Cycle-Touring Planning Resources & Advice

Need advice on planning and doing a big bike trip?

Roadside rest stop with Maria and Magalie

Pick a date. Start saving. Get a bike, tent & sleeping bag. Choose a direction, and go.

That’s it.

I really mean this. Have another look at the picture above. Maria (right) departed Budapest on a bike she bought for $15 from a local scrapyard. After strapping a backpack to it, she spent two months cycling through Eastern Europe to Istanbul. Her life-changing bicycle adventure required less than 24 hours planning and involved no specialist equipment whatsoever. Take your cue from her — not me. I’m over-equipped and over-prepared. Far better to keep it simple, no?

Need more reassurance? Think your trip’s going to be different? OK — fine. Save time and grab yourself a copy of the Adventure Cycle Touring Handbook*. It really does cover everything. I helped write bits of it, along with a long list of far more experienced cycle tourers.

Still want more? Well, if you’re looking for specific advice, read on.

Pre-Trip Planning

On The Road

Specialist Topic: Filmmaking

Specialist Topic: Deep Winter

Equipment Reviews

A quick word. You don’t need any of this stuff. What you really need is the modern world’s most scarce resource: time. After that, a bicycle and a willingness to see where the road takes you are the only other necessities.

Nevertheless, many of us find reasons to enter the bemusing and monolithic world of specialist equipment. Here I present an evolving guide to unravelling this maze. (Some of these pages contain affiliate links, marked with an asterisk (*). They help me cover the site’s running costs, and are suggestions rather than endorsements. More info here.)

Bike

Luggage

Camping

MSR Hubba with fly