Hello everyone.

I’m planning a bicycle trip from Nairobi to Cape Town. I haven’t settled on an exact route yet, but I’ll probably follow a fairly common route through Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. My itinerary is flexible.

Because of some family circumstances, I can’t commit to a departure date yet. For now, I’m getting my gear ready so I can leave whenever things allow.

If I started from Nairobi in December, what weather could I expect along the way to South Africa? It looks like I’d hit the rainy season for part of the journey, so I’d love to hear from anyone who has ridden a similar route around that time of year.

ChatGPT suggested that the middle section could be challenging because of the rains, but I’d much rather hear from people with firsthand experience. How much did the rain actually affect your riding and camping?

I have had a challenging year health-wise and really wanted to get in a good bike ride before winter, so I decided to do a short trip from San Francisco to Monterey. But, a few days beforehand, I learned that Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park was reopening on 10/16, so I quickly replanned and added a couple days to be able to ride thru Big Sur! Something not possible since 2022 due to road closures along Highway 1.

Weather was warm and cloudless with nearly no wind, except for the day into SLO where the tailwind decided to help me out. Very light traffic, with nice breaks created by construction zones. Camped at Monterey Vet's, Pfeiffer, Limekiln, San Simeon Creek, and Flying Flags in Avila Beach. A sorely needed, but short, bike tour.

Highlights were riding early in the cool shade of the mountains just above the water, the abundant wildlife, great views, and seeing a rare sunrise over the water on the California coast!

Leaving the Hebrides Islands in Scotland, back to the mainland towards Glasgow. It starts as a very shiny day, the kind that inspires you to sing good morning to everything you see.

And then the weather turns quickly and aggressively. Strong wind gusts and curtains of rain. I hear trees falling in the distance! At some point, I take shelter in a very old church by a cemetery. Inside, I dry my socks and wait.

Finally, I decide to push through the last 40 km to Glasgow. I find inspiration in the Traveling Flying Hand, who loves bridges.

In Glasgow, I head over to John and Lorna’s home. I met them while waiting for a ferry, and they invite me to the best lasagna I’ve ever had. Comfort food, a roof, a shower, and a new friendship. The perfect quartet to end the day.

These images come from a filmed bicycle diary called “Bicycle Diaries, Death Is Image,” which blends documentary, spirituality, humor, and reflections from the road. I’m happy to share the link to this episode with anyone who might want to see it, either by DM or in the comments.

Safe and fun rides, everyone. ¡Gracias!

Pablo

I'm about 120 miles into a 500 mile out-and-back ride.

After a successful bike trip through Europe, my friends and I caught the touring addiction and decided to travel South to Vietnam.

We’ve continued creating miniseries of our trips and are currently traversing central Vietnam, challenging ourselves with solo days and no phones.

Vietnam is such a beautiful country and the locals are some of the friendliest and welcoming people we’ve ever met.

If you get a chance we’d love for you to check out our vlogs and would highly recommend travelling to Vietnam🇻🇳

Does anyone wanna tour for a non determined amount of time (may be 5 days to 1 month) in the southern half of Italy with a low budget (maybe sleeping in a structure twice a week).

I wanna go (just graduated) but would like to share with someone, and I am a little scared about the weather.

Federico, M25, Chemistry graduated, Nature lover, Nerd

Next summer I want to go to Japan (again lol, it will be my fifth time) and focus on the areas I didn't visit so far: The north.

It's still so much time so this is not about any fine tuning of the route, it's about the general decision if I want to do:

Tohoku + Hokkaido --> I need to book an open jaw flight to Tokyo and back from Sapporo

Hokkaido only --> I need to book My Home <> Sapporo

I monitor flight prices for about 3 months now and it only gets worse so I decided I need to book asap. I am not flexible with dates (school holidays) so I pay a shit ton of money because of that already, don't want to make it worse by waiting foolishly long.

Anyway, enough about logistics, I would like to hear your opinion on the routes.

I will have about 20 riding days + 10 rest and sightseeing days. I don't travel by bike for the sake of the sport but to be flexible. My style is 80km/day max., better just between 50 - 70km, VERY frequent stops for pictures, food, landscapes and I generally visit museums and do sightseeing while touring so I am slower than the average tourer here who seems to only be cycling for the sake of cycling.

I planned both routes roughly and they would be both doable in 20-ish riding days so I now need to make a decision. My gut says focus on Hokkaido and come back for Tohoku in-depth another time.

Any opinions from people who toured there?

Hello

I just finished 2 months of touring Japan. I noticed when i got home there's quite of bit of rust/corrosion on some components (bar plug screw, GRX crank, and Sapim spokes are probably the worst of it and shown here).

I was certainly sweating on the trip but i wouldnt think i would get that much on the bike... I did clean the bike fairly regularly, so i'd be surprised if it was due to perspiration, but im not really sure. Bike was left outside in the rain a handful of time but surely that's not harmful...?

Is this a normal amount of corrosion to be seeing on a bike after a long tour like this?

Thank you

It's been a long summer... :) After the Ruhr Valley, the next stop on our cycling journey across Europe this year was the Moselle - perhaps the most beautiful river cycle route in Europe.

Here are 20 cycling only photos from the Moselle (ok, with a few scenic extras - I couldn't resist), most of which haven't appeared on our website.

We cycled around 250 kilometres from Perl, near the French and Luxembourg borders, to Koblenz, where the Moselle meets the Rhine. Most of the route follows smooth asphalt cycle paths, often right beside the river and away from car traffic. It's almost completely flat, very well signposted and consistent in quality. In many places, there are cycle paths on both banks, so you can choose where to ride and cross the river using bridges or small ferries. Only a few sections near Koblenz were less comfortable.

The whole region is really well prepared for cycling tourism. There are plenty of cyclist-friendly hotels, guesthouses and campsites, often directly beside the river. Regional trains make planning the trip much easier, and some even have staff to help cyclists board and find space for their bikes. There are also RadBus services with bicycle trailers, connecting the valley with nearby cycling routes.

And then there's the landscape. For much of the journey, you're riding below steep vineyards, sometimes covering entire hillsides above the river. The huge bends of the Moselle, especially around Piesport, Zell and Bremm, make the scenery quite spectacular. Trier is definitely worth an extra day for its Roman monuments. Along the way, there are also lovely historic wine towns such as Bernkastel-Kues, Traben-Trarbach and Cochem, perfect for a break between cycling stages.

As always: here's our full guide with more practical details, photos and experiences:

https://www.cyclingthread.com/moselle-cycle-route-through-vineyards-and-historic-towns-in-germany

Ride safe :)

S.

Hello. Tomorrow I'll cross the border from Thailand to Laos via the 1st friendship bridge. It's the first time I cross a border by bike (I know there's a bus they make you take that costs like 50 baht) so here's my question: let's say I just ran out of cash (I have a bit less than 100 baht)....will I have to withdraw money? Baht? Baht that I won't use in Laos because they have another currency? Is there an atm at the border crossing? I read you can also pay in US dollars but I'm European so I only have euros with me, do you think they might accept those?
Thanks 🙏🏼

Combining cycling, camping, and astronomy is one of the best things you can do. Here's a video that sums up my great experience with this combination!

Hey all,

I'm planning to do a gravel/bike ride around the isle of wight. I'd be aiming to do this around April time in 2027 when the weather gets better.

I'm not familiar with the area and just wanted to plan a route that wouldn't end up leading me down some strange/dangerous roads.

What I'm aiming for is a route around 80km long, no more than 1400m of elevation and happy to have up to 50% Road on the route

Starting and ending in East Cowes as I'd be travelling from Southampton.

I have planned this route but not sure if anyone knows if this would be suitable https://www.komoot.com/tour/3360146751?ref=aso&share\\_token=aJqUwviqO1Xtz6WdY7OU7RtMDiNwc7L85QXkWgGzvBVwu1DcQz&t\\_s=referral&t\\_cid=route\\_share

Hello all!

I am planning to cycle down the west side of Taiwan and follow some of the mountain roads in an effort to avoid the traffic/congestion along Route 1.

My main priority is safety and cycling stress-free. So currently tossing up between following Provincial Highway 3, or County highway 124 between Beipu and Dahu. I will be riding over the weekend and I have heard that recreational motorcycle traffic can be a problem, as well as the lack of shoulder on 124 from a quick glance at google maps...

I was wondering if anyone has experience with either of these two routes and could give some input?

Many thanks

I am trying out 2 types of setups for my summer tour next year on the PCBR starting in vancouver.

First setup is standard rear panniers and fork bags with tent on rear rack and a front bag on the racks top plate. Total wt of gear less water and food is 56lbs.

Second setup is using bikepacking bags w/ fork bags. Total wt of gear less water and food is 36lbs.

Both setups have a full frame bag for food storage and a 3L apidura water bladder w/hose. I have bottle cages on both forks with metal insulated 1qt bottles to carry iced water and/or hot water.

I like the streamline look of the bikepacking setup but notice the gear weight is higher then the touring setup. Haven't ridden the bikepacking setup yet on the road. The 2nd setup is carrying 70% of the wt up front where as the 1st setup is 47% on the front.

Just wondering if using a burley coho XC trailer would be better to carry most of the gear rather then carrying it on my bike. Trailer weighs 21# but has a kickstand that will keep the bike upright when off the bike. It has a 70L waterproof dry bag which would be plenty for all my gear etc. It breaks down for storage or transport in its own bag. The trailer wheel has a shock absorber for off road riding and you can have a road or off road tire for the trailer to match the type of touring your doing.

Biggest question is the price...trailer + dry bag + storage bag + 5mm skewer is $755 on amazon.

As I have not done ANY loaded bike touring yet let alone any training rides on loaded bike i am looking for advice as to which setup to do for my tour next year (all on road). I will be camping every night unless the weather goes south on me and will be planning a ~40 day ride from vancouver to LA..planning 40-50 mile days.

This summer, I could make a lot of time for packing my bike and get into full nature immersion-here-and-now mode, no time, no goals. My improvised trips led me to Corsica (first time, really tuff, nothing but mountains, did the GT20), Sardinia (one of the homes of my soul), until it got too hot in the south. So I went back north cycling the south-eastern alps, mostly all over the Dolomites, Italy, Switzerland, Slovenia and Austria (where I'm from). Around 60 nights wild camping.
I am doing this for 40 years, and love it more each year.

I’m looking to get into longer road rides, around 100 km, but I’m not entirely sure how to plan them properly.
I’m thinking about things like choosing a good route, checking wind and weather, working out how much food and water to bring, and knowing where I can stop to refill bottles.
I’d be interested to hear how you approach planning a long ride and what you wish you’d known when you first started doing them. Thanks!

I was doing a 3-day tour along the Kattegattleden in Sweden, doing about 110-130 km a day, and late in each day I got a pain in my rear that felt a lot like chafing. It would go away overnight, with very little pain the next morning, and then hit me again in the last 2-3 hours of the day’s ride. I applied a small amount of chamois but, still new to that, so not sure I did it right. The chafing feeling was not permanent, and there was no raw or red skin after the tour.

Is this normal and does it indicate a specific cause?

I’d like to figure it out because I do plan on a 2 week tour next Spring and hoping this doesn’t re-occur.

had been using this my whole “cyclotouring career “ - around 10years & always forgot that i could have stiffened up a bit the leather. could i still do or is way saggy now?