Pro Tips for First-Time Bicycle Vacationers
By Todd Starnes
Photo at right: Smooth roads are a cyclist’s dream. Photo courtesy of Bicycle Adventures
Do you want to go on your first bicycle vacation but aren’t sure how to get started? Here are four tips to get you pedaling in the right direction.
Choose a fully supported tour
Instead of camping and carrying related gear, a supported tour allows you to focus on enjoying the ride, landscape, lodges and, of course, well-earned food. You save yourself a ton of pre-trip legwork and a fair amount of suffering.
Go shopping
Padding is a good thing if you want to keep sensitive areas comfortable (and who doesn’t?). To avoid the “monkey-butt” look of padded shorts, head for the nearest bike shop and ask for mountain-biking shorts, which look like regular shorts but hide the padding inside. Or buy the padded liners that hide inside your regular baggy shorts.
Ditto with the cycling top; just spend a few bucks to get a quality product that is comfortable both on the bike—and off.
Cotton gets sticky and bunchy and doesn’t dry very fast, so I don’t recommend your favorite Saturday t-shirt. But if you have a technical-fabric t-shirt or two—like polyester that wicks—you’re off to a great start.
Finally, let’s face it: this is the Pacific “North-wet.” So if you’re planning to be outside on a bike anytime in, say, the next 12 months, you’ll need a jacket.
There are multiple choices for rain/wind-resistant jackets: the starting price point for a decent cycling jacket is about $35. Yellow makes for great visibility on our grey days, and the longer backside keeps your waist dry when you’re hunched over on the bike. I’d recommend something not too baggy that you can scrunch up small and stash between squalls.
Ride a bike
This doesn’t mean start training; just ride with purpose to help get in better physical condition for your tour.
Think back to those days as a kid with wind in your hair (but please wear a helmet). Think about the freedom, the separation and distance.
There was always a reward at the end of my rides. As a kid it was riding with friends to the A&W for a root beer, or riding to a friend’s house to play or riding to practice. But I was never riding to train.
Ride for the enjoyment; minimize pressure on yourself. The distance and pace aren’t really important. Your guides will help you through the trip and get you just the right number of miles and difficulty for your level.
Partner Up
Cyclists celebrate their ride through Death Valley. Photo courtesy of Bicycle Adventures
Finding a partner or two to ride with is important and creates a fun way to have a buddy. Find a friend, mentor or spouse who will go along for the ride. Preferably it is someone who embraces the joys of riding a bike. They’re not going to try to impress you with their abilities on that first little incline or race you to the destination. They’ll actually ride by your side, chatting and stopping to smell the roses.
Prefer to partner with a group? Join a local bicycle club or bike-touring company that can prepare you to get the most out of your bicycle vacation.
Most large cities have bike clubs with novice classes and groups. If you join one, ask lots of questions and just ride for the pleasure of it. Make sure they understand you just want to go for a bike ride and enjoy the experience.
Todd Starnes is a former bike racer and coach with an MBA and Sports Science degree. In 2009, following a career in sports science and marketing which took him touring throughout the U.S., South and Central America and Europe, he and a partner acquired Bicycle Adventures and today he serves as company president and visionary. www.bicycleadventures.com
