I'm daydreaming about cycling in Japan from cape Soya (northwest point) to cape Sata (southest point)
I've never been on a bikepacking trip but I want to train myself in order to do it Fall 2024.
has anyone done it? online there aren't many resources.
also bikepacking general I guess
Not really bikepacking, but I'll be going there next Spring with my Brompton. You can bring bikes on the trains and subways if they're covered. I'll be using public transit for long distances and bike for shorter distances. Everything I bring with me fits in a 25L backpack.
I liked this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-3MaUDTHtI
Big playlist from a couple that lived in Japan for years: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnfP1fytwbXNe86PcA-vY9r_Xq6sQzF5Q
thanks anon, I'll check those out. I saw that the cheapest way to pack your regular bike is use a cardboard.
are you a cycling? do you have any general tips for someone who would like to start biking? do you know if there is a bike general on 4chin?
/n/
>I saw that the cheapest way to pack your regular bike is use a cardboard.
Call the airline you're flying on. They'll have specific instructions, pricing, and possibly cardboard containers for them. You're not the first one to want to fly to another country with their bicycle.
How did you avoid the pan-american? Panama isn't very developed and there are places where its the only road between towns. The traffic does suck there, it was the worst latam country for driving standards I've been in which is saying something. And the vehicle exhaust in cities in that part of the world is pretty bad. Plus the climate. What part of the year did you do it in?
>I saw that the cheapest way to pack your regular bike is use a cardboard.
Yep, just recycle it at the airport and get a new box before you fly back. Makes it easy if you want to fly out from a different city. If you're flying back from the same airport then you can pay a luggage storage place to store the folded up box cheaply. Make sure it's well protected because luggage handlers throw luggage around.
>do you have any general tips for someone who would like to start biking?
Do you mean start riding a bike? If so make sure you can handle well, lol. Get a rear light that lasts a long time to warn pedestrians and drivers of your presence. Get a helmet. Make sure you have the basic tools with you to patch or change a tire, tighten your saddle, adjust your brakes, lube your chain, etc. I bring 2 spare inner tubes because they're hard to find for my bike, but for most bikes one is sufficient. You can bring more tools if you want or have a bike shop take care of anything more complicated if that's your style.
You're looking for >>>/n/
A lot of the people on that board are gays.
Only tell the airline if it's Alaska or another bike friendly airline. If not, just check it as regular luggage or they'll tack on a specific bike fee. Make sure your travel insurance or home owner's insurance covers damage/loss of your bike.
I've done some. Not in Japan but I road the west coast of Costa Rica, some of Panama, and some of Colombia.
It's honestly not as fun as it seems. It feels more like a long bike ride and less like traveling.
The only thing you can't really find online is the right packing list. Everyone has a different weight to luxury ratio. You basically just need to figure that out yourself.
I might be looking at something in this area myself soon. Is traffic reasonably easy to negotiate? Do you get weird reactions if you stop at a gas station or something in bike kit? I would imagine they're pretty accustomed to cyclists in Colombia, but not sure about Central America.
I didn't get any weird reactions. Most people didn't seem to care. Central America is a pretty crazy place with lots going on. A gringo on a bike is nothing
I didn't have any problems with traffic in Costa Rica. On my first day in Panama on the Pan American highway I had 2 buses come within like 6 inches of me, so I stopped riding on the Pan American. Mot cities are crowded and chaotic so traffic actually moves pretty slow and you can keep up with it. I rode through Cartagena and I almost passed out since I was working pretty hard to keep with the flow and just inhaling all of the smog from the other vehicles.
Very helpful. Thanks!
Looking at El Salvador, trying to keep the loadout fairly light and sleep in beds. Not a lot out there post-Bukele as far as I can tell, but I'm interested to see what it's like.
hell yeah man, no problem
I brought camping gear but never even used it. There was plenty of super cheap accommodation.
I was in Honduras and Guatemala earlier this year (not bike touring) and met quite a few people who went to El Salvador. No one said anything negative about it. It'd probably be a sick trip.
I wish you and your taint the best
Keep in mind cycling in Japan is still a bit of a niche, most cars don't really know what to do when encountering them (I've even heard when learning to drive over there you, as the driver, are encouraged to keep close to the curb as to give the drivers next to you as much room as possible vs. other countries where you're expected to drive in the middle of the lane) most Japanese actually cycle on the pavement as opposed to the road.
Be prepared to take the train with your bike every here and there and push it often to get to a cyclelane.
It's obviously doable but Japanese aren't known for being the greatest of drivers.
In a month I plan to cycle through southern spain - start in alicante, go around the coast to Gibraltar and portugal and then go back more inland to Alicante. I have 5 weeks to do it, about 2000 km, so I think it should be doable.I am biking daily to my work, but ofc it is not the same thing to do such a long trip.
I was feeling quite down and depressed recently, that my life is not progressing as it should and I just wanted to do something challenging for once. Never have done overnighter bikepacking trip, so hopefully it will progress well.
have you guys tried Warmshowers? it's basically Couch surfing but for cyclists