Forum is back

Great news that the forum is back—we’ve been waiting for this for ages! Now we can chat again with the die-hards like Claudio, Luc Bertand, and everyone else... Voyager à vélo

Well, yes, here's some great news—this forum was as useful as it was relevant, thanks to its large community, organization, and lively discussions.

I was pretty put off, though, by the forum owners' questionable ideological stances at the start of the pandemic (denialism, anti-vax, etc.). Hoping the gang will chat bikes again without diving into all-over-the-place conspiracies.

The world didn’t stop turning during the pandemic years! Here’s a recap of our tandem and bike "rides" since 2020:

2024 - (March to September): 6 months by bike (tandem) across Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan (May: Kyūshū, Shikoku (and a bit of Honshū); July–August–September: Hokkaido); 8,277 km by tandem, self-supported - Sept 15 to Oct 15: Québec, Ontario, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire; 1,042 km, solo, self-supported

2023: Mostly in Québec, mostly without luggage; half tandem, half solo; 4,967 km

2022 (our 10th anniversary biking the world’s roads): May 2022 to October 2022: 6 months by bike (tandem) across Andalusia, Portugal, Brittany, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Croatia; Total 8,085 km by bike in 2022

2021: May to October: 6 months by bike (tandem) across all of Québec, New Brunswick, Labrador, Newfoundland, and southern Ontario. 9,124 km by bike

2020: May to October: 6 months by bike (tandem) across all of Québec and northern Ontario. 7,507 km by bike

Hey Rikimiki

Nice to chat with you after more than 4 years—congrats to you both, that’s amazing! I haven’t given up either over these 4 years. Since the start of the year, I’ve covered over 7,200 km by bike, 1,312 km running, and 250 km walking. Just two 2-day trips with my wife: bikepacking on the Côte d'Azur in Cavalière and in the Cévennes in Laroque. See you soon on the forum!

Serge

I stumbled upon this by chance Good news indeed Since Claudio has really aged

This year 2024, quite a few updates

Hello, or rather re-hello to everyone... Me too, it was by chance that I discovered the forum’s revival, and I’ve also got a few more years under my belt, but I still have cycling "in my blood." I’ve only switched to electric since last May for mountainous routes (Gravel). It lets me tackle more interesting and varied routes. It also requires a bit more planning for the itinerary, especially finding a campsite every night to recharge. But last June, it allowed me to do Le Puy–Cahors via the Camino de Santiago and return through Lozère without pushing too hard. Happy trails to all! Patrick

hello / good evening, depending on your time zone

I found out the forum was back when I was cleaning out my "spam" folder. I didn’t think it’d reopen, but that’s great news.

I’m still traveling by bike (recumbent bike or recumbent trike), slower and slower, but still enjoying it just as much. No electric assist yet—I don’t want to deal with the hassle. If I ever electrify my trike (which is a real tank), I might add a solar panel. That’d solve the charging issue, but it’d make the thing nearly impossible to transport...

Hello, Wanting to continue, as much as possible, my cycle touring activities and after a brief test around my place, I’ve adopted electric assistance for my latest "trip" and don’t regret it. However, as you mentioned, it does come with constraints, and it’s important to plan your route carefully to find a charging point every evening—whether at a campsite or elsewhere. Since I’m still camping for now, this rules out off-season trips for me. Plus, I’ve switched from two panniers to four (attached photo) for better weight distribution.

I cover about 80 to 90 km a day, but I *do* pedal—it’s not a moped. That said, I do bring a second battery, though I’ve only used it for the last 5 kilometers.

The idea that solar panel charging might be possible is great news—something to keep an eye on. It would add a lot more flexibility.

So far, my impression is positive, aside from the inevitable comments from some people: "cheater, lazy, oh, but there’s a motor!" etc. Patrick

Hi everyone, I was thrilled to discover a spam message announcing the return of the travel forum. For my part, my last bike trip was a descent to San Sebastian back in 2019, and my Flemish project for summer 2020 was canceled. Then came a job change, a new professional setup, and fewer opportunities to go hiking. Since last October, another job change, and now I can plan a bike trip for summer 2025—stay tuned...😎

AWESOME, finally back online!! I wasn’t even hoping for it anymore!! We’re still riding tandem with a trailer (touze), just back from Corsica, Portugal, and the Vélodyssée. We’ve changed our avatar... but we’re still here to chat with fellow bike enthusiasts. Hello to everyone! 😎

Yeah, it's nice to see things picking up slowly, but it's winter—soon lots of folks will be sharing their adventures

Hello, Wanting to continue my cycle-touring activities as much as possible, and after a brief test around my place, I opted for electric assistance for my latest "trip" and don’t regret it. However, as you mentioned, it does come with constraints, and it’s important to plan your route carefully to find a charging spot every evening—whether at a campsite or elsewhere. Since I’m still camping for now, this rules out off-season trips. Plus, I’ve switched to four panniers instead of two (attached photo) for better weight distribution. I cover about 80 to 90 km per day, but I’m still pedaling—it’s not a moped. I should mention I bring a second battery, though I’ve only used it for the last 5 kilometers. The idea that it might be possible to recharge with a solar panel is good news—something to keep an eye on. It would allow for more flexibility. So for now, my impression is positive, aside from the inevitable comments from some: "cheater, lazy, oh, but there’s a motor!" etc. Patrick

Hi, I stumbled upon your post, and it really resonates with me because we’re on the same wavelength: like you, I switched to an e-bike due to the passing years, and like you, I got a second battery. For the rest, we’ve gone in different directions, so the comparison is interesting. I tried to lighten my load as much as possible and kept only two panniers (+ a 2.5L handlebar bag and a small frame bag). In total, 14 kg including the panniers. But since it’s at the expense of comfort (tarp instead of a tent, etc.), and my back needs a foldable chair at stops, but the whole setup would exceed my bike’s total weight limit of 120 kg, I’m now considering a trailer. It’d be a Beez trailer—lightweight and collapsible (but expensive)—which allows for train travel.

For e-bike recharging, since I still do wild camping, the two batteries let me skip a campsite every 2 or 3 nights. Of course, we can do partial recharges during stops, like you might too—e.g., by asking at cafés (I leave a coin) or tourist offices, and there are more and more charging spots in supermarket parking lots. If it helps, I use the site https://fr.chargemap.com/map. It’s not exhaustive, but there are plenty of options. (Though sometimes, announced charging points are out of service—I’ve even had ones that didn’t exist! 😎) PS: I also invested in a 6A fast charger to optimize recharges during breaks (1 hour = about 30 km).

Electric assist is totally legitimate... that's what we had implemented before being hit and stopped by our current long COVID. But we had bet on staying lightweight: same load on the bike-camping side, same setup (2 panniers - "round trip")... and when it came to electrifying the lightweight (and cheap too!!!), front-wheel hub motor with "freewheel" when not motorized, lightweight 36V battery around 400W - motorization added less than 4kg to our old 12kg MTB bikes... The result was a 16kg bike that still felt very "rideable" without assist on flat terrain or without a headwind. The assist duration barely exceeded 2 or 3 hours on a "normal" stage, and recharges weren't necessarily needed every day (mountain stages limited to a single pass, of course!!!)... In short, I think using an e-bike shouldn't make us forget the basics: keeping the bike and load lightweight, good bike efficiency, no drag on progress... Of course, this solution only worked for trips like "European-style, about one or two months"—not necessarily for hardcore long-distance rides. That said, I find that some touring e-bikes go overboard, weighing over 20 or 22kg... which naturally forces almost constant use of the assist... and makes recharging the beast a hassle.