April 2011 Bike Touring Newsletter

Hurray! After a year of hard work, we’re proud to announce that our new Bike Touring Survival Guide is here!

>>Learn More & See A Free Preview<<

We’re sure you’re going to love it. It’s 240 pages, packed full of practical bike touring advice.

  • Getting Ready (packing, planning, finding a route)
  • Daily Logistics (navigating, sleeping, eating)
  • The People You Meet (weird questions people ask, accepting hospitality)
  • Staying Connected (staying in touch, gadgets, electricity, internet)
  • Challenges (dogs, traffic, bad weather, staying healthy)
  • Far Away Places (visas, vaccinations, safety, bribes and bargaining)
  • Coming Home (readjustment, getting a job again)
  • Bike & Gear Tips (caring for your bike, tent, stove, sleeping mat, etc)
  • Resources (packing list, recommended equipment)

You get all this in a PDF and Kindle format for just 5 euros (about $7 U.S.). We think that’s pretty good value, and we hope you’ll agree. We’re making this a risk-free offer: if you don’t think the eBook is worth 5 euros, just email us within 30 days and we’ll refund your money.

Want the eBook? You can buy it here.

Bike Touring Survival Guide

The rest of the newsletter comes from tips and information in the Bike Touring Survival Guide.

Tip Of The MonthCleaning Water Bottles

Sometimes you can get some pretty nasty looking mould in your water bottles. This is often caused by putting sugary drinks or juice in the bottle (all that sugar is perfect food for micro-organisms). Only put water in your water bottles if at all possible, or clean them out as soon as possible after you’re finished drinking.

If it’s too late and your bottle is filled with mould, scrub it in hot water with a long-handled brush or put it in the dishwasher. Next, fill the bottle with water and a bit of lemon juice or vinegar and let it sit for a few hours.

You can also fill the bottle with warm water and drop in a denture cleaning tablet or a spoonful of bleach and let it sit a few hours. A denture tablet works especially well when you’re on the road and don’t have access to a dishwasher. It sterilizes the bottle and gets rid of mould stains (you might have to scrub a bit if the stains are really bad). Rinse and enjoy your clean water bottles!

Ortlieb Folding Bowl

Gear We LoveKitchen Sinks

If you’re going on a long trip, a portable kitchen sink might just be your most valued luxury.

These foldable bowls are perfect for doing laundry, for washing dishes or even for washing yourself after a long day on the road. See all the things we use our kitchen sink for.

We use Ortlieb’s 10 Liter folding bowl and we’ve been really impressed with how it’s held up to intense use. For over 3 years, we used it almost daily and it’s still going strong. There are just a few small signs of wear: the sides are a bit saggy (but the bowl still retains its shape) and we had to patch up a small hole along the fold lines with tire patch.

If you’d like to compare with other bowls on the market, it’s worth taking a look at Sea to Summit’s Kitchen Sink, which is also popular with bike tourists we’ve met on the road.

Featured Bike Tourist

Mirjam WoutersMeet Mirjam Wouters. She’s been on the road for the past 10 years, solo.

“I can’t remember a time I didn’t want to ‘go on a adventure’,” she writes on her Cycling Dutch Girl blog.

“As a four-year old I packed a candle and some cheese in a bag and told mum I was away. She never thought I’d leave the street until a stranger rang. She found me 5 km down the main road with my feet in the pond, feeding the fish.”

So far, Mirjam has cycled through Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia, among other places. She’ll back in her home country of the Netherlands in May for a visit, but then it’s back on the road for this cycling nomad.

Mirjam contributed a great photo to the Bike Touring Survival Guide that shows how she carries extra water across long, arid distances in Australia.

***
Like this newsletter? Sign up to get it direct in your mailbox every month.

*100% spam free. May inspire you to quit your job and go cycling.

Comments

  1. fear of god clothing
    14th May 2023 at 8:31 am #

    I have to get across my affection for your generosity giving support to those who require help with your study. Your personal dedication to passing the message throughout had become exceptionally productive and have truly made folks much like me to achieve their pursuits. Your helpful useful information implies a great deal a person like me and far more to my fellow workers. Many thanks; from all of us.

  2. palm angels
    22nd May 2023 at 5:11 pm #

    I must voice my appreciation for your kind-heartedness giving support to women who absolutely need assistance with this one concern. Your very own dedication to getting the solution up and down has been unbelievably good and have usually allowed ladies much like me to get to their aims. Your new valuable instruction can mean much a person like me and much more to my peers. Thanks a lot; from each one of us.

  3. supreme new york
    26th May 2023 at 11:37 pm #

    I must voice my respect for your kindness in support of visitors who really need help with this one situation. Your personal commitment to passing the message all over had become particularly good and have constantly allowed women just like me to realize their ambitions. This informative instruction signifies a whole lot a person like me and additionally to my colleagues. Warm regards; from everyone of us.

  4. bape
    13th June 2023 at 12:14 pm #

    My husband and i ended up being peaceful that Albert could complete his investigation through the ideas he had while using the web page. It is now and again perplexing just to possibly be freely giving ideas that many most people might have been selling. And we all fully grasp we have got you to appreciate for this. The entire illustrations you have made, the straightforward blog navigation, the relationships you can give support to create – it is everything spectacular, and it’s aiding our son and the family consider that that issue is cool, which is certainly wonderfully important. Thanks for the whole thing!

  5. curry 6
    16th June 2023 at 11:31 pm #

    I wish to express my thanks to the writer just for bailing me out of this setting. Just after checking throughout the the web and coming across opinions which are not beneficial, I assumed my life was gone. Being alive without the answers to the problems you’ve solved by way of this posting is a serious case, as well as those which could have in a negative way affected my entire career if I hadn’t discovered your site. Your own personal competence and kindness in dealing with all the details was invaluable. I am not sure what I would’ve done if I hadn’t discovered such a stuff like this. I can at this time relish my future. Thanks a lot very much for the impressive and effective help. I will not think twice to suggest the sites to any person who will need guide about this subject.

Leave a Reply to fear of god clothing Click here to cancel reply.