We’re Andrew & Friedel: two Canadians who fell into bike touring while living in London, England.
At the time, we weren’t cyclists – not even close. We didn’t own a single pair of bike shorts and we had two decrepit bicycles with brakes that barely functioned. We knew nothing about bike touring but there was one thing that drew us to pedal-powered travel: a desire to see the world in a unique and adventurous way. One day, a chance Google search led us to the world of bike touring. That was in 2006.
Three years and 48,000km later, we’d finished circling the earth on our bikes. Along the way, we developed a new passion for discovering the world on two wheels. We moved to the Netherlands (a cycling paradise) and continue to live and work there. For us, the bicycle is a way to go on vacation and a key part of our everyday lives.
The authors – Friedel & Andrew – trying out a recumbent tandem bicycle in the Netherlands. Photo by Alicia Ackerman (http://cyclingwithoutahelmet.blogspot.com)
As part of our love of bike touring and travel, we wanted a way to help others with practical bike touring tips. That’s why we started TravellingTwo.com and made it place to share advice, equipment reviews and experiences. The site has grown from a personal blog into a community over the past few years, and our email box has become increasingly full of questions such as Which bike should I buy? or What do I need to know for my first bike tour?
We created this book, Bike Touring Basics, to answer those questions. It’s a compact and inspiring introduction to the world of bike touring, from the planning stage through to the equipment you might need to get started.
Originally, this book was only available as a PDF giveaway for TravellingTwo.com newsletter subscribers. After many requests from readers, we also made it available online in HTML format (what you’re reading now) and as a special Kindle version from Amazon.
The 3 versions are all slightly different. The PDF is an attractive, glossy magazine. It’s beautiful as well as informative. The HTML version and the Kindle versions have slightly different photos and expanded text, compared to the PDF.
No matter which version you’re reading, you’ll find internal links to relevant chapters in the book and external links that lead to more information about particular topics and equipment on TravellingTwo.com, the blogs of other bike tourists and the websites of various equipment manufacturers.
Going On A Big Trip?
For even more bike touring tips, check out our Bike Touring Survival Guide. It’s 240 pages of advice for extended and international tours, including route planning, what to put in your repair kit and how to extend the life of your camping gear. The eBook version is available from:
The print version of the Bike Touring Survival Guide: an in-depth look at bike touring with a special focus on extended trips and international destinations.