Depending on how spontaneous you are and which type of TrainBikeTouring you are leaning towards, your trip may demand more or less planning. A train ticket and a bike are a given. Thinking through your packing; researching your route; booking accomodation in advance. Below are some of our tips for planning your TrainBikeTour.
In Scandinavia and across Europe, you'll find a comprehensive map network with bike-friendly paths and roads on Opencyclemap. With a phone mounted on your bike stem and your route loaded on one of the many bike apps available, it's easier than ever to find the right path. Here at TrainBikeTouring you can download maps of our routes in the form of .gpx files - these are easily uploaded to apps such as Komoot, Bikemap or Strava. These apps are also great for gaining inspiration from other tours, and makes it possible to create and upload your own routes for offline use.
Now that you know where to look, it might be worth considering how long you would like your bike tour to be. A straightforward way to do this is to break a trip down into distance per day. Are you trying touring out for the first time, not specifially well-trained or want to spend time off the bike each day? Then 4 hours or somewhere between 40-60km per day might suit you best. For those who are well-trained or are interested in endurance/multi-week cycling, then you will likely be thinking about 80km+ per day rides. With an electric bike and 2 wheels, it is possible to reach 150km+ per day and still enjoy the comforts of a shorter ride. If it is tricky to gauge which distance makes sense for your ambition or fitness level, some preparation can go a long way. We can recommend packing your bike closer to home and testing your comfort on a 20 - 40km ride. Test rides are so important because they also give you a chance to test out any new gear, get used to navigating and learn what works best for you. Plus, the great thing about test rides is you get fitter by doing them!
