How to Travel by Bicycle: A Beginner’s Guide to Bike Touring
How to Plan Your First Bicycle Trip on a Budget
Find a touring bicycle, gather your gear, map out your route, and set off to explore the world on two wheels.
We often receive questions about how to start bicycle touring, so we created these guides to help you out.
check also:
> How Much Does it Cost to Cycle Around the World?
> 9 Easy Destinations for Bike Touring Beginners
Bicycle Touring in a Nutshell
For those on a rush, here’s a simple sequence of things to do to get started with bicycle tourring.
Planning Your First Bike Trip on a Budget
- Get a Bike: Almost any bike will do, but a dedicated adventure bicycle offers more comfort.
- Pack Your Essentials: Gather your gear and focus on the necessities.
- Plan a Route: Map out your journey and be flexible.
- Start Your Adventure: Choose a direction and start riding.
Choosing a Destination
- Start Local: If short on time, begin with local routes.
- Explore Further: For longer trips, consider beginner-friendly destinations like Japan, South Korea, Holland, or Poland.
Planning Your Route
- Plan Flexibly: Allow extra days for unexpected opportunities.
- Avoid Highways: Stick to secondary roads for a more enjoyable ride.
- Set Realistic Distances: Don’t overestimate daily mileage and enjoy the journey.
Gear Up
- Use What You Have: Good gear is nice but not necessary.
- Focus on Essentials: Prioritize the basic necessities for your trip.
Budgeting
- Travel Cheaply: Bicycle touring is one of the most affordable ways to travel.
- Be Adventurous: Embrace adventure and adapt to different situations.
So, How Do You Travel by Bike?
Simply put: get a bike, choose a destination (or just a direction), pack some essentials, and start pedaling.
Bicycle touring is accessible to almost everyone, regardless of age, fitness level, weight, experience, mechanical skills, or budget. Many people even bring their kids or pets along.
When we began our journey into bicycle touring and bikepacking, we were smokers, enjoyed a drink, were out of shape, knew nothing about bike mechanics, and had very little money.
Surprisingly, not much has changed, except we’re slightly better off financially now, as bike touring opened up some work opportunities. The only real requirement to start bicycle touring is time.
We’re not saying you need to quit your job unless you’re looking for a major lifestyle change. Bike travel can fit any schedule: if you only have a week off, plan a bikepacking loop nearby.
We’ve met people traveling with even fewer resources than we do. Bicycle touring can be done on any budget; you just need a sense of adventure and a willingness to embrace a bit of discomfort.
How to Find a Suitable Touring Bike for Your First Trip
If you’re not planning on tackling really tough roads with a heavy load, almost any bike will do. We’ve seen people tour long distances on granny bikes and even cheap folding ones.
However, a better bike can provide greater comfort and enjoyment. Check out our lists:
- 18 Great Touring Bikes Under $2,000
- 21 Best Touring Bicycles Under $1,000
- 10 Great Woman-Specific Touring Bikes
- Best 2024 Gravel Bikes Under $1,500
If you can’t invest in a touring bike, use what you have.
How to Tour with a Road or Gravel Bike
Have a road bike? You can tour with it. The main issue is that road bikes don’t handle loads well, and their narrow tires aren’t great on dirt roads.
Options include:
- Sticking to pavement,
- Packing light with a bike-packing setup,
- Or adding a bicycle trailer.
Some good bike trailers are Bob Yak, Topeak Journey, and my favorite, the Extrawheel Trailer.
Gravel bikes are also suitable for touring, with many models catering to bikepackers. Check out our article on Gravel Bike Touring and the best gravel bikes for touring and bikepacking.
Bicycle Touring with an MTB
Old mountain bikes from the nineties are perfect for bike touring, with their strong steel frames and ability to handle a bit of load. Avoid cheap suspension forks and full suspension systems as they break easily.
Modern hardtail and full-suspension MTBs can be used for special types of touring. Check our guide on Mountain Bike Touring for bikepacking and cycle camping setups.
Travel On a Scrapyard Bike
Don’t have a bike? Visit second-hand shops or scrapyards. You might find a decent frame for a few bucks or even for free. That’s how I started.
Make sure the bike is safe to ride, as safety should be your top priority. Accidents can put an abrupt stop to your tour. Having cycling insurance is always a good idea, no matter what bike you ride.
Learn how to turn a piece of junk into a touring bike.
How to Pick a Destination for Your First Bike Trip
Where you go depends mostly on how much time you have. If time is limited, start local. If you have more time (at least two weeks), consider taking a train or flight to your dream destination. Learn tips on how to fly with your bike.
Great destinations for first-timers include Japan and South Korea, both super safe, camping-friendly, and beautiful. You can travel these expensive countries on a low budget by bicycle.
Check out our tips on budget travel in South Korea and Japan. Holland, with its incredible cycling paths, is another easy destination, as well as the beautiful Serbian part of the Danube River.
Croatia, with its stunning coastline and well-preserved medieval towns, is another cycle-friendly destination worth exploring.
> 9 Easy Destinations for Bike Touring Beginners
Plan Your Route
When we first started our long-haul bicycle trip, we planned every stage of the first ten months, downloaded GPX tracks, and used them on our GPS device.
This was our biggest mistake. We missed a lot by sticking to the schedule, cycled too long on some days, and stopped early on good days when we could have gone further, ignoring local suggestions.
While overplanning can be counterproductive on long-term tours, it’s essential when your time is limited. If you have a return plane to catch, you must plan accordingly.
Here are some tips for planning a bicycle tour:
- Plan for at least one extra day per week: if planning a 15-day trip, plan it as if it’s 13 days to allow flexibility for unexpected opportunities.
- Don’t plan to cycle more than 70/80 km per day, make it 50 (or less) if there are major climbs. Although you might be a well-trained cyclist, touring with a load is different. Enjoy some relaxation and keep a reasonable daily mileage.
- Stick to secondary roads: it’s no fun cycling on busy highways. Bicycle touring is about enjoying the journey, not just the destination.
For route planning, check out the best apps for offline bicycle touring navigation: such as Komoot, OruxMap, and Mapy.cz – Google Earth is also a great resource.
Gear Up
Having good gear is nice but not necessary. Use what you have. A cheap tent and a heavier sleeping bag will do the job.
If you can’t afford cool Ortlieb panniers, make waterproof bags from plastic buckets.
Find Out Your Bike Touring Budget
Bicycle touring is one of the cheapest ways to travel. We traveled on $10 a day each, sometimes more, sometimes less. This totals $3,600 a year, a feasible amount to save!
Surprisingly, you might spend less in more expensive countries. For instance, you won’t afford hotels in Japan, but it’s easy to be tempted by cheap beachfront bungalows in the Philippines, which can add up.
The same goes for restaurants. Some places are so affordable that eating out daily seems cheap but isn’t sustainable in the long run.
We’ve met people traveling with even fewer resources. Bike touring is doable on any budget; it just takes a sense of adventure and willingness to adapt to some discomfort.
So, What Are You Waiting For?
The big, beautiful, crazy world is out there waiting for you to cycle it!
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