Planning our first small Tour ( North shields to Moray )

[chrismisterx]

After some advice on Touring bikes / Routes and General touring/ bike-packing advice.

As you may have seen in other posts me and my wife are pretty new to cycling and now ready to buy our first bikes for a tour we have planned this coming May, its a 3/4 day trip from North Shields to Moray in the north of Scotland Via the coastal route, 4 day stay over and then a 3/4 day return via the highlands.

So we need 2 bikes quite soon so we can begin our training for the trip. We have a budget of around £600 each for the bikes and I have a few questions.

1st what bike to get?

Saw this one B'TWIN HOPRIDER 900 URBAN HYBRID BIKE for sale at £550 seems to have quite a lot of stuff on the bike for the price but I read a review that says its heavy, would that be a good entry level tour bike ( our first few tours will all be UK based ) Problem I have is really not sure what I am looking for, to make sure I get the right bike for the job.

Any better options or what should I be looking for in a tour bike?

2nd training?

What sort of training plan should we follow, going from zero to Touring in may, its approx 350 miles up north 4 day break 350 miles back. We only have 12 days and want to spend around 4 days with her parents up there. Is there enough time to train for a 350 mile ride in may with only around 4/5 months to go?

lastly any tips or anything else we need to know?

gathering as much info as possible to avoid making too many mistakes.

 

[Andy in Germany]

I wouldn't call 350 miles a small tour, but I'm sure there are others less lazy than I who do this before breakfast.

I'm also wondering how easily you can combine such a tour with spending time with parents: You'll be tired when you arrive and need to rest, and you'll have panniers full of grubby washing, or be smelly, or both. So you'll spend a fair bit of time cleaning stuff and sleeping. Then you'll be packing and getting ready to go back.

Would it make sense to try riding as far as say, Edinburgh, stop overnight and catch a train the rest of the way. On the return you could cycle to Edinburgh again then train the last bit. That way you'd cover the whole route but it would reduce the time required and give you more quality time with family instead of the washing machine.

 

[chrismisterx]

I wouldn't call 350 miles a small tour, but I'm sure there are others less lazy than I who do this before breakfast.

I'm also wondering how easily you can combine such a tour with spending time with parents: You'll be tired when you arrive and need to rest, and you'll have panniers full of grubby washing, or be smelly, or both. So you'll spend a fair bit of time cleaning stuff and sleeping. Then you'll be packing and getting ready to go back.

Would it make sense to try riding as far as say, Edinburgh, stop overnight and catch a train the rest of the way. On the return you could cycle to Edinburgh again then train the last bit. That way you'd cover the whole route but it would reduce the time required and give you more quality time with family instead of the washing machine.

Thats a very interesting suggestion and something I will talk to the wife about, my original idea was to train there and peddle back but my better half wants to ride there and back, she thinks if we can complete this trip we could do anything ( one of her dreams is to one day follow the coast of the UK )

 

[alicat]

You're novices and planning to cycle 100 miles each day on loaded budget touring bikes for three to four days and then repeat four days later only this time across the highlands. As I recall, your wife is struggling to cycle about 30 miles at 7 to 8 mph at the moment.

Sorry, but unless you both have latent athletic abilities it isn't going to happen. Much better to do what Andy says and cycle part of the way. You can still build up to cycling round the coast of Britain in a few years.

 

[chrismisterx]

You're novices and planning to cycle 100 miles each day on loaded budget touring bikes for three to four days and then repeat four days later only this time across the highlands. As I recall, your wife is struggling to cycle about 30 miles at 7 to 8 mph at the moment.

Sorry, but unless you both have latent athletic abilities it isn't going to happen. Much better to do what Andy says and cycle part of the way. You can still build up to cycling round the coast of Britain in a few years.

Sounds crazy I know, but its 5 months away and with the right training would it be possible?

This is the exact reason for all the posts, I know it may be a little bit verging on spam ( sorry mods for all the posts asking novice questions ) but with no experience we really have no idea at all what we would be able to achieve, I know the body is a fantastic tool and with the right training who knows, its a goal and if the people with years of experience all advise its really not within our ability of course I am going to listen, the thread about my wife struggling has helped tons, she read it last night and we had a good talk about what was holding her back, she felt riding alone was dangerous and being a little over weight thought she looked bad, reason for her wanting to train indoors until she got in a bit better shape, something I had no idea about.

So all your advice is super helpful and i cant thank you all enough, again this is just the planning stage and nothing is set in stone, we aim to do it and if closer to the time all we can mange is 40-50 miles a day then the idea of travel by train is a fantastic one and one that ill be a backup plan 100%

 

[Spiderweb]

I would start training now and gauge your fitness closer to the time then decide whether your adventure needs to involve a train journey.
As far as bikes go the Hoprider certainly looks good value but it's very heavy. Is it a flat bar bike you are after or would you consider drop bars?
Do you really need front suspension?
The Hopriders front suspension by the looks of it can lock out which is good to have but these type of forks add a lot of weight.
Have you looked at any other bikes?

 

[chrismisterx]

I would start training now and gauge your fitness closer to the time then decide whether your adventure needs to involve a train journey.
As far as bikes go the Hoprider certainly looks good value but it's very heavy. Is it a flat bar bike you are after or would you consider drop bars?
Do you really need front suspension?
The Hopriders front suspension by the looks of it can lock out which is good to have but these type of forks add a lot of weight.
Have you looked at any other bikes?

Indeed we are looking to plan the basics with the ability to change it up depending on how well we have done, as regards the bikes I have a complete open mind, the hoprider just looked ready to go out the box with everything we would need in budget, but i am open to suggestions if there is better options ( complete with racks etc for the money )

Not sure if I would need the suspension to be honest, we are learning the art of touring in the uk over the next couple of years before we head off anywhere too demanding, so apart from very small treks into woodland for the odd wild camp, i can see us being 90% on the cycle network. My wife likes the flat bar, I haven't really thought about it to be honest, the weight is what has put me off, it ticked all the boxes ( as a novice not knowing too much about bikes ) then i saw the weight and thought Christ, will I have to push this bad boy up every hill!

 

[Sixmile]

Just from my personal experience in planning a family tour 6 months in advance with a wife who really didn't do any cycling of note previously. Even though our trip was months away and already planned, as the time ticked closer to our trip, my wife still didn't get the urge to go out and build up any fitness or stamina on the bike. In fact, the only real preparation she done was when I'd booked a hotel 20 miles from home a fortnight before our trip and we'd a practice overnighter trip fully packed with the kids in tow. It turned out 25-30 mile days were still maybe 4 hours a day on the bike, due to lifting our trailer over gates and including all the fun and not so fun stops. Without kids it'll definitely be much easier but I guess my thoughts are don't expect someone who has never really had a notion of cycling to automatically want to or be able to go out 3 or 4 times a week on a bike.

 

[chrismisterx]

Just from my personal experience in planning a family tour 6 months in advance with a wife who really didn't do any cycling of note previously. Even though our trip was months away and already planned, as the time ticked closer to our trip, my wife still didn't get the urge to go out and build up any fitness or stamina on the bike. In fact, the only real preparation she done was when I'd booked a hotel 20 miles from home a fortnight before our trip and we'd a practice overnighter trip fully packed with the kids in tow. It turned out 25-30 mile days were still maybe 4 hours a day on the bike, due to lifting our trailer over gates and including all the fun and not so fun stops. Without kids it'll definitely be much easier but I guess my thoughts are don't expect someone who has never really had a notion of cycling to automatically want to or be able to go out 3 or 4 times a week on a bike.

you have hit the nail on the head with one of my concerns.

Funny thing is the whole cycling idea was my wifes to start with, but i have found I tend to go out more than she does, ( I have really taken to the hobby and really enjoy traveling to places I didn't know existed on my door step )
Again the whole Tour idea is her idea and she thinks a hard target will get us focus and encourage us to get the fitness required, I really like the idea and after reading some fantastic blogs of people cycling all over the world, really like the idea of touring, I am worried and do stress over things, which is way i have ended up posting so much on cycle forums for advice, but i feel like a kid waiting for xmas, super excited for my first new bike and super keen to get out and about on it, i just hope my wife follows suit as sometimes i worry that she enjoys talking about it more than getting out and doing it.

 

[Sixmile]

If it was her idea and she wants something to work to then that's a better starting point. I still think you should rethink your daily mileage and even plan a shorter one or two night trip say in early March to see how you both get on. It'll help iron out logistical challenges and the reality of riding a day after a previous big day will help see where you're both at fitness wise. At that point you'd be two months away from your big trip so still a decent amount of time to structure your riding into building up strength and stamina. I always say that everyone has got a good days cycling in them. It's day 2, 3, 4, 5 etc that the struggle becomes real, when you've got to get back on the saddle when your rear is sore and your legs are burning.

 

[chrismisterx]

If it was her idea and she wants something to work to then that's a better starting point. I still think you should rethink your daily mileage and even plan a shorter one or two night trip say in early March to see how you both get on. It'll help iron out logistical challenges and the reality of riding a day after a previous big day will help see where you're both at fitness wise. At that point you'd be two months away from your big trip so still a decent amount of time to structure your riding into building up strength and stamina. I always say that everyone has got a good days cycling in them. It's day 2, 3, 4, 5 etc that the struggle becomes real, when you've got to get back on the saddle when your rear is sore and your legs are burning.

thats great advice thank you.

 

[Gravity Aided]

It is also important to train a good deal with your touring load. Makes the bicycle handle totally differently. Commuting about is a good start, as the load points out the values and shortcomings of any bicycle, Quite abruptly. A lot of people tour on flat bars, but I find it easier on my back to use drop bars, there are some specially made for touring. While a heavy bicycle adds to the load, it is not nearly as much as excess items. Try some local touring first, and iron out the problems and solutions that work best for you. When I rode such distances, I found that 60-70 miles per day was my upper limit, with a load.

 

[chrismisterx]

It is also important to train a good deal with your touring load. Makes the bicycle handle totally differently. Commuting about is a good start, as the load points out the values and shortcomings of any bicycle, Quite abruptly. A lot of people tour on flat bars, but I find it easier on my back to use drop bars, there are some specially made for touring. While a heavy bicycle adds to the load, it is not nearly as much as excess items. Try some local touring first, and iron out the problems and solutions that work best for you. When I rode such distances, I found that 60-70 miles per day was my upper limit, with a load.

thank you,
what kind of bike would you suggest going for, when I google touring bikes it tends to throw up either bikes no longer available or bikes way out of my price range, has the term touring been replaced with another term? Would you say 20kg is too heavy for a bike to tour with, the hoprider at 20kg does seem to be quite heavy and on another site been suggested its not really a touring bike. Theres a couple of deals at halfords atm bikes with big savings, a hell cat mountain bike with £170 off ( down to around £250 ) but I have no idea what is a good bike and what is not.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

I recently had two Argentinian. bike tourists stay with me. They had similar BTwin bikes as you mention. Absolutely fine and they have the mileage to prove it. Neither were mechanically minded and their bikes were in a worse state than I personally would ride, but they were doing absolutely fine.

Just go off and lift a Surly DT or LHT or a Thorn. Heavy. The weight of a bike means nothing by the time you’ve filled your panniers. A can of rice puddng or a new bottle of shampoo is soon going to cancel out any marginal gain. In fact it may just be more robust which is what you need.

 

[Andy in Germany]

To give you some idea I've toured happily with these bikes:

20 year old MTB with 10 year old Xtracycle on the back. This is probably a minimum of 20kg, although I must admit I never weighed it.

The 'Commuter' bike: Mismatched tyres, elderly frame and a luggage rack from a pile of scrap. Elder Son rote this while I rode the Xtracycle on tour.
They are pretty elderly by bike standards and pretty heavy for some people, but they work, as long as our legs can keep going. The important thing as far as I can make out is to make sure the tyres aren't too nobbly and have plenty of pressure.

Speaking personally it's generally been my fitness, stamina and general idleness, not my bike, that limited me.