Basics of Bicycle Touring

CIBA members Ed Pope (your friendly webmaster) & Mike Crouch will repeat last year's class on bicycle touring. There is no charge, and the class will be held in the Nature Center at Holliday Park, which is located on the north side of Indianapolis (6363 Spring Mill Road). It is aimed at those who are interested in self-supported (you carry your gear on the bike) touring. Five participants from the 2003 class later went on CIBA camping rides that year.

The only prerequisite is that you must be able to ride a bicycle. Everything else will be covered in the class. If you don’t presently have a bicycle, we will point out what to look for in a touring bicycle. If you already have a bicycle that wasn’t designed for touring, we will show you how to adapt it for bicycle camping.

For those of you that have never camped, all the basics will be covered. There will be a couple tents that we will set up during the class. The basic tent types will be discussed, along with the pluses and minuses of each type. Other camping items such as sleeping bags, rain gear, thermarest pads, along with small stuff like flashlights and bug repellant will also be covered. How do you pack all this camping gear on your bicycle? We will take a look at the options of panniers or trailers, and show examples of each. Mike & Ed have been on many camping rides, and they will share their tips on using each (Mike uses a trailer, and Ed uses panniers). A sample checklist of things to take on a bicycle camping trip will be distributed, along with other class notes.

Where should you go on a bicycle tour? There are lots of options. Indiana has some very nice state parks such as Turkey Run, Brown County, McCormick’s Creek, and Spring Mill. Local destinations & routes will be discussed, and county road numbering will be explained. Naturally, the upcoming camping rides of the Central Indiana Bicycling Association (CIBA) will be mentioned as well. They are a great way for beginners to get started bicycle touring without having to plan there own routes, plus learn from experienced bike campers. CIBA camping rides are held about once a month during from April-October, and they are free to anyone, including non-members.

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