Just finished an overnighter touring some beautiful routes/segments in SoCal with a friend. I had no foot retention, so uphills were tough, and I packed everything into an 11 liter saddle bag I got for $45. It haven’t felt the happiness like I have on that trip in a long time. I’ll echo your advice by reminding people that these adventures are totally doable under any time frame or budget. At first I was a little worried that I didn’t have the right shoes, right gear ratio, right tires, etc. But the joy of actually traversing through such beautiful places soon outweighed any anxieties I had. I was smiling so hard that I forgot to breathe sometimes. Even in just 2 days, I’ve made memories for a lifetime.
Huuuuuge respect, man! Did my first big trips in the Netherlands and in Iceland in August, and my setup is really similar with a bit of adjustments due to weather conditions in Iceland. Now one of my friend wants to go in his first ever bike trip, and this is just a perfect video for him! Thank you a lot! Peace
Netherlands and Iceland sounds like really interesting places to start. I really hoped for this to be a practice affordable starting place for ANYONE. Hope the trip goes well.
Yo Garret! Happy New Year dude. Appreciated this video, I agree with the sentiment that people get too fixated on gear, especially when starting out! I liked the pro tip of wrapping the tent in the tarp before strapping it to the rack so it doesn't get soaked. Cheap, effective, and IT DOESN'T WEIGH ANYTHING! Hope we find a way to cross paths on a bike ride again! Cheers.
Great advice. Few years ago I impulse purchased an overpriced REI hybrid one morning after years of not having a bike. Would have been better off just buying something used until I knew what I really wanted. Decked it out with Amazon bags, already had the camping gear from backpacking, and a few weeks later did the C&O. After a few months I had an idea of what I REALLY wanted out of a bike. So now I've got my dream bike and good bags. The REI bike and Amazon bags have been collecting dust. Again, would have been better off buying everything used (although the Amazon stuff is a easy affordable way to just get on the road)
You should sell that stuff to someone! (maybe even a viewer of this video) I feel like it took me like 1000 miles of touring before I could make my mind up of what I was looking for. I’m always talking people into buying a bike off Craigslist lol.
Just found your channel and am looking forward to more of your videos. I vote "YES" on the budget touring video. I've spent a lot of time (not so much money) on creating a setup using molle bags and pouches. Works (so far) but would be interested in seeing what you come up with.
Great idea! Twenty years ago I cycled east from San Francisco. The new bike was 2.000$ and served me until I sold it last year for about 100$. The gear and flights were another 800$ each. I cycled 50 days to Kansas City on my own and spent a little over 10$ per day with a bunch of stealth camping close to no resteraunts and never used my stove. In KC I met up with a friend and we continued as a team. The following four weeks we spend 10$ per day each, but with a lot of camp grounds and quite some resteraunts. I noticed that most things don’t double in costs if you are two people like campgrounds. And you can be more resource full with grocery shopping. I know all prices rose in this time, but till this very day I get away with under 20$ per day on food, fun, transportation etc. when doing my tours in Central Europe. So it is basically camping, hotels and eat out that are expensive, but I almost never do those. I don’t have all the gear I want but certainly everything I need, so at that point a week bikepacking isn’t more expensive than a week sitting at home.
THIS! This is a perfect example of how adorable it can be. I tend to be able to hover near $25 a day if I am being savvy. Top of the line gear is not that adventure I’m looking for. It’s about finding the perfect things that don’t cost very much. Even better the perfect camp spot. The tent is all that I need most of the time.
I bike a lot and I own a lot of bikes. I don’t look like someone who can check both boxes so I get ignored. It has forced me to learn to maintain my (7) bikes and fix most issues. Thanks for being jerks, I’ve saved a ton of money and learned to be self sufficient.
Great advice....I'm planning my first overnighter this month on my surly bridge club. I'll ride up PCH to Leo Carrillo state park which has a hiker/biker camp site..$10/night. Then ride back home. One good thing about this site is it's only 5 miles from the nearest LA metro bus stop which gives me a bug out option back home just using 2 busses. Then planning a 5 day trip next...take amtrak up to San Luis obispo then ride back home using state parks or warmshowers to stay at. Then the last AIDS lifecycle ride occurs june 1st... 7 days, 545 miles fully supported so just have to ride my stripped down bike each day back home...want the lighest weight possible because there's lots of climbing on the route. Then the biggie in July.... PCBR from Vancouver down to San Diego over 45 days. I may end up switching from my XL BC over to a large Ogre for the shorter reach. Then I want to do either the transam or the transamerican discovery trail which is offroad so don't have to deal with traffic. Alot of riding for a 70 yo cyclist.
I planned a ride on the great Allegheny passage with a friend I have a lot of bikes. I bought at the local thrift place named red white and blue. I bought at the specialized stump jumper steel frame. 12 bucks. Later I found. Planet bike fenders new at the goodwill for. 5.99 I found them kitty litter buckets I had hooks and have 5 rear bike racks so I hooked them up to the bike. Free. I have some ros panniers from Amazon. But it did not fit what we planned. I have a steel frame bianchi bike but I thought the specialized was better to take. I even found a 2 person small tent at the goodwill for 4.99 yes all parts were there. My camping bag. Aldis. I got the summer one and winter one both at 12.99. I got at a goodwill bin place two hiking bags. Inside was two sleeping pads. And a blow up pillows. I have the cooking things all from thrift stores. My total cost was. 325.69. Total in what I spent a lot I had over years. I live in Pittsburgh if you live in the burgh say hi I bike all through Pittsburgh
but, Murph; not all routes are easy and cheap as the C&O and the GAP! Those trails are packed with primitive campsites. Try to camp or stealth camp in Indiana or Illinois, then check the bill :D
I only camped for free for 1 night. Stayed in two hotels and paid for camping the other nights. It actually turned out to be my most expensive week of accommodation in cycle touring so far.
@ it seems in fact very luxurious, as much as I don’t understand the video concept at all. If you want to show that one can travel for less/little, then show how to do it properly. And btw, if you count the bicycle within the 2000 dollar budget, one should count the cost of the car within the budgets too, or at least counting 7 days car hire.
But, but, but. What about this, what about that. I don't understand the video concept, but here's how you did it wrong. Lol, what is wrong with people...
@@someplacespecial 🤡😂 so, let me guess: the comments are just for compliments? I am sorry for you not understanding the basics; the list of things that you don’t get must be long; TH-cam is just one.
@vladywashere I included the car rental in the final day. I only rented it one day one way from DC back to Pittsburgh. The trip turned out more expensive than I anticipated 🤷♂️. The concept was to see how much the average trip might cost. But due to the conditions, I ended up spending more. That’s life sometimes, especially on a bike. But more so just wanted to come in under 2k. I wanted to give someone an idea of what to expect cost wise while traveling and you could easily do it cheaper if you desire, and I would encourage you to.
I’d never advise anyone to use a backpack it’s setting them up for misery ten miles in. Always have a secondary attachment for the panniers to stop thieves I use shortened leather belts. Also I did some research and the cheapest train trip back would have been $81.00 so no stress driving back and can catch up on some reading or sleep on the way home.
Yeah backpack is more of a temporary solution. Just a change of clothes and not much else. More of a credit card tour situation. We thought about the train (and was honestly excited about it) but they wanted an additional $40 per bike. So we split the car instead since there was two of us it ended up being cheaper.
Look for a late 80's to early 90's Trek 950 mountain bike. They are great touring/commuting bike! I been riding one since the 90's and it has traveled many touring/commuting miles....
@MoveWithMurph I stated this because many old steel road bikes don't have low enough gearing for weighted down bike going up a steep incline. The Trek 520 in this video has a triple ring crank with cassette that went to 32. A road bike with 53-39 crank with 11-28 cassette would be painful.
Just finished an overnighter touring some beautiful routes/segments in SoCal with a friend. I had no foot retention, so uphills were tough, and I packed everything into an 11 liter saddle bag I got for $45. It haven’t felt the happiness like I have on that trip in a long time.
I’ll echo your advice by reminding people that these adventures are totally doable under any time frame or budget.
At first I was a little worried that I didn’t have the right shoes, right gear ratio, right tires, etc. But the joy of actually traversing through such beautiful places soon outweighed any anxieties I had. I was smiling so hard that I forgot to breathe sometimes. Even in just 2 days, I’ve made memories for a lifetime.
Perfectly done, Thanks Murph
Love your work
Thanks for watching, honestly I appreciate it.
Huuuuuge respect, man!
Did my first big trips in the Netherlands and in Iceland in August, and my setup is really similar with a bit of adjustments due to weather conditions in Iceland.
Now one of my friend wants to go in his first ever bike trip, and this is just a perfect video for him!
Thank you a lot!
Peace
Netherlands and Iceland sounds like really interesting places to start.
I really hoped for this to be a practice affordable starting place for ANYONE. Hope the trip goes well.
Yo Garret! Happy New Year dude. Appreciated this video, I agree with the sentiment that people get too fixated on gear, especially when starting out! I liked the pro tip of wrapping the tent in the tarp before strapping it to the rack so it doesn't get soaked. Cheap, effective, and IT DOESN'T WEIGH ANYTHING! Hope we find a way to cross paths on a bike ride again! Cheers.
hahah thanks for watching, as you can see this is my ultra light set up. Tarps for days!!
Very practical, realistic and grounded review. Well done not everyone’s a$$$ dentist 😂
Great advice. Few years ago I impulse purchased an overpriced REI hybrid one morning after years of not having a bike. Would have been better off just buying something used until I knew what I really wanted. Decked it out with Amazon bags, already had the camping gear from backpacking, and a few weeks later did the C&O. After a few months I had an idea of what I REALLY wanted out of a bike. So now I've got my dream bike and good bags. The REI bike and Amazon bags have been collecting dust. Again, would have been better off buying everything used (although the Amazon stuff is a easy affordable way to just get on the road)
You should sell that stuff to someone! (maybe even a viewer of this video)
I feel like it took me like 1000 miles of touring before I could make my mind up of what I was looking for. I’m always talking people into buying a bike off Craigslist lol.
Nicely done. Thanks for this!
Just found your channel and am looking forward to more of your videos. I vote "YES" on the budget touring video. I've spent a lot of time (not so much money) on creating a setup using molle bags and pouches. Works (so far) but would be interested in seeing what you come up with.
Looked like fun times! Appreciate the thorough breakdown.
Thanks for watching!
Great video!! I live about 3 miles off the C&O (Williamsport). I’m
Planning on riding both trails next season with my oldest son.
It’s a fun ride you’ll love it. Stay tuned for the full length video about it. Had a nice time in Williamsport waiting out some rain.
@ If you’re ever in the area again let me know. Place to stay or riding buddy.
Great idea!
Twenty years ago I cycled east from San Francisco. The new bike was 2.000$ and served me until I sold it last year for about 100$. The gear and flights were another 800$ each. I cycled 50 days to Kansas City on my own and spent a little over 10$ per day with a bunch of stealth camping close to no resteraunts and never used my stove. In KC I met up with a friend and we continued as a team. The following four weeks we spend 10$ per day each, but with a lot of camp grounds and quite some resteraunts. I noticed that most things don’t double in costs if you are two people like campgrounds. And you can be more resource full with grocery shopping.
I know all prices rose in this time, but till this very day I get away with under 20$ per day on food, fun, transportation etc. when doing my tours in Central Europe. So it is basically camping, hotels and eat out that are expensive, but I almost never do those.
I don’t have all the gear I want but certainly everything I need, so at that point a week bikepacking isn’t more expensive than a week sitting at home.
THIS!
This is a perfect example of how adorable it can be. I tend to be able to hover near $25 a day if I am being savvy. Top of the line gear is not that adventure I’m looking for. It’s about finding the perfect things that don’t cost very much. Even better the perfect camp spot.
The tent is all that I need most of the time.
Great video!
Nice video fun to watch. You saved me from being bored to death while being home sick
Thanks for tuning in!
I bike a lot and I own a lot of bikes. I don’t look like someone who can check both boxes so I get ignored. It has forced me to learn to maintain my (7) bikes and fix most issues. Thanks for being jerks, I’ve saved a ton of money and learned to be self sufficient.
Great advice....I'm planning my first overnighter this month on my surly bridge club. I'll ride up PCH to Leo Carrillo state park which has a hiker/biker camp site..$10/night. Then ride back home. One good thing about this site is it's only 5 miles from the nearest LA metro bus stop which gives me a bug out option back home just using 2 busses. Then planning a 5 day trip next...take amtrak up to San Luis obispo then ride back home using state parks or warmshowers to stay at. Then the last AIDS lifecycle ride occurs june 1st... 7 days, 545 miles fully supported so just have to ride my stripped down bike each day back home...want the lighest weight possible because there's lots of climbing on the route. Then the biggie in July.... PCBR from Vancouver down to San Diego over 45 days. I may end up switching from my XL BC over to a large Ogre for the shorter reach. Then I want to do either the transam or the transamerican discovery trail which is offroad so don't have to deal with traffic. Alot of riding for a 70 yo cyclist.
Wow! Thats a big summer coming up. Sounds like so much fun. Nice progression to. You’ll have tons of confidence. Enjoy the journey.
I planned a ride on the great Allegheny passage with a friend I have a lot of bikes. I bought at the local thrift place named red white and blue. I bought at the specialized stump jumper steel frame. 12 bucks. Later I found. Planet bike fenders new at the goodwill for. 5.99 I found them kitty litter buckets I had hooks and have 5 rear bike racks so I hooked them up to the bike. Free. I have some ros panniers from Amazon. But it did not fit what we planned. I have a steel frame bianchi bike but I thought the specialized was better to take. I even found a 2 person small tent at the goodwill for 4.99 yes all parts were there. My camping bag. Aldis. I got the summer one and winter one both at 12.99. I got at a goodwill bin place two hiking bags. Inside was two sleeping pads. And a blow up pillows. I have the cooking things all from thrift stores. My total cost was. 325.69. Total in what I spent a lot I had over years. I live in Pittsburgh if you live in the burgh say hi I bike all through Pittsburgh
I have the B.O.B trailers I use as well. However. My trip I mentioned never happened due to that friend being a bad person in time
but, Murph; not all routes are easy and cheap as the C&O and the GAP! Those trails are packed with primitive campsites.
Try to camp or stealth camp in Indiana or Illinois, then check the bill :D
I only camped for free for 1 night. Stayed in two hotels and paid for camping the other nights. It actually turned out to be my most expensive week of accommodation in cycle touring so far.
@ it seems in fact very luxurious, as much as I don’t understand the video concept at all. If you want to show that one can travel for less/little, then show how to do it properly. And btw, if you count the bicycle within the 2000 dollar budget, one should count the cost of the car within the budgets too, or at least counting 7 days car hire.
But, but, but. What about this, what about that. I don't understand the video concept, but here's how you did it wrong. Lol, what is wrong with people...
@@someplacespecial 🤡😂 so, let me guess: the comments are just for compliments? I am sorry for you not understanding the basics; the list of things that you don’t get must be long; TH-cam is just one.
@vladywashere I included the car rental in the final day. I only rented it one day one way from DC back to Pittsburgh.
The trip turned out more expensive than I anticipated 🤷♂️. The concept was to see how much the average trip might cost. But due to the conditions, I ended up spending more. That’s life sometimes, especially on a bike. But more so just wanted to come in under 2k.
I wanted to give someone an idea of what to expect cost wise while traveling and you could easily do it cheaper if you desire, and I would encourage you to.
I’d never advise anyone to use a backpack it’s setting them up for misery ten miles in.
Always have a secondary attachment for the panniers to stop thieves I use shortened leather belts.
Also I did some research and the cheapest train trip back would have been $81.00 so no stress driving back and can catch up on some reading or sleep on the way home.
Yeah backpack is more of a temporary solution. Just a change of clothes and not much else. More of a credit card tour situation.
We thought about the train (and was honestly excited about it) but they wanted an additional $40 per bike. So we split the car instead since there was two of us it ended up being cheaper.
The best thing is that the next trip will be much less
People don't always ask you that.
Good bikes used all day long on Craigs list...$75---$250
Soooooo many great bikes out there collecting dust
I can not find a 520 in a medium size to save my life
I swear I just saw one in Pittsburgh on marketplace.
Keep looking you’ll get one!
Look for a late 80's to early 90's Trek 950 mountain bike. They are great touring/commuting bike! I been riding one since the 90's and it has traveled many touring/commuting miles....
Consider Surley LHT, their frame dimensions are similar and they are everywhere.
Make sure the bike has enough gear range.
Definitely avoid single speeds & 3 speeds!
@MoveWithMurph I stated this because many old steel road bikes don't have low enough gearing for weighted down bike going up a steep incline. The Trek 520 in this video has a triple ring crank with cassette that went to 32. A road bike with 53-39 crank with 11-28 cassette would be painful.