Answering YOUR Bike Touring Questions 

I hope you found these answers helpful! You can check out the workshop here, and get 25% OFF with discount code EARLYBIRD25 until March 31st 2024: sheelaghdaly.gumroad.com/l/planning-your-first-big-bike-tour

How the heck do you have only 6k subscribers? You have the BEST videos!! I wish I knew a way to get your channel out there to more people! Anyway, thank you SO MUCH for the videos you're making about bike touring. And thank you for making your workshop. I purchased and watched it today. Great information. I'll be printing and using all the handouts. I've recently retired early so that I can bike tour (and a lot of other stuff), but have felt very unsure about how to start. Your workshop is a huge help!

I so appreciate your approach your new touring people. I read an article several years ago from a guy that is a popular ultra light backpacker. The whole article was about the fear that drives us to pack more, but it transfers to every aspects of bike touring. It was information like… if you are afraid of being cold, you pack more and heavier clothing and bedding. If you’re afraid of not having water, you pack more water. If you’re afraid of being hungry, you pack more food. If you fear your routes, you spend tons of time planning the routes. It went on to say to think more rationally about your fears. There are life and death things like bears and cars that you need to be aware of, but the things that don’t matter as much… food, water, cold, and comfort… those things can be handled easily unless you’re going to very remote locations. I just got back from a bike tour from Florida to my home in Oklahoma. I overpacked as usual. Too much crap I never used. I was in towns as often as 10 miles and as far as 30 miles. Water was abundant with Dollar Generals in every town. Food as well. Look at your mileage for the day and look for stores along the route every night, or next morning. I hit many weather changes, so I don’t regret my extra clothes and my heavier sleeping bag. There are things I choose for comfort that help me achieve a better nights sleep. What I regret is the amount of gear that “I might need”. There are bike shops all over the place… there are stores everywhere to buy what you need in the moment… Again… if you’re touring in populated areas. There are apps that show camping sites all over America. There are apps that lead you to really good backroads to keep you off major highways. I need to rational think out some more of my fears, but thinking those through can help you shed weight and better prepare routes. Fear will keep your adventures short and not as enjoyable. This tour helped me learn that people still are there to help. I restored my faith in humanity in America. So those fears have been met and almost completely erased. I haven’t ventured out of the US yet… nor have I prepared for the Great Divide ride, but I have a better sense of what to expect and how to prepare because I faced fears and conquered them. Don’t let those fears ruin the adventure

Thanks Sheelagh, That's great you're considering the BT700, I started it last year (I only had a few days to spare) but this year planning on attempting the whole route. Hopefully see you at the start! Bob...

Such a helpful video! Thank you so much Sheelagh ❤

Thanks for sharing those wonderful experiences with us! ❤

Check out the lesser known Logdriver's Waltz. Similar in length to BT700, but centred mere in the Ottawa/Gatineau Park area. Can recommend!

For the second question - I have to say that personally I feel like nuts and seeds are so underlooked foods - you can use both for breakfast, snacks, in "actual foods", before you go to sleep and for both salty and sweet snacks. And they're calorie rich through fat while having some amount of carbs and protein as well (surely, not enough to fulfill those needs). It's a complete food-lifehack (for me at least :D)

Thanks for your videos! Lots of good pointers. I heard you mention working for a bike tour group, if I heard that right. Do you have any videos or links about doing this kind of work?

Thanks for these great tips Sheelagh. And answering my nutrition question. I like the spreadsheet idea because right now everything’s in my head. And then I remember some other place that I’d like to go.

Prayers for sweet Cheesecake! 🙏

🙌

Hi Sheelagh, awesome channel you have.......any plans to tour down under in Australia?

Where was this video when I was planning my first tour (TransAmerica) in 2022? 😊😊😊😊

I'm not a fan of gels or bike "food"....real food is MUCH better, whenever possible! Thanks for the tips!

I live in Los Angeles and want to travel to quebec city. I can take amtrak east up to the Vermont/Canada border but from there to Montreal the Via Rail doesn't allow bikes or checked luggage...no baggage car. So I would have to bike from the border to quebec city. Trying to find info on routes and camping options along the route but difficult to find info...any ideas would be helpful.