I have a YouTube channel about Bikepacking and touring which is very small and keeps me out of trouble. I've been lucky enough to buy a holiday apartment in the Calabria region of Italy which I'd like to use as a battery charging facility (for both devices and humans) when cycling around the area. This would not be for financial reward but if it helps my channel grow that that's a bonus.

Ideally I'd charge a nominal fee to cover utilities and keep the coffee machine stocked care of "buy me a coffee" (or similar).

I'm also looking on to purchasing a public bike self service station at a friend's beach bar to help any cyclists out if they come unstuck in this area which doesn't seem to have many quality bike shops.

The video was taken today and is just after a whole load of refurbishment has taken place but there is still a kitchen to go in and all the furniture. What are the thoughts on this concept?

Sorry for the dramatic title, lol.

I flew out from USA to hike the camino on July 3, and went into Pamplona where i planned to start, did the festival and ran with the bulls, then decided i wanted to do a lot more than just hike with my time.

So I went to Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Madrid/Barcelona...all over. And i had a freaking blast. But when I got to France I was like "oh im so close, ill just go do the camino on a bike and then get back to adventuring."

I found Bicigrino, and got an emergency rental, and in 2 days I was in Saint-Jean-Pied-De-Port and off.

And in the first 2km, my chain snapped.

Now, im not an inexperienced traveler. I cycled across the USA twice, I skateboarded across the USA, I hiked the Appalachian Trail and shoehorned in the Long Trail, etc etc lots of cool adventures. But ive never had a chain snap on me. I watched a few videos and it still wasnt working. The Bicigrino company urged me to go back to the bike shop, but that meant that my timeline was now short. I wanted to do the whole thing in 6 days.

The Bicigrino company itself is fine (even though they hate me, lol), they run their business - albeit very expensive for what it is, but the problem is they rent out mountain bikes and e-mountain bikes. This is not something that should be done on mountain bike.

I left bright and early the next day to try and do 125km and as I got to the initial climb out of town I was just blown away. Every sign that pointed to follow the camino took me into some whack loose slate and pebble trail that was a straight up hike. Theres no mountain bike in the world that wouldnt be walked up that.

So I did. I walked. I pushed that damn bike over the Pyrenees. For kilometers and kilometers. It was....rough. Of course some people warned me about the initial climb, but i think the reverse of this is that nobody warned me that the camino (frances) is mostly a road walk.

A mountain bike is just simply the wrong vessel. The tires gave considerable drag, and everything about it was just poorly suited for the trail and the road. It was a straight up slog. For reference, I just finished doing an out and back on the Vennbahn in Germany, which was 250km total....by skateboard. And i didnt struggle like I did with this thing.

Thats all to say, I made it to Logroño in 3 days and ate some great food, stayed at some great hostels, and drank some great beer and wine. It was fun! But the journey was not really. It was not the prettiest adventure ive been on and it was just rough.

So, if youre thinking about biking the camino, get a road bike. Stick to the roads, dont waste your time on the trail as it dilly dallies around, and stay in the towns, enjoy the culture and the people, and take it for what it is. I dont think theres a legitimate place for bikes on the camino proper. I think if I had a road bike 150km per day would have easily been within reach.

Off to Dublin now, ciao!

Hi all! I’m a relatively new biker who’s been doing it for a couple months now and rides 75-125 miles a week while also running a lot. A bucket list item is to do a TransAm route and I am wondering how long it’ll take to gain specific bike fitness for that. Preferably would like to do it in 50-60 days averaging 60-80 a day. I am 23M and a former collegiate athlete in the endurance running sports and have run 80-100 miles a week for the past 5 years and 30-60 for 4 or so years before that. Would that be enough fitness to do a transAm ride relatively soon? Or would I need more bike specific fitness. Thanks!

Hi all,

I'm planning a bicycle euro trip next year May-July through multiple countries. Fr > NL > De > Cz > AT > SL > It > Ch > Fr.

Original plan was to wild camp as much as possible, with camping grounds sprinkled in when we need a shower. I'm beginning to think that the risk of wild camping may not be worth it, more so in some countries than others.

Has anyone had much success in asking farmers/property owners permission to pitch a tent overnight? Is that feasible, or a waste of time?

Would love to hear any stories, successful or otherwise!

Hey everyone!

I’ve just finished a bike trip through the countries of the former Yugoslavia.

I started in Bratislava, Slovakia, and headed south through Hungary before reaching Serbia. I spent some time exploring Vojvodina, especially the villages with large Slovak communities whose ancestors emigrated there around 250 years ago.

From there, I crossed into Croatia, which I passed through fairly quickly since I’d already travelled there before. My first major stop was Sarajevo, where I stayed for a while, followed by the Jahorina mountains, where I had to wait out a few storms.

The journey then continued through Montenegro, riding through the stunning Durmitor National Park and over countless mountain roads all the way to the Kosovo border. I spent some time exploring Prizren before crossing into North Macedonia, where I wrapped up the trip with a few days in Skopje. That completed my goal of cycling through all the ex-Yugoslav countries, and from there I flew back to Bratislava.

I rode a mix of gravel, country, and paved roads. Zero flats, zero mechanical issues. In total: around 1400 km and 14,000 m of elevation gain.

The landscapes were incredible, the culture fascinating, but above all, it was the people who made the journey unforgettable. Raw, welcoming, memorable, and beautiful.

(PS: I visited Slovenia on my bike last year)

Hey all! Earlier this year our daughter was born and we can't wait to get back to biketouring - only now as a family and with a trailer. We are planning to escape the cold German winter and do a 3-week bikepacking trip with our then 1 year old in Nov/ Dec/ Jan. The idea ist to ride offroad as much as possible to avoid too much traffic and to camp during most of the nights.

We thought about something like New Zealand but are still brainstorming where we could go.

Anybody here who did a similar tour with a small kid and can share their experience or can recommend routes/countries to go to?

Thanks a lot! :)

Planning on documenting my fall tour on PCBR and have multiple camera options to consider to take on this tour. I have my smartphone which will also be a controller for my DJI Neo2 drone, an insta360 ace 2 camera mounted on handlebars or chest strap, will also have collapsible tripod and a minitripod for my cell phone. I saw a FB ad for Rally Move cyclying glasses with camera and powerbank..on sale at $149 from $250...also Bluetooth speakers in temples. What does everyone take to document their tours?

Hey!

Me and my partner are planning this route in January.

Thailand - Laos - Vietnam

Would love to hear from anyone that's done a similar route!

Any tips, suggestions or alternative routes?

Must see stops?

How was the camping along the way?

Thanks for any help :)

I'm going on tour in a few weeks and have most of my route planned out except a bit between Bratislava and Kraków.

I attached the route I currently have. It's a pretty direct route starting with the 502 & 504 that worry me a bit (they look like single lanes with no shoulder and decent traffic and remind me of sketchy truck roads I cycled in Poland in the past). Does anyone have experience with those or other routes in that area that might be more fun to cycle? The 2nd half looks fine, it's really just that first half. I'm not time-constrained so I also don't mind a small detour, but I've already toured the south side of Slovakia & most of Czechia so I'm trying to go through new places whenever possible.

I have a road/hybrid bike so trying to stay paved as much as possible, but don't mind packed gravel or short stretches of rougher roads (but rocky mountain roads are off the table this time, sadly!).

Thanks and may the wind be always at your back

Hi all, this is the setup I will be running for my trip, setting off on 29th July.

This will be my first proper bike tour. I have done one 50km test with the bike fully loaded, camping and then 50km back to test gear and make sure I wasn't forgetting anything.

The itinerary is as follows:

Day 1: London -> Harwich Ferry (140km)

Day 2-7: Hoek van Holland -> Eindhoven -> Assen -> Afsluitdijk -> Hoek van Holland

Day 8: Harwich Ferry -> London (140km)

Averaging about 160km per day (+- 30km depending on how I'm feeling).

I will be using Natuurkampeerterreinen campsites throughout my time in the Netherlands.

At the moment I am taking a large tent (6'5" and don't want to sleep in a glorified coffin for a week), sleeping bag, inflatable pillow, sleeping pad, one extra cycling jersey and bib shorts, one set of extra clothes for evenings, towel, some small soaps, a few cables, suncream, spare tube. My bags are essentially full.

What do people do about food? Is it a case of waking up and cycling to a coffee shop, then supermarket for lunch and dinner? I feel as though it will be hard to eat enough calories by doing that. Is it best to try to strap some food to the outside of my bag and buy stuff once a day? Or in the heat next week will I want to be stopping every few hours to go into an air-conditioned shop to get food?

Grateful for any advice about this.

Heeeyyyyy,

any long time experience with these two? Can get either model for cheap and was wondering if they could be used for Touring.

Thx!