sknhgy 

Second weekend in May I'm going to take my first bike tour.
I am a 52 year-old kid. Been riding my Trek mtb almost daily for the last several years. Recently bought a Raleigh Passage 4.5 and some small Nashbar panniers. It's a nice, light bike.
There is a state park 20 miles from my house. I am going to take my sleeping bag, tent, pad, flashlight, several cans of Spam, some apples, tea, small sauce pan, small gas stove, and a book, and go for an overnighter. Will ride out Sunday and come back Monday.
This is going to be a test to see how things go. If all goes well, maybe I can take a longer trip in the summer.

Also, spare tube, pump, water bottle, 2 AA batteries.

bigbadwimp

Good luck to you! Some friends and I are going on our first tour on the same weekend. I'm pretty excited about.

Tom Stormcrowe

Cool beans! May 10, we leave on what will be my wifes first tour. We had a trip looping thorough Indiana planned, but decided on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan instead. We'll be homebasing out of St Ignace and riding a series of loop tours for a month or so.

tacomee

Sounds like a good enough plan-- it's no different than going camping as a kid really. Have fun, don't sweat the small stuff.

And honestly, don't feel the need to move up to bigger tours unless you want to. Nothing wrong with 2 day rambles.

countrydirt

Yahoo! I plan on doing almost the same this weekend. Except for not to a state park, but out in the wildlands!

touringtotri

Nice! I did a trip with a bunch of teenagers, it's so great.

BigBlueToe

Suggestion: bring a small notebook and pen. Write down your thoughts about what worked and what didn't - what things you brought that you didn't use, and what things you wish you had. I've done this for years, and it's helped me hone my checklist. For me, there's no way I can think of everything when I'm home sitting in front of my computer, but when I'm out on tour these types of thoughts become crystal clear.

You can also use a notebook for a journal. It's hard for me to get myself to sit down and write when I've been riding all day and I just want to rest, but I usually do, and those journals are priceless to me now.

Have a great time! I remember my first tours - they were weekenders. I never failed to have a wonderful experience.

RB1-luvr

good luck to you on your upcoming tour. that sounds like fun. i may be doing tour this season too if i can get my new tour bike built in time. i am 43 and have not toured since i was 26.

superdex

I've been toying with the notion of a CC weekend for a couple years now. This summer I'm going to make it happen: Dillon (or Eagle) to Steamboat Springs, overnight in Steamboat, then back.

https://toporoute.com/cgi-bin/getSave...GTOWWTCFFQCLQD

88mi (+/-) each way, some decent climbing

eric von zipper

have fun, sknhgy. and don't forget to let us know how it went...the good, the bad and the ugly

MNBikeguy

Second that!
Good luck. No doubt, you'll be hooked.
Especially anxious to hear about the spam experience. Is there a bathroom nearby??

Also curious how your acclimation back to civilization goes. This is always an adjustment for me.

sknhgy 

Any other food recommendations? I will have to cook. No towns around. Guess I could bring Lipton noodles. I think spam cooked over a fire is deeeliscious.

MNBikeguy

Just kiddin about the spam. I think *anything* cooked over a fire is deeeeliscious!
If you don't mind the weight, I'm partial to Hormel Chili with a can of corn thrown in. (Once in the middle of nowhere my burner crapped out leaving me with cold canned chili. One of the grossest things ever.) Some of my other favorites on tour is oatmeal, apples, bananas, sealed sausage, packet soups, etc. I try to hit a store close to where I land for the day to not be limited to cans and non perishables. Many seem to like ramen noodles but I don't care for the high fat and empty calories.
Yet after a day's ride anything tastes good, especially eaten in camp. Major considerations and limitations are always spoilage and weight. I'm sure you'll come up with some good eatin!

wheel

Baked potatoes work really well in the coals.
Trail mix. Think out side the box, dired cranberries, chopped dried apricots, bananna crsps, etc.
oatmeal

Yea you really start think do I want to haul that 150 miles.

RB1-luvr

i'd try spam on the grill. at the end of a long day of riding it probably tastes like filet mignon.

CyKKlist

Recently, there was a great article in Adventure Cycling magazine by one of the owners of Rivendell Bikes, called "S240" (sub-24-hour-overnight). The Rivendell web site has a section devoted to overnight bike camping, including recommendations for gear.
https://www.rivbike.com/bike_camping

I'm planning on doing several of these with my sons this season. We live within a 20-mile ride of 3 different state parks with campgrounds, so we have some nice options. I don't have time for a long tour this year, so we'll have our adventures closer to home.

Have a great time!
Ken

David in PA

Good for you! You may find that a 20-miler may be a bit short, but that's OK.

When I was 52, I did my first long tour (850 miles), and when I was 54, I literally quit my job to go on a multi-month tour. (I'm now 55.) I only mention this because the same thing may "happen" to you, where you'll love your small tours, and then go a little nuts in a good way, and throw caution to wind for a few months.

Wish you the best of luck on your first overnighter.

David in FL

Shemp

If you're used to riding, I bet that 20 miles will indeed seem short. Maybe you can take the "scenic" route there and get closer to 40 miles. Then find a different scenic route to get home. If the next day you're tired, then go ahead and take the shorter path. I'd try to make it a big circle so you're seeing different scenery. Have fun with it. An overnight tour is a great way to start and figure out what you're capable of, what the bike and gear is capable of and how it feels at the end of a day. It's where the Misses and I started.

sknhgy 

Its funny you should bring this up. I could easily take a big circular route.
When I leave on Sunday there will be a lot of tourist/Sunday-driver traffic that I've been dreading having to deal with. A lot of Harleys, etc. If I add just a few more miles to my route, I could ride on the river levees almost all the way there. It's longer, all gravel, but there will be no hills and no traffic. Then, I could come back Monday on the regular roads which are very hilly but the route would be shorter.

The only reason I've been shying away from the levees is the loose gravel roads, which are only used by maintenance trucks. It's OK to bike there but the road is rough. My Raleigh doesn't like loose gravel. I have ridden it before on my Trek mtb and it makes for a nice ride.
Maybe I could take this trip on my mtb. This is where the front suspension on the Trek really comes in handy. The Raleigh only has seat suspension and loose gravel makes for numb hands.
BTW, my favorite meal after a lot of exertion is a can of beans, bread and butter, and a pot of tea.