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| Touring - "Vacation by Bike" |
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A Taste of Touring... |
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A couple years ago our cycling hobby ventured
into new territory, that of touring. We
load all our gear on our bike and take off on
vacation! The photos on this page are a
sampling, intended to give you a feel for what
this experience is all about.
Riding a fully loaded bike while touring is a
whole different ball game. Fortunately we
did a lot of research and preparation before we got started,
so we actually knew what we were getting into!
We share some of the best wisdom that we learned
regarding how to get started on our
Touring Tips
page. We also had to make some equipment
changes in order to haul everything. We
talk
about that on our
Touring Equipment
page. |
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A view from the road... (taken
with a handlebar mounted camera - details
here) |
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Stops for rest & refreshments... |
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The 3 pictures above are at a restaurant in
Rainier, Oregon (by the Columbia River) after riding 70
miles on a 100 degree day! |
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Enjoying the sights... |
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Camping... |
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Before we ever
thought about touring, we had logged
over 6,000 miles on our tandem. Over the years
we had tried all different kinds of cycling
activities. I think each one
helped us gradually focus in on what we
really enjoyed most (see our
"Finding Your
Thing" page). We
discovered that we like a leisurely pace
of sight-seeing, that also includes
stops for coffee and meals. We
also don't mind riding long distances.
Because of what we had learned about
ourselves, touring just seemed like the
next logical step for us. Make it
a multi-day trip! As it turned
out, we were right, we loved it!!
When we first considered touring, we
were a bit hesitant about the camping
part since neither one of us had ever
done any tent camping. We really
enjoyed that as well.
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| Two things that helped
make this new venture so successful for
us was the research we did ahead of time
(Tips
page), and carefully choosing all the
gear we would need (Equipment
page). It's hard to put into
words, but it's an exhilarating
experience to ride into a campground and
set up camp, having carried everything
with you on your bike. On one of
our trips, we stayed at a town on the
Oregon Coast that we had visited a
number of time over the years by car.
Several times while there, we said to
each other: "Wow, can you believe
that we actually rode our bike here!!!" |
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