Difference between adventure and touring cycling?

[Catalyzt]

Good replies. I am certainly no authority! What it means to me, and what many have said above: Going somewhere you don't usually go, or taking a route you do not know, or riding roads or terrain that are usually not frequented by cyclists.

I think riding around a deserted industrial or military base would qualify, even on an old three speed.

For example, I would say riding Brand Park Motorway qualifies as adventure cycling because even though it's a rated trail on MTB project, not that many people actually ride it. You can ride 45 minutes without seeing a soul. And you may not know exactly the route you will take when you start/

Riding the power line trail parallel to Barham Boulevard in Griffith Park is definitely adventure cycling. You can ride out and back-- around two hours, maybe a little more-- without seeing hikers or cyclists, it's unrated, actually closed (though not illegal to ride) and some segments cannot be ridden. There are spots where you have to carry your bike over washouts where you could fall 50-150 feet (who knows? you can't see through the brush) and places where you can't turn around. If you were injured in some spots and had no phone, you might be only a quarter mile from the freeway, but no one could find you for months.

As for what kind of bike, I think it could be anything, but generally gravel bike, hard tail, or FS.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

A bicycle tour becomes a bicycle adventure at that precise point in time when all of your plans get ditched and you just have to wing it. On the very best trips this usually happens in the first five minutes.

Seriously, I've never heard the term used seriously except in the context of the Adventure Cycling Association, which really is largely about advocating for long-haul bicycle touring routes.

"Bicycle touring" and "bikepacking" usually refer to gear choices as much as where you actually ride, and there is a lot of very confusing overlap and gray areas.

• Bicycle Touring usually refers to multi-day bicycle travel while carrying your stuff in bike bags connected (mostly) to racks attached to your bike. Usually touring is on roads (though those roads may be unpaved) or established grade-separated bicycle trails.
• Bikepacking usually refers to multi-day bicycle travel while carrying your stuff in bike bags directly attached to your frame, rather than with a rack. Usually bikepacking is done on unimproved roads or trails.

While bikepacking bags are usually much smaller and carry much less, the fact that they don't usually use racks means they can be used in rougher terrain, narrower trails, and on bikes with suspension or on frames that lack eyelets (like most road bike frames).

These categories overlap in bewildering ways that make absolutely no sense.

As one example, many bikepacking bags are basically reinventing front and rear racks. But is it still called "bikepacking"?

Also, you could do many bikepacking routes with a decent non-suspension bike with a rear rack carrying panniers (and there are, believe it or not, actual "bikepacking panniers" out there). So is that bikepacking or touring?

Also, it is quite plausible that you'd use bikepacking bags on a carbon road bike and still ride mostly paved roads or bike paths. So are you touring or bikepacking?

 

[Art Deco]

Very good. This idea of my bike, my gear, and me was my fantasy. The reality involved credit cards, motels, and restaurants..

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The difference between the bike touring (blue line: 170 km) and adventure/gravel (red line: 180 km) can best be depicted by the comparison of my Friday solo ride and the Sunday gravel group ride.

Bike Touring
The weather during my touring trip was very warm but not overly hot. I was riding asphalt wherever possible. At the southern tip of the outward leg, I decided to ride to a city for lunch. However, I rode gravel and dirt in many places whenever it was impossible to find another way. My trip involved 82% of asphalt and the rest was unpaved. I pedalled for 8 hours and had 4 hours of rest in total. I had total two 500 Wh batteries and had to spend an hour to recharge one of them with 27% more to complete my trip.

I really regret I did not take my Vado SL with 4 Range Extenders and a charger for the trip. With the same actual assistance, the more lightweight e-bike would have handled the rough terrain far better!

Adventure/Gravel Cycling
It was hot as in hell on the Adventure/Gravel Sunday group ride. The route involved over 50% of unpaved roads and a river ferry crossing. The group was avoiding any cities or big villages with a few occasional stops. It took the group less than 7 hours of pedalling to complete the trip with the average speed of 25.9 km/h (16.1 mph). They used 3 hours and 15 minutes for the rest total.

It is not easy to do long e-bike trips. There is always a compromise between the distance an e-bike can cover and the weight of extra batteries and/or a charger. An overly heavy or overloaded e-bike stands no chance in rough terrain.

Note: Gravel cyclists only carry a lot of water, bananas/nutrients, and necessary tools. They need to travel light. Only ultramarathons justify taking more baggage.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

That MYLC 'milk' is amazing. It is the Rondo in the cover photo.

Uma, don't get carried away with Rondo. I live here and know the Polish brand. Rondo bikes are good but as any bikes, they also have design flaws or compromise choices. The same capital group 7Anna also owns the NS Bikes brand that is perceived as superior to Rondo. Many people I met on gravel group rides owned Rondos but more rode either less expensive bikes (such as Polish Kross Esker) or more expensive ones such as Ridley, Canyon, Specialized etc etc. Merida Silex is seen as the best value for money gravel bike here in Poland.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I waits for food pictures and your Specialized ebikes Polish Voda

2023 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

Today's excuse to go to town was to get groceries and further test the capabilities of this trike. It had been purchased from a mobility company, advertised as a Bagfang 750 hub drive. no labels whatsoever indicating this, so the original purchaser was generous enough to donate it to me...

electricbikereview.com

 

[PDoz]

Good replies. I am certainly no authority! What it means to me, and what many have said above: Going somewhere you don't usually go, or taking a route you do not know, or riding roads or terrain that are usually not frequented by cyclists.

I think riding around a deserted industrial or military base would qualify, even on an old three speed.

For example, I would say riding Brand Park Motorway qualifies as adventure cycling because even though it's a rated trail on MTB project, not that many people actually ride it. You can ride 45 minutes without seeing a soul. And you may not know exactly the route you will take when you start/

Riding the power line trail parallel to Barham Boulevard in Griffith Park is definitely adventure cycling. You can ride out and back-- around two hours, maybe a little more-- without seeing hikers or cyclists, it's unrated, actually closed (though not illegal to ride) and some segments cannot be ridden. There are spots where you have to carry your bike over washouts where you could fall 50-150 feet (who knows? you can't see through the brush) and places where you can't turn around. If you were injured in some spots and had no phone, you might be only a quarter mile from the freeway, but no one could find you for months.

As for what kind of bike, I think it could be anything, but generally gravel bike, hard tail, or FS.

I guess this shows how different our concept of adventure can be?

Two hours riding with a high probability that the route will change plus there will be nobody else seen - that's a normal ride around here. ( rural Australia) Perhaps a bit more adventurous than normal if we have to carry the bike / risk falling - but not unusual! Yet I don't consider myself an adventurous mtb rider - in fact, I'm a below average old fart scraping put the last few years of relative dignity before accepting my place as a wannabee.

Perhaps this comes from decades of " adventure travel" on motorbikes where there was always an expectation of weeks +/- a degree of self sufficiency in the face of adversity. Self sufficient travel is touring, but coping with adversity makes it an adventure. Eg - crossing the simpson dessert solo on my motorbike was a tour right up until the point where I injured my ankle and had to cross another 150 km of sand dunes without being able to get up on the pegs...That weekend tour over the great dividing range became an adventure when we had unseasonal snow closing our intended route - especially as they closed the roads behind us on route option C and we faced another 1000 m elevation / 80 km through the snow....

Those maps Stephan is posting? Really? Are we going to start calling a day of wandering around gravel roads with the ability to stop in towns an adventure? In a group! With a ferry to cross rivers rather than a pack raft? Did mummy bring cut sandwiches?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Those maps Stephan is posting? Really? Are we going to start calling a day of wandering around gravel roads with the ability to stop in towns an adventure? In a group! With a ferry to cross rivers rather than a pack raft? Did mummy bring cut sandwiches?

Ride 50% of rough terrain and the rest on asphalt on a traditional bike for 180 km (900 m elevation gain) in 7 hours net yourself and later make your opinion. (Do it during the Australian winter in the open space).

P.S. Like this guy more? He did that trip alone.

 

[PDoz]

Ride 50% of rough terrain and the rest on asphalt on a traditional bike for 180 km (900 m elevation gain) in 7 hours net yourself and later make your opinion. (Do it during the Australian winter in the open space).

View attachment 158324
P.S. Like this guy more? He did that trip alone.

Stefan, unless those routes are through the alps / snow - those are just big day rides.

I'm not trying to get into a pissing contest - I'm not an adventure cyclist. But the guys I ride with who ARE adventurous don"t consider their tours an adventure without some adversity. If you want to talk Australian winter rides - they involve multi day alpine trips, sleeping in the snow in bivvy bags, and zero chance of restocking for days on end. Or a 1 week coastal trip - entirely along beach, zero chance to restock, no other human contact, cross estuaries in pack rafts, negotiate with snakes for the only water source each day.....adventures.

I guess there is a difference between an adventure and a challenge - eg those same guys do a challenge race each year - about 250 km / 4000 m elevation at race pace in Australian summer . That's a challenge, NOT an adventure.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

"Adventure is just bad planning"
-- Roald Amundsen

But the guys I ride with who ARE adventurous don"t consider their tours an adventure without some adversity.

Although there is a sliding scale on what defines "adversity". While it certainly qualifies as adversity if the hotel you are staying at runs out of your favorite whiskey, I don't think having to substitute a different single-malt for the night constitutes adventure.

Again, there is a sliding scale and a point of view. A lot depends on your fitness, skill, and confidence. And your bike. On a recent trip I did I was at the outer edge of all four factors. And if I were stronger, on a different bike with fatter tires and a front suspension, and had more skill riding janky tech it would have been much less challenging. So the "underbiking" and the fact that I was forced onto poor jeep roads because my planned route was blocked by landslide (bad planning again) made that recent trip qualify as an adventure.

Certainly I gained some chest-thumbing privileges amongst the super athletes in my neighborhood (but I'll be honest a lot of them would have done that trip as a quick overnight rather than over three days). And the look on the faces of the passengers in the jeep I passed on a spooky, slippery, and steep boulder-strewn ramp on the jeep road I was descending was priceless, and almost worth flying over my handlebars ten minutes later.

Really, it is just like having fun, only different.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I'm not an adventure cyclist.

No, you're not. You are an excellent technical singletrack rider.

Australian winter rides

I meant the hot season.

But the guys I ride with who ARE adventurous don"t consider their tours an adventure without some adversity.

Come to Poland and ride with me to find out what "adversity" means. (For me, living in Australia is synonymous with "misadventure" per se)

I guess there is a difference between an adventure and a challenge - eg those same guys do a challenge race each year - about 250 km / 4000 m elevation at race pace in Australian summer . That's a challenge, NOT an adventure.

My gravel cycling friends would not agree with you. Yes, most of people starting in gravel ultramarathons accept the challenge (as I did this year) but only a small number of them ride to win. The rest are enjoying the adventure (that's why you are allowed to ride even as a short as a 250 km race in 3 days: it took me 27 hours gross).

 

[PDoz]

No, you're not. You are an excellent technical singletrack rider.

I meant the hot season.



Come to Poland and ride with me to find out what "adversity" means. (For me, living in Australia is synonymous with "misadventure" per se)

My gravel cycling friends would not agree with you. Yes, most of people starting in gravel ultramarathons accept the challenge (as I did this year) but only a small number of them ride to win. The rest are enjoying the adventure (that's why you are allowed to ride even as a short as a 250 km race in 3 days: it took me 27 hours gross).

there comes a point where it's time to accept you are writing in a second language!

 

[Mr. Coffee]

... credit cards, motels, and restaurants..

Well, I have to admit, I'm really good at camping. And camping is a lot of fun. And from the context of bicycle travel, you meet more of your fellow cyclists when you camp than when you cocoon yourself into a motel. There is something to be said to partying with the tribe sometimes.

My own experience is that the optimum balance is to camp two out of three or three out of four nights and sleep in a room on the odd night out. That also lets you do some laundry and get a decent shower. Though most state park campgrounds in Washington and Oregon have showers, I wouldn't call them decent.

One absolutely priceless advantage of camping, though: when you turn up absolutely grungy at a nice hotel and ask to borrow a hose to clean yourself (and your bike) before checking in. The looks on the faces of the hotel staff are truly something to behold...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

there comes a point where it's time to accept you are writing in a second language!

At least I know one Besides, are you referring to the entire comment of mine or to a specific sentence?

There is a second thought: I know why the sport is called "adventure cycling". Road cycling is all about the performance. It is a team competing sport. Roadies ride the same boring loop all over to improve their results.

Gravel cyclists ride for fun. Riding in a group is a social thing for them. Unless that's a race, they have no issue to stop as the group and help any of them fix a flat (it is dangerous to be on such a ride alone, and yes we have areas of no network coverage, too). Or, they stop by a convenience store to eat, drink, and chat. They are chatting on the ride, too. The sense of camaraderie is great there. For urban dwellers, riding in the countryside is an adventure.

So carbon fibre is stronger than alloy

All on a single group ride.

I'd love to ride with such people. My health condition makes it impossible, and riding an e-bike is not much practical for such long distances and fast ride.

 

[Art Deco]

Thanks! They've done an amazing job in terms of saturating the Google returns on almost any search phrase involving "adventure" and cycling or biking. But oddly enough, never found a clear distinction vis a vis touring on their site. What I did see was lots of overlap between the "adventure" rides they were offering and what I would have called touring. Hence the OP.

My days of sleeping on the ground are over, and I do like my showers. So if touring implies multi-day rides with camping, no thanks. But adventure cycling with hotel stops has some appeal.

I am a wimp nowadays. A good day must end with a hot meal, a cold beer, a warm shower, and a clean bed. None of which fit in my frame bag, unfortunately.

 

[PDoz]

At least I know one Besides, are you referring to the entire comment of mine or to a specific sentence?

There is a second thought: I know why the sport is called "adventure cycling". Road cycling is all about the performance. It is a team competing sport. Roadies ride the same boring loop all over to improve their results.


View attachment 158337

Most of your comments - you use winter to describe the hot season , excellent to describe my riding, and then use a picture of a group of bum sniffers on what looks like a road? ( slight exaggeration, although we do have a few " highways" left that look like that - the very few that aren't being used by the mining industry )

I do wonder if there is a different translation of " adventure" involved here? The rides I'm thinking off involve pack rafts to cross water, abseiling down cliffs, perhaps x country ski's or snow shoes if what you might call summer . If it's distance tipping the adventure scale, then crossing a dessert might involve a custom trailer with solar to recharge +/- carry the water.

This is the coastal route I described earlier ( we were just doing an easy day walk)

 

[Stefan Mikes]

you use winter to describe the hot season

For me, January is in the winter. Cannot help you people are walking upside down or see the sun shining from the North. Ever had a thought it was not my English that was wrong?
You live in such a dangerous country that every single day means survival*. Interestingly, two large countries by area (Canada and Australia) only host 26 million people each

Your definition of "adventure" is certainly biased by the area where you live but it does not change the fact the alternative name for 'gravel cycling' is 'adventure cycling', especially in the countries that do not have so many gravel roads like, say, the United States.
-------
*) You certainly need more adrenalin in the country where magpies attack cyclists on their regular rides

 

[Art Deco]

Hell, they even have birds that can kill you not just steal your lunch down there, IIRC. And all the lizards, snakes, spiders to go with them. One place I've always wanted to visit, but never shall.

 

[Catalyzt]

I guess this shows how different our concept of adventure can be?

Two hours riding with a high probability that the route will change plus there will be nobody else seen - that's a normal ride around here. ( rural Australia) Perhaps a bit more adventurous than normal if we have to carry the bike / risk falling - but not unusual! Yet I don't consider myself an adventurous mtb rider - in fact, I'm a below average old fart scraping put the last few years of relative dignity before accepting my place as a wannabee.

Perhaps this comes from decades of " adventure travel" on motorbikes where there was always an expectation of weeks +/- a degree of self sufficiency in the face of adversity. Self sufficient travel is touring, but coping with adversity makes it an adventure. Eg - crossing the simpson dessert solo on my motorbike was a tour right up until the point where I injured my ankle and had to cross another 150 km of sand dunes without being able to get up on the pegs...That weekend tour over the great dividing range became an adventure when we had unseasonal snow closing our intended route - especially as they closed the roads behind us on route option C and we faced another 1000 m elevation / 80 km through the snow....

Those maps Stephan is posting? Really? Are we going to start calling a day of wandering around gravel roads with the ability to stop in towns an adventure? In a group! With a ferry to cross rivers rather than a pack raft? Did mummy bring cut sandwiches?

Uh, no. My definition of 'adventure' has little or nothing to do with 'adventure cycling.' Being an 'adventurous mtb rider' would be a third and separate concept. I'm not and 'adventurous mtb rider,' I am a novice.

For 'adventure cycling,' maybe there's definitely a difference in taxonomy in the US vs. Australia. Here we have an 'adventure cycling association' which describes what seem to me like bike tours, though I've also seen 'adventure cycling' used in bike marketing materials as the kind of bikes you'd use for personal exploring.

 

[Art Deco]

It all sounds like marketing speak to me, but I do believe people will spend more money on a bike adventure than a bike tour .. when the opposite approach is actually more adventurous.