5 MYTHS about Bike Touring // Bikepacking vs. Reality // Cycling Around the World
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 มิ.ย. 2024
- What is it really like to go bicycle traveling? Everyone has certain clichés in mind, but how many of them are actually true? In this "Tips & Tricks" video we debunk our top 5 myths about bike touring!
Overview:
00:00 - Intro
01:22 - Myth 1: You Have to be an Athlete
02:13 - Myth 2: You Need Expensive Gear / A Lightweight Setup
04:24 - Myth 3: Every Day has to be Amazing
05:30 - Myth 4: Bike Traveling is Dangerous
06:22 - Myth 5: Bike Traveling is Unhygienic
08:23 - Outro
Please remember, as always, everything we discuss in this video is based upon our personal experiences & opinions and may therefore not be true for everyone.
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I had my 50th birthday while pedalling from Morro Bay CA to Palm Beach FL, 20 years ago. I only trained for 6 days beforehand, towing a 70 pound trailer with my road bike. Trailers make it much easier to change a flat tire, as you don't have to unload the bike. I had 43 flats in 3200 miles, including 13 in one day outside Phoenix. When things went wrong, I just reminded myself that nobody held a gun to my head to get me to make the trip. Almost everyone I met was nice and helpful. I rode in December and January, missing the extreme heat and mostly stayed at Motel 6. You guys are far more extreme than me...Good luck with your travels!
13 flats in a day! Where were you cycling?
OK, I'm an amateur bikepacker so forgive my ignorance, but more than 1 flat in a day seems pretty insane to me... What kind of surface were you cycling on? Maybe the inner tubes were bad quality? How on earth did you think to carry so many spares with you, also?
@@ninelaivz4334 He's Merican, thinking ahead isn't imprinted in their minds.
@@CarlCampbell Some Mericans can't provide information without dramatizing and some want to be the ultimate at everything. Just be thankful that this is self serving and not pointed at others like MAGA. With a destination of Florida as your barometer of nonsense, everything after that location needs to be taken with a grain of salt and maybe a bottle of whiskey.
@@ninelaivz4334 Glass factory, amazing yes?
Great adventure, Cycled the Andes from Nazca to Patagonia with my now wife, a novel cyclist at the time, decades ago and had a fabulous time...aaahh! the good old days. Good tips and reality ! A comfy bike is key, good tires for the terrain you will ride on, the modern light camping equipment does make it easier...like you said you'll have some of the very best days and some of the very worst days ever on a bike trip....aaaahhh!! the good old days...enjoy the travels....and stay safe!
Thank you for dealing with these topics, especially the,never spoken about, feminine issues. We need these conversations to encourage more people to ride further, and that includes me. Thank you I have been inspired.
I am from India, I am very impressed with your cycle journey, I salute your spirit, I wish you a happy and successful journey.
Definitely true.
Rode solo cross US & Canada back in '97. The hardest days were mental, not physical.
The best advice I can give is to travel without expectations, and then you won't get disappointments.
Be prepared mentally, physically and with the proper hardware, and then just go, to experience what will happen. You will have a great time!
And the travel industry is all about over hyping expectations, actually diminishing experiences.
I Agree with you shalom my friend.
I'm starting my first bike tour at 55 in March. I love what you said. "Travel without expectations". It's the best advice I've heard so far.
It is true that people project their fears onto you as a bike tourist. I often feel like some people are almost pleading with me to take their fears as my own; bears, spiders, people etc. This video was spot on!
While backpacking, I met a girl about your age from Germany who motorcycled places that are also harsh like Sarah’s desert and Mongolia..you guys are amazing!
I'm glad I found your channel. Love all your videos. I'm 72 yrs old and love bikepacking here in Tennessee, usually no further than 22 miles from home [my closest campground]. I admire you and wish you nothing but the best. ✌
Thank you 😊 Glad you are enjoying our videos!
It's great to hear about people in their 70s still riding, you're doing an amazing job! Btw, not sure if you heard about it but you should consider getting an nta helmet like xnito or bern hudson, cpsc helmets aren't that safe
My first cycle camping tour was in 1978. My bike was state of the art (custom handbuilt Reynolds 531, Campagnlolo Nuevo Record, TA triple chainset and 5 speed block)and my tent (Vango Force 10) and sleeping bag (Blacks Icelandic) we’re pretty much as good as you’d get. This would be almost bottom of the range these days. The rims were single skin, Michelin tyres would last 1000 miles perhaps and the range of gears, well a single chainring and wide ratio block would cover that these days. The range and available kit has exploded since then but the one thing that hasn’t changed is the wonderful sense of freedom and adventure feel when I’m on a bike tour.
You guys are very candid with most of your information and that gives a lot of confidence to anyone wanting to experience cycling wherever they might be. Great team work, thank you for being straight forward. Cheers.
I love this video . I bike packed with my GF for one year from Canada - Western Samoa Easy coast of of Australia and both islands of NZ and the Roratonga isle's . I can totally relate except you forgot to mention the cost and availability of bike parts I think its best to travel with a simple set up . What a great learning experience . Thank you for your video .I really want to go again , Cheers !
Thank you for sharing guys 😊 and i have to say i appreciate you talking about women traveling and dealing with their periods. It was really encouraging 😁.
Amazing video for bike journey. I'll definitely watch other parts..
I rode LA to Mass back in 86 on a $350 shogun mountain bike, just short of 5000 miles, as long as it's dependable you can do it.
Fantastic content, guys, I agree with every single one of your talking points.
Let me just add one tiny thing: I almost always lay down my bicycle to the ground for the night and even if I sometimes don't, I move it away from my tent; potentially loose underground, sudden strong wind gusts etc. could tip it over during the night, and I definitely don't want this to happen, especially if it could fall straight onto the tent in which I'm sleeping.
This was excellent! My fave was "You might feel disgusting..." I loved that. Safe & Wonderful Travels!
I concur with everything you said. I too like to travel heavy, but with creature comforts. In fact, I think I carry more warm gear than you do. Thanks again for sharing.
Thank you for your honesty. Great inspiration and many safe travels. Love from Canada 🇨🇦
Thanks! :)
I lived on a sailboat for four years and many of the tips you shared also apply to cruising by sea. Bike touring seems easier to me after that experience. Thanks for your honesty.
what are the "unexpected" challenges of living on a boat? I'm tempted to get a boat as my father used to take us for summer holidays ..
@@kloppskalli We sold our land house and most all of our belongings to move aboard. The boat was all we had. I was a bit unnerved by that and felt uprooted...adrift (literally). Beyond this, there were unexpected things that sound little, but added up. I always felt like I had to be on guard as wind and waves can change so quick. This applied when at anchor, too. Even though we'd check wind forecasts before setting anchor, predictions can change, possibly necessitating a middle-of -the-night resetting. It was hard for me to relax. My body never could get used to the motion of the swells, so I felt sea sick almost every day. I did not expect all the condensation present in the boat, especially in the winter, which created a non-ending hunt for and eradication of mold and mildew. (I'm from Colorado where we add humidifiers to our furnace system.) I do miss the wild places we visited, sea creatures, meeting new people, a freer schedule. In my experience, enjoying sailing vacations is easy. Committing to life aboard 24/7 is entirely different. If I could afford to live aboard part time, I think I would. Full time is too much for me. It's hard to ride my bike on deck. :)
Def cheaper by bike
Thanks for the excellent advice, very informative! Cheers!
THE most accurate, relevant and directly profound words you state in this video, which applies to all adventures and endeavorings, “you just got to get used to it mentally”... Amen! Superb statement of truth.
If, and when, ANYBODY does this, all will be well.
Great video. Thanks for sharing.
Great video! Thank you for making it. Very informative
Great content. I'm starting my first tour in March. Seriously, thank you for reminding me its not all rainbows and unicorns out there. In my excitement for the ride I sometimes forget the hard parts I know are to come.
Good luck! 😊
THanks for all advices and nice video!!!
Nice video. Well done. Thanks!
Great stuff, thanks for the insight.
Great summary of the main myths! I look forward to learning more about your journey.
You rock guys. Thanks for sharing your experience with us and mostly touching on all of my concerns. I’m looking forward to doing that someday. Who knows… maybe our paths will cross 🙏🏾
Thank you, your videos are so addictive
I remember you first started your journey in southern US and it is amazing to see that you are still rocking! You are awesome and keep it up! Also, thanks for sharing!
Super video you guys - safe fun travels !
Great information, thank you for sharing and keep up the good work guys! You’re amazing!!!❤
Bad days, great days, absolutely lousy days. yes, that is LIFE. Anyone who thinks otherwise is deluded. Those bad days and gruelling rides become the stuff of memories, long talked about with your companions. I like your emphasis on travelling in comfort for long tours. I have this same attitude, even for much shorter tours; bikepacking does not interest me. The gear I have WORKS well, has been tried and tested over many tours, and is really not that great a burden to pedal up mountains; I just plan my travels within the capacities of what I can achieve. After all, it is a TOUR not a race. If I was to do bikepacking I really would need to spend another $3,000-4,000 to buy a completely different bicycle, new bags, a few racks, new ultralight tent, sleeping bag and matt, and a whole new lightweight cooking system. I am happy with my fully-loaded touring rig and am glad to keep doing this. People who say "why don't you do bikepacking?" are just being rude and nosey.
Thanks for sharing your insights! 😊
so if you're not bikepacking, what are you doing?
You can go bike packing on a $700 bicycle and you can invest less than $1000 in good equipment or maybe $1000 at $1200.03 or $4000 mean what kinda set up at you talking about. I know people that have been 10,000 miles and they didn’t have invested I’m not talking about camera equipment and talking about your clothes and your food and all that stuff you know your your bags by packing and they had less than $1500 invested and they went around the world I might add. It was a Surly bicycle as a long-haul trucker.
How are those people being rude and nosy when they ask a question when they don’t have them in when they’re not when I don’t have that knowledge why is that rude and how is that nosing?
Thanks for sharing, to the point. Love that you don't glossy or over ,bikepacking like it really is. Thanks
Well, what someone could admire and objectively accept in your case is that you seem to be a terrific couple of youth, harmonically combining love and affection to each other, collaboration to the utmost degree, confidence and belief in what you do and that' why you succeed in making and successfully completing any long trip by only pedalling your bike. My sincere congratulations and my regards from Greece.
Thanks Tobi and Louisa. God bless you and protect you against any risk. Regards from Greece.
Thank you for your honesty in your personal experiences. Looking forward to bikepacking myself one day!
Great video guys. Thank you for such an honest discussion 🙏
Thank you so much for sharing these information.
Love this thanks for sharing
The way you post and share your life in bikes is different of other people. You are very sincerely. Thanks for sharing guys!
Great tricks!
Thank you!
Really like these guys simple and easy going attitude,perfect for being out there.
Another awesome honest video! Have been following your adventure from the beginning and look forward to many more great videos! Thank you for sharing and be safe!
Thank you! 😊
Wonderful . True , useful and informative.
Great video . thanks.
Great videos guys❤
Thank you for your honest and clear tips! I really like your videos and I'm looking forward to go on an adventure myself!
Praise to you, happy biking couple 😊 and all the best to you and your biking. Mental strenght divides people really. I like your attitude.
My girlfriend and I enjoy your videos and hope to follow your tire tracks!
Nice! 😊
have a nice trip! i enjoyed this video very much. thank you both! Peter
Thanks! 😊
I loved the clip of you both brushing your teeth! More so, I appreciated your thoughtful commentary. Good video upload. I plan to view more.
Louisa & Tobi, you are my/our heros and get my/our big respect. You live the dreams and freedom, that others just dream about. Cyling is not about talking, it's about actually doing and riding. Every climb, hill, road you have to do/ride first. Sometimes it's very slow, but you really get to places by your on will, energy and power. And this is amazing! Most of the people are not able to move, because they are trapped in their jobs, families, houses, possessions and so on.
Your pictures/photography/videos are great. And you show big bicycle touring around the world with standard bicycles and equipment. Nothing too crazy, nothing too expensive and exaggerated. Who would have the brands Hercules, Germany and Wheeler on the radar/screen for good touring bicycles? Nobody. It's just outstanding when underrated brands and bicycles do a top job and performance! You show the guys with their € 5'000,- and up bikes how it goes.:-) Ride Shimano Altus and be happy.:-)
In one point I do not agree with you: One cannot do bicycle traveling with bad parts, bicycles and equipment. With for example a basic Wal-Mart bike, you would have failed. The bicycle and equipment must have a certain level of quality. A bicycle with bad parts from A to Z does not make a good bicycle.
Thanks for the feedback! 😊 That’s true, you probably shouldn’t do it with bad parts, but that doesn’t really mean you can’t. We’ve seen people on the road with really really cheap and basic bikes, and while some only do short tours, others have been going for a while. Of course the likelihood that you’ll have major problems with the bike is much higher.
That was a fantastic video. Thank you. Great editing, beautiful camera work, and helpful content.
Thank you! 😊
Thank you! 😊
You two are among the toughest people on the planet. Mentally and physically. Great info about equipment. History of biking shows multitude of equipment types, all successful with the right mental attitude. Carry on! Wishing you the best!
Thanks :)
thanks for doing this video it was very helpful.
Loved your video. Thank you. Keep riding.
Thanks 😊
Love seeing a video like this! Thank you guys for sharing these facts, people need to know! Bikepacking has been on my buckle list for a while, it would be amazing to spend 2-3 years bikepacking, I personally think this is the most beautiful way to travel the world!
Great tips 🙂👊🏻✌🏻
Interesting and well done. wonderful images. I love you address the every day points that are not so glamorous but are part of life on the road.
Foreword, my wife and I also cycle the world, but at much lower level than you. We do not "backpack" but lodge in hotels or cottages (like those found in campgrounds in Norway)
Myth 1: true, one gets trained "along the way", provided one starts with a reasonable plan. So, no 100 km per day each day of the first week!
Myth 2: lightweight is not the best for long distance, far away traveling. Sturdiness is important. Weight IS important, but what one carries on the bicycle plays a far greater role than the bicycle itself: saving 1/2 kg of gear is easy, save 1/2 kg on the bicycle .... mmmm. We have regular aluminium frame bikes and regular bags and racks. We do have mudguards and they well pay off! Our bike weighs alone 16.5 kg but takes any load and we can trust it!
Myth 3: totally true. we include "buffer days" in our plan, say one very 3-4 days, to rest, take care of things, visit places. Traveling is not a race, like the media wants us to believe
Myth 4: totally true.
Myth 5: hygiene. This was a surprise to me. We always find ways to have at least one shower per day. I dare to say one can always find how to wash oneself! it may be water from a glacier in the andes......
I would like to add one more myth: one has to cycle a huge amount of km every day. Not true. What matters is being on the road, we do it for 6-8 hrs per day. It may be 30 k or 80 k, we are happy
Very true, the myth you added. So many factors play a role in determining how far you cycle each day. It’s much more important to look at the time spent on the road!
Honest and informative content. Liked and subscribed! The views are gorgeous. Perhaps for future videos you can describe with captions where you filmed the places/scenery.
Thanks for the feedback! 😊
Thank you for sharing
I really appreciate this raw view of bicycle touring. Another words like long distance hiking, embrace the suck, and enjoy the journey.
Underrated channel, you guys deserve way more subscribers :)
Not to be contradictory, but it would be worth looking up Foresty Forest's, "Kidnapped by a Mexican Cartel". Things can go very very wrong.
Sure, but that can always happen, in any form of traveling, or not even necessarily related to traveling.
@@louisaandtobi Good point. Stay safe out there. 👍
Liked and subscribed - safe travels you two!
great video addressing real stuff!
Your travels amaze and inspire me. Thank you for your effort to bring your knowledge to those of us who are interested,
An excellent video gentlefolk, I especially liked the way you dealt with the P word. 😮
Great video, looking forward to watching other videos of your. ☯️☮️
Super content! Thank you so much for this tips and tricks vid. Keep at it. Keep up the content.
Thanks! 😊
Wonderful video! New follower here. Bikepacking is an incredible activity. Crow✌️
Thanks. Very kool. ✌🏻👊
Thank you so much for this informative video!
Well done 👍👍👍👍👍 You both did a fantastic job on this video 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
Thank you :)
Great video! Saw your video from the comfort of my home office :-) but have memories of spending time in the woods, in the middle of nowhere while it poured cats and dogs....and those experiences, although maybe a bit miserable then, nowadays make one look back "fondly" at those moments. I truly enjoyed your video and the dedication required!!
Thanks! For sure, looking back on these moments it’s often nice and usually a great story to tell. 😊
talking about comfort - I fell like this Brooks saddle is extremely sagged... because or rain and moisture of course.
If it is not comfortable anymore, you can just soak it in a bin of warm water with a dissolved gelatin. (10g/3-4 liters) And then dry it relatively slow (mine actually took about a day, but commonly told is 2-3 days) tightly packed with newspapers (to hold a form) and wrapped with some band to not wings go up.. So just shape it as new one should look like.
After that it is rock-solid again and is ready to be broken in :) i did it twice already with two my saddles - it works!
You would need a bit of proofide to protect it from moisture, although with this amount of water you get during your trip it probably will sag quite fast again.. leather does not really like water.. I actually additionally use a candle wax as water protection, but it is only for occasional water damage, of course.. just rub saddle surface with wax and then use hair dryer to melt it and soak in..
Hope it helps. Enjoy the ride!
Thanks for the tip. Yea, Tobi waxes the saddle every 1-2 weeks or after rain, etc.
Thank for a good video and for giving us the truth about touring
Hey. Just found your channel accidentally by opening youtube. Me and my girlfriend are going to cycle Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore in 2 months. Love what you're doing! Enjoy cycling!
Nice! Have a good trip. 😊
Great job touching on personal hygiene and particularly female hygiene. People are usually too shy to touch these very necessary topics.
Simple is best for touring I agree with your assessment thx for sharing
Hey, I just stubbled across this video. You seem really nice people & I loved your no nonsence delivery, so many TH-camrs make bikepacking sound out of reach for us 'normal' folk. Look forward to more of your vids & GOOD LUCK!
Thank you! 😊
Muito bom , obrigado ❤
Mmmmmm, you need a good strong bike, strong wheels, etc. I've toured 52,500 miles to date and counting. 🏴
Certainly true you will have some of your best ever days while cycle touring, but they can only be had by experiencing a few rubbish days too. On a long trip it's not possible to have one without the other. As you say, its all about being mentally prepared, and open to adjusting your plans as you go along.
a very good video, nice to see a realistic helpful site. thank you enjoy riding. Chris King
Thanks 😊
Very interesting video folks
Love it 👍️
Thank you for being truthful about how bike touring is not always a 'bowl of cherries'. As a matter of fact there are good and bad days in whatever you love to do in life. It is part of learning how to overcome difficulties or at least deal with them head on. I think it is a joy and privilege to just have the opportunity to travel; see different lands and their people at a lower cost :) As for wild camping, there are portable small compact toilets that (if you have room) you can add to your bike touring gear list to bring along; (Just makes going the bathroom more convenient rather than for women squatting down close to the ground). The one I have weighs about 2.5lbs; made from flexi hard plastic as it collapses into a smaller size and then user just needs to place a biowaste bag inside, close down the lid and voila...toilet
Nonsense, who is interested in travelling on a bicycle with shit?
Get a grip 🙄😆
It is often more hygienic finding a spot in nature, than using public toilets!
Excellent!😊
You both are soo amazing and informative always 👌👌 love from India 🇮🇳
Thanks for the honesty (not a common thing nowadays).
Good job.
Like your video ❤ good luck
Agree with what you said and in addition would add that if you are planning a bike trip get a bike fitted to you and your style of riding!
Superb presentation! Vaya con Dios.
I love your video guys. You did such an incredible journey so far. I have to agree with all of your tips and myths after my bikepacking through Europe. I have also to say my worst and only nightmare was the “ UNHYGIENIC “ part. I think cuz I didn’t accept it mentally and not use to sleep showerless most of my trip! at the end of my trip I ended up with some fungal infections. I’m all ok now.
Be safe. 👏🏼
Well, there are totally different kinds of bicycle travelling. I do like those "short" 2 weeks travels with distances around 1.500 km. Sleeping in hotels does provide a huge level of convinience. I'm usually on my own, so packing tent, sleeping bag, tools, camera, etc. just for me is just too much. In a group it's easier since not everybody has to pack everything. Lightweight is definitely a way to go; don't pack unnecessary stuff! Oh, and regarding your Myth nr. 1: Of course you don't have to train really for a bike trip. The mental challenge is the biggest challenge. BUT make sure you are at least a little bit prepared. You can easily overdo it without noticing; and inflammation in your knees may be am aftereffect. So, be prepared by knowing your body really well! Don't set too high goals for a daily stage! Anyways: Bicycle travelling is a lot of fun, a great experience and one of the best ways to open your mind and cleanse your soul! Totally recommend it!
In future, when we are back in Europe, we will most likely also only do shorter multi-week or maybe 1-3 month trips. Probably also with more accommodation and therefore packing lighter and more specific to the kind of riding we want to do. It's definitely more convenient!
Thank you!
Kudos for ‘daring’ tackling the hygiene topics!