I asked 67 other bicycle tourers / bikepackers, what is the number one thing they wish they learned sooner as a bicycle traveler?
Here listed below are their responses. Keep in mind that some of the tips and advise in this list may be repetitive with some points but are said in a different way for each traveler. This knowledge is from experience and I believe would be great information for someone who is a beginner in bicycle touring and looking to get started. There are some great points here.
Martyn Noakes Going tubeless 🙂
Lydia Franklin bikepacking bags instead of panniers…. no looking back!!
Why? Panniers are heavy… not streamlined… allow you to take too much kit. Bikepacking bags force you to cut weight and don’t affect the handling of the bike. so much better… see pic. I get mine from apidura/alpkit and blackburn and they have stood up to a lot of battering…
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Amy Robillard Not worrying so much about the right gear or bike. Just doing it. I rode through South America on a road bike (for almost a year) with the widest tires I could fit, and I rode a front suspension mountain bike through Central America..;
Murdoc Mulley Don’t bother taking a fishing rod if you are bad at fishing
Michael Viglianco Slowing down. My first bike trips were about blasting across a country. Now I’m old and meander more.
Albert Lee Do it early. Early 20 is the best.
Teresa Meyaard For me it’s never about the “miles” it about letting each day unfold !
Lindsey Hamma Go slow, enjoy the ride (sounds easy but that’s the whole point, afterall) and be prepared for all of your plans to be fluid..go with the flow more often and that everything will be okay.
Kelly Sandahl stop having a daily mileage goal. its more fun to let the road take you where it takes you, even if its only 20 miles that day. stop, and talk to people, stop and see the things you rode there to see, rather than hitting a daily mileage goal. miles are NOT why you are riding.
Rachel Hugens I would add…my favorite quote by Jimmy Buffett…”Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see”
Kelly Smith-Iniguez Don’t take too much stuff. The climbs are far easier with less weight.
Hana Black On my very first ever bike tour – too much stuff slows you down and makes every pedal stroke less fun!
Also I wasn’t a cyclist and had to learn how to pedal up hills without feeling like I was going to die. Fast cadence, easy gearing, and steady controlled breathing are key. And like everyone else says: don’t be in a hurry!
Charles Nighbor Ditch the 15” diameter cast iron fry pan
Todd Wheeler Front panniers make your bike very stable. My 1st tour I only had rear. Spend the $$ & get quality tires.
Todd Wheeler There is a trick to changing a flat. Pinch the tire to the middle all the way around & getting the tire off & on is easy. I wish i had known that much sooner
Will Adams Never wait to poop and keep your tires aired up.
Brennan Givens Ride the bike you like and don’t worry about what others will think.
Sharon Leigh When a cool local person invites you somewhere, go!
Dan Calverley The number one thing for me would have to be ‘when in doubt, stop and eat something.’ When things start going sideways, getting some energy into your system and glucose into your brain helps better decision making
Mike Kruger It’s OK to go slow. It’s OK to walk up that hill. It’s not OK to skip meals or not drink enough.
Philip Robinson Like most comments, go light 😀
Philip Robinson Even if your panniers are waterproof bring plastic trash bags. They are lightweight insurance and take up very little space 😉
Michael Viglianco Always Carry Toilet Paper (ACTP)
Paul Lieberman Be prepared. You will have a much better time with the confidence to know you are in good enough shape to ride your loaded bike over the mountains, that you know how to fix a flat and other common repairs, and you already have enough miles on the bike that you won’t have any surprises as far as bike fit injuries, etc.
John Welte Go as light as you can. Ask yourself if you really need that item you’re putting on your bike. I sent a box back after my first day! You need to be able to roll your pannier about three times to be rain proof. I could barely close mine.
Dag Campbell I wish I’d learned about those little dry soap strips that are like the listerine strips
Thomas Martin Bring your guitar
Dylan Ross Horne That it’s about the journey not the destination.
Rick Gunn Bikes break, sun turns to rain, treacherous highways dissolve into peaceful two lane roads, winds change direction, one dog bites, the other just licks. An unreasonable person on one corner may be followed by a welcoming individual on the next.
Make peace with change, and the rest is cake…
John Whisman The best thing I learned was that bike touring isn’t as scary, complicated or confusing as it seems. All you have to do to overcome the fear is just go – even if it’s just ‘baby steps’ with credit card camping first and someone on the other end of a phone to come get you if you panic. Once you have a couple-three tours under your belt, you’ll be kicking yourself for not doing it sooner; I did.
Andrea Collisson Although I still haven’t used it, I am optimistic that the brooks saddle is the way to go for me since so many people swear by it. Selle I think is another great brand. So I just wish I had bought my brooks saddle before my last major trip.
Brent Irvine Don’t underestimate the benefit of youtube. Whether it demonstrates a task, reinforces what you were taught in person or points out a little trick for getting something done, there is a lot to be learned. (Applies to bicycling, woodworking, electronics, beer making…. and ….and..)
Heather Hartridge EVERY day is an adventure.
Scott Boag Conversational skills. The ability to meet people on the road, and engage with them. Especially as a solo traveler. Some people are better than others about this skill. I suck at it, but am working on it. Because the joy of traveling isn’t just the pretty sites and the physical challenge… It’s experiencing the people in the regions you travel.
Viktor Surin Cycling slow!!!! Real slow,…. about only 30K a Day ,….
Graham Allan Despite knowing/suspecting it was THE way to travel I didn’t cycletour until age 59. Oh, the waste 😣 My advice = start young, keep pedalling
Jimmy Dee Count my money EVERY TIME I got change…
Paul Nicholas Woollams That tarmac is boring.
Daniel Drury Was reading a 70 year old’s blog who just started cycle touring, he wished he’d known about it when he was in his twenties. Start young.
Ted Uhlman How easy it is. Just do it.
Paul Llewelyn Franklin Never rush , the journey is the destination. Live the ride, seize each day as much as you possibly can. Unless you are on a strict time schedule.
KC Bowlan Don’t skimp on a good sleeping pad. Use front panniers and a handlebar bag. Closed toe sandals like Keens are great.
Roman Jezierski Feel good with yourself
Gearóid Ó Laoi Try to stop before 6hr cycling a day. It’s almost never enjoyable beyond that.
Peter Kagerer Local Language!
Allen Bishop How much dang fun it is to tour!!
Pete Nightingale Don’t take so much stuff.
I always start to wish I had learned this by the 2nd day of any tour.
Søren Olsen To eat until i’m more than full. And avoid sausages if they taste a little bit weird. I crossed Kosovo with major food poisoning
James Reid When the big Buck roo stands tall, stares you down and blocks the road, turn back, sit at a good distance, have a drink, and wait for a car to come and chase it away. They might look sweet on the tourism brochures, but when they decide you are a threat and try to rip your guts out with the massive claws on their hind legs, they don’t look quite as nice!
Steve Pomerantz 75 percent of the stuff you can’t live without… you can live without.
Chris Blinzinger How much fun and adventurous, and satisfying it is.
Andrew Andrew Andrew DO NOT use a backpack!!!
Pete Nightingale Except as a rack bag for your tent and as a day bag.
But never on your bike.
Unless you are going fully off road and running a camel back.
Metten Koster Take a day off after each 5 or 6 days cycling.
Terje Olav Ufer Use and pack more weight in the front panniers
Why? The front wheels can take lot more weight than you think, and that way you balance out and not wear out the back wheel hub that quickly
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Heike Pirngruber Less is more…..
Terje Olav Ufer Start yoga before you get to stiff after doing to many kilometer without rest and stretching out
Terje Olav Ufer Avoid any romance on the road keep on pedaling for your life before you get hooked up and get stuck 😂
Rino Deschênes Enjoy the moment as nothing last forever
Gianni Filippini That all fears about how things can go wrong are not real and tend to disappear once you start pedalling.
Morten Asbøl Knudsen The first thing I learned , was that plans never goes as they were intended – Always have a couple of days” in reserve “.
Rupert Laumann Don’t plan too much. Be flexible.
Luis David Rojas It used to be about how far I could go each day. Now it is about all the places I stop to see and the people I meet.
Brad Campbell You’ll finish and go again.
Matt Dinerstein Take your time, don’t be in a rush or feel you have to bite off more than you can manage in a day
Marc Lowry Less is more…in everything.
Larry Leveen To not have too much attachment to how shot your tour buddy’s tires are and how often you’ll have to wait for them to fix flats. 🤨
Alexander Giles Don’t bother with cycling specific clothes. Lycra just makes you hot and sweaty and keeps all that moisture next to your skin.
Shirley Acreman On a serious note – that t shirts, or other garments that do not cover the back of your neck, can lead to skin cancer.
Chuck Butler Get a motorcycle????? 😉
Larye Parkins Take each day as its own adventure instead of a training ride for the next day’s ride. If you are capable of riding 100km a day, only ride 75 unless absolutely necessary. Don’t get too busy on “rest” days.
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