RIDE’S touring expert writes...
Simon Hargreaves, RIDE contributor:
“I’ve been riding a long way on my own and with other riders, for nearly 30 years, and a few simple rules work for me. They might not work for you but here they are...”
1 Prepare, plan and practice
If someone says touring is all about riding light and winging it, never booking hotels, not thinking ahead, improvising the route and generally being cool about it – they might want a different biking holiday to you. Their inability to travel without drama can be a pain if you like things to go smoothly.
2 DSynchronize with your riding partners
Make sure you and whoever you’re riding with have an understanding — someone whose routine, either on the road or off it, doesn’t match yours — stops being funny really quickly.
3 Group riding
If you’re riding in a group and some riders are quicker than the others, split into two groups, agree a rendezvous, and let them go off. If you must ride together, always put the slowest rider at the front of the group.
4 Nothing new on you or your bike
Do not fit accessories to your bike the day before touring. They will break or come undone and fall off. The same is true of new riding gear — don’t tour with anything that isn’t familiar.
5 Don’t scare the locals
A baseball cap is essential if you don’t want to look like Worzel at hotel reception. A snood is a good alternative but you’d need two now, as the other one doubles as a face mask.
6 Make your wallet inconvenient
Keep your wallet somewhere slightly inconvenient; the effort to get at it and put it back makes it less likely you’ll leave it somewhere.
7 Maps are good
Sat navs are great for getting where you want to go, but maps are much better for exploration.
8 Don’t think about things you didn’t pack
Don’t remember you forgot the tyre repair kit because you’ll get a puncture immediately. Remember you can buy almost anything at the first continental filling station anyway.