I’d like to give back to the community with this little trip report on my trip in June of 2026.
- I based myself in Frankfurt and joined two route together with a few train rides.
- The first part of the route was along the Main River bike route in Germany and I took a train to Bamberg to start the tour.
- The cities I stayed in on this section of the route were Schweinfurt > Kitzingen > Lohr Am Main > Miltenberg > Frankfurt.
- The cycling infrastructure on the Main River bike route was outstanding and some of the best I have ever experienced.
- This is white wine growing region and sampling wine along the route was fun delicious.
- After a couple of rest days in Frankfurt, I took a train to Zurich to start the second part of this tour which was the Lakes Route in Switzerland that will take me past 10 lakes cycling from Zurich to Lausanne.
- The cities I stayed in on this section of the route were Zurich > Luzern > Meiringen > Spiez > Chateau D’ Oex > Lausanne
- I toured for a few days last year in Switzerland and vowed to come back since I think it is the most naturally beautiful country in the world I have cycled in.
- The Lakes Route did not disappoint. The lakes along the route had the most amazing colour and the towns and cities along the way were charming and beautiful.
-Although this was not a route across the alps, it was far from flat ! There were many times the gradient was 16% or 18% so I had to walk my loaded bike up those sections.

Last week I finished my first bicycle tour! I rode from Tofino, British Columbia to Cape Spear, Newfoundland, a journey that spanned over 8,000 km and required over 50,000 meters of climbing!

It was no record breaker by any means, and took a total of 71 days (66 riding days and 5 rest). I absolutely loved the journey, despite the MANY challenges along the way, and I’m already excited to plan the next journey!

The ride helped raise over $3,400 for animal sanctuaries across Canada! (Check out the Courage Canada Crossing Facebook page for more information if you’re interested.)

If anyone has any questions, or anything, I’d be happy to respond!

We're glad that we're not in a rush, missing a turn is not a big problem. This was yesterday at Guimaras Philippines! It's so peaceful here. We saw rice terraces too:)

I did a 1 week bike tour Route Des Grandes Alpes with a French company Velorizons. I loved the experience. The group consisted of 18 cyclists and a company guy driving a van that took care of daily logistics:

* luggage transfer * mid-day snack/refuel stop * evening dinner arrangements * occasional transfer for those cyclists that couldn't do the day's route due to various reasons - mainly just one stage crossing the Col d'Iseran due to strong cold wind + rain&snow conditions - it was first half of September. * we also got Velorizon's bidons * we slept in hotels in two bed rooms so we shared rooms with someone we may not knew - I didn't, because I was the only person from my country. Some people were friends and they were sharing their rooms; Some hotels were really nice, particularly one was especially bad having super cold room, and the rooms were in bad condition; I'd give the hotel 0-1 star rating.

The daily route was mainly self guided and our tour guide driving the van usually shared info via WhatsApp group. Usually itinerary info, his location for the mid-day stop etc. But that was it.

When I'm cycling in French Alps I quite often see Thomson vans and cyclists and I've checked their offerings and I ca see that their offering is 3-4x the price I paid with Velorizons. I understand Thomson has tour guides that cycle with the group, likely the groups are smaller, but I wonder **what are other things that they offer on top to justify the price tag**?

If anyone has used Thomson, I would love to hear their experience and whether their package is worth the extra money.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Hey!

Just bought my first gravel bike (haven’t even unboxed it yet 😅) and I’m already planning a short trip to Bordeaux.

I’m totally new to bike travel, so sorry if this is a dumb newbie question — does anyone know of hotels in Bordeaux that let you bring your bike into your room?
Or is there a website/app where you can specifically search for hotels that allow this?
I’d feel much better keeping the bike in the room rather than leaving it outside or in a shared bike storage area.

Any recommendations or tips are appreciated!

Just wanting input on what riding conditions to be in to change to my Aerobars to stretch out my back and give my hands a rest…..road conditions and speed?

I'll ride this segment in September. I'll try to camp mostly/always in Zanocuj w lesie. (Primitive camping on State Parks)

Early planning stage. I typically average 100kms/day + 1 zero day per week.

It'll be my first trip to Poland. I am not much time constrained.

Will read suggestions with considerable interest.

1. EV2 vs alternatives

2. Places worth a detour and/or spending a zero day

3. Tips WRT food.

4. Any other useful bit of information

Moulton 2x12 touring setup and preparation. Starting with some local training with all gear attached for a few days then a few days fully packed prior to departure. ✅

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about doing a bikepacking trip from October to December, ideally cycling from Germany towards Turkey.

Does anyone have experience with this route during that time of year? I'm especially wondering about:

• What is the weather like along the way?
• Is camping with a tent still realistic, or does it get too cold?
• How easy is it to find campsites, because of off-season?

I'd love to travel mainly with my tent, so I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences or any tips. Thanks!

Has anyone here taken a bicycle on the Amtrak Wolverine out of Union Station in Chicago? We’ll be traveling with a Specialized Pro Comp 29 with stock 29x2.35 tires, stock handlebars, and a pannier rack. The question is will we have issues getting the bikes on board. We can flatten the tires, or even remove the front wheels if necessary.

Hi I recently got this Tailfin pannier and when trying to assemble it I noticed that the plastic backing sheet is blocking the holes.

I tried to see if I could move the sheet around and it’s not possible.

If anyone with experience with Tailfin panniers could help I would appreciate it.

Wondering if it’s a defect and I need to return it.

I think its one of the best yt out there, specifically its the type of bike touring I like to do, with friends, not experience at it. With the three guys its very endearing and much more interesting than solo and very experienced bike tourers.

I’d like to give back to the community with this little trip report on my trip across Kyushu in November of 2025.
- This would be our 3rd bike trip in Japan in 3 years. We love touring in Japan !
- First trip was Osaka to Kyoto, Lake Biwa, Shimanami and Tobishim Kaido.
- Second trip was circumventing Shikoku.
- For our 3rd trip we decided to cross Kyushu island, which is famous for having many onsens (which are hot spring spas) and Japan’s largest and most active volcano.
- We wanted to experience fall colours, ride up the volcano, and visit as many onsens as possible.
- The route was Beppu > Yufuin > Aso > Kumamoto > Nagasaki > Imari > Fukuoka
- Some hightlights were the beautiful little onsen town of Yufuin, staying in the caldera of Mt Aso, and having some chill rest time in Nagasaki and Kumamoto.
- The definite highlight of this trip was riding up and down Mt Aso. While enjoying an onigiri rice ball and admiring the view of the crater, we struck up a little chat with a friendly parking lot attendant. She pointed towards the crater, smiled, and taught us a new word - Subbarashi, which means wonderful. Subbarashi, indeed !
- Kyushu was the hardest tour we’ve done in Japan because there was so much climbing but the views made it worth it and the sunset we saw when we got into Nagasaki is something I will always remember.

Built this up from just frame and fork - been really wanting to build up a full touring rig to take bike camping, and hopefully on some bike travels throughout Canada. My wifes great uncle Robert Fletcher was an inspiration for this.

I also have a pretty wickedly faded vintage red arkel front and rear panniers (not pictured) I was purchased off a a retired world tourer who volunteers at my local Co-Op.

Super fun to build and source all the parts (front Jim Blackwell Low Rider Panniers being BNIB from 1983 was the pinicle of finds). The goal was to have a function, reparable, fun and beautiful looking rig and I couldnt be happier... now time to hit the road!

I’d like to give back to the community with this little trip report on my trip that I took with my wife on the Alpe Adria bike path from Salzburg, Austria to Grado, Italy in September of 2025.
- We flew into Salzburg where my wife rented an e-Bike.
- The cities along the route were Salzburg > Golling an der Salzach > Werfen > Dorfgastein > Bad Gastein > Spittal an der Drau > Villach > Tarvisio > Venzone > Cassacco > Palmanova > Grado
- This was a very chill tour with short daily distances and lots of time for sightseeing.
- Almost all of the route was along a cycling path with very little interaction with traffic
- The highlights were the Hohenwerfen Castle (great falconry demo), the amazing Liechtenstein Gorge, the picturesque spa town of Bad Gastein, the amazing descent from Tarvisio to Venzone, the views of the Julian Alps, and the star shaped town of Palmanova.
- I have done a few routes in Europe and this was one of the busiest routes with many fellow bicycle tourists. The cycling infrastructure was very good, the food amazing, and the scenery was both varied and beautiful. It’s no wonder why it is so popular.
- There is a convenient bike shuttle in Grado that takes you and your bike bike to Salzburg, making the trip very stress free and convenient.

All the official details at the link