The right bike
Tilmann Waldthaler is probably Germany's best-known touring cyclist by far. Today, he goes on tour with a well-equipped touring bike and hardly ever breaks down. But that wasn't always the case. If you talk to Tilman about his experiences, you quickly learn that he also made some rookie mistakes on his cycle tours: Soft pannier racks, wheels that were too light, inadequate brakes. Nevertheless, he continued with makeshift solutions - and has travelled over 200,000 kilometres to date.
Even if you are aiming for far fewer kilometres on your bike trip, you should not be too naive when choosing a bike. The following points are important:
- Good translation: Even if the river cycle path or the Lake Constance circuit don't have any significant metres in altitude: The first climb is sure to come. And with it the end of simple hub gears. A touring bike needs a sensible gear ratio. This is the only way to master the evening mountain with ease. The easiest and best way to do this is with triple derailleur gears. Of course, high-end hubs such as Rohloff or Pinion are also a good choice, but not absolutely necessary.
- Solid wheels: They carry the full weight of luggage and rider and have to absorb hard knocks on rough tarmac. Two good wheels are therefore a must. Before setting off, be sure to check the spoke tension and centre out the smallest eights. Many newcomers disregard this.
- Contact points: Saddle, handlebars, grips, pedals. All contact points should be right, especially for unusually long rides. A slightly inclined seat makes riding into a headwind considerably easier, while pedals with a good grip (preferably clipless) increase traction and slip resistance in wet conditions. Grips should allow more than one grip position. Ergon grips with short bar ends, for example, have proved their worth here.
- Good brakes: Disc brakes have also become established on touring bikes for good reason. They reliably bring the loaded bike to a halt in all weathers. However, other brake systems are also permitted, provided they work really well. Spare brake pads should always be in your luggage.
- New tyres: Now is the time to treat your bike to new tyres. Tyres are the most important point of contact between the road and the bike. However, don't make puncture protection your top priority. There should always be enough time to repair punctures on a cycle tour. Lower weight and good rolling properties, on the other hand, increase riding enjoyment enormously. To reassure you: The susceptibility to punctures is extremely low with new tyres.
- Solid luggage carrier: A wobbly load quickly makes the bike unstable. In the worst case, unintentional bouncing can even lead to a fall. Nobody really wants to experience this on holiday. Most standard carriers are not ideal for panniers: Either the spring flap gets in the way or the frame is not rigid enough. Pannier racks from Tubus have made a name for themselves among touring cyclists. The Cosmo model, for example, is welded from stainless steel tubes and improves the luggage centre of gravity with a low-level hook rail. Be sure to fit panniers precisely and without wobbling. www.tubus.com
Weight counts
I'm now a packing pro when it comes to cycle touring. I've already travelled half the world by bike and usually spend between one and four weeks on the road. Always with my wife. The most important realisation: less is more. The lighter the luggage, the more flexible you are when travelling. This starts when you park your bike and ends when you load it onto the train. The lighter the load, the easier it is to handle. In this respect, I attach great importance to the weight of my equipment. Before the tour, I carefully spread all my luggage out on the floor and make many decisions using the kitchen scales. It's unbelievable what the clothing industry has achieved in recent years. You can cope with all weathers with just a few lightweight items. I stopped packing three T-shirts a long time ago. One shirt or polo shirt made from functional materials is enough. It's important that everything dries overnight. Because I wash every day when I'm travelling. Especially in dirty weather. I am rather spartanly equipped for emergencies. Experience shows that a bike shop or pharmacy are usually not far away. What's more, people on the road are more helpful than you might expect. No matter in which country. In the worst case, a taxi has to help.
For me, less is more also applies to route planning. Many people take on too much here. Exhaustion and arguments are inevitable. This detracts enormously from the enjoyment of the holiday. I spread my belongings over four stations. Two panniers are enough for all summer trips. There also has to be room for provisions. Tools and a spare inner tube are always in the saddle bag. The handlebar bag is ideal for everything that needs to be within easy reach.
Well dressed
Capricious weather happens more often than you might think. Travel editor Armin Herb has experienced this time and again on many cycle tours in Europe: In the south of Portugal, the thermometer suddenly showed only -2° Celsius in the morning. On the fjords of Norway, nature surprised him several times a day with fresh rain showers. Or in alpine regions, even in early summer, the air was often still chilled by a blanket of snow. Every touring cyclist learns from such experiences - especially if they have caught a bad cold in the process. Before the next trip, he meticulously informs himself about the weather forecasts and the otherwise normal weather conditions in the touring area. Then you can put together your clothing in detail. A rain jacket and trousers, wind waistcoat and a jersey and functional vest for changing are always part of the basic equipment. Modern, super-light insulating jackets help to combat the cold and reduce weight, complemented by a 35g lightweight polyester scarf (Buff) for the neck and head. The travel editor always has a thin woollen hat in his rucksack for cool breaks.
However, the climate can be very different: During a summer research trip to Veneto, the temperature peaked at over 40 degrees for ten days straight. Then the only thing that usually helps is a spot in the shade and postponing the stages to the early morning and evening hours. Cyclists are happy to wear light and airy shorts and shirts made of quick-drying material. And for sun protection, Armin Herb always has a small tube of SPF 30 sun cream in his bag for reapplication.
Roadside assistance
My bike and my job have gone hand in hand for years. As a photographer of various books on the subject of bike repair, I know a lot of tricks. No damage to my bike has ever prevented me from continuing my journey. What's more, modern bike technology is now so sophisticated that breakdowns are becoming increasingly rare. However, if a breakdown does occur on the road, many touring cyclists are helpless because they lack the relevant knowledge and usually the right equipment. But it's not rocket science to get your bike back on the road with a little know-how and some tools.
My most important tip is to avoid defects in advance. If I carry out the most important safety checks on my bike before every tour, I no longer have to worry too much about breakdowns on the road.
Before I go on tour with a new bike for the first time, I test whether the tools in my tool kit fit all the bolts on the bike to avoid any unpleasant surprises on the road. I therefore rarely need my repair equipment. If I do, it's usually for other bikers who are standing on the side of the road with defects. They are always amazed at how quickly and easily the repair is done.
In an emergency
It's been four years since I last crashed my bike. However, I always have my emergency kit with me when cycling and now for every other outdoor sport. Fortunately, most falls can be ruled out as serious injuries, but often the skin is scraped and bleeding in some places and there is a risk of bruising and bruising. I am now almost an expert in the treatment of abrasions. After all, they are the most common injury when cycling. I always have the essentials with me on my bike tour for first aid. The most important things are a disinfectant spray and a plaster or sterile wound dressing and gauze bandage. My personal favourite is a mesh bandage. It can be pulled over the injured area like an elasticated stocking and holds the wound dressing securely in place. It holds better than a gauze bandage, especially on the knee. I also always have light, non-prescription painkillers with me and, even if it may seem contradictory, my Arnica globules. At least you can finish the day's stage with a properly treated wound and painkillers. I deliberately don't use a pre-packed first aid kit, but put my own kit together and pack it in a transparent zip bag. Advantage: I don't have to rummage around until I find something, it only contains the things I need and they are packed more airily than in most kits. For any serious injury, I call for medical help to be on the safe side. Some apps now provide me with helpful services here. These applications can not only be used to make an emergency call, but also to transmit the exact location.
Finally, my personal tip: take another first aid course! Then you will be prepared for the next emergency.
Tent & Co.
From central Hesse to Marseille, on a touring bike, in eight days. The travel budget totalled 100 marks. We lived on low-fat quark and fruit, baguettes and water. In the evenings, the tent was usually pitched behind some bushes on a dirt track and tinned food bubbled on a gas cooker. That was a long time ago now, and the romanticisation of any childhood experiences and their meagre circumstances is part of folklore in affluent societies. But for me, it is a journey that reaches into the present. Even if the "pocket money" is now somewhat higher and would allow for different accommodation: I still experience travelling most intensely when it has something to do with self-sufficiency and personal responsibility. The tent is a very important piece of luggage - because it protects me from the annoyances of nature (wind, rain, mosquitoes) without shutting out the air and sounds. The wilder and more deserted the area, the more intense the magic of this feather-light shelter. When travelling by bike, it is rare to be in such remote regions, but the experience is even more intense if you also have several days' worth of food with you. This is standard when trekking. The need to plan brings you closer to your destination: will I find drinking water there, will I have to cook in a tent, do the cold or the exertion require a lot of calories? What will I get locally, how long will my supplies last in this climate, will extreme differences in altitude force me to pack particularly light If I have planned well, I already know a lot about the destination. Once we had to plan all our food for three weeks because there would hardly be any supplies en route. Thanks to the immense supplies, we were able to pitch the tent wherever it was particularly beautiful and cook strange dishes with the petrol cooker in the evening, which had the experience value of the finest delicacies given the surroundings. At the end of the trip, we still had two tea bags and a handful of nuts left - and the deep realisation that food and drink are not as self-evident as they sometimes seem.
Travelling with children
A cycle tour is the perfect holiday for families. Parents and children spend the day together, make exciting discoveries along the way and fall into bed tired and content in the evening. Even before the tour, mum and dad can make sure that little self-drivers don't lose their appetite so quickly along the way:
Find a route: Families should cycle on car-free routes or routes with very little traffic. Flat routes, e.g. along rivers or railway lines, are ideal. Tyres roll more easily on asphalt and children need less energy and are hardly jolted.
Set daily stages: It's good if parents consciously plan short daily stages. With the motto "The journey is the reward", there is no stress even if the child stops repeatedly to admire a shiny beetle or test out a playground. Children's abilities vary from person to person: six-year-olds should cycle a maximum of six kilometres a day, while 9 to 12-year-olds can manage around 35 kilometres.
Plan breaks: When cycling, children have to concentrate hard to steer, pedal, balance and look out for others at the same time. Children under the age of eight need a break at least every one and a half hours so that their muscles and minds can relax. Plan these rest areas in advance: playgrounds, ponds, swimming lakes, ice cream parlours or even a stud farm with a paddock are all suitable.
You can download the full-length article from issue 4/2014 as a PDF.
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Barbara Merz-Weigandt
Editor-in-Chief
