Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Bicycle Voyages: Elements of a Successful Cycling Tour
    Bicycle Voyages: Elements of a Successful Cycling Tour
    Bicycle Voyages: Elements of a Successful Cycling Tour
    Ebook92 pages56 minutes

    Bicycle Voyages: Elements of a Successful Cycling Tour

    By Emily Metzloff

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Ever dreamed of taking off across your state, your country, or maybe even the world on your bicycle? Just you, whatever you can carry, and the road? Then Bicycle Voyages is the ultimate resource to help you make that dream a reality. Emily Metzloff, a seasoned bike tourist and former tour leader, walks you through everything you need to know about planning and executing a successful tour. The book details important topics such as equipment selection, route planning, injury prevention, proper nutrition, and even ways to fund your tour. Join Emily as she shares stories and lessons from her tours through six countries and 25 states in an entertaining, and informative narrative.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEmily Metzloff
    Release dateJul 31, 2012
    ISBN9781476064512
    Bicycle Voyages: Elements of a Successful Cycling Tour
    Author

    Emily Metzloff

    Emily lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras where she worked on various youth development projects. Upon completion of her service, she and fellow Peace Corps volunteer, Sarah Ansari, rode their bikes back to the US. Emily completed a Masters in Teaching at WNMU, and has taught in the classroom for five years. She continues to enjoy touring, mountain biking, and trail running.

    Related to Bicycle Voyages

    Related ebooks

    Special Interest Travel For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Choose Your Own Adventure

      May 12, 2020

      Choose Your Own Adventure
      7 min read

    • Article

      Ask an Adventurer

      Nov 5, 2021

      Ask an Adventurer
      2 min read

    • Article

      Bonk-proof Your Fuelling

      Mar 30, 2023

      Bonk-proof Your Fuelling
      7 min read

    • Article

      Van Life Lite

      Oct 15, 2018

      Van Life Lite
      4 min read

    • Article

      Number Crunching

      Jan 25, 2023

      Number Crunching
      7 min read

    • Article

      Under the Tuscan Sun

      Feb 22, 2023

      Under the Tuscan Sun
      10 min read

    • Article

      Bikepacking, You Say?

      May 21, 2021

      David shares a few tips on how to go ‘bikepacking’ – multi-day lightweight camping journeys by mountain bike – with a family. Is there a definitive difference between bike touring and bikepacking? I seriously doubt it. People have been going on pedal

      1 min read

    • Article

      The Best Sports Story You’ll Encounter This Weekend Is Not At The Olympics

      Jul 23, 2021

      “100 Foot Wave,” which began Sunday on HBO and will continue for another five weekly episodes, is (mostly) the vividly told, highly engaging and idiosyncratic story of Garrett McNamara, surfer, and his quest to ride the biggest waves possible. It’s a

      4 min read

    • Article

      Ready, Set, Reach!

      Dec 27, 2019

      Ready, Set, Reach!
      11 min read

    • Article

      Wild At Heart

      Mar 19, 2023

      Wild At Heart
      5 min read

    • Article

      Adventures Closer To Home

      Jun 9, 2020

      Adventures Closer To Home
      7 min read

    • Article

      Finding New Horizons

      Sep 14, 2022

      Finding New Horizons
      12 min read

    • Article

      Walks to Change Your Life

      May 12, 2023

      Walks to Change Your Life
      12 min read

    • Article

      Mark Beaumont

      May 6, 2021

      Mark Beaumont
      2 min read

    • Article

      Mid-life Meanders

      Jul 15, 2020

      Mid-life Meanders
      6 min read

    • Article

      Pedal Power

      Jul 23, 2020

      Pedal Power
      4 min read

    • Article

      Five Days In Paradise

      Jul 7, 2018

      Five Days In Paradise
      7 min read

    • Article

      Stories And Memories

      Mar 11, 2020

      By now I’m sure most of you are itching to get your bikes out of storage, dust off your riding gear and head out on the open road again. As I’m sure most of you know from your personal travels, Canada is a very big country and some of you have been h

      2 min read

    • Article

      Mid-life Meanders

      Jan 24, 2023

      Mid-life Meanders
      5 min read

    • Article

      Pedal Power

      Aug 6, 2020

      Pedal Power
      4 min read

    • Article

      Coast Mountain Playground

      Feb 9, 2021

      Coast Mountain Playground
      5 min read

    • Article

      CW5000 February Challenges

      Feb 6, 2020

      Every month we’re setting our CW5000 riders two challenges. Forgetting the big number hanging over them for a while, these easier tasks are designed to inspire riding in the short term. Through the year these will range from distance and time-focused

      1 min read

    • Article

      Hitting The Bike Trails

      Aug 2, 2022

      Hitting The Bike Trails
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Women’s Tour de France

      Oct 19, 2020

      A Women’s Tour de France
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Bicycle Voyages

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Bicycle Voyages - Emily Metzloff

      Bicycle Voyages:

      Elements of a Successful Cycling Tour

      By Emily W. Metzloff

      Copyright 2012 Emily W. Metzloff

      Smashwords Edition

      All Rights Reserved

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, than please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.

      Table of Contents

      Forward

      Chapter 1: Choosing Your Route

      Chapter 2: What is your Touring Style?

      Chapter 3: Choosing the Best Equipment for Your Ride

      Chapter 4: What to Bring and How to Pack

      Chapter 5: Planning the Logistical Details

      Chapter 6: Training for Your Tour

      Chapter 7: Fueling Your Ride

      Chapter 8: The Rules of the Road

      Chapter 9: Hitting Potholes on the Road

      Chapter 10: Funding Your Trip

      Conclusion

      Forward

      If you are like most touring cyclists, you have probably heard from many people about how crazy you and your pipedreams are. Why would anyone want to ride that far on a bike? Why would anyone want to put themselves through such physical discomfort and potential risk? If you are reading this, you probably already know the answers to these questions. The desire to travel is human nature. So is the desire for challenge and adventure. We yearn to see new landscapes, set new limits, and breathe new air. And when all of this comes together as the endorphins buzz after a long climb, it becomes clear that the real crazies are the ones who stayed on the couch.

      Touring cyclists embark on tours for a wide variety of reasons: some set out to find themselves; others want to test their physical limits; others aspire towards a broader worldly understanding; others just seek a good, old-fashioned adventure. Whatever set of reasons you bring to the table, this book will give you inspiration and practical knowledge, and point you towards resources that will help you plan a successful and fulfilling tour. The book will cover everything you need to know, including route planning, equipment, rules of the road, logistical details of your tour, injury prevention, nutrition, and even ways to fund your trip.

      My cycling experiences have ignited in me a lifelong passion that I want to share with anyone who has had pipedreams of touring. I have ridden somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 miles in six countries and 25 states. I have toured solo, with friends, and have even lead groups of teenagers on tours. My 3000-mile tour from Honduras to San Diego whet my appetite for extended touring, and the list of tours I still want to do is forever expanding.

      It is my hope that this book will both inspire and prepare first-time touring cyclists to get out and ride. It is never too late. Not even if you’re 70. If you don’t believe me, just skip ahead to Chapter 10 when I talk about some amazing cyclists I met in Belize. People from all walks of life continue to discover the joys of the two-wheeled journey. I hope that you are next. Go discover the many stories that await you!

      Emily Metzloff

      Chapter 1: Choosing Your Route

      Route planning for touring cyclists is much akin to being a kid in a candy store. Bike tours are born as you begin to imagine and piece together the breathtaking landscapes, the exotic locales, and the local flavor you will experience on the road.

      Epic Routes

      There are indeed infinite possibilities all over the world to craft the route of your dreams. There are also many well-traveled tours that have beckoned to many touring cyclists over the years because of their beauty, their history, and their epic quality. Here is a quick sampling of some of these famous routes to get your wheels spinning.

      Across America

      A cross-country trip is the quintessential bike tour for many touring cyclists. Whether you seek forests, vineyards, coastal riding, mountain vistas, or historical interest points, the US offers miles upon miles of beautiful and diverse riding. There are infinite ways to traverse the US, so start by zeroing in on a few places you really want to experience.

      If you want to follow in the tracks of other trans-continental cyclists, the Adventure Cycling Association has mapped out three distinct routes across the country: The Northern Tier, The Southern Tier, and a middle tier, called Transamerica. Each route offers a variety of terrain, scenery, and distinct cultural background.

      The riding window for each route differs due to varying weather conditions along each route. The Southern Tier is doable all year long, although you will most likely encounter excessive heat during summer months. However, there is a much narrower window for the Northern Tier, as the infamous Going-to-The-Sun road through Glacier National Park is only open from June through October, depending on snowfall. The TransAmerica route is recommended from May through September, as cold and snowy weather plague some areas of this route during earlier or later months.

      The shortest of these three routes is the Southern Tier, at 3,058 miles. The other two routes are just over 4,200 miles. Each route has significant elevation change, despite what you might imagine about the Southern Tier, whose highest pass through New Mexico tops out at 8,000 feet.

      Another excellent route you could follow is the Race Across America route. This route was designed for a famous long distance race across the country beginning in San Diego, and ending in Washington, DC. RAAM riders have vehicle support from crews, so services are not as plentifully available along some portions of the route. However, riders pass through checkpoints in towns that are never more

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1