{"id":433,"date":"2011-01-04T19:30:58","date_gmt":"2011-01-05T00:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/?p=433"},"modified":"2016-12-30T12:35:23","modified_gmt":"2016-12-30T17:35:23","slug":"5-popular-myths-about-long-distance-bicycle-touring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/5-popular-myths-about-long-distance-bicycle-touring\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Popular Myths about Long Distance Bicycle Touring"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"trueorfalse\"<\/a>Recently Chris from Vermont e-mailed us about our bicycle tour.\u00a0 Before signing off he wrote, \u201cI would love to do what you\u2019re doing, but at my age it\u2019s just not possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

This type of email is typical.\u00a0 People writing to say they would like to set off on a bicycle tour but can\u2019t for any number of reasons.<\/p>\n

Now, I don\u2019t know Chris from Vermont\u2019s age.\u00a0 Perhaps he\u2019s pushing 90.\u00a0 Maybe he really is too old for a long-distance bicycle tour.\u00a0 But more likely than not, he just thinks<\/em> he\u2019s too old.\u00a0 He\u2019s bought into a myth about bicycle touring.<\/p>\n

There are all sorts of myths about bicycle touring flying around.\u00a0 Here are a few of my favorites:<\/p>\n

\"French<\/a>Myth 1: Long distance adventure Bicycle Touring is only for the young.<\/strong> Sure we all know granny and gramps can trundle around Europe on bicycles.\u00a0 Pedal 40 kilometers, plop down at a caf\u00e9 for a leisurely lunch and then check into a comfy B&B for the night.<\/p>\n

But retirees bicycle touring in 3rd<\/sup> world countries?\u00a0 Camping in the wild?\u00a0 Cranking out 100+ kilometers per day.\u00a0 Not possible most would say.<\/p>\n

Wrong.\u00a0 Danielle and Andr\u00e9, a French couple well into their 60s, passed us up as we were fighting headwinds on our way to Ushuaia.\u00a0 They camp.\u00a0 They ride through developing countries like Peru and Bolivia.\u00a0 And they collect social security.\u00a0 Who says adventure bicycle touring is just for the young?<\/p>\n

\n

Myth 2:\u00a0 You must be super-fit to set off on a bicycle tour<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 Nothing could be further from the truth.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve got two functioning lungs, you can go on a bicycle tour.\u00a0 The beauty of bicycle touring is that you can start out slow and build up gradually. There\u2019s no need to be able to crank out 100 kilometers on your first day.\u00a0 In fact, many bicycle tourists are comfortable puttering along at around 60 kilometers per day.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Olivia<\/a>
Olivia and Bhinti from Crazyonbikes.com on what they call a ‘turtle tour’ around the world. Cycling slowly and loving it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Myth 3:\u00a0 Bicycle Touring requires a major investment in gear<\/strong>.\u00a0 Nah.\u00a0 That\u2019s just not true.\u00a0 Way back in 2004 when Eric and I set off on our very first bicycle tour, we looked more like a couple of homeless people on bikes than serious cyclists.<\/p>\n

I was riding an old Schwinn we\u2019d picked up at a garage sale, Eric had a mountain bike he\u2019d bought back in the 80\u2019s, and instead of sleek-looking Ortlieb panniers, we\u2019d strapped a backpack on the rack.<\/p>\n

\"cool-bicycle\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We were a sight.\u00a0 But it didn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 We made it 767 kilometers through Alsace and had the best vacation ever.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to fall prey to all the marketing hype around high-tech gear.\u00a0 Sure, I love my sturdy, long-suffering Koga Miyata.\u00a0 When it rains, I\u2019m thankful for waterproof bicycle bags.<\/p>\n

But could I bicycle tour around the world without all the great gear?\u00a0 You bet.<\/p>\n

Myth 4:\u00a0 A major long-distance bicycle tour is expensive. <\/strong>Unless you\u2019re keen on walking, <\/strong>Bicycle Touring is the absolute cheapest way to travel.\u00a0 Since we set off in June 2006, our total expenditure has been around $55,000.\u00a0 Total expenditure.\u00a0 Gear, bicycles, airline tickets, insurance, healthcare costs, food, clothing, accommodation, electronics, EVERYTHING.<\/p>\n

$55,000\u00a0 for two people in four and a half years<\/em> is really not a lot of money.\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s less than the average US family income for one<\/em> year.\u00a0 And we were travelling.<\/p>\n

When you break it down, that\u2019s $500 per month per person.\u00a0 Probably what some of you fork over each month in car payments.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, we are rather frugal.\u00a0 There are times when I could do with a little more comfort.\u00a0 But the point is, if you don\u2019t mind camping and Couchsurfing, self-catering and keeping an eye on your budget, a long-distance bicycle tour is probably within reach for you.**<\/p>\n

Myth 5:\u00a0 You must be \u2018tough\u2019 to set off on a bicycle tour.<\/strong> We cyclists like to write a lot about how much we suffer on bicycle tours.\u00a0 We whine about headwinds and climate extremes.\u00a0 We go on and on about steep mountain passes and bone-jarring backroads.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We spin tales about cycling through the desert lugging around a week\u2019s water supply.<\/p>\n

While there is some truth to all this talk of suffering, a lot is pure hyperbole (the winds in Patagonia excepted).<\/p>\n

Bicycle touring can be as comfortable as you want to make it.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve got a generous budget, there are plenty of companies that will organize a tour for you and even arrange for your luggage to be transferred from one destination to the next (check out Biciklo<\/a> for lots of listings).<\/p>\n

Southeast Asia is a popular bicycle touring destination because distances are short, food is delicious and towns with comfortable guest houses are so close together that carrying a tent is optional.<\/p>\n

Finally, if you\u2019re not too proud to hop on a truck, suffering is almost always optional, no matter in what part of the world you choose to cycle.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Sometimes<\/a>
Sometimes it’s best just to swallow your pride and hop on a truck.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What\u2019s your opinion?\u00a0 Do you agree\/disagree with these popular bicycle touring myths?\u00a0 Maybe you\u2019ve got your own myth to add.<\/p>\n

**disclaimer\u00a0 \u201cYou\u201d refers to the average reader of this blog–an English-speaking individual living in the US or Western Europe.\u00a0 Obviously, for those living in the developing world even $500 is a huge sum of money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently Chris from Vermont e-mailed us about our bicycle tour.\u00a0 Before signing off he wrote, \u201cI would love to do what you\u2019re doing, but at my age it\u2019s just not possible.\u201d This type of email is typical.\u00a0 People writing to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[311,26],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n5 Popular Myths about Long Distance Bicycle Touring - Worldbiking.info<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2011\/01\/5-popular-myths-about-long-distance-bicycle-touring\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Popular Myths about Long Distance Bicycle Touring - 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