Hey Jules, this post was super lovely to read as I resonate with this deeply. Before taking on cross country cycle touring I was just a girl riding around my bicycle in the city of Melbourne, Australia. To challenge myself to be more trusting of myself & resilient, I rode the length of NZ & vietnam. I watched some videos to familiarise myself with some parts of the bike & I would have to say walking in with some prior knowledge helps.
But it was spending a lot of time on my bike, on sorts of terrain & weather, day after day that I began to really get to know my bike. I heard certain sounds, felt what was beneath my feet and understood when something felt off or loose. I don’t consider myself a cyclist either but just a girl who likes to see real places the slow way. So thank for sharing, it’s heartening read admist a culture or racing & gear obsessed bros.
Currently back in Melbourne saving money for my Asia to Europe cycle tour. So maybe we’ll cross paths !
I love this post so much - I've been racing in triathlons for nearly 20 years now, and anything more than pumping air in my tyres or putting oil on my chain is beyond me shamefully, and I probably make a mess of the oil as well - bike maintenance course has been on my to-do list all that time and remains there, for now... we all need a Bernardo :-)
I love this post so much - I've been racing in triathlons for nearly 20 years now, and anything more than pumping air in my tyres or putting oil on my chain is beyond me shamefully, and I probably make a mess of the oil as well - bike maintenance course has been on my to-do list all that time and remains there, for now... we all need a Bernardo :-)
As long as you have enough knowledge to fix a flat and are able to get to the closest city in case something more serious would go wrong, you should be fine🤞
I have never traveled by bike in the same way you do (for multiple days, with gear) but have explored everything in reachable distance around my city (in radius of 20-25km). Most of the time I don't have anything with me besides my phone, a bit of cash and a bottle of water. The most I have ever rode in a span of one day was around 85 km.
The most "sideways" adventure I have had was a leaky tire around 20 km from home.
I rode to the lake, left my bike near the tree and went swimming. Came back in 20 min and found out there's barely any pressure in my back wheel. The lake is not that popular and is in the forest, few km away from paved road. There was one group of people with a car besides me. I've asked do they have an air compressor - no luck. As I didn't have any better idea, I decided to walk my way back home. Path from the lake to the road was definitely in top five of the most mosquito saturated places I have ever walked through. I was switching between walking while brushing them off with leafy stick and just running away from the cloud of mosquitoes.
In few more km I got to another, more touristy lake and found an air compressor. Have pumped the tire to 2.5 bar and was able to cycle the next 10 km with slowly deflating tire.
Thought I still don't know what have caused it. The tube had a tiny hole on the inner side of the wheel..
Your trip from Singapore with Bernardo Bacalhau was inspiring.
It made me start cycling again. I have made myself a promise that one day I'll do something of that kind. It may not be cross-country, it may be cross-states or something. Thank you for that. I’m looking forward to the continuation of trip as much as you do.
Hey Jules, this post was super lovely to read as I resonate with this deeply. Before taking on cross country cycle touring I was just a girl riding around my bicycle in the city of Melbourne, Australia. To challenge myself to be more trusting of myself & resilient, I rode the length of NZ & vietnam. I watched some videos to familiarise myself with some parts of the bike & I would have to say walking in with some prior knowledge helps.
But it was spending a lot of time on my bike, on sorts of terrain & weather, day after day that I began to really get to know my bike. I heard certain sounds, felt what was beneath my feet and understood when something felt off or loose. I don’t consider myself a cyclist either but just a girl who likes to see real places the slow way. So thank for sharing, it’s heartening read admist a culture or racing & gear obsessed bros.
Currently back in Melbourne saving money for my Asia to Europe cycle tour. So maybe we’ll cross paths !
Yes, your daddy is proud! Not only about your technicus skills! Xx
I love this post so much - I've been racing in triathlons for nearly 20 years now, and anything more than pumping air in my tyres or putting oil on my chain is beyond me shamefully, and I probably make a mess of the oil as well - bike maintenance course has been on my to-do list all that time and remains there, for now... we all need a Bernardo :-)
I love this post so much - I've been racing in triathlons for nearly 20 years now, and anything more than pumping air in my tyres or putting oil on my chain is beyond me shamefully, and I probably make a mess of the oil as well - bike maintenance course has been on my to-do list all that time and remains there, for now... we all need a Bernardo :-)
It will be soo good....if you can upload your little travel clips on YouTube...we will love to see that...
Best wishes❤️
As long as you have enough knowledge to fix a flat and are able to get to the closest city in case something more serious would go wrong, you should be fine🤞
I have never traveled by bike in the same way you do (for multiple days, with gear) but have explored everything in reachable distance around my city (in radius of 20-25km). Most of the time I don't have anything with me besides my phone, a bit of cash and a bottle of water. The most I have ever rode in a span of one day was around 85 km.
The most "sideways" adventure I have had was a leaky tire around 20 km from home.
I rode to the lake, left my bike near the tree and went swimming. Came back in 20 min and found out there's barely any pressure in my back wheel. The lake is not that popular and is in the forest, few km away from paved road. There was one group of people with a car besides me. I've asked do they have an air compressor - no luck. As I didn't have any better idea, I decided to walk my way back home. Path from the lake to the road was definitely in top five of the most mosquito saturated places I have ever walked through. I was switching between walking while brushing them off with leafy stick and just running away from the cloud of mosquitoes.
In few more km I got to another, more touristy lake and found an air compressor. Have pumped the tire to 2.5 bar and was able to cycle the next 10 km with slowly deflating tire.
Thought I still don't know what have caused it. The tube had a tiny hole on the inner side of the wheel..
Hey Jule Noah ,
Your trip from Singapore with Bernardo Bacalhau was inspiring.
It made me start cycling again. I have made myself a promise that one day I'll do something of that kind. It may not be cross-country, it may be cross-states or something. Thank you for that. I’m looking forward to the continuation of trip as much as you do.
Nice post! Check out my similar one I posted yesterday about a year in the saddle.
Best of luck for your travel✨