Category: Articles & Essays
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No Stupid Questions: What’s The Best Winter Bike Helmet For Cycle Touring?
A reader writes: No current manufacturer seems to make a purpose built winter season bicycle helmet. I am looking for one without all the air vents typical of warm weather helmets and with fuller coverage of the head and ears, more like a motorcycle helmet but lighter as bicycle get-offs are typically at lower speeds. […] Continue reading →
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No Stupid Questions: How Best To Pack My Panniers For Cycling Round The World?
A reader writes: I’m keen to streamline my set-up and I’m curious to know what round-the-world pannier set-up you’d recommend… I’m thinking 2 × 12.5l front panniers, 2 × 12.5l rear panniers with an Ortlieb 31l Rack Pack and a 12l frame bag giving me around 93l storage. In addition, my front rack will enable […] Continue reading →
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No Stupid Questions: How Can I Avoid Neck, Shoulder & Wrist Pain On Long Gravel Rides?
A reader writes: My biggest question/concern about my upcoming ride of the Carretera Austral (south to north, beginning in El Chaltén in 2.5 weeks) is: how do I deal with the jarring feeling of riding on packed gravel with my Surly LHT? In other words, without front suspension, what’s the best way to cushion my […] Continue reading →
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No Stupid Questions: Should I Buy Touring Bike X Or Touring Bike Y?
Roughly ten thousand* people have written to me over the years with some version of the following question: Hi Tom,I’ve been researching touring bikes, and I’ve narrowed my choices down to Bike X and Bike Y. Both look perfect on paper, have great reviews, and fit my budget, but I can’t figure out how to […] Continue reading →
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No Stupid Questions: Do I Need Special Hydraulic Brake Fluid For Winter Touring?
A reader writes: Thank you for bringing up these timely questions on the subject of winter cycle touring in sub-zero conditions! I myself rode to the Scandinavian Arctic back in the winter of 2011. It turns out that winter can be a source of fun and novelty for adventure cyclists, so it’s great to hear […] Continue reading →
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On Finding Freedom In The Space Between Two Atoms
Of all the metaphors that capture the essence of bicycle travel, perhaps freewheeling is the most appropriate. Think about it. When you stop pedalling and freewheel, you have ceased to exert any discernible effort. Yet you continue rolling forward anyway, propelled by your own momentum. Magic! What makes this possible is the wheel – or, […] Continue reading →
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In Which The Kindness Of Strangers Wins Again, And How I Forgot What Camping Really Means
I rose before dawn, ignoring the scent of bacon, and rode out of camp. My goal was to reach Forster before lunch, get my broken spoke replaced, and live happily ever after. I stopped for coffee in Seal Rocks (flat white, no sugar). While waiting for my order among bleary-eyed barefooted surfers, I popped into the […] Continue reading →
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Riding The Old Gibber Trail, And How Not To Pack A Bike Touring Toolkit
At some point on the third day, the ride began to acquire its own momentum. The Fernleigh Track tailed off (see my previous post), and Newcastle came and went in a dull morning of hilly coastal headlands strewn with bike paths and promenades. I stopped thrice en route to the Hunter River: once at a […] Continue reading →
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Why The SLSC Is A Life-Saver For Touring Cyclists, Plus Some Notes On The WarmShowers Controversy
I crossed The Entrance Bridge, leaving the previous day’s mishaps behind me, and pushed north, following off-highway trails through forest fringes. Finally the New South Wales Coast Cycle Trail began to offer what it had promised, taking me far from the Pacific Highway and brokering a tightly-negotiated route along the various barrier islands and reefs […] Continue reading →
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What Not To Do On Day One Of A Bike Trip (For Example)
As I pedalled towards The Entrance through a never-ending conglomeration of suburbs and seaside towns, the hills seemed to get steeper, the hard shoulders narrower, and the traffic heavier. Tangled cycleways gave way to long-winded highway crossings, nasty climbs through hilly rainforest spat me out onto caravan-clogged beachfront boulevards, and all under a sweltering late-summer […] Continue reading →