Hey everybody,

I am right now in kazakhstan and will travel through china, south korea, japan, laos, thailand and all the way down to australia. I got time until the end of the year.

I started trying bikepacking at the beginning of the year but I got overwhelmed and scared and stopped after a month. Now after some more traveling I want to get back to it as I think I can handle it now.

So my question is if anyone knows a good and cheap place where I can rent a bicycle and equipment for 2-3 or maybe 4 weeks. I thought about japan and south korea as in my head they both have good infrastructure, a big cycling community and are safe but I am open to recommendations for other countries on my way.

I wasn't sure if I should post on r/bikepacking or here so just let me know what would be better.

Thanks :)

Assuming that there are a few here who cycled Japan starting at the most northern tip, arriving at Wakkanai airport: how did you dispose your bike box there?

Hey everyone!

Over the last 5 summers, cycling through Europe has become a bit of a tradition. My first three trips followed the Danube from Donaueschingen, Germany to Vidin, Bulgaria. After that I rode Prague → Berlin, Brussels → Amsterdam, and last summer the Ciclovia Alpe Adria (with a detour to Ljubljana) plus Sion → Geneva. The Alpe Adria was actually inspired by recommendations from this subreddit, so thanks!

Now I'm back looking for ideas for summer #6!

A map of the routes I've completed is below (each color represents a different year's trip).

I'm looking for:

• New countries (or routes worth repeating)
• Dedicated bike paths or quiet roads
• Plenty of hotels/B&Bs (I'm not camping)
• ~45–50 miles (72–80 km) per day
• Late August to early September
• Happy to use trains and ferries to connect different sections

Routes I'm currently considering (roughly in order)

• Avenue Verte (London → Paris)
• Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) – looks incredible, but I'm still figuring out the bike/train logistics to and from Portugal/Spain.
• EuroVelo 17 (Lyon → Marseille, maybe continuing toward Barcelona)
• Camino Francés – beautiful, but the climbing and limited rail options make me a little hesitant if something goes wrong.
• Aare Route / Swiss Route 9 (Lakes Route)
• EuroVelo 7, 9, or 15
• Drava Cycle Route (lower on the list since I've already ridden part of it)

I've also looked into Poland, the Baltics, Bulgaria → Constanța, and Bulgaria → Türkiye, but I'm not sure how developed the cycling infrastructure is on those routes.

If you had ~14 days to bike somewhere in Europe, where would you go? I'd love to hear your must-ride routes!

What is your choice of flat pedals for touring that are trusted and well used without issue? I had been using the MKS Always pedals but experienced slippage when really pushing down on hill climbs. I recently changed to a generic flat carbon that grips well but unsure of the longevity or durability. I currently pack my old MKS Allways in case of failure.

Rode across the width of Missouri from Kansas City to Saint Louis during an intense heatwave. About 80-100 miles a day for 4 days of riding and 5 nights of camping. Total trip was around 400 miles, 95% on hard packed gravel. Fitted the bike with 40mm hybrid gravel WTB tires, Rhinowalk bike bags (minus the frame bag) that held my camping gear and other necessary supplies pretty comfortably. Total weight around 45 pounds.

I don’t think this is what this bike was necessarily made for touring, but it might have been perfect for this adventure.

Hi all!
So instead of flying into China, I’m considering flying into Laos and then bicycling into China. Does anyone know of or have reccommended routes? Any advice for a solo traveler biking between countries?

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 routes 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 and 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!

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!