Category: Planning & Logistics
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komoot: The Most Powerful Route Planning App For Bikepacking & Cycle Touring?
Full disclosure: komoot provided financial support for my 2018 tour of Armenia, and I published this review as part of that agreement. In 2023 I updated the post to reflect the app’s evolution. Lots of people have been asking about the route planning and navigation apps I’ve been using on my recent bike tours. The app […] Continue reading →
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How To Assemble A Fix-Anything Cycle Touring or Bikepacking Toolkit
What tools, spares and supplies would the perfect cycle touring or bikepacking toolkit contain? Is it even possible to curate such a kit? If it is, which products have earned the strongest reputation for reliability on worldwide bike trips? And finally – which of those items should make it into the portable toolkit you’ll be packing for your next […] Continue reading →
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Planning A Really Long Bike Trip? Ask Yourself These 7 Critical Questions First
I know the title of this post might sound odd. For the last 15 (wow… 15!) years, I’ve been banging on about the sheer awesomeness of going on bicycle adventures. I’ve been doing it so consistently that I’ve now published more words on this blog than in all six Lord Of The Rings books combined. Why, […] Continue reading →
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Just Released – A Brand New Edition Of The Best Adventure Cycle Tour Planning Guide On The Planet
The very first edition of Trailblazer’s Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook, compiled by veteran bicycle traveller Stephen Lord, didn’t just help me plan my first big journey; it actually inspired that ride’s very conception. I can barely believe that that guide has just seen the publication of its third edition. Have I really been doing this for that many years?! Now […] Continue reading →
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How To Cycle Around The World: A New eBook by Tim Moss
Amid all the buzz of the recent Kickstarter campaign (which ended in success – woohoo!), there’s every chance you might have missed the release of Tim Moss’s new ebook How To Cycle Around The World. Link: check it out and download it here. Tim’s website TheNextChallenge.org is one of the UK adventure blogging scene’s long-runners. […] Continue reading →
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280 Years, 196 Cyclists & 4,065,596 Kilometres — But What Does The Database Of Long-Distance Cycling Journeys Really Tell Us?
Tim & Laura’s quantitative study of the achievements of nearly two hundred long-distance touring cyclists makes for some fascinating browsing. Who’d have guessed, for example, that the highest average monthly distance (9,673km) would be 41 times greater than the slowest (234km)? Who’d have guessed that 38% of these cyclists would have chosen to use 700c road […] Continue reading →
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How To Fly With A Bike For Free, In Business Class, For The Price Of An Economy Ticket
Yes, you read that correctly. It is possible to upgrade an economy flight ticket for free to business class, and get free bicycle carriage into the bargain. Pretty good, right? This lunacy is a classic example of travel hacking. I’ve been experimenting with its various techniques for the last year or so, and I’d like to share what I’ve learned — specifically, […] Continue reading →
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15 Unorthodox Ways To Train For Cycle Touring & Bikepacking (Bicycle Optional)
So you’re dreaming of life on the open road on that epic long-distance cycle tour or bikepacking trip. Yet you’re doing nothing proactive about it, because (among other reasons) you think you’re not fit enough. The odd commute or day-ride isn’t enough; it’s waaaaay too big a leap from your current lifestyle to the kind […] Continue reading →
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6 Steps To Planning Your First Ever Overseas Cycle Tour
If the hustle of modern life is stopping you from getting out there on your first bicycle adventure, try following these six simple steps: Come to think of it, I should probably get around to doing this myself. Yes. I really should. I work too hard. I need a break – a break from writing all this stuff […] Continue reading →
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Don’t Bother With The Whole Sponsorship Thing
In 2014 I joined seasoned round-the-world cyclist Alastair Humphreys for a coffee in a secret location in central London (okay, it was the British Library canteen) in order to chat about bike trips — specifically, bike trips that could be made for under £1,000 and within the average annual holiday allowance. It was part of […] Continue reading →