Is Bicycle Touring For You?
Touring on road bicycles has become more and more popular. When I was young, I first recall seeing men on touring bicycles climbing the highways through the mountain areas of Vermont and New Hampshire. I was intrigued watching these riders climbing the long inclines without letting up. Loving the outdoors and especially the mountains, I knew this was the only way to really enjoy the magnificent views. That was when I noticed the type of bicycle they were riding was much different then the cruiser style bike I grew up with~owned.
A few months ago I met a man in his late 50’s who lived on the east coast. Each summer he would fly with his touring bicycle to the west coast. Then he’d spend several weeks riding across the country coming home. Needless to say, his bicycle was outfitted with loads of specialized touring bags and accessories. As the sport’s popularity has risen, so has the demand for road bicycles. In the past, the only place to locate a~shop for a tour bicycle was at an expensive specialized bike shop which would usually be limited to one make of bicycle. Of course that all came with a high price tag. Lets face it, the price of many serious tour bicycles simply put them out of reach for younger people just entering the sport.
I recall traveling over 100 miles to find the specific Schwinn touring bicycle I was searching for. Fortunately today, that is not the case. You can find all the biggest names in road bicycles on the internet. The additional benefit is most can be found at very reasonable prices also. The interest in bicycle touring has also given rise to the availability of specialized bicycle parts, accessories and bicycle clothing. You would be hard pressed to find bicycle parts at your local Wally World. But this is not the case online.
The first upgrade that long distance touring requires is a way to carry your personal gear, clothing and camping equipment on long trips. The popularity of touring has provided riders a huge variety of upgrade bicycle parts and accessories. It is quite easy to find touring bicycle parts and even special bicycling clothing for your long trips. Serious bikers can easily upgrade just about their entire bicycle by traveling no further then their PC.