24 Travel Tips For Cyclists

All the tips and tricks you need to know for when travelling with your bike.


Bicycling |

All the tips and tricks you need to know for when travelling with your bike. – Bicycling Team

Travel 1

 

1. Bottle Stash
Pack sundries such as 
drink tablets, powders, multi-tools, tubes, and tyre levers inside your bottles.

 

 

Travel 2

2. Checked Luggage
Check tools when flying—it’s not worth the hassle. If you’re taking only a carry-on bag, don’t bring any pump, wrench, or mini-tool 
longer than 15cm.

 

 

 

Travel 3

 

3. Valve Extender
Slip a valve 
extender into your seat bag, even if 
you don’t need one. 
Someone will.

 

 

Travel 44. Protect Your Investments
Before flying with or shipping your bike, check to see if your insurance policy covers damage and theft. Many do. If not, consider purchasing a bike-specific addendum.

 

 

 

 

Travel 55. Pasta in a Pinch
Pro tip: You can cook pasta in a hotel-room coffee maker.

 

 

 

 

Travel 6

 

6. Get That Selfie
Stop and take the damn photo – even if it holds up the group or means you have to catch up. Long after the ride’s end, you’ll appreciate the snap you got of “Trespassers will be shot – survivors will 
be shot again” sign.

 

 

Travel 7

 

7. Stay Hydrated
Remember the rule of 1 to 1: For every beer or glass of wine, also have a glass of water.

 

 

 

Travel 8

 

8. Save it for a Rainy Day
Assemble a small 
rain-day bag with a 
jacket, shoe covers, gloves, and headwear. You can squash this down small – and, 
especially if fitting it in is a little inconvenient, taking it ensures you won’t need it.

 

 

 

Travel 9

 

9. Get Pumped
A floor pump can almost always be tucked snugly into a hard shell bike case.

 

 

 

Travel 10

10. Bag It
If you’re a person who considers destiny to be a self-evident condition of our existence, lay out each kit you plan to wear—jersey, shorts, base layer, socks—then pack it into one zipper-lock bag. If you’re more the improv type, who prefers to assemble each day’s kit from the ingredients on hand, pack all your shorts in one bag, socks in another, and so on.

 

 

Travel 11

11. Stop ‘n’ Shop
Always stop at the little coffee shop, bakery, or pub, you may find a few hidden gems.

 

 

 

Travel 12

12. Liquid Recovery
During the first beverage service, order tomato juice and steadily sip it. Studies by Swedish and Greek researchers suggest that the fluid helps muscles recover from exercise, and food scientists say it tastes better at altitude than it does on the ground. (Also, for the second service you can discreetly go full Bloody Mary.)

 

Travel 13

 

13. Zip It!
Heading home, use the zipper-lock bags that you packed with kit to seal away your stinkiest clothes.

 

 

Travel 14

 

14. Setting Saddle Height
Take along a string the length of your saddle height, knotted at each end, for easy reference.

 

 

Travel 15

 

15. Stay Dry
Yes, we’ve packed a splash-guard before. You feel kind of silly—until your butt is the only dry one on the ride.

 

 

 

Travel 16

 

16. Back Off
On the first day of a multi-day trip, never ride as hard or as long as you feel like you can.

 

 

Travel 17

17. Carry-on Necessities
If you’re flying, always carry on your shoes and pedals. We add a helmet if we have space, though we really prefer to have it with us. If you have room in your satchel, one full kit completes the ideal lost-luggage back-up plan—and could save a ride.

 

 

Travel 18

18. Label Clarification
Pack a permanent marker. You might need to label your bottles, especially if you’re riding with a big group, or the tags in your jersey, shorts, and other kit if you end up doing communal laundry (especially if you’re riding with a team or club).

 

 

Travel 19

19. Ride Conservatively
Always follow The Rule of 80: Because you don’t know the peculiarities of the roads, and because a simple crash can cost you a whole vacation, ride only to 80 percent of the boundaries of your handling ability and technical skill.

 

 

Travel 20

20. Embro Application
If you’re using embrocation, pack one latex glove (or a non-allergenic substitute) per expected ride. This lets you apply the goo without getting it on your fingers. Strip the glove by pulling it off inside-out from the cuff to complete the no-mess process.

 

 

Travel 21

 

21. Fool Mother Nature
No matter what your grandpa’s weather forecast advises, pack for the ravages of an uncertain world with versatility and jersey pocket-ability: Take a vest and warmers incase.

 

 

Travel 22

 

22. Old School GPS
Make the extra effort and take a few minutes to scan a paper map of the area. It will give you a bigger and more general understanding of the territory than a computer screen can.

 

 

 

Travel 23

23. Top Off Your Battery
Fully charge your GPS before you pack, so if you don’t get a chance to top it off before the first ride it has a better chance of lasting. This is especially important if you’ve saved routes to it.

 

 

 

Travel 24

 

24. The One Rule
Finally, and most crucially, if your shorts are anywhere where they might potentially be encountered by a housekeeper, a roommate, a romantic dalliance, or anyone at all: chamois in.

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