Plan a Long Distance Cycling Trip and How

Bicycling is one the most eco-friendly ways to travel. It is also great exercise. You can even vacation by bike. Airplanes, cars and other forms of transportation release carbon emissions. Even buses and trains are less eco-friendly than bikes.

Obviously, you can't go as far or as fast by bike as you can by car, but you can get a substantial distance under your belt within a day. If you plan your trip right, your vacation on bike can be as memorable as any long-distance trip that involves a plane.

1. It's the journey that matters. Don't travel at breakneck speeds to reach your destination. If you are biking from Los Angeles to San Francisco, don't make the trip about San Francisco. It's the combination of journey and city that matters. Destination-based thinking will cause you to tire out fast.


2. Stop and smell the roses. Remember in those old TV shows where the good-hearted drifter would roam from town to town solving problems and teaching people about love? You can be like that drifter, but most towns aren't very open about their problems, so don't expect to become a temporary surrogate parent to a wisecracking kid any time soon. Just enjoy and explore the different towns and hamlets that you come across. Have lemonade at a local diner. Stop to look at a lake. Enter a pie-eating contest.


3. Plan your route. This is the most important tip. Figure out about how far you can comfortably bike in a day. Then use a map to figure out where you will bed down for the night. Don't push yourself too hard. You don't want to end up twenty miles from your hotel at midnight, frustrated and exhausted. Also, take an alternate route back. Don't let the trip home be an uninspired slog. It should be planned as part of your vacation.


4. Use the buddy system. It is safer to travel in pairs. Do so if you can find someone who shares your biking enthusiasm.


5. Keep people informed of your whereabouts. There are a lot of things that can happen to a cyclist or a pair of cyclists on the open road. Remember Easy Rider? Use your cell phone to keep folks informed of your health and well being. They will be delighted to hear about it.


6. Bring funds but little cash. According to Bike Across America, it costs about 5,000 dollars to bike across the entire country. That's factoring in cheap hotel stays and cheap food. If you want to live it up, then factor that in. Use your ATM card instead of cash. Stash your ATM card somewhere safe, just in case.


7. Pack lightly and intelligently. Your muscles will get tired fast if you pack twenty pairs of clothing. Pack a few essentials. Wash your clothes at Laundromats. Bring a heavy-duty bike chain, of course.


8. Take note of your physical condition. A long bike ride is tough on someone who isn't physically fit. It can be accomplished, but you'd have to go easy on yourself at first. A person who suffers from heart and/or other dangerous conditions may want to consult a doctor before undertaking this trip.

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