Well, let me start by admitting that I don’t consider myself a real cyclist but I am certainly a cycling enthusiast. I don’t really train on a regular basis but if the opportunity comes I would always say yes to hopping on my bike and exploring around for as long as I have the time, sometimes it can be a few hours on my bike some times a few days and If I’m really lucky it will be a few months! Cycling is the best means of traveling in my opinion. I love going on a few months longs trips camping everywhere and waking up in the most amazing places. It’s the right kind of speed for fully absorbing the awesomeness of the surrounding whether it’s in the heart of a dessert of the side of a road in a city or between villages. Driving between cities you get to go to more places in less time but you are skipping on all the little villages and tiny towns and interactions with people that could provide insight and change the course of your traveling. Well depending on how much you plan ahead you might not be open to that. I don’t tend to plan too much ahead as I enjoy the challenge and freedom of figuring it out as I go. I love talking to local people to learn about what to see and where to go next. This also means I heavily rely on google maps and the information I can find from other local guides who have left some photos and reviews for places to camp, visit and adventure trails and hike to go on. It goes without saying that I rely on google maps to find the best bike paths so if there are any spots on the way that has photos of the actual path it helps a lot. About two years ago I did a bike trip across Europe for about 6 months long and I’m so grateful for all the photos and reviews that amazing people have left, without that I would have had a very different experience going into places I have never been basically blind. Of course, I had to do that in some parts, and I did come across places that didn’t have much information or photos. So I started sharing mine and leaving it behind for the next crazy person who is traveling with no plans and relies on this info to find a good place to camp at! I have uploaded thousands of photos ever since and tend to leave reviews and photos for as many places as I can to inform others and share with the community. If you are one of us nomad wanders who prefer peddling your way across the world, I have a list of campgrounds you can camp at. Also another smaller list of all the places you can potentially dry/wild camp at for a night, I’m working on growing this one. ? Most of my friends think I shouldn’t be sharing the secret spots but hey I’m all about sharing. If I found a spot why not share it with others so they can also create some wonderful memories there as they pass through.
If you are not familiar with cycle touring I hope this encourages you to consider that as an option. Trust me if I can do it anybody can! I jumped into my first bike-tour with not much training, just started slow and as I got better I grow into longer and longer cycling days but all you need to start is the intention!
Now next time you see a person on a bike with four panniers attached to their bike/ or lots of bags attached to the body of their bike, If you can, take a moment and talk to them, it’s awesome to talk to amazing people after spending long hours on your bike for many days. If you are passing by in your car next to a cycle tourist maybe just give them a thumbs up, that can bring a big smile to that person’s face! Why not give a thumbs up!
If you like to see my adventures you can check out my Instagram page @slowsteadycycle. If this post inspires a single person or helps a single person find the campsite, It’s worth the time I put into writing this ?