Originally Posted by Magictofu
- Keep plenty of space in your bags for shopping... food for a nice diner can be surprisingly bulky.
Ah, but you can squash your bread so it takes up less room. After all, bread is half air! I hadn't thought of that one until the first time my cycling partner and I went grocery shopping on our Australia trip. We got out of the store ... he picked up the loaf of bread ... and squashed it so that the slices were still the same height and width, but their depth had significantly diminished - each piece was about 2 mm thick. Later, when you get to your campsite, and peel off a slice of bread, it plumps up a little bit so it isn't too bad.
I got so used to doing that to bread, I had to stop myself a few times once I got home!
Originally Posted by Magictofu
- Ask local cyclists about the best roads!
You have to be a little bit careful with this one.
-- If the local cyclists are avid, adventuring cyclists who really know cycling (different aspects of it) and know their area, you can get some good answers.
-- But if the local cyclists are the ones who do 5 miles a day on bicycle paths, you'll get the directions to the local bicycle path which might be scenic, but will slow you down significantly and will usually take you quite a bit out of the way. That might be all right, but if you are trying to make some time, it might not be what you're looking for.
-- Or if the local cyclists are racers who easily ride straight up mountains at 30 mph on their 3 lb bicycles, they might tell you that the road ahead is basically flat ... and once you get there you discover you are pushing your 60 lb loaded touring bicycle up the never-ending, steep hills.
It wasn't long before I started taking all directions and suggestions with just a tiny grain of salt.