Road and trail cycling is a challenging, fun, personal happening. Plenty of regions on the map offer amazing scenery to explore. I hope this site encourages you to take the plunge and experience the wealth of adventures that can be enjoyed by everyone.
The ambition and adventure of long distance touring will give you profound satisfaction. Exploring on a bicycle brings you closer to the landscape and nature of an area. You receive a sense of pioneering freedom that cannot be found in other forms of travel. The local bike routes and trails are yours to encounter at no more than the cost of a steed. So, what are you waiting for? The world is your playground!
Be Prepared
Pack some tools and learn how to use those puppies. Carry a tube and pump, tools, adequate food, water and clothing, small first aid kit, grizzly bell, etc. Check the weather forecast and ask about road and trail conditions and closures before you go. Let a friend know where you’re riding and when you’ll return. If something goes wrong with your steed, a ‘short ride in’ can be a ’long trek out’.
Bike Traveling!
Cycling provides the sensations of traveling in abundance with the promise of good food, chats, lots of laughs and rest with a wonderful evening stop. These are the things that make the traveling spirit soar. A good cycling tour will give you a variety of exceptional experiences.
The places that are fun are the small-scale places, where the road twists and winds, where there are many small roads to chose from, where there are hills to climb and to coast down, where little creeks and ponds hide around every bend, where there are funny-shaped rocks and interesting trees, and where every house and farm is different from the others. Visit new places; meet new people who also enjoy those activities.
Bliss at Last
Cycling gives you everything; cycling gives you complete bliss: your mind has directed the path and coursed you through it; your eyes have viewed it; your muscles have experienced it; your digestive, circulatory, and respiratory systems have performed better than ever, and every part of yourself [you] knows you have journeyed and landed.
We like cycling because it pleases our primitive nature; it adds excitement to roaming the land.
Cycling Fitness
Recreational cycling has become one of the most popular sports in North America. Cycling will improve your fitness while you enjoy the open road or trail. Cycling improves cardiovascular fitness, body composition, flexibility, muscular endurance and strength.
Riding up hills can strengthen back and shoulder muscles more effectively than some weight lifting programs. This is a profound truth, and you will thank yourself for the task.
Long distance, low-intensity cycling improves your muscular endurance and may get you points in boxer shorts. If you cycle 5 miles in less than 20 minutes, that is comparable to running 1 mile in less than 8 minutes or swimming 600 yards in less than 15 minutes, or arm wrestling for a date.
A cycling lifestyle will reduce your risk of disease; your weight will decrease along with your arresting pulse rate. Cycling can increase your sense of well being to enjoy a more productive and happier life.
Pedaling Bun
Trail and road touring is more than pedaling bun from place to place. It is a way of learning about the land and its people. After a few days on the road, it can also become a new relaxing way of exploring life. Part of that lifestyle is pausing – not just for the grand attractions that would catch the attention of any rider, but at small intimate places passed up by motorized traveler: mountain streams, small town museums, wildlife parks.
Sometimes you may find yourself chatting with the general store manager who’s lived in the same town all his or her life, or taking a nap at a tiny roadside park – that in itself is an experiment in a lifestyle quite different from both normal work and the average vacation. Mixing the unusual with your pedaling is a formula for bike touring at it’s finest.
Remember When?
Do you remember how much fun it was cycling when you were a kid? There was something about the wind in your face, feeling healthy, pedaling down trials and endless country roads with something new and exciting to explore around the next corner. Remember that feeling of the first day of summer?
You didn’t want to be called inside. The more colour in your face; the more tired your muscles; the more you perspired, the better. That was really living!
The truth about cycling is that it is good for you. It’s fun. It’s the best that life has to offer. That’s because the passion for being on a bike is for everyone. Share the challenges and rewards of a touring experience with your family or friends; your relationships will be stronger for it.
The Challenge
When you sense the challenge and reward involved with cycling you may find that your mind, body, and spirit become engaged. Mixed thoughts are cleared, fresh ideas spring to the rescue; scenes of the wild bring pleasure.
The bicycle is a basic efficient machine primitive in its elegance, utilizing various gearing, steering and braking systems. Your body is also an efficient machine with its respiratory, cardiovascular and muscular systems. Cycling is making the two compliment each other and work together harmoniously.
When your body is maintained through exercise and diet, it will serve you in profound ways. By bicycling regularly we tend to simplify our eating habits to produce quality fuel, to cycle and enjoy a healthy lifestyle. To brave ourselves on a bike ride or tour we have an opportunity to escape the daily routine, reward in destinations and set our spirit free.
The Scene
There is no substitute for local knowledge about riding routes, trail conditions, and closures. Get to know the local bike scene. It’s a good idea to drop-in your bike shop and get some detailed information on your area. Fitting and adjustments are the single most important considerations for cycling. Give your bike shop the big picture and they can help you select the appropriate bike, for your build and experience.
Why Bicycle?
We use the same amount of energy to cover 5 times the amount of distance on a bike as when walking. We are walkers – once Neanderthals. Our natural form of travel is to put one foot in front of the other. The bicycle perks our interest by making walking exciting. It allows us to go 15 miles an hour instead of 5. It makes the distant scenes come closer, faster, but not so fast that we are shown a blur of scenes. Cars and jets are faster though can be boring, frustrating or a show us a blur of scenes. We can ride through a mountain range in a day, and experience a mass of delight.