The S24O: A Mini Bike Touring Adventure

Along the towpathsLet’s face it. Life is busy. You have to go to work, come home, do the chores, spend time with the family… and by the time all that is done, there’s not a whole lot of time left to go bike touring.

So what’s the wannabe bike tourist to do, when getting away for a real bike tour seems impossible?

That’s the question I’ve been pondering lately, as I try to get back into the swing of working life, balancing a desire to be on the road with the realities of an office job and the need to save a bit of money.

So when I was browsing the Adventure Cycling Association blog over the weekend, an article about S24O bike trips (pdf) caught my eye. For the uninitiated, S24O stands for Sub 24-hour Overnight – in other words, a bike trip that takes you from your home to a campsite and back again in a day or less. Grant Petersen, who coined the term S24O, explains what it’s all about:

“You leave on your bike in the late afternoon or evening, ride to your campsite in a few hours, camp, sleep, and ride home the next morning. It’s that simple, and that’s the beauty of it. You can fit it in. It requires almost no planning or time commitment. In the past four years I’ve done more than fifty of them, and I’m no planner.” – Grant Petersen of Rivendell Bicycle Works

I’m particularly taken by Grant’s idea of the S24O bike trip as the perfect way to test out equipment, techniques and even bike touring itself. It doesn’t matter if you wake up cold, if rain starts pouring down or you forgot something because the next morning you know you’ll be back home – hopefully a little wiser for your experience.

Now my mind is dreaming up all kinds of places I can reach within an hour’s ride. I’m dying to head out on a mini bike touring adventure and I can no longer use a lack of time as my excuse. There are those woods near my house, and that place near the beach that I spotted on a recent ride and thought would make a great wild camping spot. What about you? Where would you go on a S24O?

To read more about S24O bike trips, check out an account of an S24O bike trip on Kent’s Bike Blog or browse a whole site dedicated to S24O bicycle touring.

Comments

  1. Susan Gardiner
    15th February 2010 at 11:27 am #

    My husband and I have been doing mini trips for a couple of years now. We did it first to try out our bicycle trailer before we went for 2 weeks cycle camping in Denmark. This year we are going to France for a month cycle camping. When you get back from your mini tour even though you’ve only been for 1 or 2 night you feel like you have been away for ages. We’ve also done weekend B&B tours.

  2. brian mchade
    18th February 2010 at 7:32 pm #

    Yeah!!! I’ll be doing a lot of this, this year trying out my new equipment ready for my world tour starting next year..

    • friedel
      18th February 2010 at 8:12 pm #

      Hi Brian, good luck on your world tour! What’s your route?

  3. brian mchade
    20th February 2010 at 9:10 am #

    Hi Friedel, great site by the way, really enjoy those podcasts. I’ll be starting in Alaska, down to Ushuaia, then New Zealand , Austrailia onto Singapore then overland back to U.K.

  4. James
    5th March 2014 at 12:36 am #

    Great Post!

    My friends and I did an S24O on new years eve. We all cycled out to a secluded beach a few miles away. In NZ there is always a secluded beach a few miles away, but they say kilometres here! We Bivied out with a small fire and roasted some sausages and home grown chillies. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere even though we could see the city lights, and coming home in the new year (the next morning) it felt as though we had been away for weeks.

    Just one night away from home makes the luxury of showers and kitchens full of food seem exciting and new.

  5. helpful site
    1st November 2022 at 1:11 pm #

    I love looking through an article that can make men and women think. Also, many thanks for allowing me to comment.

  6. mp3juice
    31st December 2022 at 11:05 pm #

    I really like reading an article that will make people think. Also, thanks for allowing for me to comment.

  7. the repair shop
    9th January 2023 at 8:12 pm #

    Watch your desires come to life with amazingness! Get to experience really remarkable improvements.

  8. gateio
    1st May 2023 at 8:32 pm #

    I am sorting out relevant information about gate io recently, and I saw your article, and your creative ideas are of great help to me. However, I have doubts about some creative issues, can you answer them for me? I will continue to pay attention to your reply. Thanks.

  9. Clarence Estrela
    20th August 2023 at 4:26 am #

    Obtain the most of what you desire and this will certainly help!

  10. mince hk
    6th September 2023 at 7:26 pm #

    I think this is a real great blog. Keep writing.

  11. Education
    8th September 2023 at 10:22 am #

    there are many hobbies out there but there is no other hobby like fishing, fishing is every enjoyable.

  12. Laura Wright
    14th September 2023 at 10:29 am #

    I really like your writing style, excellent information, thanks for putting up : D.

  13. Solar Panels Cleaning Service
    3rd November 2023 at 11:09 pm #

    You always have something favorable to claim. Your determination to succeed goes over.

  14. manual lathe machine
    4th November 2023 at 8:10 am #

    Thanks for the blog. Really Great.

  15. Sourceway
    5th November 2023 at 8:45 am #

    I really liked your post. Great.

  16. Yoga Instructor Training Online Certification
    25th November 2023 at 10:33 pm #

    Major thanks for the article. Want more.

  17. janitor ai pro
    29th November 2023 at 4:48 pm #

    Thanks for the blog post. Fantastic.

  18. Códigos Lucrativos Funciona
    12th December 2023 at 9:18 pm #

    professional writingediting services online

  19. Aizen Power Review
    14th December 2023 at 4:23 pm #

    برای بازی کردن بازی وارکرفت یا WOW در سرورهای اصلی بازی،علاوه بر نصب بازی اصلی، برای امکان بازی شما نیاز دارید که گیم تایم(Game time) مربوط به بازی وارکرفت را خریداری کنید.

  20. Billionaire Brain Wave
    25th December 2023 at 3:50 am #

    Have you ever heard of second life (sl for short). It is basically a video game where you can do anything you want. sl is literally my second life (pun intended lol). If you would like to see more you can see these sl articles and blogs

  21. Berniece
    28th December 2023 at 7:17 pm #

    Reading posts like this make surfing such a plrsauee

  22. undress vip
    29th December 2023 at 6:19 pm #

    Really appreciate you sharing this article.

  23. flexible waveguide
    6th February 2024 at 8:41 pm #

    I think this is a real great blog. Want more.

  24. graphic sweatshirts
    7th February 2024 at 6:01 pm #

    Water repellent also auto are classified as the main the benefits of Rolex.

  25. underress ai
    18th February 2024 at 9:45 pm #

    I loved your article. Fantastic.

  26. squirting mastery program
    23rd February 2024 at 4:40 am #

    Rattling nice pattern and fantastic articles , very little else we want : D.

  27. Livpure Weight Loss
    24th February 2024 at 12:15 am #

    mardenoticiasguerrero.com.mx and ivermectin for humans for sale ivermectin dose canine ivermectin for sale

  28. Alpha X10nd Ultra
    29th February 2024 at 1:20 am #

    Thanks again for the blog.Much thanks again. Awesome.

  29. kubet casino
    6th March 2024 at 4:32 pm #

    Hey, thanks for the article. Cool.

  30. telegram喝茶ptt
    15th March 2024 at 4:36 am #

    I value the article. Keep writing.

  31. ปีนผาจำลอง
    19th March 2024 at 1:08 am #

    660563 584720The planet are in fact secret by having temperate garden which are typically beautiful, rrncluding a jungle that is surely surely profligate featuring so many systems by way of example the game courses, golf method and in addition private pools. Hotel reviews 542052

Leave a Reply to James Click here to cancel reply.