cycle touring

feck sake lads

just wondering are there many cycle tourers on the forum.people who would load up there touring bike and head off for a weekend or week, camping all the way. people who are no way interested in breaking any land speed reckords just a few days away enjoying the cycling and the craic.
i would like to know there favourate routes for a couple days away :rolleyes:

leftism

As far as i know, Blorg has done a fair bit of cycle touring but then again he's out breaking land speed records most weeks too so he doesn't meet the criteria of your standard bike tourer... haha

I'm planning a couple of trips this summer too. Just bought a set of Ortlieb panniers and a pannier rack that fits on my racing bike. Looking forward to a couple of 3/4 day tours around the country if the weather is good enough (highly unlikely)!

feck sake lads

good stuff hope you enjoy your tour ,is your racing bike strong enough for loaded panniers.would you be doing full on touring as in cooking and camping or are you going the credit card route. not that there's anything wrong with credit card touring just that i coulden't afford it:mad:
thanks for the reply.

Heisenberg.

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sammalone

Being a cork man i'd have to suggest west cork for cycling - sheeps head or the beara peninsula would provide a few days of quality relaxed cycling

feck sake lads

Scien wrote: »

I'm hoping to this in August over 2 or 3 days, camping...

Must figure out a way home first though..

hope it's a good one myself im staying home this year if we get the weather there's no where better.;)

feck sake lads

sammalone wrote: »

Being a cork man i'd have to suggest west cork for cycling - sheeps head or the beara peninsula would provide a few days of quality relaxed cycling

yip i heard that part of the country is heaven but im in louth ,i was thinking of doing malin to misen but i don't fancy doing it on my own.im now looking at northern ireland..
couple days touring around one of the lough's might be good.

IM0

feck sake lads wrote: »

just wondering are there many cycle tourers on the forum.people who would load up there touring bike and head off for a weekend or week, camping all the way. people who are no way interested in breaking any land speed reckords just a few days away enjoying the cycling and the craic.

doing both actually makes touring WAAY more enjoyable/easy/can go for longer trips see more (cause you cycle the same distance with alot more energy to spare, feel better the next day (recovery). yes I do both!

Actually I started off touring but some people along the way suggested I try racing, and then thats what I did, since Ive toured after having been training for about 8 years all the above is the case since I picked up touring again :pac:

feck sake lads

i don't really think you can mix the two ,i know my average speed is way down when im on my touring bike .but i enjoy the easy going now taking it all in as the man said.
but it's great to know there are tourers on the forum ,now if i can just get them to post there favourate routes '.
this summer I'm thinking of heading across to cavan camp at lough ramor in virgina next day head athlone or mullingar no definite plans yet .but i certainly want to tour ireland this time round.

IM0

my point was that as a result of all the fitness, speed, endurance, strength built up from training over the year, you can then go touring towards the end of the racing season and use all that fitness. When your in top condition and go for a much lower intensity ride (like touring) you get all the benefits of the things I listed in my last post. Also you can tour in much harder (and rewarding) terrain, Alps/pyrenees anyone?

Peetrik

Just about to have bash at this myself. sqr rack ordered, light tent and sleeping bag bought, up to 85k a day.

Id be interested on hearing routes that have been done or advice also. I only found out that I should be eating during the ride if Im going out for longer than a couple of hours last week, made a big differance I can tell you

feck sake lads

Peetrik wrote: »

Just about to have bash at this myself. sqr rack ordered, light tent and sleeping bag bought, up to 85k a day.

Id be interested on hearing routes that have been done or advice also. I only found out that I should be eating during the ride if Im going out for longer than a couple of hours last week, made a big differance I can tell you

check out crazyguyonabike.com excellent site for basically anything you need to know about touring.
you should certainly should be eating during a ride little and often is the secret also drinks high energy drink in one bottle water in the other.
have you come up with a route you would like to do let us know.;)

Peetrik

Yeah I had spotted crazyguy and had also come across an article on weight by Igor Kovse. altho when you start wearing crocs to cut down on kgs you might have a problem hehe.

Was planning short trip to see what kind of distances I can do with a bag, if my 700x23's will take the weight etc.
Was thinking Galway but blorgs discription of the N8 on his dublin-cork thread has sparked my interest.

Heisenberg.

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Peetrik

Well I decided to go for a saddle bag as opposed to pannier and rack because the bike I want to use is a racer and isnt designed for a rack (no eyelets etc).
I was a bit hesitant over attaching the sqr rack to a carbon seatpost after reading this...

"Carbon fiber, when it breaks, leaves an extremely irregularly shaped and extremely sharp surface, much like a glass bottle with the top broken off, but much more irregular. The damage it could do to a human's genitalia is too gruesome to discuss."

... after a little more research I found out that my allez has a 'carbon wrapped' seatpost and is in fact just alloy make to look like carbon. Still, a cheap alloy seatpost would have been easy enought to come by.

I went for the SQR tour after much research and review reading. Comes with the attachment rack included. Can be bought direct from Carradice or Wiggle have them with free delivery. None in stock but expecting delivery by 'end of april'. Mine is ordered but hasnt arrived yet.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Carradice_SQR_Tour_Bag_including_SQR_Bracket/5360042571/

Peetrik

... oh tent came from outdoor adv store on Liffey st dublin, 1.4 kg for about 40 euro
http://sports.ciao.co.uk/Gelert_Solo__6669736

The bag came from either millets or the other place at the bottom of mary st (I had been to pretty much every other shop in dublin at that stage looking at price vs weight),cost 30 euro and is only 600g
http://www.gelert.com/products/X-treme_Lite_600.aspx

feck sake lads

yes carradice make super bags,i just got one yesterday especally for day rides it's the super c rackbag great piece of kit i also have the carradice camper saddlebag great for weekend tours you can pack some amount of gear into the camper bag.

Heisenberg.

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Peetrik

Tent is 36cm packed and the tour bag is 37cm so as long as it isnt set up and repacked it should be ok hehe

Also its in a nice discrete green so if you were on a serious budget and decided to stealth camp to save a few euro you shouldnt be too noticable... not that I would ever reccomend such an action

Peterx

very pleased with myself, managed to use the search function to find a thread - it's the little things..
anyway - just back from a weeks cycling (some trains) across bits of Switzerland, Austria and Italy. Europe is soooo good and soooo easy to cycle through - brilliant cycle routes off the feckin big roads - campsites all over the place - it's all good and if you time it right you can take in a stage of a grand tour. Saw Friday's stage where Basso got into the maglia rosa as the brucie bonus.
dayday..

Tonyandthewhale

+1 On the Gelert tent mentioned above. I've got one and it's served me well for weeks on end all over Ireland and Western Europe, so light, so quick and easy to set up and so cheap, my home away from home.

Also, any prospective tourers out there, go to France, it has to be the best country in the world for cycle-tours. Scenery, cheap and abundant camping, good weather and most importantly of all, scrumptious food at every turn.

at1withmyself

Good topic, I'm hoping to do Malin to Mizen and am thinking about doing it solo with the camping gear, but won't be bringing the cooking gear so gonna try make the bike and luggage as light as possible. Thinking I should be able to do it in 5 days. To add to it I was going to cycle to Malin Head as well which will bring it to about 1000 km's pending on the route.

I have a lightweight tent and sleeping bag and going to buy one of these racks:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=14332

Thinking of adding a handle bar bag and some frame bags for the smaller bits and pieces although my list of parts to bring keeps getting bigger so need to dump it down a little!

I figure I could be gone for up to 10 days so hopefully I can get a good spell of weather, don't mind a few wet days on the bike but it would be nicer if it was dry.

If all goes well then I'd like to start doing some routes abroad

cdaly_

With that rack you'd want to make sure your panniers have a properly stiff back. Otherwise they'll tend to get pushed into the spokes.

For a long tour it might be worth considering a set of clip-on aero bars. Gives you something to rest on for when the arms get tired any you can tie your handlebar bag on there...

Chazziemann

Hi, i am on the verge of heading off any day now. Leaving wexford heading along the coast to cork around to dingle. Just waiting on good news from the weather man and i am gone. Not sure about doing it on my own but will give it a try........

Chazziemann

Weather looks good for the next few days..... so tomorrow i am off...

feck sake lads

Chazziemann wrote: »

Hi, i am on the verge of heading off any day now. Leaving wexford heading along the coast to cork around to dingle. Just waiting on good news from the weather man and i am gone. Not sure about doing it on my own but will give it a try........

check out metcheck for great weather reports,
hope you have a great tour if only as you say get the weather , there's no were better to ride a bike.than ireland.:rolleyes:

Peetrik

Yeah +1, enjoy the trip

Heisenberg.

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Peetrik

Ment +1 enjoy the tour, not heading out myself yet.

Still waiting to get my bag, after spending 1 month waiting on wiggle to send my order finally bit the bullet and ordered from carradice instead, planning dublin-galway-dublin as a test run as soon as it arrives.

Cant wait

Tonyandthewhale

Sicen, if you're 6'3'' you will probably appreciate a bigger tent than the gelert if you're anyway claustraphobic, I'm 5'7'' and although I have a bit of room left over, I wouldn't want to be any taller once I'm inside the thing.
Other than that it's a lovely tent.

Chazziemann

Just back from my 5 day coastal tour from Wexford town to Kinsale. Great trip and great weather. It seemed like i was in Spain at times, the weather was that good. Planning on my next one already, Kinsale to Kilarny via the coast.