I think the best thing to do is ride from home, just 3 or 4 hours, then sleep out and ride home the day after. You'll learn so much and see what does and doesn't work for you. After that your trips will get longer and longer!
Nice video! The idea of bike touring has been around for ages and extremely popular in Europe due to public transportation. To the purists, bikepacking and bike touring are actually quite different. Touring bikes are actually a type of bike specifically designed to carry heavy loads with a bike geometry designed for comfort and balance. Bikepacking is the concept of retrofitting a bike you already own with or without the appropriate mounts, and meant to be more of a minimalist approach. The typical bikepacking bike is your normal mountain bike, road bike or anything in-between. In both cases, there is enough products on the market now to be able to bike tour or bikepack with just about any bike. For a bikepacking trip, because you typically carry a minimal load, you want to consider where you, the terrain you will be riding, how long, and the weather you will likely be encountering. For me, the most basic load would be a tent or tarp, sleeping pad of some sorts, a basic bike repair kit, food, water and a means to carry it all. Personally, I prefer a tent over a tarp, especially if there is going to be rain or bugs are going to be a problem, but tarps are definitely lighter, cheaper and more compact. I believe the most important aspect is having a reliable bike that you are comfortable on, and you're able to carry the load you require. This doesn't mean you have to spend multiple thousands of dollars, but spending enough to get a bike that have parts that have a reputation for being good quality and reliable. Another aspect of that is the type of bike and the appropriate gearing. If you are on technical VTT trails or climbing Cols, you want to make sure it has the appropriate bike and gearing for the trip or you may find yourself walking your bike a lot more than anticipated!
Hey Josh, first of all, thank you for the long comment and feedback! I really do appreciate that! You shared some very interesting insights, I didn't even think about the difference between bikepacking and bike touring. So thank you for explaining that! Also, I was wondering which kind of bikepacking or bike touring trips you already made in your life? And where did you go? 🚲
That's my bro! I think it's a very interesting way of traveling. I would probably choose a more slow travel style. Bike a few days and then chill a few days and so on. I might give it a try. If Hans-Peter would lend me his bike that would be great 🤣
Hey Tim! Thanks a lot 🙌 Yes I think everyone should chose his own pace to travel, to get the most out of it for themselves 💪 And yeah let's see if Hans-Peter lends you his bike and tell me if you go on a biketrip. I saw you also make video's, they look very nice, if you ever make a video about ur bikepacking journey, be sure to drop a link down here too 😍
This is not the first time I watch your video. Keep making those video. They are very instructive. From my part, I plan to travel on bike when I retire. I was always involved in sports. I think I’m in a good shape. So while I can do it I’d like to travel the world but I have no experience. What you are describing is very interesting for me. Keep up the good work
Thank you so much for your kind words! I really want to make more videos, it inspires me as well! I love talking to travelers who have experienced different experiences and have a wider knowledge about for example bicycle touring than me. I'm so happy that this content doesn't only inspire myself but you as well! I actually recently interviewed a women who travels alone by bicycle! Hope you will like that video as well!:)
Clara you are perfect super kind, beautiful, natural, and love topics you touch, because im preparing my first bikepacking trip alone to the coast of my country Argentina and also solo camping so was very exited the video for me, thanks for your content, I really like all the stories you tell with the people, fantastic 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌
Hi that is very kind of you! I'm currently working on new videos for my channel, also about bicycle traveling! Hope you will like those too :) How long do you want to travel along the coast of Argentina? :)
@@ClaraFrancken Thanks Clara!! First I will make a trip of 10 days because have to come back to my city, and to see how the adventure goes, but im ciclist from my whole life and every day in my city. The camping gonna be a challenge too, I did it many times when young but never alone. My bike and stuff are almost ready, just need to fix a day or not, and sart in any moment, Maybe next week :). And if I enjoy as I expect, gonna want to travel the whole country :)
@@katjasendmayr1342 oh amazing! Wel I actually got inspired by talking to William myself and am going on a bike trip in June too! Leaving from Leipzig to Görlitz by train and then cycling to Breslau in Poland :)
With age, my comfort requirements have increased, and I'm not really I to camping anymore. Luckily, in Europe, hotels and B&Bs are rarely very far in between, and with a bike, going to the next town isn't such a problem. I haven't done much bike packing tbh, but I have combined trains and walking quite successfully. Take some good maps (love a GPS, but you need something which doesn't fail when your battery gives out), try to have a vague idea of where you are going the next few days, and get inspired by the moment ;)
amazing, soon I'll be posting a video about a long distance traveler by bike who also does more credit card touring since he's older and looking for a bit more comfort now. And amazing that you traveled by train and walking, what would be the maximum amount of days you'd used to walk in between taking the train? :)
@@ClaraFrancken mainly trains, I'm quite fond of train travel, so walking might be more of a day trip. I often walk between 10-15 km a day, sometimes a bit more, and my hotels aren't always close to the station, so that ads a few km, too. Just get of the train were it seems nice and walk to the next station...
@@ClaraFranckenI don't have big preferences, I like them all. I work for the Belgian railways, so I do get discounts on train travel, so my experiences with British ticket prices are somewhat skewed by that, I have the luxury to like the British train system. Some of my fondest memories are eating in the restaurant in the Sernada do Vouga station with the locals, staying in a hotel where the train crew slept as well for the single train of the day in Felletin, walking parts of the Genova-Casella railway, the Bergen Railway in Winter (in Summer, I did some walking too), going to the Glenfinnan viaduct on the Caledonian sleeper with my sister to see where Harry Potter was filmed, walking to my hotel in Cortegana in the Sierra Nevada from the station and back, a little more touristy, but the steam train on the island Rügen was a lot of fun, etc.
@@barvdw wow these trips all sound like such great experiences! And it's nice that you're using the advantage of these discounts to the fullest. I'd do the same if I'd receive discounts... ^^ Thanks for sharing this! Wishing you the best, Clara
