CyclePig

Many sports have their trophies, so why should Cycle Touring be any different?

Some well known long-distance bicycle routes, such as Lands End to John O’groats and the Raid Pyreneen, provide medallions for their completion. But I prefer the slightly less organised and self-planned side of cycle touring.

So what then could be some likely candidates for us cycle tourists to best remember the places we have seen and the things we have achieved. Some possibilities:

• A pile of punctured tubes
• A box of empty chamois cream containers
• A counter showing the number of miles we have cycled
• A collection of the maps we have used
• A set of postcards from the places we have been

These are all things that we accumulate along the way but I think they miss what cycle touring is all about. For me the pinnacle of achievement on my cycle tours are the mountains I climb and the stunning locations I find at their summits.

So I propose that the trophy for the cycle tourist could be the photo’s of the mountains we have climbed. I have them up on my wall, so every time I walk past I remember that I rode my bicycle to that spot - a place where most people would not even think to go in a car.

Below are some of my favourite trophies. If you have some great mountain photos I would love to see them. Or perhaps you love cycle touring but are not so keen on the mountains, then what are your trophies?

Photo by CyclePig

Photo by CyclePig

Photo by CyclePig

If you do like cycling mountains, I suggest you check out www.cycling-challenge.com. This is a great blog, documenting the adventures of Will and his cycling in the Alps. The blog includes descriptions and photos of many of the available climbs as well as a map of the general area. One of my favourite posts is Will’s description of the Five Different Rides around Alp d’Huez.

If you want to learn more about the technique required to cycle mountains you might want to start with Cycling Up Hills Made Easy.