Cycle touring keeps your cycling spirit high but one must be prepared at all times. Here is a complete checklist on how to prepare yourself, your biking accessories and your bike for cycle touring.

1. YOUR STARTING CHECKLIST
CYCLE
TOURING

2. If you have ever contemplated taking your love of cycling
and combining it with a holiday, you’re not alone.
In Australia, and all over the world, cycling enthusiasts are
seeking ways to combine their passion with their time off,
and the result has been an explosion in cyclists taking to
the road both on well-worn and undiscovered routes.

3. But if you’ve never embarked on one of these adventures
before, we’ve put together some useful things to consider
before you book your annual leave!

4. How Fit Should I Be?

5. Cycling is one of the best ways to achieve physical conditioning and
aerobic fitness at the same time. But despite this, a lot of weekend
road bike riders and mountain bikers say that they’re “not fit enough”
to do a full blown cycling holiday.
But the great thing about cycle touring is that there is no required
level of fitness. If you are planning your own holiday, you can plan
daily ride goals to suit your personal fitness level. A good starting
point for intermediate riders is around 75 kilometres, which many
would class as a “comfortable” ride across a whole day.

6. Bike Choice

7. At Ivanhoe Cycles we have a full range of bikes that you can
choose from before embarking on a cycling holiday. Touring bikes
are solid all rounders, with good weight, stability over the occasional
rough patch of road, and are easy to mount on racks.
Road bikes are a great idea if you are planning a route that will be
exclusively on good roads. But if you are taking this option, it’s
better to stick to tried and tested routes, so that you and your bike
make it through your holiday in one piece.

8. Planning Essentials

9. Probably the most important rule of cycle touring is to plan
your route well before you leave. Knowing where you will
stop each night will give you a target to work towards, and
also allow friends and family to check in with you while
you’re on the road.
The other cardinal rule is to pack as light as possible. Investing
in lightweight, warm clothing, energy bars and gels and a phone
with long lasting battery are a good starting point. Once you’ve
put together your planned route and lists, run your ideas past an
experienced cyclist to check that you haven’t missed anything,
and to help improve the strength of your plan.

10. Of course, if you’d like to talk about your
upcoming cycling holiday with the friendly
team at
we would love to hear about it!
Whether it’s choosing your equipment,
planning your route or buying a new bike,
we are here to help make your cycling
holiday the best experience possible.
IVANHOE
CYCLES

11. 72 Bell St, Heidelberg Heights, Vic
P: (03) 9450 5200
2-10 Hallam South Rd, Hallam, Vic
P: (03) 8795 1600
www.ivanhoecycles.com.au
Source: http://cycletraveller.com.au/australia/resources/bicycle-touring-
for-beginners