Advice for cycle-tour newbs
Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 1:34 am
Hi all,
I've been thinking of doing a tour around Scandinavia starting from Western Germany and finishing in Finland or Estonia. Roughly 2000-3000km depending on the rout I take (across the channel from Stockholm to Helsinki, or the long way around through northern Sweden and Finland). I plan on using ferries and trains at key sections to break the trip up and not have the ride that whole distance. Hopefully I'll be able to find someone to tour with but I don't fear doing it solo as I imagine I would meet up with people along the way.
First of all I would like to know if anyone has done a tour like this and what it was like? Apparently the weather is extremely unpredictable and it rains a lot, even in spring/summer which is when I was thinking of doing the tour (next year).
I was also thinking of what preparation I would need to do for the tour, in the following components:
-Fitness: How much pre-training and riding should I be looking at doing and for how long? I currently only ride ~10-15km a day which is really quite minimal, but it's all I need to ride atm for my commute. The most I have ridden in a day was about 30km but I did that within 2.5 (including lunch) hours and found it quite enjoyable going at a steady pace. I can imagine that I could ride 50-60km over a few hours each day in comfort and not kill my legs and perineum. Is that being unrealistic? I am 23, reasonably fit, non-smoker, no health conditions or anything. What is a reasonable average distance to be covering per day taking into account time to rest, relax and take in the scenery (plus the occasional hill)?
-Bike: What is a good bike set up for a long distance haul? I have seen some purpose build touring/'randonneur' bikes, will these do or should I be looking at a customised job? Should I buy and build/customise over there or will it be better to buy, build and break in the bike here and then bring it with me on the plane?
-Gear and equipment: I was thinking of keeping it simple and credit card touring with only a saddle bag and a pair of small pannier with personal items. However it would be nice to be a nice more self-sufficient especially as Scandinavia allows free camping and has some nice places off the beaten track. What sort of storage should I be looking and and what sort of gear should I be looking at getting/taking with me? Obviously less is more.
-Budget: How much should this cost? How much should I budget for the bike and equipment? I was thinking roughly around $2000 for the bike (looking at standard AU prices) + $500 for the panniers/bags and racks + $200 for lighting system + $200 for cycling clothing etc. Then I also have to consider the cost of getting there, plus costs for the off train/ferry at certain legs of the journey. I'll be looking to camp or couchsurf with people along the way to keep costs down and avoid being 'that ragged looking cyclist' at a hostel..
-Planning: How much should I plan, or is this a 'piece of string' kind of thing? I would like to have a good idea of where I am going, what I'll be seeing, what the ride will be like generally (weather and topography) etc but I don;'t want to have to schedule and plan every single hours for every day. I'd like to just be set up with all my gear, have a rough idea of where I am going and then just ride in a general direction stopping where and when I want. I am thinking that 8 weeks should be enough to cover the distance at a moderate pace. Aiming for May - June time of year.
Does it sound like I have a grasp on the situation and a fair idea of what I will need to do/organise, or am I off the mark? I was thinking about doing a mini-tour around here (Perth) however it just isn't the same considering the weather, traffic and scenery is less than desirable. Maybe I'll do a longer ride (40-60km) on my fixed gear around Perth's PSP network and see how I fare with that.
I've been thinking of doing a tour around Scandinavia starting from Western Germany and finishing in Finland or Estonia. Roughly 2000-3000km depending on the rout I take (across the channel from Stockholm to Helsinki, or the long way around through northern Sweden and Finland). I plan on using ferries and trains at key sections to break the trip up and not have the ride that whole distance. Hopefully I'll be able to find someone to tour with but I don't fear doing it solo as I imagine I would meet up with people along the way.
First of all I would like to know if anyone has done a tour like this and what it was like? Apparently the weather is extremely unpredictable and it rains a lot, even in spring/summer which is when I was thinking of doing the tour (next year).
I was also thinking of what preparation I would need to do for the tour, in the following components:
-Fitness: How much pre-training and riding should I be looking at doing and for how long? I currently only ride ~10-15km a day which is really quite minimal, but it's all I need to ride atm for my commute. The most I have ridden in a day was about 30km but I did that within 2.5 (including lunch) hours and found it quite enjoyable going at a steady pace. I can imagine that I could ride 50-60km over a few hours each day in comfort and not kill my legs and perineum. Is that being unrealistic? I am 23, reasonably fit, non-smoker, no health conditions or anything. What is a reasonable average distance to be covering per day taking into account time to rest, relax and take in the scenery (plus the occasional hill)?
-Bike: What is a good bike set up for a long distance haul? I have seen some purpose build touring/'randonneur' bikes, will these do or should I be looking at a customised job? Should I buy and build/customise over there or will it be better to buy, build and break in the bike here and then bring it with me on the plane?
-Gear and equipment: I was thinking of keeping it simple and credit card touring with only a saddle bag and a pair of small pannier with personal items. However it would be nice to be a nice more self-sufficient especially as Scandinavia allows free camping and has some nice places off the beaten track. What sort of storage should I be looking and and what sort of gear should I be looking at getting/taking with me? Obviously less is more.
-Budget: How much should this cost? How much should I budget for the bike and equipment? I was thinking roughly around $2000 for the bike (looking at standard AU prices) + $500 for the panniers/bags and racks + $200 for lighting system + $200 for cycling clothing etc. Then I also have to consider the cost of getting there, plus costs for the off train/ferry at certain legs of the journey. I'll be looking to camp or couchsurf with people along the way to keep costs down and avoid being 'that ragged looking cyclist' at a hostel..
-Planning: How much should I plan, or is this a 'piece of string' kind of thing? I would like to have a good idea of where I am going, what I'll be seeing, what the ride will be like generally (weather and topography) etc but I don;'t want to have to schedule and plan every single hours for every day. I'd like to just be set up with all my gear, have a rough idea of where I am going and then just ride in a general direction stopping where and when I want. I am thinking that 8 weeks should be enough to cover the distance at a moderate pace. Aiming for May - June time of year.
Does it sound like I have a grasp on the situation and a fair idea of what I will need to do/organise, or am I off the mark? I was thinking about doing a mini-tour around here (Perth) however it just isn't the same considering the weather, traffic and scenery is less than desirable. Maybe I'll do a longer ride (40-60km) on my fixed gear around Perth's PSP network and see how I fare with that.