Cycle Touring

1. Route: First thing you need to do is go to maps.google.com and look at where you want to start, finish and places you want to visit in between. Make out a rough route, even if it is from city to city. Then look at the route in stages, each stage beginning from one major city and then ending at the next major one. Now when you focus on a stage look at the various roads which connect the two cities, obviously ignore the motorways and then pick the best route, normally a road which follows a river is the best road to pick as it is usually the most scenic and also most likely to be flat. Most of the larger european countries has 4 classifications of roads the first normally being a motorway and the 2nd a primary road neither of these are suitable for cycling, the 3rd and 4th are much better as they are quieter and pass through more scenic towns and villages. Once you have your route or idea of route you need to divide it up again into further stages of 80-100km. By doing this you can see roughly where you may be staying each night, now you don't have to do this and stick to it but it's good to have a general idea.

2. Accomodation: You have a few options here and they are hotels, hostels, b&bs, Couchsurfing and Camping. Now Hotels are expensive, as are b&bs and camping means carrying a tent and many other accessories which means added weight and the only season for camping in europe is summer as there's usually rain the rest of the year. So couchsurfing is a good idea but can be difficult to organise because you are not certain of your arrival time and when you are in the smaller towns there's no guarantee that you'll have access to internet. Couchsurfing is great though when you can do it, if you can't you'll have to find hostels and they're normally pretty good and not too expensive, using hostelworld is okay but just get the hostel information from the website, don't book through it rather get the number then call the hostel directly to book a bed, it saves you 2/3 euro each time. Hi hostels are scattered across europe but will not
show on hostelworld, beware of hostel rules, sometimes they are closed from 11am til 3/4pm. Which means if you get there early you might have to wait to book in. You might have to design your route in accordance with the availability of accomodation.

3. The Bicycle: I have only cycled a fixed gear bike when touring which is not the most practicle but I enjoyed it, A single speed bike is the best option in my opinion because it is less likely to cause you problems. Most tourers though cycle bikes such as hybrids or specific touring bike which have anything 9 to 18 gears. Do not Use a racer, they are unsuitable! When you get your bike, have it serviced, maybe a new chain, new brake pads/cables(?) new tyres and tubes, get the wheel trued, ie make sure they're straight. Look at the frame for cracks, check for missing spokes and make sure you can attach a pannier rack to the bike.

4. Equipment: You'll need pannier racks, Panniers (at least rear, maybe even front as well), a saddle bag, maybe even a handlebar bag, most of which have holders for the map, so you don't need to be digging through your bags all the time for the map. You need to have all the equipment neccessary to be able to change a puncture, so you'll need spanners unless you have quick release wheels, a puncture repair kit, spare tubes, and a pump, make sure it fits the valve
on your tube so it'll either be a dunlop or presta, some pumps are reversible so you can use them on both. Cable ties are great as is wire for fixing most things.

5. Clothing: A good pair of cycling shorts is essential, in my opinion it is best to wear the full cycling garb the cycle shorts, team jersey etc. It's a good idea to buy arm/leg warmers as they take up very little space and are easy to put on and take off. Cycling shoes are expensive as you also have to buy pedals but they are great but you can do without them. A cycling cap is cheap and useful and can be worn under a helmet which is something I stress anyone to wear! You need to pack light so only bring 3 pairs of boxers/socks, 2 t shirts, 1 shirt, 1 pair of shorts and 1 pair of trousers, you can wash your clothes in the hostel sinks or else ask a couchsurfing host to let you use their washing machine.

6. Food: Eat Eat eat eat eat eat eat, make sure you have a good breakfast, eat while you're cycling, cereal bars, chocolate, bananas, rolls, sandwiches etc, in the eveings you need to carbo load, so lots of pasta, rice and potatoes, make sure to get some protein as well.

7. Drink: drink plenty of liquids, water, coke, lucazade etc etc. always make sure your water bottles are full before you leave each morning.

8. Routine: I found what was good was to cycle for 3 consequetive days then take a day or two off, you should try and work this so that you are spending those days in nicer towns, with couchsurfers! I always prefered to get up early as well each day, get up at 6 and leave by 6.30, which meant i'd avoid the crowds and get to my destination early which means more sightseeing and relaxing, and time to suss the place out, also if you have to change plans it gives you leeway.

9. Trains: Sometimes you'll need to get a train so I would advis you know all about the country's rail system know the nearest stations and it will come in handy, do not write off getting a train sometimes it just has to be done, pretty much all the trains in europe let bikes on them, normally they charge an extra 5 euro but that's not too bad.

10. Extras: Bring a book, music, diary(essential for collecting everything from email addresses to phone numbers and the odd sappy journal entry).