Adventure Biking tips,

[Ocean]

Hi guys, 

During September I am planning on getting myself a Royal Enfield Himalayan and doing a trip around europe. I am a complete newbie to adventure biking so I am hoping to get some tips. Any tips you guys have I would appreciate. I do however have a lot of camping and mountaineering experience if that helps to translate across to long trips.

 

Primarily just wondering what distances should I be looking at for each day. I can comfortably ride from Oxford to Sheffield but I am just wondering from your experience what is the best distance to go through with.

 

Plus as a climber I do love a good bit of kit so if you have any equipment tips then that would be great.

[Yorky]

 In my opinion a comfortable distance is 200 / 250 miles a day. Yes, more is easily do-able, and I've done it, but it takes away from the enjoyment. Lots of coffee stops / lunch etc. and reach your nights destination late afternoon.

[Gerontious]

Depends on where you're going and how much time you have. My usual strategy is to get to the best bits as quickly as possible. though having said that last year we did the exact opposite and heading first for the Somme - we used ordinary roads - no motorways from the tunnel  and basically wandered south east to our eventual first stop at a place called Sezanne. This then put us within easy reach for day two of the French Alps We were doing perhaps 200 miles per day give or take and camping so there was no need for pre-booking or having to stop early to find a room. just a matter of - when the time was right, looking for the nearest campsite and rolling up. So that meant the days could be fairly long and completely stress free. Better fuel milage as we didn't use motorways. no tolls to pay. easy. Once you get south of Paris.. or its line of latitude the landscape gets a lot more interesting. though I was not disappointed by the route we took from the Tunnel on day one. And our first campsite was only €7 and walking distance from the town centre for a meal.

Edited April 19, 2024 by Gerontious

[bonio]

You've got to decide why you're doing the trip - what's your main goal? Are there any other things you want to achieve? It might sound daft, but, ask yourself too why are you going by bike. 

For example, when I'm doing a bike trip on the bike, my only aim is to ride fun roads. So I steer clear of cities, big towns, and head for hills. I don't really care where I end up, as long as the tarmac is good. 200 miles is day is more than enough of that kind of riding. Others might want to go and see the Colisseum and visit the Uffizi and are happy to sit on motorways to do so; depending on your bike, 350 miles a day isn't that ambitious for that kind of riding. And then others are after a chilled time away from civilization; perhaps 50 or 100 miles a day is plenty for them. And then there are a few who want to travel as far as they can in the time available; who knows what they will cover in a day.

Anyway, there are some numbers: pick your profile and you'll have a guideline to help you start planning.  

[curlylegend]

Get a decent Sat Nav !

[Throttled]

Airhawk, to make the ride more comfortable. Also consider Grip Puppies or heated grips, depending on the time of year you will be touring.

[bonio]

One thing you'll need is a way to keep your stuff waterproof.

And also a tail bag, a tank bag or a handlebar bag so you can quickly get to things you need during the day: suncream, water, whatever.

[curlylegend]

On 19/04/2024 at 19:02, Ocean said:

I am a complete newbie to adventure biking so I am hoping to get some tips.

If you really want an adventure ride why don't you sneak up and steal one of those back patch type guy's bike and make off with it at high speed and see how far you get ?

Now that would be a real adventure !

If you survived you could enthral your grandchildren. Let's face it, they won't be in the least bit interested hearing about traffic jams on the way to the Channel Tunnel, the price of petrol, and how cheaply you got a dish of wiener schnitzel in Dusseldorf.

[Ocean]

Thanks for all the tips guys, and @curlylegendalthough that would definitely be an adventure, I wouldn't want to get jumped by a bunch of angry bearded Harley riders haha.

 

Has anyone ever used a buffalo shirt for riding? its a pile jacket that even when it gets wet will still insulate you. I know the military guys use it a lot and winter hikers. I am just thinking that this might simplify layering and stuff.

[curlylegend]

31 minutes ago, Ocean said:

Has anyone ever used a buffalo shirt for riding? its a pile jacket that even when it gets wet will still insulate you. I know the military guys use it a lot and winter hikers. I am just thinking that this might simplify layering and stuff.

Up till recently I used a Buffalo shirt for cycling and had done for nearly twenty five years.  Definitely can vouch for them for keeping you warm. I used to wear mine with just a thin technical T shirt underneath. I know the advice is to just wear it next to your skin, but I was thinking of my modesty if I had to make a cafe stop or something. 

But for moto use ?  I don't know. You do realise there would be absolutely no crash protection whatsoever !

Or are you thinking of wearing it under a Moto jacket ?  God's testicles ! you'd sweat like a rapist !

[Simon Davey]

This has some useful tips, but like anything on YT, use the information wisely, and to your advantage, don't take it as "gospel".

 

https://www.ridespain.co.uk/touringtips

[Ocean]

On 22/04/2024 at 22:01, curlylegend said:

Up till recently I used a Buffalo shirt for cycling and had done for nearly twenty five years.  Definitely can vouch for them for keeping you warm. I used to wear mine with just a thin technical T shirt underneath. I know the advice is to just wear it next to your skin, but I was thinking of my modesty if I had to make a cafe stop or something. 

But for moto use ?  I don't know. You do realise there would be absolutely no crash protection whatsoever !

Or are you thinking of wearing it under a Moto jacket ?  God's testicles ! you'd sweat like a rapist !

Yeah I am thinking of wearing it under my moto jacket. My jacket has no warm lining or anything like that. I currently wear a merino long sleeve top and then a merino rollneck over that under my moto jacket. I was just thinking if it gets wet a buffalo might come in handy. But yes I will probably sweat more than a pedo outside a primary school. I will keep that in mind haha.

[Pie man]

Not a bad old site, hardly been updated, but does have some good reading

 

Adventure Motorcycle Guides - Mad or Nomad

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 24, 2024 by Pie man

[curlylegend]

5 hours ago, Ocean said:

Yeah I am thinking of wearing it under my moto jacket. My jacket has no warm lining or anything like that. I currently wear a merino long sleeve top and then a merino rollneck over that under my moto jacket. I was just thinking if it gets wet a buffalo might come in handy. But yes I will probably sweat more than a pedo outside a primary school. I will keep that in mind haha.

Give it a try ! Let us know how you get on.