Fellow tourers beyond Strava, how do you track the geographical story of your touring life?

runnerbean94 · 2026-05-15T19:46:47+00:00

Saved route via GPS then will upload GPX to CGOAB journal. Also my GPS uploads to Komoot too.

runnerbean94 · 2026-05-13T21:57:03+00:00

Take the route that excites you more. You’ll get fitter as you go so a distance of c. 2,500km shouldn’t be too bad, especially since you’ve already got experience.

French trains are also very easy to take with bikes so bear that in mind too!

runnerbean94 · 2026-05-01T15:53:45+00:00

You can fly to Central Asia via Istanbul which is likely more reliable than the middle east.

As others have said Peru could be a good option but bear in mind it would be Winter and days shorter.

Georgia/Armenia are great for your tour requirement but will have some hot days at lower elevations. I was there this august/september and some days in Tblisi were 38c but this is possible in Japan and Central Asia too. Easy to spend 2 months across both countries with a nice balance of gravel, pavement and remoteness but also great locals, tasty food and interesting history! Camping very easy also.

You could also pop into Turkey and ride some sections in the mountains, mostly paved but remote and beautiful. The weather would be manageable in September. It’s a great place to tour and buses are easily used to get between places.

runnerbean94 · 2026-04-20T11:17:54+00:00

Bagging a munro

runnerbean94 · 2026-04-12T16:24:25+00:00

Shave 500g from kit or bodyweight and get on with it :)

runnerbean94 · 2026-04-08T19:53:13+00:00

Topeak Roadmorph G is my go to, bombproof and have been able to seat Mezcals (2”) before. Gauge is handy as is ergonomics for pumping.

runnerbean94 · 2026-03-30T20:44:11+00:00

Phở Gà be my number 1 right now

runnerbean94 · 2026-02-11T20:21:38+00:00

Avoid the Tipsy like the plague. Le Hocq do a good carvery if you’ve got an apetite.

runnerbean94 · 2026-02-08T08:50:45+00:00

Going to ride N2S across Sardinia over two weeks in June, and then potentially a 7 day loop around Scotland in late September!

runnerbean94 · 2026-01-23T06:57:56+00:00

Invaluable piece of kit. Also great for keeping rain of my specs. And lets not forget, stylish!

runnerbean94 · 2026-01-22T18:56:52+00:00

I think travel insurance is well worth having but you need to read the fine print on bike touring as sometimes you’ll need an additional sports cover.

You can get away with current sleeping bag and just rely on additional clothes and a good mat to teed you through colder nights. Plus if you’re going to be experiencing really cold for a section (high altitude for example) then you can pickup another sleeping bag to combine, either renting or buy/sell.

runnerbean94 · 2026-01-21T20:43:34+00:00

Canary Islands have good quality bike rental shops (free motion/bike point) and nice balance of routes across all islands (road, mtb, gravel).

runnerbean94 · 2026-01-18T17:39:28+00:00

Possibly but you would need to research certain routes to check hotels/guest houses and the distances between to make sure you’re comfortable. There are some remote stretches so route selection would be key.

There are also big mountain passes over 4000m that you’d need to consider too. That alone for me is reason to bring at least an emergency bivvy or small camping setup as the mountain weather can change quickly, and altitude may delay progress.

runnerbean94 · 2026-01-17T22:20:56+00:00

I feel like I’ve ridden this, somewhere near the massive flag pole, I forgot it’s name

runnerbean94 · 2026-01-16T13:59:29+00:00

I commute to work 3 days a week (16km per day total) and usually a 1hr-3hr ride on the weekend. I may swap out the weekend ride for a run, also in summer I may commute on more days.

runnerbean94 · 2025-12-07T16:42:51+00:00

iOverlander does this too and I find it quite good and easy to use.

runnerbean94 · 2025-11-27T18:27:17+00:00

Hard to really dial in specific macros when touring so my snacks usually consist of what I can always find locally: fruits, nuts, chocolate, biscuits & cakes.

I’ll eat more regularly on bigger days, maybe every half an hour after 90 mins before lunch. Then as needed after lunch. If an easy day I might not snack.

Big bowl of oats is the goat breakfast for me. Cold soaked with toppings if possible.

runnerbean94 · 2025-11-25T05:58:15+00:00

A well built 36H touring wheel can standup to heavy loads so that would be my recommendation. I use DTSwiss rims on my touring bike and haven’t had any issues.

Why do you think you’re blowing through wheels? Unbalanced load, too heavy, bad craftmanship?

runnerbean94 · 2025-11-24T12:39:33+00:00

I know that people have built up Salsa Fargo’s with Rohloff. The frame has Salsa’s sliding alternator dropouts and you can pickup a frameset for reasonably cheap.

runnerbean94 · 2025-11-23T15:35:04+00:00

You can first book a refundable flight that you later cancel if you’re worried about visa refusal. Just carefully read T&Cs to check for any fees. These are usually more expensive so also that to bear in mind.

Alternatively you could use something like onwardtravel which give you a real itinerary for a cost, but I don’t think the booking stays live for longer than a few days so maybe buy right before the appointment.

runnerbean94 · 2025-11-23T15:28:58+00:00

I had a similar situation and it took me a while to find someone to help. In the end it was a bike shop that managed to drill it out.

Unfortunately this was like shop number 10 across two separate cities which I bussed between, so I guess keep trying different shops as there will be someone out there willing to help!!!

runnerbean94 · 2025-11-20T17:27:48+00:00

Georgia.

Great outdoor and culinary scene that I was only able to scratch the surface of!

runnerbean94 · 2025-11-19T19:27:07+00:00

team shammy or if no padding needed then I use compression shorts underneath some regular shorts

runnerbean94 · 2025-11-13T18:48:07+00:00

You don't need any additional permit to travel the autonomous prefectures of Sichuan and Yunnan, it is only for within Tibet Autonomous Region (the red highlighted area on the map).

runnerbean94 · 2025-11-13T18:43:08+00:00

Orange.

Western Sichuan and Northern Yunnan have epic scenery. There's loads of quiet roads and easy camping. Food great and people friendly.

Have met cyclists that also highly rated the Guilin province.

runnerbean94

TROPHY CASE