So you’re going on a bike tour! Whether you’re setting out on a 1-2 night bike overnight or planning a months-long epic tour, the first step is to figure out your route. Here are a few considerations to help you out: 

Budget/Time constraints 

Depending on where you are starting your ride and how much money or time you have to ride, you can narrow down routes that fit your budget and timeline. Don’t forget to factor in how you’re getting to the start of your tour and how you’ll get back home — and don’t forget your bike! 

An easy way to budget for your trip — if we’re talking a self-supported cycling tour on a traditional touring bike — is to use the 50/50 rule. Plan to ride 50 miles/80km a day and spend at least $50 a day. Even if you plan on riding way more than 50 miles and spending way less than $50 each day, it never hurts to bank in some extra time and money, so if you end up somewhere amazing or get caught in a storm, you can hang out for a day or two. 

If you’re thinking of touring mostly on gravel or dirt, plan for closer to 30 miles/50km. Again, not words to live by, but just an easy way to figure out roughly how many days you’ll be on tour. 

Have you recently published a cycle touring book that you would like to share with the community? We'd love to hear about it! 

Books must be authored by a registered Warmshowers user and published within the past 6 months.

We Want to Hear Your Story!

Do you have a unique story to tell about your touring or hosting experiences? A wild story about something crazy that happened to you on tour? Want to share your knowledge of touring with kids or pets? Has touring and hosting opened up your life, changed your outlook, or even helped you overcome challenges?

Apply to be a guest on Bike Life. We want to hear your story!

Check out our latest episodes. You can find Bike Life on all of your favorite listening apps or watch on our YouTube channel.

Thank you to our partner BikeFlights for sponsoring the Bike Life Podcast!

Looking for a reason to quit your job and go on an around-the-world bike tour with your best friend on a tandem bike? Look no further!

Sylvie and Nicolas spell it all out for you in this month's Story From the Road.

A New Life-Touring the World Tandem
By: Cycling A Dream, Sylvie & Nicolas

On May 9th, 2022, we left for what we would like to become our World Tour on our tandem bike. But we started planning for it many years ago. In fact, the serious planning process started in January 2018 after an extremely cold Holiday Season spent in Quebec, Canada, with family and friends.

The Summer before that holiday break, Sylvie and I had spent another 2-week holiday cycling on our tandem and had to go back home completely frustrated for not being able to cycle for longer periods due to our professional careers. But during that holiday break, because it was so cold outside, I spent almost all my days searching the web, and I discovered the existence of Warmshowers. A revelation that was!!

I extended my search, visited different profiles, and discovered many different stories, which appeared very appealing and, more importantly, completely feasible. I got in touch with different people to inquire about how they were able to make their dream become a reality, and I started developing plans to build my own story. It has been a long and very painful process. One does not leave a 32-year professional career built upon sacrifices and compromises to go from a full sedentary, well-established life one day to an unknown, day-by-day nomad lifestyle. But all that was tempting. And Warmshowers played quite an important role in our decision as we knew that wherever we would be around the world, there would be a host somewhere, ready to help and support us in our adventure.

Then it was decided that my wife and I would become: CyclingADream

Forums: Looking for a friend to tour with or route planning advice for your next trip? Be sure to check the Warmshowers Forum! 

Facebook: Please join us in our private Facebook Group. Quick reminder: we only post user related stories about touring and hosting. All technical questions, host requests, items for sale, etc. should be added to the forum section of our website and will not be posted in the Facebook group.

Instagram: Follow us on Instagram at Warmshowers_org and tag us. Each photo that we repost will include a shout out, AND we will follow you back! 

YouTube: Subscribe to our Warmshowers.org YouTube channel for videos of the latest Bike Life episodes.

Stories from the Road and Host's Corner: We want to hear your story! Please submit a 500-1500 word overview, in English, including up to five photos HERE. We love sharing the stories of our users across the globe!

Bike Life Podcast: Interested in being a guest on our top rated Bike Life Podcast? We'd love to share your story. Click HERE to complete the submission form.

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