I want to like cycling. Really, I do! But I’m still learning how to have a happy, successful bike ride. Looking back, I didn’t exactly listen to much of the advice I gave myself after my last failed bike trip. I still haven’t bought fenders, planned sufficient time, or set reasonable goals. But I did have enough gas to cook with this time. Baby steps, I guess…
The trip this summer was much bigger than when I biked for four days from Berlin to the Baltic Sea. This time my goal was to bike the Euro Velo 6 bike route from Ulm, Germany through Switzerland and across France until I reached Nantes on the Atlantic coast in about three weeks’ time. Of course, this didn’t end as I had intended. Fear not! The blood, sweat, and tears were not in vain. And I’m here to present to you with 10 more things I learned (or relearned) on another terrible bike ride.
1. Failing to plan = planning to fail.
Yes, this old adage apparently applies to bike trips too.
I failed to plan the actual distance. Using Google maps, I estimated the route to total around 1400 km (870 miles). But that was Google’s route and not the Euro Velo 6 route. Once I looked at my cycling guides, I realized that it was almost 1500 km just across France! Upon closer inspection a few days later, I noticed the maps overlapped about 200 km and traveled along the coast for about 60 km…so really the whole thing (starting in Germany) would be about 1500 in total. Not knowing how far it was to my destination made it difficult to plan out how much I should travel each day and when I would complete the journey.
I failed to plan my return trip. In Dole, France I tried to reserve my return ticket to Berlin (this biker chica was only biking one way!). Since I estimated that I’d be done in two more weeks, I thought that was far enough in advance to reserve a spot on the train. It turned out that all of the bike spaces were already booked out for months! Having no idea how to get back to Berlin I was panicking that my trip would end with less than 500 km accomplished. I learned that the bus is also an option (although a long one) to get you home.
I failed to get fit beforehand. I assumed doing some bike rides around Berlin would prepare me for spending eighteen days on a bicycle, but I was very wrong. Although I had practiced cycling a lot of kilometers, that had been without any heavy luggage. Plus, “they don’t call it the Swiss Alps for nothing” my mom reminded me when I complained about how hilly it was. Berlin is not hilly; it’s pretty flat. Cycling uphill with all of my camping gear was probably the biggest physical hurdle I faced along the way. Getting stronger before leaving would have made the journey much more enjoyable.
2. Failing? Change your definition of success.
Having already failed so much with planning, I was destined to fail in my original goal. I wasn’t meeting my daily mileage goal. I would never make it to the coast. After a week of cycling, I began to understand approximately how much distance I could reasonably cover each day. From there I changed my destination to meet what I was capable of and my timeline. Instead of making it to the Atlantic Ocean, my new goal was to bike 1000 km to Orleans, France.
3. Don’t be a computer.
As a math teacher, the numbers can really get to me sometimes. Not covering my 70km per day goal really started to bug me and stress me out. I would calculate how many kilometers per hour I was getting. Why could I do 90 km yesterday and today it feels like 40 is impossible? WHO CARES!? Let go and enjoy the ride. You’ll get there when you get there.
4. In a swarm of bugs keep your mouth closed.
And blink really fast or wear sunglasses to protect your eyes. As if you could know they were coming for you. So much for being a vegetarian.
5. Take the time. See the things.
I’m all about visiting churches and castles, but this one was difficult for me on the trip. Every day I just wanted to get the biking over with. My logic here doesn’t make any sense, but I figured if I stop now to see this thing, then I’ll have to bike later. When I did stop to see things, I was rarely disappointed. But, like, can I be done cycling already for today?
6. The bike shorts are worth it.
Advice I actually stuck to from the last trip. At first, I thought that the bike shorts hadn’t been a good investment or that maybe I should have invested more for an even better pair. After a few days riding in normal shorts I began to appreciate the advantages my padded seat afforded me.
7. Bike trip’s got me covered
…in sunscreen, sunburn, tan lines, dirt, sweat, bike grease, and bruises. Some of these things got better over time. When I began the trip, the weight of the rear of the bike was really challenging for me to handle (hence the bruises) and my new bicycle didn’t have a chain guard (so my right calf was constantly covered in grease). The sunburn browned and went away, but applying sunscreen more often would be advice to follow for next time. Dirt and sweat were not really avoidable. Practicing biking with the loaded up bicycle before leaving may have helped me avoid the awkwardness and gain maneuverability in advance.
8. Why am I not getting thinner?!
Oh yeah, I’m eating three times as much food and enjoying ice cream everyday (sometimes twice!). Oh well, I guess I’ll just relish getting to eat this much without gaining weight 😛
9. Brave? No.
Only families cycling with three or more children can be called brave on this route! Many people along the way told me how brave I was for doing this whole thing on my own. I don’t know if it’s more of a challenge to camp and cycle alone or with six children under the age of ten (true story).
10. Get a water bottle holder.
I love my Nalgene bottles, but couldn’t find a holder big enough for them. Instead of just getting a new water bottle, I decided to use the Nalgenes anyway and shove them into my other luggage. Because getting a drink of water became more complicated, I drank less water than I should have. Just get a new water bottle with the holder – you’re dehydration-induced emotional break down thanks you.
Eventually the soreness and sunburn went away and I was left with nice memories and sunny pictures of my agonizing trip across France. Unfortunately within a few weeks of my return, my touring bicycle, Bikey Mikey, was stolen. Because of this, I won’t be on a long cycling tour any time soon. But the memories are pleasant enough that I’m already contemplating the other places I could go with the future Bikey Mikey Junior…