Looking at 1st tour

[Neilnut]

Hi, I'm very interested in doing a tour but don't really know where to start.
I was thinking of starting from home maybe - Lichfield area.
Alternatively train then bike....!
Any help/ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[ossie]

Can you not cycle somewhere from your home with a tent and camp the night...there and back would be a first tour. I'm not sure I would chuck a train into the equation this early on.

[honesty]

Some questions you need to think about:
How long
How many miles per day
Camping or staying somewhere ( b&b, hostel, etc.)
From Lichfield you can get a train to anywhere really. My first tour was the Devon Coast to Coast, which is a relatively easy one to start with, but if you are a capable rider look to Wales if I were you.

[foxyrider]

Just load a change of clothes and your wallet and go - thinkers never do anything! obviously make sure the bike's in good fettle beforehand but I wouldn't even bother with panniers if you aren't already set up with them - a 35l backpack will get you the basics from a to b.

You'll have a weekend or whatever away and return with loads of questions / ideas - that's where the codgers on here can offer you some insights.

So don't over think the first trip or you'll never do it.

[Neilnut]

Thanks for the replies, all helpful.
Foxy rider - I have been a sayer and not a doer for to long!!

[JackRabbitSlims]

Tom's site is full of really useful information.....some of it quite inspirational.

http://tomsbiketrip.com/planning-a-bike-tour/

[Cunobelin]

Can you not cycle somewhere from your home with a tent and camp the night...there and back would be a first tour. I'm not sure I would chuck a train into the equation this early on.

This is the key

It enables you to trim kit, see what works and what doesn't and make all the mistakes close to home

That way when you go away for a week then you have things right and can tour with confidence

[Vorpal]

I agree with the idea of loading up your bike and cycling somewhere, camping and going back. You could try a weekend, if you're keen. Leave Friday and plan something you think is a manageable distance for the time available, stop somewhere, carry on Saturday, and return home Sunday.

You can plan a loop, it's a good idea to identify some potential stopping places in advance, even if you don't book. You can stay in hotels or B&Bs if you want to ease your way into it Or book a youth hostel / bunk house ?

[tatanab]

Touring does not imply camping, which is only one option including B&B, posh hotel, hostel, kipping at the roadside. I have done all of these and it is only in the last 20 years I've taken to camping. Other than a B&B weekend on the Isle of Wight when I was 15 (with a school friend) I have been touring for 45 years. As a starter there is nothing wrong with throwing a change of clothes into a saddlebag and going off to some point of interest for you, then finding a B&B. If you need the certainty of somewhere to stay then you could book ahead which at the age of 15 is something I had to do to appease parents.

[Si]

From lichfield you can just head north and hit the peak district by lunch time....maybe start with a long weekend around there....plenty of accomdation and nice riding.

Or jump on the crosscity line (bikes carried free, no booking needed) down to longbridge or reditch and out into rural worcestershire, or across to the severn valley.....some excellent touring around there.

More adventerous...ride from home to the east coast (should have the wind behind you) then get the train back from , say, ely straight to brum and the crosscity back to lichfield.

[eileithyia]

Probably not as easy now as it was, but I started my touring life in Coventry, this began from the humble roots of the weekend away, usually a 30-ish mile ride Friday night to a YHA, on the next day to another and home on Sunday. It usually involved Shining cliff YHA, then on to another in the Peaks, Edale or similar that was a rideable distance home, alternative was train/ride to somewhere t'otherside of Brum, that we could use wmpte ticket on.

This eased you into touring, riding a loaded bike, and riding for more than one day in succession.

A longer Easter tour saw us head down to the home counties.

3-4 years later I was in a hostel and chatting to some cyclists (I still considered myself a newbie and 30+ years on still do) about places i had been to and where i planned to go that summer, and their reaction was 'phew you've been to all the places we talk about going to'

As said up posts, you can think about it.. or you can take the plunge, and that first pedal stroke is the most important.

I can still find ways of packing / saving weight etc., I have collections of mini bottles of shampoo, body wash, soaps etc., that can refilled and used on tour.

Most important decide an area you fancy seeing and just do it. Can't think of anywhere; consider the British Cycle Quest (run by CTC and possibly carried on by CUK) this gives you 6 destinations per county to visit by bike and answer a simple question.... so gives you options to plan a trip around such visits.

[Vorpal]

Most important decide an area you fancy seeing and just do it. Can't think of anywhere; consider the British Cycle Quest (run by CTC and possibly carried on by CUK) this gives you 6 destinations per county to visit by bike and answer a simple question.... so gives you options to plan a trip around such visits.

+1
Or visit someone. Or aim to have a meal somwhere that you've been meaning to try. Or, if you like such things, look for an English Heritage or National Trust site to aim for.

[PH]

Can't think of anywhere; consider the British Cycle Quest (run by CTC and possibly carried on by CUK) this gives you 6 destinations per county to visit by bike and answer a simple question.... so gives you options to plan a trip around such visits.

+2
Certainly carried on and you can download the questions for free. It's a great way to plan routes you wouldn't otherwise and pick up plenty of interesting trivia along he way
http://www.cyclinguk.org/british-cycle-quest

[foxyrider]

Most important decide an area you fancy seeing and just do it. Can't think of anywhere; consider the British Cycle Quest (run by CTC and possibly carried on by CUK) this gives you 6 destinations per county to visit by bike and answer a simple question.... so gives you options to plan a trip around such visits.

+1
Or visit someone. Or aim to have a meal somwhere that you've been meaning to try. Or, if you like such things, look for an English Heritage or National Trust site to aim for.

I like windmills so I often do a ride based around seeing some of those. Over the years this has led me to make some quite interesting detours! But over the years i've done trips visiting EH sites, museums, archaeological sites and yes, just places i've been told about that sound interesting.

One tour saw me visit a dozen or so transport related museums in Germany, I 'collected' a similar number of islands along the Frisian coast, other times I've linked combinations of things into short and longer tours, passes and museums in Switzerland, following a river from source to end in Lincolnshire and Germany - collecting beers in Bavaria! (if you must know over a 15 day trip I managed 20 breweries!) I know people who search out book shops, nature reserves and so on whilst others just delight in the scenery.

So if it helps use a tour to follow some pet theme or simply just explore the lanes, get lost a little, treat yourself to ice cream, a nice meal, a rail journey - no one said you have to ride all the way, it's not the law!

As I said before, just go, experience will tell you what to take, how you cope with distance etc.

[PH]

From lichfield you can just head north and hit the peak district by lunch time..

That would probably be my first choice, but don't let the word peak put you off, there's plenty of valley roads or tracks to explore the Peak District without serious climbing. You could for example head up the Manifold Valley to camp at Hulme End, or YHA at Hartington, or one of he many B&Bs in the area. Then return down the Tissington Trail to Ashbourne.