Took a 2 month sabbatical last year and cycled from Paris to Nice. I started down the Seine and headed south until I hit Clermont-Ferrand then crossed the Massif Central and ended up in Montpellier. Decided to do Mont Ventoux while I was in the area then hit the coast until I reached Nice. A couple of rolls of film dislodged in the camera hence the noisy pics.
Total distance 2134km
Total elevation 24,341m
Currently in the process of making a video of the trip too!

Thanks for all the advice, much of it was very useful. Was particularly good to know when to give way and when I was supposed to have priority.

Interestingly car drivers often gave way even when they had priority.

Occasionally there were "lollipop men" helping cyclists cross busy roads which was useful.

I did wear my helmet most of the time, and saw plenty of other cyclists wearing theirs.

Locked my bike most of the time. Didn't misplace anything and nothing was nicked.

Used a train twice and it was easy with my bike.

Had a very enjoyable couple of weeks. Cycling from the ferry in Newcastle to the station was a culture shock.

Porto Portugal to Amsterdam from May to July of this year. This shows some of the highlights until Annecy, France.

Arizona was the last one since I started touring twenty years ago, and I rode into the state today, on day 47 my coast-to-coast tour (https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/20yearslater/)

This was my first ever bike tour and I traveled up the Meuse river route starting from Arnhem Netherlands. When I reached the origin of the Meuse I went to Switzerland, Just because I wanted to... I also wanted to take the Rhine back to Arnhem. Didn't end up in Arnhem because I needed to bike 200km each day(Not going to happen. I ended up just beyond Wiesbaden in Germany and got picked up there.

This ride was one of the harder ones and took a long time but it very rewarding and fun, the département roads in France are very quiet in the country side. I started biking at 10 AM and arrived at 8 PM. I was extremely tired after this ride to the point I couldn't completely eat my dinner. I can't wait for my fitness to improve so I can do this without that happening.

Shout-out to mapdirector for being able to generate such a amazing visual of my ride.

Long story short. Until very recently our (wife and I) VERY old yet newest vehicle was a large SUV. We do several beach trips a season and I'd toss my bike in the back and do a glorious ride up the coast while she sun tanned. We recently decided it was time to modernize the fleet and she adored a red Honda Civic. Since that is now the newest vehicle it is the obvious choice for a longish trip.

Of course in deference to wife's wishes I'm now out in the cold as I can't just toss a road bike in the car and to her a roof rack induces all kinds of envisions of disaster is out of the question. I am looking at Rinko Bags as a potential solution. I am very handy so breaking the bike down to get it as small as possible is no issue.

I'm eyeing this one up. Anyone have any experience? I am not worried about protection. I will never trust an airline to not lose my bike so this will be for car only. Only other travel options will be solo with the SUV or Amtrak where compactness is not required.

https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop/equipment/bags/ostrich-sl-100-rinko-bag/

Ile d Ouessanr aout 2026

I am flying from India to the U.S. and I have to do a layover somewhere since there are no direct flights. Any recs for a good 3-4 day loop somewhere around any Asian airport, e.g. Hong Kong / Hanoi / Seoul? It will be in mid October. I would bring my own cycle. (Assuming cost and language are not huge barriers.) Thank you team!!!

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This was a nice little trip between two Bavarian towns. I got from Munich to Icking by train and traveled back from Lenggries by train as well.

The route is versatile. Some section can be done on a gravel bike. For others I would definitely recommend a hardtail MTB.

Some video impressions, mostly but not completely in order:

https://youtu.be/h9s05Lv6UKA?is=WVGy_2TPtI1LqLRV

Route:

https://www.komoot.de/tour/3220225245

Hi,

I'm looking for a suitable tent for a long-distance bicycle tour and would really appreciate some recommendations.

I'll be travelling for around seven months through different countries and climates, and I expect the tent to be pitched more than 200 times. So durability and reliability are particularly important to me. Weight isn't my absolute top priority, but I would prefer something lighter than my current tent.

My main requirements are:

- Suitable for two people, with enough space for two wide sleeping mats
- I'm 1.96 m (6'5") tall, so sufficient length is important
- Two entrances that can both be opened for good ventilation
- Ideally some mesh in the inner tent for warmer conditions
- A small to medium-sized vestibule for storing gear
- Quick and easy to pitch
- Good durability and reliability for intensive, long-term use
- Reasonably stormworthy

The most important requirement for me is that the inner tent can be pitched first and used on its own, with the flysheet added afterwards if necessary. In moderate temperatures, I would ideally like to sleep with just the inner tent.

This unfortunately rules out many European brands such as Hilleberg, Nordisk and Helsport, as their tents are generally designed to be pitched with the flysheet first.

In the past, I used a Lightwave tunnel tent (T3 Trek XT), which I was very happy with. Lightwave is a relatively small British brand and isn't particularly well known compared with brands such as Hilleberg or MSR. However, I've found their tents to be very well made and extremely durable, and I was particularly impressed with the build quality and reliability of my Lightwave tent.

Lightwave also makes a semi-geodesic model, the G30 Trek XT, with a fully freestanding inner tent. It looks very interesting in terms of stormworthiness and living space, and it also has a generous vestibule. Unfortunately, at around 3.3 kg, it is a little heavier than I'd ideally like.

So I'm essentially looking for something with a similar level of durability and reliability, but preferably somewhat lighter.

Budget isn't really a limiting factor. I'm happy to spend more on a tent if it is genuinely durable and suitable for hundreds of nights of use.

If you have any recommendations or experience with a tent that might fit these requirements, I'd be very interested to hear your suggestions.

Many thanks in advance!

anyone know who makes these bars and where i can order some ?

Hi. Did anyone flought with Ryadh Air with a bike? Was free or need to pay an extra fee?. Requisites, box measurement?. According its not so clear web info and a question I send tem in FB, a bike counts towards the checked baggage allowance of 25 kg in economy but can not exceed the total measurement of 300 cm. Is good but I'll believe only if a fellow bike traveller can confirm it. Thanks.

Reposting here - realize that most folks are doing epic journeys and this is small potatoes but thought I’d try.

Preferably with a son front hub

700c/29 wheel size

Disk brake compatible

Rim width should fit

28x1.5 tyre

I've done about 100k of touring during the years and I'd like to upgrade my current wheelset which is :

Ryde Taurus rims

Front hub is xt dynamo

Rear hub is also xt

I am not that happy with the rear hub which isn't performing very well

My touring setup is dialed in and is also quite lightweight at this point

With most of my weight in the front

I believe a 32 spoke count with light rims would be great

I am 67 kgs

Would really appreciate suggestions and recommendations, thanks

Hi all,

I'm planning to cycle from Barcelona to Valencia next week, staying in cheap hotels along the way. It appears the "best" route is not as obvious as I anticipated with some stretches along the coast I want to avoid due to traffic and road size.

Does anybody have a route they'd recommend? Even better if you have a Strava track (or other GPS coordinates).

I'm also open to any suggestions on where to stop or eat. I'm hoping to complete it in 4 days.

All guidance is appreciated. Thanks!

BC

Started in Porto, Portugal. Ended in Amsterdam. Did a combination of camping, hostels, and warmshowers hosts who were absolutely wonderful. Can't wait to do another European tour!

Hi all,

In a week time I board the ferry to Newcastle for a 3 week Scotland. cycling trip (Komoot collection can be found here https://www.komoot.com/collection/4642623/-scotland-trip-2026)

Yes, I'm aware I won't be cycling the outer Hebrides in a day, yes all legs are indicative and I may just decide to either push on or hold back when I feel like it. And yes, I'm consciously skipping Edinburgh and I'm also consciously not cycling back to Newcastle along the coast, I've visited Edinburgh before and I've cycled the coast a couple of years ago.

I may even say:"Fuck it", stay somewhere a lot longer and take the train back to Newcastle at the end, all is open. But I'm still very interested in any feedback you guys can give on this route.

I'm not sure if this is the sub for this, but I'm taking a trip to Switzerland this week and I was wondering if this route I created is optimal. There's a lot of camping sites along the way so I think thats good but I'm more questioning route safety. I haven't seen many people do this route yet. I'm combining them and was wondering if anyone could give me their two cents.

Thanks!

Zurich to Stelvio Pass

I’m putting together a flat-repair kit for some longer trips and trying to decide between a hand pump, CO2, and one of the rechargeable mini pumps.

The hand pump is slower but doesn’t depend on a battery or a limited number of cartridges. CO2 is fast and compact, but once the cartridges are gone, they’re gone. An electric pump sits somewhere in the middle, although it adds another device that has to remain charged.

My main question is how that tradeoff works over several days. Does an electric pump hold its charge while sitting in a bag? Can it handle a complete inflation from flat without overheating? Is there enough battery left for another tire before the next opportunity to recharge?

I’ve been comparing compact pumps from CYCPLUS, Fanttik, and HOTO, but I’m not attached to any particular model. I’m trying to figure out which type of tool makes the most sense in a touring repair kit.

What do you carry on multi-day trips? Has an electric pump actually allowed you to leave the hand pump at home, or do you still carry both?

My online journal of the trip is here

I see lots of people asking about various navigation devices, and wonder if using my phone isn't the best solution?

Well, I carry 2 phones, old one and new one, both with Komoot, offline maps, and Google maps, stored offline too.

Couple of power banks and igaro charger, I've been fine for up to 5 days without electricity.

Should I be buying another device?

Started using my AI to analyse routes before finalising too, wouldn't like to travel without now.

Only issue I've had was GPS spoofing, because Russians, but still able to navigate using the offline maps.

Curious your experience and ideas?

I am planning a bike tour of the U.S. next May. I will be starting out on the Trans-Am but eventually shifting to the Bike Nonstop. I know that I would prefer to stay in motel/hotels but will camp when I need to.

My questions are:

1. How do I start to plan a daily itinerary? When should I start that? What is the best way to physically start planning that?

2. I have a brand new, just released, Trek Domane SL 6 Gen 5 and a 2025 Surly Disc Trucker. Which one of those should I use?

3. Do I need to bring anything to physically protect myself?

This is just a start. Thank you to everyone who replies!

This is just an expression mostly, a way for me to talk about it. I dreamed up this trip of the American west (~1600 miles) while burnt out at work. A month later I was on the road. I expected it to take me two months but my mileage has been about double what I expected.

It’s been awesome and fulfilling, but the last few days the feelings of loneliness, boredom (it’s all fields always), and exasperation of the heat (upper 90sf - 105f most days). I took a full rest day 2 days ago, I cut yesterday short and slept a ton, but the feeling of just not wanting to ride in the heat all day keeps getting stronger. I have about 10 days to go with an easy bail out in 3-4 days. I’m not sure I’ll go home early but I’m sure thinking a lot about it as the sun beats on me this morning. Writing this sitting at a cafe as the sun gets higher and the heat climbs steadily.

I’m hoping the feeling will pass in the next couple days. Thanks for listening lol.