|
|
|
Independent Bicycle Touring FAQAsk CharlesDo you have questions about independent bicycle touring, without the involvement of commercial tour companies? You're welcome to ask Charles! Q. What sort of bike should I use?A. I have always used an ordinary standard touring bike. A wide range of gears is necessary, so that you have a fast gear for when the going is good and you can get along fast, and an easy gear for hills or strong headwinds or when you are tired or sick. Q. Should I stick to footpaths and back roads?A. No, use the main highways. They have the width and the best surfaces, and are favoured by signals. Keep well to the side of the road. You will soon get used to country traffic whizzing past. If you have 20 trucks per kilometre passing you, hitting you in the back with a cushion of air each time, hey, that’s a tailwind. Q. How far should I travel each day?A. Depends on the wind and the temperature and the terrain. You lose a lot of energy climbing a hill and you don’t get it back going down the other side. Don’t try to go too fast – go a little slower than you feel you could. Having a headwind or tailwind makes a lot of difference. Take a break for about ten minutes in each hour, have a drink and walk around. You could do 100km in a day or as little as 40. I speak for average riders like myself, not for young athletes. Q. What should I take on a ride?A. As little as possible. Food and drink can be bought in towns or at roadhouses. Take a supply of drinks for each day. Boxed fruit juices are good. Have a packet of barley sugars for quick energy. Take a minimal change of clothes, plus a jumper and light raincoat. Most of the weight in your luggage needs to be stuff for the bike, to cover all possible mechanical problems. 2 spare tubes, plus puncture kit and pump. Spare spokes, with a cluster remover and spanner for using same. Spoke key. A chain breaker and spare chain links. A spare brake cable and gear cable. Two sets of spare brake blocks. A spenco (or lambswool) saddle cover to save your butt – makes a lot of difference over long distances. A sore numb butt can immobilise you. A spare battery for the speedo (a speedo is important to have on these rides). Accurate and complete maps for the areas you will be riding through. Aspirin tablets (against aches and pains) antacid tablets (against roadhouse food) bandaids (for cuts and grazes resulting from falls), needle and thread for repairing clothes, pen, plenty of money including coins and a phonecard for telephones. Q. How should I prepare the bike before starting out?A. Fit new tyres and gear and brake cables. Dismantle and clean and oil the cluster. Clean and oil the chain and sprockets. Otherwise, simply replace the chain, cluster and sprockets with new ones. Check the pedals – will they jam or break on a long trip with possibly long days spent in the wet? If so, replace them with good ones before you start. Otherwise, carry at least one spare. Clean and oil the wheel bearings and the crankshaft. Replace any bearings that are worn or misshapen. Renew the plastic wheels on the derailleur. Q. What should I eat?A. What you normally do, except have a good breakfast and go light on the evening meal. Q. Should I go alone or with a group?A. In a group or with at least one other person is better in some ways. But you would not have the freedom and spontaneity, the trip would have to be planned ahead of time to suit everyone and there would always be a weakest rider who would have to be waited for – it might be you! Q. What are the most likely mishaps to befall one during a ride?A. Punctures, dehydration, cramp, broken spokes, really bad weather, falls on gravel tracks or on poorly maintained sealed roads with potholes and bits missing from the edge. Dud TV or no hot water in your hotel. Most of these things are avoidable with care. I have never been hit by a vehicle, attacked by anti-bike yobs, robbed, or injured so badly as to be unable to ride. I have had a broken chain once, in 1978, and was not equipped to deal with it.
Bicycle Listings
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
page 1 of 1
|
