Generic Touring Thread

Is there a sleeping mat thread somewhere? Can't seem to find one...

I just got a Numo, only slept on it once but felt great

Here, lightweight tent and bikepacking threads are probs your best bet. I like my klymit static v, it's tiny. If I were buying now though, I'd get the insulated version.

Hello - looking for general France input if anyone has experience. Broadly planned (and booked airbnbs) a gentle roll through France per the map below. Anyone got any must-see's/best roads/vineyards/villages etc.... any tips welcomed, about to start drawing specific routes!

Cheers

Just finished doing london to Paris with @Donut! Have become a touring convert.

Full write up once I get back to Blighty, but enjoyed the long downhills on the ride to Newhaven, the mass of cyclists waiting to get on the ferry. Spending time on the avenue verte from dieppe to forges les Eaux, then hitting winding French d roads as the Garmin took us on a circuitous route to beauvais, leapfrogging various groups of touring cyclists as they rode what seemed to be faster routes. Then beauvais to Paris, chasing down charity riders on their way to Paris on the d927, after losing faith in the winding route that the Garmin kept putting us on, which was lovely and scenic but not the quickest, then the reversion to city cyclist as we hit the suburbs of Paris and heading deep into the centre for a spin round the arc de triomphe..

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Nice. Have you tagged the right Donut there, though?

@Donut

Or this one?

https://www.lfgss.com/profiles/49837/

(It is, of course, quite possible that you meant the exclamation point-less Donut, just curious, as they've always caused confusion between them. :) )

Any 'must see' things in Argyle & Bute? Going up for a weeks tour next Friday.

On Bute, Mount Stuart and Ettrick Bay are worth a visit, pub food at Kingarth Hotel is usually ok.

Go across on the Colintraive ferry and call by the Colintraive Hotel on the mainland side which is one of the best places to eat in the area.

In Argyll, apart from hills and forests of which there are plenty, there are some great botanical gardens. Names escape me right now, I will look them up.

Inver restaurant near Strachur is excellent although not budget.

Benmore and Crarae I think are the ones I had in mind; quite a good guide here:

http://m.gardens-of-argyll.co.uk/gardens.php

Thought that was you we went passed near the final KM mark on Sunday. My mate and I were planning to do the same route as you guys, but he forgot to book his Newhaven-Dieppe ferry ticket and they sold out, so at the 11th hour switched to Dover-Calais. 32hrs door to door no sleep. And ALL the hills. Not another cyclist in sight the whole way. I can see why! Amazing ride and countryside, but def taking the Newhaven route next time. Or breaking it up and getting some sleep.

Dude! 32hrs, strong work! I'm in no condition to be doing that sort of journey. One of the things we enjoyed was the pace that you could chug along at, as a tourer, no need to smash it, just turn the pedals, get up the hills and smash down the otherside.
Next year I'm going to sort out some sort of forum jaunt, so many people were there that we didn't even know about when we booked, we can get a nice crew together and roll down to Paris like badboys...

Has anyone ever ridden calais-prague? surprisingly little information on it on the web, considering doing a london office - prague office ride for something interesting at work..

Just came back from my first tour and thought I'd share some pictures and stories!

I've always thought about bike touring, and when I saw an old school steel 26" wheels MTB frame with a cracking paint, I thought "this could work". The bike once it was dialed in:

PedalRoom for more info: http://www.pedalroom.com/bike/muddy-fox-pathfinder-29624

The plan for my first tour wasn't too shabby: cycle to the south (coast) of France and back in 4 weeks, starting from my hometown of The Hague, the Netherlands. After 11 days (averaging between 80-100k a day with 1 rest day), I got as far as Mâcon and called it a day. Didn't really know how to go further (cycling routes kind of ended) as I didn't properly plan my route and was getting a bit tired. I ended up going this way up (or rather, down):

Stayed there for another day and then cycled home in 9 days via a slightly different route (through the Belgium Ardennes):

6-7-16: Off we (I) go:

Some pictures of along the way:

All went well basically, with some expected ups and downs. But on the second last day (in Belgium), 'disaster struck':

I took a little detour because the cycling path next to expressway ended and I didn't want to cycle next to cars rushing past with high speed. The detour roads weren't all that great though; country roads and tractor paths, which ultimately costed me my rear derailleur. I think the huge amount of mud caused the drivetrain to jam, destroying the derailleur. So much for my 'Muddy Fox'!

Luckily I was close to the camping I planned on staying that night, so continued the (short) trip singlespeed:

Next morning (on a Sunday!) I lied down before the local bike shop waiting for it to open to get a new derailleur. Once I installed and adjusted it, I was ready to continue my journey home:

Now I was ready to do 160k to my parents' home in Zeeland, and then the next day the last 80k home.

And then of course around Antwerp one of the panniers broke:

Nothing a zip-tie can't fix!

25-7-16: After losing some weight (from the bags of course), it held on fine till I finally got home.

All in all I had a great time and will definitely be touring more. I met some cool people, had a blast cycling and it was satisfying to do everything by bike. Cycling great distances, camping in nature and doing everything yourself. Next tour will be in the UK maybe, or through Germany. Haven't decided yet; too many options!

Great attitude and great write up. One very muddy Muddy Fox that's for sure.

Great ride! Did you go alone?

Did you go alone?

Yes, and the freedom was fantastic. You can do whatever you want without having to take someone else into account.

Of course it has its disadvantages such as having to deal with everything (practical and mental) yourself, but as long as you reach out to other people it's very fun.

I've got a few cycling holidays lined up for next year but they all include friends (which will be fun obviously). I'm now considering doing at least a few days somewhere on my own. You've definitely inspired me to do it.

And I will definitely also go on a tour with someone else, but I never regretted this decision. Granted, I am comfortable being on my own, but it's still a little adventure.

All I can say is just do it. Try it like you said you're considering. If you don't like it, you can always just turn around. That's the nice thing about being on your own.

I know I'm going to love it. It'll just be a little tricky telling the girlfriend I'm going on another cycling holiday, alone....

Thanks.

great writeup tijs. did something very similar 5 (gulp) years ago when I was young and handsome and fit.
route is on here somewhere; eindhoven to beziers through the ardennes, jura, along the alpes to mont ventoux, up the mont ventoux, down to avignon, coast and west to beziers.
did it alone too and the freedom was liberating. bargained with the gf though to meet her on the way back in paris so all went well (for the time, she's an ex since 4,5 years!;)).
.

really wanna go at it again before kids and life and real responsabilities. and I dont count my job to those..

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/8125388/

there she is. still have the bike too!:)

Nice pictures and well done with the ghetto singlespeed fix - we've all been there!

He means me, for some reason the ! is messing up the link.

Was a really fun trip. Will do it again next year hopefully.
The Avenue Verte is nice but became a little boring after a while. The rolling D roads are super fun however. Like Corny said, spin up the climbs, cruise down the descents and enjoy the views the rest of the time.

Travelling alone is a fantastic thing, that's true. I went from Palermo in Sicily to Bologna back in 2004, a 2700 km ride from sea level up to more than 2000 m (in Abruzzo) and I would do it again if it weren't my kids are still too young to miss their dad for a month (they're 9 and 7 years old). But my youngest son already made me promise him we would go on a tour when he's older. He asked me so 2 weeks ago after we made a 2 day trip together (riding 20 km a day) .