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Tips for Successful Bike TouringTim Kneeland Offers Steps to Maximize Riding Safety and Enjoyment
A cycling tour combines adventure, fitness, and many journeys, both inner and outer. The right preparation can make the experience even more enjoyable.
For over 25 years, Tim Kneeland has organized and supported bike tours of every dimension, from daylong rides exploring Seattle’s “forbidden” streets, to transcontinental treks on northern and southern routes across the United States, and his two epic around world tours: Odyssey 2000, which took 250 riders 17,000 miles through 43 countries around the world, followed by Odyssey World Cycling Tours in 2003. In 2006, Kneeland launched Four Seasons Cycling Events, whose flagship tour is the Big Island Ride, a seven-day, 271-mile trek around Kona, exploring Hawaii’s beauty and rich history. The Big Island Ride (Feb 22 to 28, 2009) is a quintessential Kneeland tour, combining healthy adventure in a unique setting with support that affords riders time to connect with one another and their surroundings as they explore, reflect, and relax. Maximizing Bike Tour EnjoymentRider Preparation: Tours aren’t races, but one must be able to cover each day’s mileage in relative comfort. Train to build sufficient physical and psychological endurance so you have more energy to invest in embracing the experience and having fun. Get in shape to tour, but don’t do a tour just to get in shape: fitness is only one of biking’s many benefits. Bike Preparation: Beyond the basic tune-up, riders should make their bikes more reliable than when they were new by adding flat-resistant tires, a triple crank, or a more comfortable seat. Set Goals: Determine what you want to get from a tour and recognize that you’re responsible for your adventure’s outcome. Check each day with tour directors and ride veterans to learn about all the possible attractions and activities you can build into your day’s ride. Be Flexible: Maintain a positive attitude, (don’t take the weather or road conditions personally) and be prepared to seize any opportunity, whether an unplanned excursion, conversations with those you meet, or an impromptu swim, nap, or photo shoot. Preparation Aids Bike Tour SafetyBe Safe: Tours require not only helmets and rear-view mirrors, but also strict adherence to traffic laws at all times. If group riding is new to you, exercise patience and greater attentiveness to surroundings till you feel comfortable. Be Prepared: Carry raingear, basic bike tools, snacks such as energy bars, A CamelBak or at least two full water bottles, a credit card, and a cell phone for contacting the tour’s support staff. Be Courteous: Smile and wave to people you pass, respect local rules and customs, remove exposed cleats when not on your bike, clean up after yourself (whether in a hotel or campsite), pitch in to unload the gear truck, and show gratitude to the staff and volunteers facilitating your ride. Preparation is vital, but ultimately, a successful bike tour is built on being open to new experiences. All tours are unique; so are each rider’s responses to what unfolds. One bemoans a morning’s ride into a driving rain; another cherishes the hour spent in a diner waiting out the storm, or the warmth of the afternoon sun breaking through. What makes bike tours life changing is that each day, each mile, is packed with opportunities to be inspired and to feel joy
The copyright of the article Tips for Successful Bike Touring in Bicycle Touring Routes is owned by Andrew Leibs. Permission to republish Tips for Successful Bike Touring in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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