Should I buy a new bike before bike touring?
Should I wait until I save more money?
Should I wait until my kids are just a bit older?
Should I sell all my stuff and leave for good?

Is there a right time to go on a bike tour?

I've been lucky to have the chance to talk with tons of bike tourers and bikepackers over the years. I've also spoken with many people that are either new to the sport or interested in trying it out. One common question I get asked is, when is the best time to go for a bike tour. The easy answer is to just say, "go now!", but in reality, most of us have to plan quite a bit around being able to successfully go on a bike tour. I would say that you should go on a bike tour when you have satified three requirements: you have a bike, gear and the opportunity to get away for a prescribed amount of time. The duration is the most flexible of the three, as it doesn't have to be a long adventure, but could simply be a long-weekend or a one-week holiday.

Of course, there are many people that start planning for the 'trip of a lifetime' and need to save and research for years, wait for retirement, for the kids to be grown up or even for the kids to be just old enough to appreciate such a big adventure. These adventurers will likely wait a year or more to save money, buy top quality equipment that they know they can rely on. Others may just take whatever bike they have on hand or even grab a cheap bike and gear on Facebook Marketplace and start pedalling with no real destination or timeframe.

I personally tend to fall into the last group, having never planned more than a month or so in advance before going on a biking adventure.

For the most part, the season, temperature, terrain, and weather in which you are travelling is only relevant to the bike tour when considering what gear you need to take and the amount of time needed to prepare. People have bike toured across the central Australia and across the Arctic regions of Canada, the USA, and Russia, braving temperatures in excess of 50°C and below -40°C

Needless to say, if you do decide to bike tour in more extreme conditions, you may need to spend more time preparing before you can start.

When is the best time to start the bike adventure?

The most important factor for you, the rider, is to decide WHEN DO YOU REALLY WANT TO GO BIKE TOURING???

Most long-distance bike tourers, whether new to bike adventures or veterans of many tours, like to start their bike adventures when the weather is improving and not getting worse. There's something mentally comforting to know that each day you stay out, the weather will continue to improve. Starting when the weather is good can help maintain motivation and bring more enjoyment during the early days of the tour.

This is especially true for short bike tours as no one wants to spend their entire tour soaked, frozen, or scorched to death. On shorter trips it’s not necessary to hammer out massive days in the saddle, and I would recommend taking some time to enjoy the sights, sounds and food along the way.

With the exception of my first bike tour, which I did during the rainy season in Indonesia due to my 7-week school break, most of my tours have been fair weather tours. However, even during rainy season is SE Asia, it doesn't rain all-day. More often than not, it rains really hard for just 1-2 hours per day, leaving lots of time to spend on the bike.

When going on longer bike tours, most people start during spring/summer and then try to ride with continual good weather throughout the adventure. This is especially true for the many cyclists that start in Europe and cycle to Asia each year. The majority of them plan their trip to start in the beginning of spring, just at the weather starts to get good, reach Azerbaijan or Iran by late summer, get through the Pamirs before it gets too cold and then enjoy the following winter cycling around SE Asia. One really great thing about this plan is that you get to meet a ton of other adventurers. You will quite likely run into other bike adventurers that you get along with really well and maybe even ride with for an extended time.

Why should I go bike touring?

Having spent years living abroad, working in other countries and going on backpacking adventures when I had holidays, I promise you that as much fun as you might have while backpacking to some exotic destination, you will feel so much more connected to the country and the people if you do it on a bike.

While there is nothing wrong with backpacking, one of the disadvantages is that by constantly taking planes, trains and automobiles from tourist spot to tourist spot, you will miss opportunities to learn about the people and the culture of the country through which you are travelling. An example itinerary for a backpacker in SE Asia would be flying into Singapore, catching a bus to Kuala Lumpur, taking another bus to Penang, boat to Langkawi, short flight to Phuket in Thailand, a bus and a boat to Koh Samui, a train to Bangkok, and then another one to Chian Mai. You get the picture. Lots of sights, but they end up missing all the amazing things in between. Doing this by bike would result in you getting in better shape, enjoying the country without always paying the tourist price, not have as many hangovers and of course, accomplish something that the majority of people out there couldn't fathom doing.

The most beautiful thing about bike touring is that you are not constrained by modern limitations of travel.

By doing an adventure by bike you are able to go where you want, when you want. This makes planning much easier and less stressful. While walking is certainly a suitable alternative to biking, I find it much too slow and prefer to cover the distances between sights a little more quickly. In my mind, this leaves biking as the best way to see new places.

Some would argue that while travelling by car or motorcycle they are able to see many of the same things. In my experience using motorbikes while on holiday in SE Asia, you tend to plan your trip more around the destinations, as opposed to the journey, missing a lot of micro-tourism opportunities. Chances to see the little things we often take for granted. Having the chance to pitch your tent on a deserted beach, spending the night in a Buddhist Temple while helping the young monks to use their limited English, all the while sharing a meal.

When I cycled the Mae Hong Son Loop in Northern Thailand, I saw many motorcycles just flying up the mountains past amazing views, never deviating from the mission of getting to the next town, and without a second glance, missing the opportunity to interact with locals at roadside markets and to see the expression of joy on their faces when you have a simple conversation with their child. By taking it slower on a bicycle, I had so many more chances to interact with locals.

By carrying a tent or bivi bag, cyclists are not forced to rely on sleeping in hostels or cheap hotels but get to camp at places with views that are better than what you get at the most expensive 5-star hotel. The best part is that these accommodations are free the majority of the time and unlike cheap hostels/hotels, you won't have to worry about bed bugs.

Essentially, by having an idea of where you would like to bike tour and by making sure you have a bike that can handle the terrain, there is not much limiting where you can bike to.

Although you could take any bike for a tour, it would be sensible to have the right bike for the job. If planning a tour with a lot of singletrack through the S. American Andes Mountains, it would be beneficial to have a bikepacking setup with at least 2.25″ tires. Mid-fat and fat bikes will make riding in winter conditions much easier than a bike with 700c x 32mm touring tires. The inverse is true as well, and having a touring bike with 4 panniers will perfectly suit a cycling trip from Europe to SE Asia.

There are very few limitations of where one can go on a bike tour. With some careful planning and preparation, the world is, as they say…. your oyster.

Thanks and keep on pedalling.

Chris