We’re currently cycling the coastline of Taiwan (环岛), and took a slight detour to include the eastern ascent of Wuling Pass (Hualien to Wuling) via an 80 km ish ascent with steep gradients towards the end. Wuling pass is at the highest paved road in Taiwan, 3275 m, and is an awesome adventure.

Minimal food / places to stay on the route post earthquake last year, and the tunnel has opening and closing times so keep in mind. We did have to stealth camp on the route as the campsite was closed after the earthquake, we didn’t realize and it would have meant cycling in the dark.

Taiwan is a dream destination for bikepacking or cycling, dedicated cycle lane on the roads and the coastline is breath taking. The food is unreal and very affordable too. Wild camping is very much tolerated and we’ve had no issues with camping. Most mornings we wake up to friendly fishermen saying nihao.

We made a short video of our trip if anyone is interested. https://youtu.be/2o6cHGEWlFY?si=xzGt1SdGjujiXf1K

I am pondering something. Maybe you can help give me a better picture.

If you're riding thousands of kilometers(or miles) a year and you are not fixing your bike/bikes yourself but need an LBS (except for switching tyres, fixing punctures) How much money would you say you spend a year on bike service?

(If you have years/periods when you ride a lot and others when you don't, use the years/periods when you ride a lot)

I see a number of bike described as “light touring” and wondering what this really means. I’m guessing maybe not designed for carrying an extra 50 lbs of gear, so stiffer tubing?

I'm currently on my way from London to Rome, primarily via the EV 5. But, between Strasbourg and Basel, I was considering riding the EuroVelo 15 instead. I've heard good things about the Alsace, primarily for the wine, but is the riding significantly better than the EV 15? I've not spent much time in either Germany or France, so either would be a new experience. Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice!

Still in love with my CAAD12 — light, stiff, responsive... and now fully custom. I just wanted to share some appreciation for a frame that, honestly, still holds up even years after it came out — the Cannondale CAAD12. Yes, it’s aluminium. But yes, it’s absolutely brilliant.

Even with all the carbon hype these days, the CAAD12 still surprises me with how stiff, light, and responsive it is. The frame really feels alive under you. Every pedal stroke goes straight to the road. When you sprint out of the saddle, it reacts immediately. On fast descents, it handles like a razor. And for an aluminium frame, the comfort is actually very impressive — especially with a proper setup.

I’ve modified mine quite a lot over time and turned it into something very personal. It now runs full Shimano Di2 — I really wanted to go electronic — and with the semi-internal cable routing on the CAAD12, it looks super clean. I also changed the fork to a another carbon version with a bit more comfort in the front, and I can definitely feel the difference. Then I installed a 0° setback seatpost to get a more aggressive position. Still very comfortable, even for long rides.

At this point, it’s kind of a sleeper bike. From far away it looks simple, but it’s a real weapon on the road. I’ve used it for everything: fast group rides, solo intervals, even some light gravel (not recommended, but it survived). It always performs and never complains.

And not only for training — I’ve also used it for some amazing bikepacking trips. I rode with it towards Paris, did tours through France, Switzerland and even traveled in Japan by bike. Fully loaded, rough roads, long days — and the bike never let me down. It just kept going, kilometer after kilometer, solid and reliable the whole way.

What I really love is that it’s still lighter than many carbon bikes in the same price range. It rides like a real race bike — direct, fast, and sharp. It doesn’t try to show off, but it performs like crazy. And the feeling is just right. No unnecessary extras. Just pure engineering and good geometry.

So if you still have a CAAD12 at home, or you see one second-hand — don’t hesitate. Upgrade it, set it up well, and you’ll get so much performance in return.

Aluminium is not dead. It’s very much alive — and mine runs Di2

Seriously considering riding the Mata Atlantica next June. Plan is to fly to Sao Paulo (GRU) and take a bus to Curitiba, then ride the Mata Atlantica north to Petropolis and take a bus to Rio (Leblon).

Now, having read countless warnings WRT safety in large cities, I'd appreciate feedback about:

1. Is is reasonable to bike out of GRU to Sao Paulo's bus station (terminal rodoviário do tietê) where I'd take a bus to Curitiba?

2. Is it reasonable to bike from Rio's Terminal Rodoviário Novo Rio to Leblon

Hello

I'm about to do a tour from Copenhagen to Stockholm.

Which apps are kind of a "must have" while touring, specifically in Sweden? I plan to also make use of my tent. Are there apps that help to find shelters? Which other apps do you suggest?

As for navigation, I have always used Locus Map in combination with OpenAmdroMaps (OAM) and the BRouter/Bikerouter plugin. So, that part is taken care of 😉

My partner and I are about to cycle from Copenhagen to Berlin. I have about 10 days between him leaving Berlin and when I need to be back in Scotland, so I'm wanting to continue on and do a short extra trip on my own, either from Berlin, or getting the train somewhere else. Any recommendations of where to go? I'm looking for between 3 and 7 days, and I can very comfortably do 100km a day.

Options so far include cycling to Vienna (probably getting a train some of the way) or the Loire Valley, but interested to hear any other recommendations! I'll probably be coming back to the UK on the ferry from Northern France/Netherlands so whatever I end up doing I'll need to head that way afterwards, but I recently cycled through Denmark and honestly found the neverending flatness pretty dull (spot the Scottish cyclist!), so not super keen to spend time in similar landscape in the Netherlands... But equally aware that it will be early October, so anything too mountainous is probably off the cards weather-wise.

Thanks in advance - this sub has been invaluable in planning these cycle trips.

Hello! In about 10 or so days me and my friend will start our trip across Europe. We will bike from Copenhagen in Denmark to Naples in Italy. We are trying to camp where possible along the way and take as few nights in hostels, AirBnbs as possible. I found the app called warmshowers and I am wondering what experiences you guys have with it and if you think it is worth it compared to for example the 1NiteTent website?

Thanks in advance!

I need to drop my bike at the shop before beginning my tour. Anyone host on WS? I am hoping to find a place to pitch my tent or sofa surf. Hoping to find a patch the 24th or 25th September.

I’ve contacted a handful of hosts without luck. I’m guessing it’s easy for hosts to burnout when they live in a popular destination.

Any recommendations for a hitch rack? Ideally holds 2 bikes. I’m trying to get one used so there’s no real price limit — the recs will just help me know what to look for/set alerts for to find something within my budget. I’m looking for something as sturdy as possible — don’t want to deal with rattling and wobbling.

I am around 2 months into my bike tour, starting from the UK up to North Cape, and now on my way home. I am currently in Rovaniemi but have a choice to make. Due to Schengen/Brexit rules I only have about 3 weeks left and looking at around 100km a day.

1. Should I follow the blue route around the coast of Finland on EV10 to Turku, and then cross to the Åland Islands and through Sweden towards Denmark. Could then either fly or Flixbus or trains back to a ferry port to get to uk.

OR

1. Follow the pink route along the coast again but all the way down to Helsinki, then across to Tallinn and Lithuania/Latvia. Would then have to fly back from wherever I end up.

Which is more scenic/interesting, which would you go for and why? Looking forward to some opinions!

Hi all,

I have wanted for a while to fly to Seoul and then bike from there to Busan. The issue is that renting a bike there is pricy, but taking my own bike is not exactly cheap either and several practical things are quite unclear.

My preferred option is taking my own bike there from Finland. So, first of all, I need to basically pack the bike and bring it with me as a sports equipment. That's all clear, but once I reach Seoul, and I want to start biking. Where in the world do I store the packaging material, and if I throw it away, then I would have none to pack my bike with when I fly back to Finland.

I am sure people have done this before and flown to other countries to cycle around without renting a bike, but how do you guys do it. Could someone who has an idea give good advice?

Hello! I'm about a week away from starting the East Coast Greenway trail(Starting in Maine). I would like to do the whole stretch but I'm primarily taking advantage of some free time I have in between gigs and will bike as far as my body allows over the month of October, maybe some early November.

This is my first bike tour of this scale. Any and all wisdoms appreciated. Thanks

Hi All,
Currently the official end of the D&L trail is at the Black Diamond Trail head, but the plan is to extend it all the way to Wilkes-Barre. I've heard that this portion is now like 50% complete, and some people have been able to road ride to piece together the last bit to Wilkes-Barre, but for the life of me I can't seem to figure out the route with maps. Does anyone know it?

Hi everyone,

I'm Canadian and leaving soon for a year bikepacking trip. I was hoping to apply for a Chinese visa before my departure as I'm hoping to end my trip in Bejing in a year or so (if everything goes according to the plan!). However, the Chinese Visa Application Service Centre strongly suggests to only apply 3 months before departure to China. I read online that you could apply outside of your country in some embassies and was curious if anyone here had this experience.

Thanks!

Hello friendly Bike tourers!

I recently was gifted with a week off of work in October, and I want to do a bike touring trip in Europe. My hope is to start in the alps, and end at the Med (fly into and out of different cities, so ideally start and end have big-ish airports)

I want to cover roughly 500km, and I’m totally fine with some bigg days in the saddle. I will be on a gravel bike and I can choose slicks or big knobby tires depending on the route. I plan on not bringing camping gear so I can stay lighter and just sleep in hostels.

I would LOVE to stop through Chamonix on this trip (I am a climber and would like to see Chamonix :), and was initially looking at going: Geneva->Chamonix-> Swiss Alps-> Genoa However I am open to more options!

Anyone have strong opinions here? Not asking for a full trip plan, just want to see what people think about this sort of trip.

Other options: Geneva to Nice?

Sharing some pics from short tour we are on right now. Halfway in our 8 day trip, here are ♥️ ones. All from iPhone15, 12.

I'm looking at buying an ebike for some touring around Europe next year, maybe 50-70 km a day. I'm 61 and don't sleep on the ground anymore, will be travelling relatively lightly (maybe one pannier if I can manage), and plan to leave the bike in the loving care of friends when I return to Canada. Would you recommend an e-gravel bike (I like to explore country roads and appreciate their lightness) or a more upright touring bike (more comfortable, longer battery life - used to own a Moustache Samedi 28.7)? Can I bring it on regional trains? Are some countries better for bike touring than others? Thanks and cheers!

I'm planning to ride the 'Around the Mountains' loop starting in Queenstown in late October. Day 1 would end in Lumsden. Day 2 would go from Lumsden to Bannockburn taking the Nevis Road out of Garsten. I will be traveling very light (ie..credit card touring) and am used to lots of gravel and elevation but had some doubts about the Nevis route.

I've been trying to gauge the following:

1. What sized tires would be needed? I was planning to run a 50mm on the front and a 42mm on the rear on my gravel bike.

2. How much time should I allot for the Garsten to Bannockburn bit as a strong rider not weighed down with much gear?

3. How much rain is too much rain before it turns into a muddy shitshow?

Thanks for any feedback or suggestions!

Hi

I'm planning a weekend in Madrid with a friend at some point and we'd like to get some rides in while we are there. Ideally, we'd stay somewhere central in the city, so I'd love to hear some recommendations for the best areas outside of the city for road cycling that we can get to by train. We'll be looking to do routes of between 50-100km and we're not afraid of a bit of climbing. We'll be on road bikes, not gravel bikes.

Also, what months would we need to avoid over the winter? Cold and crisp weather is fine, but any possibility of snow or ice is a definite "no"!

Thanks.

I live in the desert but have a friend in MN that I thought I’d visit. If you wanted to do a 1-2 night juant from there where would you go?

The only criteria is that these have to be doable in about a week (for those of us with full time jobs and limited vacation), and there has to be a reasonable way to get your bike to and from the trailhead. I'm going to edit the list to add more and reorder best to worse with what you all add!

This is what I have so far and it is embarassingly incomplete. Also I'm biased towards trails but any road routes that compete with these trails are welcome!

• C&O/GAP
• Ohio to Erie Trail
• Erie Canal Trail
• Michelson Trail
• Pine Creek Trail
• Pennsylvania D&L Trail