Reasons to go Cycle Touring...

Arriving through my letterbox this week was one of the many cycling magazines that I subscribe to...
One of the sub headlines on the front cover listing some of the features in this month's issue was something that caught my eye.... '20 reasons to go cycle touring this weekend!' 

What a bit of luck I thought because that's just what I'd planned to do anyway...a weekend out on the tourer mixed with a couple of nights in my tent....
Now I must admit that I don't need twenty reasons to go cycle touring in fact I don't even need ten...one is enough for me and that's  because it's fun!! 

I think that I was about twelve years old when I set off on my first cycle touring trip and in those early days I used to spend the nights at Youth Hostels..of course that was back in the days when Youth Hostels were not run like mini hotels as they seem to be nowadays...
However by the time I was fourteen I started doing what I like to think of as proper touring, that is with tent...sleeping bag and cooking equipment....fifty years later I am still doing it.  

Now I'm not going to list all of the 20 reasons that were in the magazine article, but I think that it is worth mentioning a few that would be on my list for those of you who might have never tried it
before....

Freedom and Independence....
As a youngster I think that those two were pretty important. It was an escape for a short while away from the control of my parents.. For adults it is a chance to be free of work and the regime of modern living, a chance to get away from it all....

A chance to Explore.... 
Finding and exploring new places and revisiting old places....

Experience the slow pace of life on the road.... 
There really is a different pace of life when you are living on the road....
When I look back on some of my longer trips such as when I cycled back from Gibraltar, the rides seem to develop their own pace and shape....it's a bit like going back to basics where the only things that are important are food..warmth...and somewhere to sleep...nothing else seems to matter much....
Things that seem so important in our everyday lives can be viewed from a different perspective and don't seem to count for so much when you are out on the road cycle touring....

One of the reasons that was listed in the magazine was because every bike enthusiast should have at least one cycle touring trip on their palmares...it went on to say that  "it's an experience that seals a bond between the rider, the bike and the open road" and that "once you've been on a tour you're a proper bike rider and no one can take that away from you". 
Now I don't know whether that's true, but if it is, it means that I have been a proper bike rider for an awful lot of years...

What I will say, is that I am often surprised at the number of riders that have ridden sportives.... raced...done time trials etc but have never tried cycle touring... 
If you have never tried it, give it a go..I am sure that you will enjoy it and your first trip will open up a whole new and exciting chapter in your cycling experience.....

I have just checked over my touring bike....my panniers are all packed and I am ready to set off tomorrow and meet up with some friends.... When I get back I should have some photos of my mini cycle touring weekend to share with you...Whatever happens with the weather the one thing that I can be sure of, is that the weekend will be fun..!!