Touring Tips

Touring Information

Travel Guides

The Lonely Planet Guides have been consistently been my most useful information source when planning bicycle tours. They think like and write for backpackers, this approach works very well for bicycle tourists. Unfortunately they like all travel guides are far from perfect so I also usually buy the accompanying Rough Guide. I use the Rough city maps to get oriented before I buy a detailed map in the city.

Some of the books I've used are:

1. Lonely Planet Croatia (Croatia, 2nd Ed) and The Rough Guide to Croatia
2. Lonely Planet Corsica (Corsica, 2nd Ed) and The Rough Guide to Corsica
3. Frommer'sŪ Nova Scotia, New Brunswick &...This is not a very satisfactory choice but it is the best I've found for Newfoundland and Labrador. However, at Cycling Site for Atlantic Canada you will find a wealth of planning information for Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. This is the source for Atlantic Canada Cycling Information.
4. Lonely Planet Sardinia (Travel Guides) and The Rough Guide to Sardinia

Maps

Your maps and your bike are what make a tour successful. Good maps, well read are important because unless you are a very strong rider and have plenty of time, you don't usually have much margin for error on a bike. The one thing that turns a great ride sour is time pressure, using you maps well will keep you out of that abyss.

The absolutely best place to find maps with the scale you need for biking is Sanfords in London. My favorite maps are the Freytag and Berndt series. They include locations of campgrounds and just seem to be right more than others. They have a 100,000 to 1 for almost any unusual place in the world except the US. (200,000 to 1 maps will also work if 100,000 to 1 aren't available) Sanfords also have a great selection of hard to find travel guides

In New England, the best available maps are the Delorme Series:

• Maine Atlas and Gazetteer
• New Hampshire Atlas and Gazetteer
• Massachusetts Atlas & Gazetteer
• Vermont Atlas & Gazetteer
• Connecticut/Rhode Island Atlas

Travel Arrangements

Look on Orbitz or Expedia, but then go directly to the Home Site for the carrier that flies the route you want. You can usually at least save Orbitz's or Expedia's fee. Sometimes you can save much more. I had a major saving on my trip to Croatia, Expedia and Orbitz listed the flight at $1400 but it was $500 direct from Swiss Air.

This tip also works with hotels, call them direct and negotiate. Hotels often have lower rates for Domestic customers, but you can often get these lower rates on the phone, especially at smaller, non-chain hotels.

.... have a great ride.