you could really feel the "Russian atmosphere" there. Its filled with great modernist buildings, but if you're not into post-communism architecture you might find it hideous. Check out "Nowy Beograd" on the google graphics. Free walking tour around Belgrad was great (there were several to choose from, we chose the one that took us to the places connected with the war in the 90s) and talking with the guide was really eye opening (especially on UN bombing of Belgrad and their connection with Russia). The countryside wasn't especially spectacular (definitely got less industrial the closer we got to Romanian boarder). It was very industrial and there was a lot of trash everywhere (even more in Romania). An impressive Gas-prom refinery was on the way, but not really a tourist attraction.

This was a fun trip, but I'd go along Croatian coast if I had to make that decision again.

I have heard that the croatian coast can be a bit of a pain with all the coaches in the summer, though haven't done it myself.
Albania is stunning and would definitely recommend it

What are the pro’s versus con’s between front and rear loaded bike touring? I’m planning a trip and want to use 2x 20l panniers and need to decide if i want them on the front or back. I have no experience with any of this so would appreciate some advice. Cheers