The following is a greatly appreciated reader contribution. It is a beginning look at using bikes for long distance, varied terrain travel. Hopefully, we can get more contributions on this area, and sub sets of this area, since it’s one in which I have zero background to speak of. –JM For background, I do not identify as a cyclist; the physical act of pedaling for hours holds little appeal to me, I’d rather be hiking or canoeing or sailing, but my partner is a cyclist, and if I want to hang out with her, I am obliged to get on a bike and pedal across mountains and deserts and remote regions of developing nations on several continents. So the little bit I know is thanks to her, and the many thousands of miles I’ve logged since she started letting me tag along. And I asked her some questions to verify the accuracy of what I’ll tell you. As with so many sports, specialization has taken over bicycling, and information and resources about what we are interested in is more than a little cluttered. If we agree that we’d like a bike, not for the fun of pedaling across landscapes or bombing down mountain bike trails or racing in any fashion, but rather, for the purpose of carrying significant loads (how significant your load is reflects you mission and priorities…see John’s recent article “10 essentials” about “survival” loadouts…probably most of us are carrying too much most of the time) over long distances, over surfaces that might range from paved, to gravel, to dirt, to unmaintained footpaths, with gear that is robust enough to not fall apart in austere conditions, and can be mostly user maintained without the need for too many or too heavy of tools. If this is the goal, “tour” biking is what your search term needs to be. Not mountain, road, gravel, bikepacking (a near cousin, but too narrowly focused), not BMX, and definitely not road biking or racing. All those are fine sports, but not of particular value to the agreed upon goal. As for resources and recommendations, I was lucky enough to tie in with a partner who has been biking for years and miles far beyond me, who taught me all I know…hence I don’t have a book to recommend, per se, although there are lots of books and blogs out there by people who have biked across Mongolia, or from Alaska to Argentina, or across Canada in the winter, etc. I can’t recommend one in particular because we don’t read many of that genre, since we do such trips and find other’s accounts not especially compelling compared to our own experiences. For those looking to learn however, seek accounts of people who are carrying their own gear, self supported, in locations where they must have been somewhat self sufficient. Again, “touring” is the magic word. Crazyguyonabike is a website that hosts a number of such blogs and a forum where you can get answers to specific questions from knowledgeable people. Adventure Cycling is an organization based in Missoula, MT that supports and promotes tour biking, and though I love their magazine, it is of more benefit to those that would do this activity for fun than those preparing for troubled times. They do publish a series of maps which link existing trails, dirt roads, etc to form very long biking routes that might be of interest to folks that live near them….possible resource for navigating off the beaten path in troubled times and all. Another option for learning more, is to sign up on Warm Showers, a website that is used by touring cyclists to offer accommodation and assistance to those doing long trips. In those cases it is not feasible to spend money on a hotel or paid campsite every night for months at a time, and occasionally it is nice to come in from the woods and use wifi or do laundry or get a shower and hamburger. Folks on Warm Showers can offer to host such long distance cyclists, either by putting them up in a spare bedroom for a night, or as we do, offering a safe, free place to camp in our yard. Despite the name, you don’t have to offer your shower; you can specify what accommodation you can offer, and when you are available, and cyclists can then contact you to see if you are available when they are passing through. There is no obligation, you can accept some and refuse others as you choose. It is an excellent way to meet people from all over the world who are doing the very thing we are talking about, and pick their brains. Plus you’ll be meeting cool people, helping out a traveler, and earning a little cosmic merit for the next time you are a stranger in a strange land and could use some help. Its a good thing I can personally recommend, been doing it for years both hosting and staying at other’s places, and never had a bad experience, but rather benefited greatly from local area knowledge and the kindness of strangers. Unlike couchsurfing, long distance bike tourers are a self selecting demographic that lends itself well to this. When it comes to gear, I have little experience with carbon frames, but steel and aluminum frames are both acceptable so long as they are from reputable companies who cater to the touring crowd. Surly, Specialized, and Trek (my kids have aluminum framed Specialized bikes. We paid $20 for each, and were given the other one, as a birthday present for the boy—he needs to grow into the bike yet. Check thrift stores, recycling centers, and even bike shops for used bikes and you can often find smoking deals on bikes! –JM) are just two that I can recommend, but there are plenty of others. Avoid anything from Walmart, Target, etc…those components will be crap, and while I have personally logged a 94 mile way on a Walmart bike, it was shear hell and I cannot recommend it. You’ll want bike racks front and back, to support your panniers and to bungee cord random stuff on top of. Ortlieb makes the best waterproof panniers (most models come with straps you can use to carry as either a backpack or shoulder bag if you have to carry your stuff without benefit of the bike), but I know plenty of folks who have biked thousands of miles using square plastic kitty litter buckets as waterproof panniers. Shimano makes the industry standard for derailers. Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires are the standard for minimizing flats and also optimal for varied riding surfaces. I never liked the look of folks wearing spandex biking outfits, but I will say, if you are biking all day, padded bike shorts help a lot (can be worn under khaki cargo shorts), and padded bike gloves are almost mandatory for preventing numb hands/fingers. Brand doesn’t really matter. Special shoes don’t matter, despite what the gear retailers will try and sell you. Trailers can help carry additional gear or passengers, but frankly, unless you care about carrying a LOT of extra shit, you don’t need one. Front and rear panniers and duffel bags bungeed on top gives you more than enough cargo capacity to carry the needful things for living an indefinite amount of time across all earthly climates and seasons, and carry food and fuel for several days to a week or more at a time. But if you need to bring an extra hundred+ pounds of shit (or a small child or two), a trailer can work…I’ve used the Thule Chariot brand on several long trips, and it is robust enough for the job, and has the added benefit of optional attachments that allow you to use it as a pulk or sledge to haul behind you on skis. As for your saddle, believe it or not, you don’t want the squishiest soft saddle you can find…it can cause tissue compression in ways you might not expect and numbness in a certain distal male appendage that is frightening if it happens to you…ask me how I know. Brooks makes the best saddles, but they are expensive and have a reputation for needing a hundred+ miles to break in…others can work fine as well, it is often a personal preference. Maybe the single most important thing to mention is making sure the bike fits you. I rode a too small bike for years, giving me knee pain, and just assuming that this is what biking was and people who did so for sun where masochists, then I got on a bike that was fitted to me, and holy shit my life was changed. I still didn’t love cycling, but now I could pedal or 6 or 8 hours a day without pain. Get fitted at a proper bike shop for your first time, including how high the seat needs to be over the pedals. After that you can read articles or watch videos on line about how to do it yourself in case you make changes to your setup later, but this is important. I have no experience with ebikes, but I expect they may have a role to play in the future; for now I am not qualified to speak on them, except to say I see people covering hundreds of miles on them, all the time. How they handle austere conditions and user maintenance I don’t know. I know with a fully loaded (front and rear panniers with too much shit) touring bike I can cover 30-60 miles/day over the types of mixed terrain we’ve talked about: some dirt roads, some gravel, some paved, and some unmaintained steep rocky crack in the mountainside that a donkey once wandered along and is now described as a trail by a local villager whom I may have misunderstood in the translation. But I’m not a cyclist. My wife is, and because her legs and body seem to sync in a way I can’t comprehend, she can do 30% more miles 30% faster than I can any day of the week. Your mileage may vary, as they say. If I’m pulling a trailer, cut it by maybe 15-20%. With an ebike? Easily double, but then, where ya gonna charge it? Youtube videos demonstrating how to adjust your derailer, or brakes, or swap out a shifter cable can be downloaded for reviewing later when you need the reference, but as with any thing, actually doing the thing will get you more better skills and knowledge faster than buying “stuff” to stick in the garage and not use until TSHTF. For my own part, I don’t love the act of cycling; pedaling round and round for hours. That said, it is far and away the best way of traveling I have ever tried: you cover more miles faster than hiking, but move at a human pace with the freedom to stop and interact with people and the landscape without the barriers of speed and windshield and noise that cars and motorcycles present. People are nicer to you when you have arrived by bike, in every country I have ever biked I have been welcomed into homes and received the benefit of kindnesses large and small that I would not otherwise received had I shown up by motorcycle or automobile. And it is quieter, for those who value stealth when it is appropriate. A single rider with a bivy bag and an eye for the terrain can coyote camp almost anywhere. Hopefully this helps some folks get farther down the road. https://www.patreon.com/posts/here-...paign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link Continue reading...
