Preparing for a very long cycling trip

jozi

Posting this for 2 friends of mine and because I'm curious.

What they are planning on doing soon is to return back to Poland, by bike. They don't have a concrete route set out but from what I can gather they want to hit as many nature reserves/parks etc through out the UK, France, Germany and Poland and as little cities as possible.

One of them has a pretty new bike, good brand and he has all the carriers for bags etc. The other bike was bought 2nd hand and has all the bag, carriers etc also. They got them both services recently and that seems to be abut it.

What preparations would you go through for such a trip?

Jozi

blorg

Best thing to do would be to try a few multi-day trips around Ireland before they go. A long weekend would be plenty. That would help them figure out the logistics.

I read a tip once that before you go, lay out everything that you are planning on bringing, and then go through it all asking "do I really need this," removing as much as possible. You generally don't need half as much as you think you need and you will be cursing the weight of your bags later on.

jozi

Well... they haven't been away for more than a day and even at that it's usually a couple of hrs.

I'll suggest laying out all their stuff and being critically objective on what to bring or not.

What about bike maintenance? I'm sure cycling 2k miles will wear through a set or 2 of brake pads, chain, cable wear etc?

Ryaner

Most things should last 2k. Brakes *may* wear out but they'll have enough notice to get to a bike shop along the way.

The most important things will be a multi tool and tubes. Folding tube maybe depending on the route but then Europe should be fine enough to get to a bike shop by using crisp packages or small bit of duck tape.

jozi

Tools won't be much good to them if they struggle to change a tube and can't see them being to creative when it comes to it.

Ryaner

They'll need to practice before hand so. Very easy to change the tube but it is definitely something you don't want to learn late at night after a very long cycling in the cold wind and rain

BostonB

They should do a dummy run. Cycle Dublin to Galway and back or similar. Also along the way, take out a tube in the rear, stick a patch on it, then put it back together.

jozi

Spoke to them earlier, they have other things to do this week, might go cycling for a few hrs here or there.

One of the reasons I posted was that I don't think they are prepared enough.

I would expect someone undertaking something like this to have some sort of knowledge of bikes, or at least learn, I've never seen either of them work on a bike ever, not even a tube replacement. Even adjusting a derailer means a trip to a friend in the bike shop.

I'm sure on a 2k+ trip lots can go wrong with a bike. 50mls a day, every day can't be easy either if doing it for 2 months.

biomed32

stick to a set plan and organised routes and i suppose sticking to a time line will also help ie how many k's per day, learning a little bike maintenance would be real helpful suck as puncture repair etc, also remain in contact with a family member or friend on your location etc

jozi

They have a few places they might hit on their way. Their main route will be avoid cities and hit as many nature reserves as they can.

I must mention about keeping in contact with someone.

Húrin

Not knowing how to fix a puncture is just ridiculous if they're embarking on a trip like that. How do they even know they want to do it if they've never done a days' spin in Ireland?

BostonB

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." -- Benjamin Franklin

Civilian_Target

Ah, there's enough support services on the way that they'll learn.

If they get a puncture they can't fix, they can always camp by the bikes, get a taxi to a nearby town in the morning, come back with an new inner tube and change it.

All you need to get from Ireland to Poland by bike is time, money, determination and to not get hit by a car.

Rex Manning

Currently reading mark beaumont's book - The Man Who Cycled the World and the first chapter or 2 is about going from paris to the ukraine, might be worth a read for your friends. his website has the route he took as well

GearoidP

Check out www.crazyguyonabike.com

It can be a little hard to navigate around, but it's worth it. Click on the "Journals" Link on the (almost) top left hand side. If you then click on "locales" you can see all the journals posted by people who have cycled through the countries you intend going through.

G.