A thread to discuss bike touring - bikes, routes, gear, stories, etc.
>>1993350blessed edition with this nice OP pic. Lesgo guys it's spring already, better start packing,
how retarded would it be to travel 750 miles in 3 weeks, untrained?
>>1993395Its gonna hurt but you can definitely do it. That's not super far for that time frame so you can take rest days.
>>199339535 miles a day? Really easy, even if you are unfit. It would only be retarded if you are weak willed, obese or the climbs/surface is insane.Seems like babbytier to me.
>>1993454Yeah but there's more to riding than just strength. Have you never gotten a saddle sore? I used to get those at lower mileage than that.
>>1993395yeah it's not exactly fatigue that will get you, but discomfort if your fit isn't dialed in or you haven't broken in your ass yet.
>>1993395so it's really more important to test your fit and setup than to get fitness. do shorter trips first.
>>1993455never gotten that
>>1993395Easiest ride of your life lmao. That's an average of 3 hours a day of riding. That leaves like 14 hours to do whatever. Every day! Absolute joke. You can do that on a beach cruiser easy!! You can do it on a BMX if you get a tall seatpost. The only way that would be difficult is if you WALK!
Hey guys. Ukraine trip anon here, from the previous thread. I finally made it home about two weeks ago.https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/de/map/trips_1004538#5/48.531/9.053Trip map if anyone cares. Also includes most of my other bicycle tours. Not finished yet. Two big trips to the British Isles are still missing, and a bunch of other stuff. It's a work in progress. I'm currently migrating from Google My Maps. Open Street Maps is way better. Going to add markers for places where I spent the nights eventually.
>>1993579beautiful, thanks for sharing herr anonym , you actually pick some decent routes. Are these all recorded tracks? remind me how you charge your stuff (including drone?) without solar? I would never share the places where I camp.I like that yellow and light blue tracks, I can see that you feel the calling of the Central and eastern europe, but I hope this summer you will fell that beautiful loire valley and bretagne and cantabrian coast.Also you kinda doxed yourself, be careful or you'll have the deutsche rentenversicherung inquiring about the authenticity of your autism diagnosis.
>>1993597>>1993597>Are these all recorded tracks?Almost all of them, except for the small trip to Vienna across Czechia and back, and the trip to the northernmost point of Denmark. Lost the gpx files, which were only stored on my Garmin back then, in a bad accident way back. Had to reconstruct the tracks based on memory and pictures. They should be fairly precise though.>remind me how you charge your stuff (including drone?) without solar?Four power banks and and a dynamo hub USB charger. No drones. Enough for over a week without accomodation. I use my phone a lot.>but I hope this summer you will fell that beautiful loire valley and bretagne and cantabrian coast.I already went through Brittany on one of my trips to the British Isles, which is not on the map yet. I like France a lot, probably my favorite country outside of Eastern Europe and the Balkans. But yeah, Iberia really needs some love along with Scandinavia. I am not particularly fond of the latter though, and Spain/Portugal aren't really summer destinations for bike touring. Hate the mosquitoes in summer anyway. I sleep outside a lot. >Also you kinda doxed yourselfNah. The starting and end points you're probably talking about are obviously not accurate at all.
>>1993579what's that straight line is russia? you took a plane or gps was kill?
>>1993819oh, I zoomed and saw the airport, baka me
>>1993821wait, you took a boat there?
>>1993822The roads end nearby Ust-Tsilma in Northern Komi. I hopped on a boat at the "port" there which took me along the Pechora river to Naryan-Mar. Spent a couple of days there and then got on a plane to Saint Petersburg.
>>1993395i wanna do half of that but its all uphill and 90% wilderness
does anyone else get a little horny being outside in bike shorts. like the ones that are single layer. no underwear. little bit of synthetic fabric between being naked and not. hugging the shape of my strong glutes and huge cyclist/lifter quads. btw I'm male and straight.
>>1993955Yeah I always try to take care of business before riding otherwise I can have intrusive thoughts about all those big strong working class brutes in the cabs of their work trucks seeing me from behind and wondering if I'm a boy cyclist or a girl cyclist and it's hard to conceal the problem unless I get in the drops and just pedal as hard as I can until the bad thoughts go away. Pic unrelated.
>>1993955>>1993975wow, I remember being 16
is riding 100km in a single day doable for a fat dude?
>>1994001I say yes but not just going out tomorrow and doing it cold. I'd do like 35 km at your own pace, bring tools, and get your fit right. seat height, fore-and-aft, and angle; stem height ; bar rolled fore-and-aft ; hoods clamped up down in and out. even if you think it's right, play with everything and make sure. adopt any good changes and reset anything that was originally right.then do a 50 km ride a few days later and see how you feel . if you build up to it, I don't see why not
>>1994013to add, get good and warmed up several kms before you start fiddling with the fit
>>1994001Depends on the bike, the terrain, and the fat dude. I've taken a fit but non-cycling person on a 100km ride, with maybe 1500m of vertical (mostly concentrated in the last 1/3), and they were visibly suffering towards the end. But a shitload of water, a healthy dinner, and a couple of scoops of whey for dessert and they were fine the next day.Pancake flat, forgiving weather, nice bike, and you can do it, but you'll be in pain afterwards.
>>1993975lmfao agp i get it
>>1993955in this anonymous board I can finally say I WEAR WOOL UNDERWEAR underneath my bibs. I did this for months of touring including the hottest summer months summer, maybe washing my boxers and bibs once in 3-4 days or more, showering every day.Never had any problem.This fucking weirdo just confirms that going naked under bibs isn't a necessity if you're not cruising at racing rpm
>>1994273what wool undies do you rec? have been looking for some desu, i think they sound comfy.
>>1994311I'm euro so... surprise! Decathlon.
>>1994273Thank you for your bravery. I hate how road bullshit invades every other cycling discipline.
>>1994273>maybe washing my boxers and bibs once in 3-4 days or moreimagine the smell
>>1994013>>1994016did my first 35km, it was hard but doable. I'll keep you uptaded when i go for the 100km. thanks guys.
>>1994650nice!
>>1993395>untrainedYou'll need to ride ~60km every single day for 21 days, start by doing it at home for at least a week and see how you feel, you'd shit yourself and ruin your knees after 4 days
>>1995698Idk chief I averaged 110km a day for 15 days after probably having ridden no more than 200km in the year before that. It was fine. I put some thought into bike fit and was reasonably active generally at the time, but I surely wasn't trained, at least for cycling. Thinking about it, I was actually nursing some running-related knee injuries going in and I'm pretty sure they got better on the trip.So yeah, know yourself, play the long game, but also DBAP.
>>1995700Must be living on a flat area then, one fall I went for 300km and after the winter of no driving I could barely make it home after 50km ride for the first few days, then it of course stabilized, but if the guy is "untrained" he should at least prepare for what's coming
Did a 500 km loop over 6 days last week. Got awful saddle sores on day 3 or 4, and now I don't know if it's because of the fit (it's a new bike I'm still dialing in), if I overdid it in the first days or if I'm just just fat and unconditioned after the winter.I'm afraid they'll come back when I try to do a longer trip and completely ruin the experience.
>>1995738>But but .... muh brooks pointing straight to the starsYou fell for the brooks meme. Inb4: you got to break in the brooks saddle! No just joking it may be normal if you're not used to it, and untrained, with 80km per days for a straight week You're doing a lot of road, especially if you're offroad or on gravel you should also expect some hand and arms fatigue. Just take it more easy next time with more rest and breaks, or just accept that with those rhythms you're on the intensive/sport side of this thing so you should expect a lil bit of strains.On a longer trip at least for me, those initial pains disappears, and you get to know your body and your setup, and learn when to stop.Anyway if you're really really fat you should consider another saddle with more cushioning. That bike make my pp hard though
>>1995740Nah I already used that saddle on my previous bike (On-One Inbred) and it was fine. I remember some ass pain but it would largely go away overnight.I have a nagging suspicion that the Inbred frame might be softer than the Singular but I don't want to live in a world where that's true.
>>1993579How did you build that sick map?
>>1995742Oh I'm sorry I thought it was a question, nvmind you seem to know what you doing
>>1995738Hey I have that bottle
>>1995703Probably averaged around 1000m of climbing daily. It wasn't the Alps, but it surely wasn't flat.
>>1993579Please post pics from your trip
>>1993350Hello retard here, where to start? Do you guys sleep outside? Do you book hotels on the way? How long do these trips take? (I have a job so taking days off is suffering) Any gear you'd recommend for a total newbie?
>>1995783We were all retards once, my retard. >where to start? Start with day trip, then one-nighters, weekenders, 1 week and so on. See if you even like it. Any bike can do initially. Use a backpack for a day trip. Borrow panniers/gear. Buy used. If you've got money start small to see if you enjoy it. >Do you guys sleep outside? Yes, in a tent. Stealth camping is a thing, but ask permission if you can / be bothered. >Do you book hotels on the way? I do at least. For long 1+ week tours, a hotel is a great way to relax, visit an area, do laundry etc... I never book ahead, usually on the day, or at the place. >How long do these trips take? (I have a job so taking days off is suffering) Anywhere between a day, a week, months, maybe up to a year. Best time to do it is between jobs, and if you have a place to store your stuff and a means of covering your rent. >Any gear you'd recommend for a total newbie?Try it at first, you probably have everything you need. Bike, backpack, a pump, some puncture kit and don't forget sun-screen. When you get really into it, you can question if your bike is up to scratch and start researching bikes, panniers, navigation and so on. It's an iterative process. One thing I love is people converting old MTBs into touring rigs. But that's later.
>>1993579What's next Anon? Where will the wind blow you next?
>>1995861kek sun screen
>>1995861>>1995783don't forget insect repellant. icaridin-based. it's cheap.
>>1995861Thank you so much for all of these answers, I mean it.
>>1995861what counts as a day trip
>>1996203Literally getting on your bike and making a day of it. Today I did 100km, because I had a day off. It gets you used to riding a bike all day.
>>19962056hrs, 12hrs or 15hrs?
>>1996208a day trip dude. you get out soon in the morning, with an organized itinerary in mind or map with something to see, stops, snacks, lunch, and you get home by sunset.exactly as you would do with any other mean of transportation.
I live on a fucking half-island and I can only tour in one direction, shit fucking sucks, I know every single road. Might as well take a train somewhere far away and then bike home
>>1996449It's called a fucking peninsula
>>1996524maybe he lives on Hispañola
>>1996525kek now i'm thinking at all the hlaf islands-... cyprus? timor? ireland?
>>1996533new guinea. borneo is split between 3 countries
In some languages the word for peninsula literally translated back to half-island.
how do you maintain your drivetrain? you carry any degreaser or just oil the chain every now and then? teflon, ceramic, wax or just normal cheap oil?
>>1996991No degreaser but I carry a lil wd-40 for a variety of purposes and sometimes use it to degrease. teflon oil on the chain every 150km, a thick piece of cloth to clean it before, and remove excess oil after (I normally uses the same wet wipes I use to refresh myself, while retropedaling). a toothbrush or brush may be helpful, but It usually just spreads the dirt and grease. I think little stick to reach for caked grease in between cassete cogs or chainrings it's more useful.Trick for me is a lil bit of good, light oil for dry weather, but often, so you can weather the occasional shower and then reapply it. Never had to wash anything in months.
Preparing for my first bike tour. I've been reading that 60 percent of the weight should be on the back wheel and 40 percent on the front wheel. Is this a meme? Does having that much weight on the front wheel make handling annoying? What is the optimal pannier set up?
>>1998105having all the weight over the rear makes climbing out of the saddle extremely ungainly because the rear sways, and climbing any steep hill a fight for control as the front wheel will constantly want to lift off the ground. Also a major risk is damaging your rear rim with that much weight over it, this is a common failure for tourists anyway. That being said many people do tour rear weight only, and it's not totally nonviable. I've done it a few times with lighter loadouts and after my front rack has broken. Front panniers are a major aero penalty if you have a fast bike / like to ride at a higher pace. I don't think you necessarily need front panniers, but it is definitely worth at the very least, clamping some bottle cages on your fork (if steel) for a couple storage containers, strapping something on your bars, or running some frame bags, a minor front distrobution of weight is much better than nothing and sometimes even preferable to a complete classic touring setup like in your pic. tldr : it doesn't need to be 40:60 but it shouldn't be 0:100, even 10:90 is a huge improvement.
>>1996991degreasing is a meme even at home, the only way to do it effectively is removal and cycling in a solvent which is a major faff and chains aren't even that expensive. Running it through a rag, oil, run through a rag, when it gets loud, just like at home, that's enough, hell you don't even need to carry lube for the purpose you could pick some up or bum some on the road when/if your chain gets loud.
>>1998105>Does having that much weight on the front wheel make handling annoying?Depends on your bike setup. See short trail rando bikes. Eg, imagine a bike with a twitchy front end that becomes more normal when loaded.
>>1998109Always carry oil guys
>>1998105That looks like a Darren Alff setup, sad to hear that he quit bike touring. But as everyone said, don't place all your weight on the back. I had some "ultralight" gear, e.g.: tent, sleep system, clothes, that weighed relatively little. The front panniers had all my tools, food and cooking stuff. My handlebar panniers contained my valuables and electronics. As someone pointed out in a different thread, yeah the bike handled like a pig but I was surprised after a few kms that everything just "settled in", you get much fitter as well. As for wheels, I invested in a set of Ryde Sputniks with 36 double-butted spokes. It's as strong as they get for that size. I remember hitting severe potholes, curbs, rail lines, etc... these are tough AF. How long are you going for?
>>1998126Thanks for the advice.Was planning on going for around a month. Though was gonna go on short couple day trial runs to test out my setup. How much weigh should my whole set up be for that distance?
>>1998127>Though was gonna go on short couple day trial runs to test out my setup. Excellent strategy. >How much weigh should my whole set up be for that distance?It's a difficult question. But the rule of thumb (my rule) is where are you going? Cos if it's close to civilisation, then you: >Don't need so much food/water>Don't need to lug loads of spares/tools>Can get away with camping 70% of the time, rest, in hostels.>Can wash clothesI learned that every 7-10 days you need a good laundry change, bike maintenance, and every 3-5 days a food resupply. If you are close to towns, then this is very doable. So I can't give a specific number on weight.
>>1998127>How much weigh should my whole set up be for that distance?less than you initially think. a good yardstick is having the ability to lift your loaded bike over a fence.
>>1998131>I learned that every 7-10 days you need a good laundry changeyou're still washing smalls between then right? I wash socks and underwear every day or two. Handwashing a couple things is so easy, takes like 2 mins in a river or a handbasin of a public toilet with hand soap and they can just dry on your saddlebag. I never understood people who just do big machine washes and lug around a bunch of dirty clothes, or, wear dirty undies/socks. yuck
>>1998143Y-yes... ;_; I had 3-4 pairs of underwear, and 3-4 of socks. I would do my best to have fresh set each day, if not, every other day. The salt begins to really become problematic. I washed them pretty much wherever I could. I also wore sandals for cycling, that cut down on socks big time. As for t-shirts; 2x merino, 1x sports polyester, 1x long sleeve merino. These could get nasty as I wore sunscreen, sometimes bug-spray when camping, and they'd be covered in dust and sweat.
>>1998148that's pretty ideal imoespecially cos you can layer all those shirts in a pinch for warmth
>>1998131>learned that every 7-10 days you need a good laundry change, bike maintenance>bike maintenancewhat are you doing, cleaning and oiling the chain?
Getting panniers custom made that will fold up into a large backpack, so I can leave my bike I cities and take my bag (similar to pic). The tailor is asking what what custom stuff I want. What would your perfect pannier be? What should I request?
>>1999218mesh outer pockets for sweaty or rained-on clothes to dry out
>>1999218too big, just make one into messenger bag
3 days, 300km, over 2500m elevation gain and on a single speed
also classic Italian saddles are way better than brooks meme because of their sweep on the back that allows your crotch to move freely
>>1999329>>1999312>>1999314this is crazy even for /n/ and /btg/ standards.
>>1999338yeah I had to dry everything every day, it was easily the worst part of staying at that elevation
>>1999342what about going with a single speed on 15% inclines?
>>1999362no shame in walking a bit it's not like having gears will make you go faster at a place like this
>>1999342yeah rain ruins camping trips for this reasonnothing worse than having no option but to fold up your muddy damp tarp and throw it in ye bag
>>1999363well now thay you are admitting it.A) there is absolutely shameB) with adequate gears (55-60% ratio) you can climb those hills with ease and comfort>>1999364nta but that's not rain, that's just dew.
>>1999364also the dread of not finding a decent camping spot because of shitty euro zones having every cm of land used and owned by someone is just nightmare at times. The average long distance ride in europe goes like this: ride all day only stopping eat/drink to prevent bonking, see cool shit for 10 minutes, move on until It's 9pm, use last beams of light to desperately find a sleeping spot, sleep in a place where even animals won't because it's the most "hidden" spot you found.The place from pic related was perfect but then 2 hunting dogs came after 30 minutes and started barking at me, it was clearly someones land, good thing my bags were packed. I was so mad that I took a dump nearby and moved on until I crashed behind an abandoned house about 7km from that spot.
>>1999370I ride 2.3 (46:20), I feel like anything lower would be frustrating for a single speed. Gears are nice but everyone should try long distance single speed at least once, very unique experience also very smooth, not even well tuned geared bike can compare. When the drive train is clean and my rear cog lubed it's completely silent even when coasting.
>>1999377well 46/20 IS frustraring. I feel like spinning out many times with my 44/11 top gear.
>>1999378we have different riding styles mate
>>1999312you're officially a hard cunt.cool bar config
>>1999400thanks man, those bar ends were very useful prevented wrist cramps, also great for out of saddle climbing
>>1999401>out of saddle climbingdoesn't exist>>1999400the circlejerking of singlespeeders is just starting, join in guys!
>>1999404I've never had a single speed bike, but are you claiming that someone doing prolonged 15% climbs on a fully loaded bike on a single speed isn't a hard cunt?because if so, you're wrong.
>>1999404It don't mean having gears is bad. I like gears too but there is something about tuning in the perfect gear and sticking to it that is magical.this dude is inspiring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuxbjeJDMnA
>>1999404also the fuck you on about don't exist? you don't get out of saddle? on single speed it's a must to prevent knee strain
>>1999407sorry i'm esl, thought he was referring to the activity of getting down the bike to climb lol sorry again.
>>1999370>that's just dewmy comment was about how you cannot do what he did (i.e. dry things) if its raining and then everything is wet and you're fucked
>>1999312>wheel truing zip ties >top tube protector (do your bars even hit??)>vintage brake pads>no foot retention I'm thinking pretty based but man, full rear load (sway city) + having to mash out of the saddle up hills sounds pretty awful
>>1999123Cleaning the entire bike, drive train, getting rid as much crap as possible from the chain, tightening stuff, replacing worn parts if needed (pads, cables. bar tape). Just to make sure there are no surprises waiting for me.
>>1999458yeah it's not great but I try not to sprint and keep a steady pace, I balanced the bags almost perfectly. I tried putting stuff in front but I like the feel of normal road bike more. Deep rims can take a hit so weight distribution is not a problem also the bar ends force me to put my weight in front when climbing
Happy memorial day patriots
Anyone ever done a short tour of just mountains and climbing? Until I can find someone to tour with I feel like lowkey “touring routes” can be boring. Thinking of trying the Pyrenees with over 2k a climbing a day. Aware there is a rail route north of the mountains that can be used instead. Alternatively with the saved time I could always have a spare day where I do the Tourmalet without gear.
>>1999761Looks fun, and starting in San Sebastian / Basque region is awesome, but your knees will hate you after day 3. Totally doable tho.
>>1999749comfiest in thread
>>1999817Bless up, here's a pic from the ride for bacon
>>1995862I'll see. Scandinavia and Spain/Portugal are long overdue.>>1995746I record all my tracks with an app (used a Garmin before I upgraded to smartphone recording) and then upload them on openstreemaps. Google My Maps works too but it's far too limited for my purposes.>>1995782Let me drop a bunch.
>>2000155Lviv, the capital of Western Ukraine and the country's biggest and most accessible tourist destination. Didn't mean to go there but I'm a dumbass. Lost my fucking sleeping somewhere on the second day of the trip. Lviv was really the only option nearby where I could get a half-decent replacement. I briefly even considered turning back and abandoning the trip. Happy I didn't.
>>2000157Commie block somewhere on the National Road 17, connecting Lviv with Lutsk.
>>2000162Bare-bones sleep setup, Sabanivka.
>>2000164Early morning on the church road in Sabanivka.
>>2000165Czech hedgehogs dotting the roadside.
>>2000167Ukrainian bus stop art. Ukraine has a lot of bus stop kino.
>>2000168Lutsk city center.
>>2000169Ukraine is a terribly poor country but they do maintain their churches.
>>2000170Little shitter begging for food.
>>2000172Sunset in Lysche.
>>2000173A neighborhood in Rivne.
>>2000175Azov memorial.
>>2000176Night scene in Slavuta.
>>2000177Village scenery in Northern Khmelnytskyi. Shit can get very remote very quickly once you leave the main roads. No tarmac, no mobile internet reception anywhere in the area.
>>2000179Overnight freezing. I didn't get a lot of snow but early March is still decidedly winter in Ukraine.
>>2000181Reaching Kyiv Oblast on the M07/E373 "highway" connecting Kyiv with Warsaw. Very boring road but but it's in excellent condition. It also features a generous shoulder and the traffic is surprisingly tolerable. There's no major city besides Kyiv along the Ukrainian stretch of the highway. Easily the fastest and easiest way to cycle from Poland to Kyiv but it's mindnumbingly dull.
>>2000183Bombed out commie blocks in Borodyanka.
>>2000184Irpin, one of Kyiv's comparatively affluent Northern suburbs. The area was a scene of heavy fighting during the Battle of Kyiv in the early stage of the Russian offensive.
>>2000186Sleeping in field on the roadside along the N07 National road connecting Kyiv with Romny.
>>2000187Old Soviet slop. Temps hit -8°C at night in this region. That's cold but early March can be a lot colder than that.
>>2000189
>>2000190The N07 National Road was one of the roads used by Russian convois during Russia's initial advance towards Kyiv. They made it all the way to Brovary, an Eastern suburb of Kyiv.
>>2000191Reaching Sumy Oblast in the very early morning hours. Ukrainian troops patrolling the area with drones spotted me sleeping in a field at night. Woke up to a bunch of dudes aiming rifles at me. Not a very pleasant experience. Questioning, phone and pannier search etc in the terrible cold. They were cool with me once they realized I'm not a Russian spy but just a retard from Germany. There's a curfew at night in all of Ukraine besides Zakarpattia Oblast and it's strictly enforced.
>>2000194Somewhere near Hadyach. Horrible roads. The national colors of Ukraine, blue and yellow, can be seen everywhere.
>>2000197Sunrise in Opishnia. Close to Kharkiv Oblast, one of the "hot" oblasts. Parts of it are currently occupied by Russian forces. Most recently, Russia opened a new front in the region and conquered the Northern part of Vovchansk.
>>2000198T1702 road connecting Poltava with Kharkiv Oblast. Horrible even by Ukrainian standards.
>>2000199Kolontaiv, the first village I reached in Kharkiv Oblast. Taking pictures of anything is strictly prohibited in regions bordering Russia, and it's discouraged everywhere else. Village people called the police on me for being suspicious numerous times. In Kolontaiv a military dude flagged me down. I already told the story in a previous /btg/ so I won't do it again but tl;dr the local escorted me to the police station in nearby Krasnokutsk where I spent four or five hours. They eventually let me go but told me this would likely happen again on my way to Kharkiv (lots of military checkpoints) so I noped the fuck out and turned back towards Poltava.
>>2000203The highway connecting Kharkiv and Poltava. Heavy traffic but I was happy to have headwind and cycle on an actual road for once.
>>2000204Somewhere in Poltava. Spent the night in a hostel but didn't get any sleep because of my room mate. A snorefag and alcoholic.
>>2000205
>>2000206Classic steppe scenery.
>>2000207
>>2000208Bus stop painted in Petrykivka folk art style.
>>2000209Random wooden chapel in a residential area in Kamyanske, an industrial city on the Dnipro river.
>>2000211Waking up innawoods.
>>2000212
>>2000213Oleksandriia. A city entirely made of commie blocks.
>>2000214Motel cat. Shy, but curious! Her name is Byelka, which means "Little white one". Very appropriate.The motel was more like apartment sharing with the owners. Very friendly people. Food and accomodation ridiculously cheap. News about the war on TV 24/7.
>>2000216Road to Kryviy Rih.
>>2000217Spanning a length of almost 100 kilometers, Krivyi Rih is the longest city in Europe.
>>2000218Kryvih Rih is a large industrial city. It's not a tourist destination.
>>2000219
>>2000220Arriving in Mykolaiv Oblast, not far from the Southern front. Heavy traffic on the narrow highway to Mykolaiv, not pleasant at all.
>>2000221Sleeping at a bus stop somewhere in Northern Mykolaiv Oblast. Got into a drone attack at night. Russia kept sending waves of drones from Crimea until the early morning. I happened to be very close to Ukrainian military trying to shoot them down. Should have brought earplugs.https://files.catbox.moe/z9tqq1.mp4Small sound recording of the shooting.
>>2000222
>>2000223Rasputitsa, or mud season in Ukraine. This local road eventually turned impassable.
>>2000224Tires clogged with mud. Took a lot of time to get it all out. Had to turn back and take the R55 regional road.
>>2000225The R55 is in a pitiful condition as well though.
>>2000226Road connecting Hannivka, Voznesensk district with the M13 highway.
>>2000227Novoukrainka.
>>2000228Geographical center of Ukraine in Shpola.
>>2000229Winter comeback in Shpola. I spent two or three nights in a cheap hotel room to weather it out.
>>2000230Early morning innawoods in Zhazhkiv. Doesn't look very comfortable but I slept well enough.
>>2000231Roadside cafe on the Kyiv-Odessa highway. Lots of traffic but the road is wide enough to feel comfortable cycling there for a stretch.
>>2000232Tetiiv. First time in quite a while I got "European town" vibes again.
>>2000233Road between Tetiiv and Pohrebyshche. The road baits you with perfect tarmac but it ends at the oblast border.
>>2000234Beautiful hotel cat.
>>2000235Commie blocks in Turbiv.
>>2000236Vinnytsia.
>>2000237Rough cobblestone, a Ukrainian favorite among road surfaces.
>>2000238
>>2000239
>>2000241Yaremche, Carpathian mountains.
>>2000243
>>2000244Pedestrian bridge across the Teresva river.
>>2000245
>>2000246Ust-Chorna, or German Königsfeld. Originally an Austrian German colony in the Upper Teresva valley.
>>2000247The upper Teresva valley is very remote. The road across the Prislop Pass which connects it with the neighboring valley requires a 4WD, making it a dead-end for most cars. You can push your bicycle up the hill however.
>>2000248
>>2000249
>>2000250Mizhhirya
>>2000251And that's about it really. After leaving Ukraine I fucked around in the Slovak Carpathians for a while longer and then hit the Danube on the Hungarian border nearby Budapest, which I mostly followed until I was in Germany again.Enough blogposting for this year.
>>2000253what clothes do you wear? what clothes do you pack?
>>2000255Nothing special. The same stuff I wear in daily life mostly. Two pairs of underwear, two pairs of socks, some sort of running pants, two t-shirts, a pullover and/or light jacket in summer. For winter an additional pair of socks, thermal underwear, sweatpants and a thick fleece jacket. No rain clothes in summer.
>>2000253Why March? Why not wait for nicer weather and some greenery?
>>2000253That's a hardcore tour. Any particular lessons learned, shit to bring/not bring?
>>2000245no pic of that glorious statue?
>>2000256Did you worry about smelling bad when you stopped at cafes?What language did you use to communicate?
>>2000262>Why March? Why not wait for nicer weather and some greenery?I bike tour in the nicer months of the year too. I'm a NEET and have a lot of time to spare. The experience and challenges of off-season touring are quite different and worthwhile. I appreciate not having to deal with mosquitoes when sleeping in outside.March in Ukraine is dreadful objectively speaking but it fits the country quite well in my opinion.>>2000279>Any particular lessons learned, shit to bring/not bring?Bring enough suffering tolerance for the roads.Jokes aside, any lessons learned are directly related to cycling Ukraine. Don't sleep in open fields during war times, don't take pictures in border areas where people might see and call the cops on you. No new insight gained in terms of equipment. I tend to bring relatively little gear. I brought two spare tubes on this trip. Usually one is enough. In densily-populated Western Europe I don't bring any tools at all.Ukraine combines low bike store density with poor public transport infrastructure for bicycles. I didn't get any flats in the end but it's better to be safe than sorry in that region of the world. Last year I went to Ukraine's Black Sea, crossing all of Moldova along the way and had two flats. I think there are only three cities with actual bicycle stores in all of Moldova - Chisinau, Balti and Tiraspol. The store in Tiraspol didn't even have tubes with Presta valves. Saw a lot of cheap chink stuff for sale.
>>2000344Nope. How about this one?>>2000347>Did you worry about smelling bad when you stopped at cafes?Not at all. I'm a paying customer after all.>What language did you use to communicate?Mediocre Russian with a little Ukrainian vocabulary. I cycled to Naryan-Mar in Russia a few years back and learned Russian specifically for that trip. Highly recommend doing that if you're going to Russia. I also know some Czech, which also helped. Picked it up while living in a German-Czech border town for a few years. There's a surprising amount of vocabulary overlap with Ukrainian.Russian is widely understood in Ukraine but contrary to popular belief not everybody speaks it. Most people would respond in Ukrainian to me, garnished with some Russian words when I struggled to understand them. I met a whopping three people on the entire trip who were able to speak a modicum of English. Two of them were staff at a 4* hotel in Kyiv. 20 Euros a night including buffet style breakfast, pretty epic.Russian is still commonly spoken in Odesa, Budjak and far Eastern Ukraine. But even cities as far East as Poltava are almost exclusively Ukrainian-speaking these days. Historically the industrial centers of Central and Southern Ukraine (Dnipro, Kamyanske, Kryvih Rih, Zaporizhia etc.) had a Russian-speaking majority but the Russian language is losing ground fast, for obvious reasons. Kryvih Rih was about equally split between Ukrainian and Russian I'd say.
>>2000400lol
Dude riding 20 000 kilometers from Montenegro to China, expects to be in China in 3 or 4 months from today. He adds subtitles to his videos usually, super interesting stuff. Here's the channelhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5VPSyLBxeU
>>2000966Buy an ad I don't give a fuck, everyone and his mother does this. only transcontinental tourer I approve is a dead one (literally iohan georghiev). Also have you seen the unconventional chads we got around here you think I need to see some montenigger videos without subtitles?
>>2000967I admit I'm new to.this board. Feel free to recommend me channels that are doing these 20k+ tours, I'm addicted.
is this aero? does it even matter? i'm so hot and burnt up guys.
>>2000975Dude I might have spelled him wrong but I just gave you one iohan gueorguiev
>>2000978it's not "aero" but you can position it on your head so that the wind is flowing around it and over the brim, yeah. but you still need the rope necklace thing cinched pretty tight under your chin or it'll fly off.don't buy one without the rope and the push button clamp thing.
>>2000983So wear the big Goofy hat? No other suggestions?
>>2000978Nothing matters if you're burning, that is priority 1. Big ass hat works fine if you're riding slowly. Imo something like this is a better comboa cap (you could get a techy one with thin mesh over your scalp), an actual cycling cap (kinda tiny), i just use a thrift store one.plus a super thin shawl/shemagh/scarf/hijab, which has numerous other uses.You can also wear a helmet on top.
>>2000978There's also these, but they're pretty goofy.
