The Popularity Of Bicycle Touring
Touring on road bicycles has become more and more popular. When I was young, I first recall seeing men on touring bicycles climbing the highways through the mountain areas of Vermont and New Hampshire. I was intrigued watching these riders climbing the long inclines without letting up. Loving the outdoors and especially the mountains, I knew this was the only way to really enjoy the magnificent views. It was then that I realized the type of bicycle they were riding was much different then the mountain bike I grew up with.
A few months ago I met a man in his late 50′s who lived in the north east. Each summer he would fly with his bicycle to the west coast. Then he’d spend several weeks riding across the country coming home. Needless to say, his bicycle was outfitted with loads of specialized touring bags and accessories. As the sport’s popularity has risen, so has the demand for touring bicycles. In the past, the only place to locate a tour bicycle was at local bike shop which would usually be limited to one brand of bike. Of course that all came with a high price tag. Lets face it, the price of many serious tour bicycles simply put them out of reach for younger people just entering the sport.
I recall traveling a couple hours to find the specific Schwinn touring bicycle I was searching for. Fortunately today, that is not the case. You can find all the biggest names in touring bicycles on the internet. The additional benefit is many can be found at affordable prices also. The interest in bicycle touring has also given rise to the availability of specialized bicycle parts, accessories and bicycle clothing. You would be hard pressed to find bicycle parts at your local discount store. But this is not the case online.
The obvious addition that bicycle touring requires is a way to carry your personal gear, clothing and camping equipment on long trips. The popularity of touring has provided riders a huge variety of racing bicycle parts and accessories. It is quite easy to find all types of bicycle parts and adult bicycling accessories for your long trips. Serious bikers can easily upgrade just about their entire bicycle by traveling no further then their PC.
