tips

Bike Touring Bingo: embracing disaster, one square at a time

Coping with the inevitable mishaps of life and travel is largely a matter of mindset. Unpredictability is the defining feature of an adventure. Thus, embracing adventure means welcoming both the good and the bad. Welcoming the good is easy; welcoming the bad can be more challenging. So to make the latter a tad easier, we've created a bleak little game for ourselves called Bike Touring Bingo.

10 reasons to leave the DSLR at home when bike touring

I have a camera—a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera—that takes really crisp, high-resolution photographs. Camera folks regularly name it camera of the year. It's a pleasure to work with: full-frame, articulating display, quick shutter speed. Paired with my lens of choice, a 28-300mm NIKKOR, it takes some really lovely photographs. But, despite all the really gorgeous places our bike trip around the world is sure to take us, it won't be coming with me. Here's why.

Why we're biking around the world without insurance

A whole lot can go wrong when biking tens of thousands of kilometers across dozens of countries. Bones can break, tendons can tear, and microscopic bacteria can do some pretty hefty damage to one's innards. And so when planning for a 'round-the-world bike tour, insurance seems a responsible, reasonable, risk-averse purchase. But a third of long-haul bike tourers travel with no insurance, and we're leaning toward becoming a part of that third. Here's why.

5½ great books about bike touring

A good way to pass the time before a big bike trip is to read about someone else's big bike trip. There aren't many books concerning the niche world of bicycle travel (and even fewer that offer well-written and engaging stories, versus instructional how-to guides), but this handful of books does a really wonderful job of capturing the beauty and the simplicity of self-propelled adventure—for someone planning a bike tour, or someone just looking for a good read. 

5 bike touring blogs that are much more helpful than this one

The problem with starting a blog about biking the world half a year before you actually begin biking the world is that there’s not a whole lot to write about until you actually set off. We aren’t exactly experts just yet, but we know of some people who are, so if what you’re here for is authoritative and comprehensive and inspirational and just really great tips and tales about biking the world, consider stopping by one of these sites until we have a little more to share of our own.