One of the common misconceptions that I keep hearing pertains to the actual definition of touring. This is a great place to start because it opens up a lot of subjects which are all of value within the bicycle touring world. What I hear a lot of is "I dont know if ill be able to keep up" or "that sounds like a long trip, Im cant ride that far" and another one is "I dont have a touring bike."
Well... touring is not like racing, it is not about going as far as you can as fast as you can, and it is not about having the latest technology. Simply put, touring is about enjoying the ride... going at a pace you feel comfortable with and just taking in the scenery. You dont have to have a touring specific bike to enjoy touring either... pretty much any style of bike can be modified to give you a great touring experience. My girlfriend rides a Fuji Monterey from the 90's that was a piece of junk when I first got it. Her bike is more heavily modified to be a touring bike but any bike can really be modified to work as well as hers came out.
On the trips I have taken I have seen comfort bikes, hybrids, road bikes, mountain bikes, tandems, recumbents, single speed beach cruisers, even unicycles and a high wheeler! It doesn't require racks and panniers either, it is possible to use different methods of load carrying as well, such as trailers, backpacks, and I even met one guy who used a modified childs trailer. In fact when my brother and I went on some our longer local trip we took my son with me and pulled a child trailer that we had modified to carry his bike so that he could ride if he wanted to. And on those trips we still maintained about 60 mile days!
Pace seems to be another concern especially when riding in groups. Obviously when you are on your own it is all about riding your own ride... but in a group there will inevitably be the one or two guys who like to ride so far ahead of the group that trying to play catch up kills the ride for everyone else... that can happen. But again you have to ride your own ride and choose those you ride with carefully. My brother and I like to take it easy and we dont like to see the groups get separated, so we would actually prefer a slower pace(say between 12-14mph average), but we are equally capable of turning it up a notch depending upon the group. For anyone wanting to come along for one of our rides, dont be intimidated. Thats what this is all about, about spreading the word and getting you interested. If we took you out and tried to pull you at 20mph for the whole ride and lost you when we felt you werent trying to keep up we would be defeating the purpose of the club. We hope that our trips are about the camaraderie, making new friends, telling stories, taking in the sights, and motivating each other... its not about going out and hammering as hard as possible and getting to the next location as quickly as we can.
My point is that bicycle touring is not about having all the right stuff or getting there fast, its about enjoying an adventure on a bicycle. There are many options for bikes, carrying methods, even equipment, as long as you are enjoying yourself you are doing it right.
This is a picture of our first loaded tour a few years ago using the child's trailer to haul most of our gear including my son and his bike. It was not the best way to haul things, and ended up slow going when my 5 year old (at the time) was on his bike riding along with us, but we look back on that trip with fond memories. It is all about the ride.
