Bicycle
Bicycle Guava

If you're keen to take on a cycling adventure of your own, there are a few things to keep in mind before you set off on your epic journey. The planning stages of your trip are perhaps the most important part of the whole thing; by picking a suitable destination and learning as much as you can prior to the trip, you'll ensure that things go as smoothly as possible.

Try and break your trip down into separate 'legs' and work out how much ground you'd like to cover while you're away. Be realistic; it's no good planning an all-singing, all-dancing cycling holiday if you don't get to see half of your planned sights because of unrealistic planning. Taking the time to properly sketch out your itinerary for each day is absolutely essential.

That said, you should always be as flexible as possible with your planning -- otherwise you'll end up with a situation where you have no time available to admire any unexpected highlights you stumble upon along the way. Also ensure that you keep the weakest cyclist in your group in mind when allocating timings for each leg of your journey; it's unfair to expect them to keep pace with the strongest cyclists on the trip.

While it can undoubtedly feel like more of an adventure to head off on your trip without booking accommodation, it could be a decision that comes back to bite you in the saddle-sore behind. Picture the scene: it's the end of a long, hard day's ride and you happen upon the perfect looking inn. You let out a contented sigh of relief; you're ready to rest, after all. Unfortunately for you, the inn is fully booked for the night and you're forced to plough on in search of a new spot to lay your head. You get the point: book ahead and you'll have no such issues.

It's also obviously incredibly important to carry out thorough checks on your bike before you set off. If you're unsure of what you're doing, take it to an expert so that they can give it a once over. You don't want to find early on into your holiday that your bicycle needs major repairs as it will likely take you out of commission for a large chunk of your time away.

Also ensure that you pack a solid repair kit to take along with you so that you can quickly address any relatively minor issues as and when they happen. Also be sure to pack suncream to protect your skin from the sun and a first aid kit just in case any members of your party are involved in an accident. If you're heading abroad with your bike, be sure to purchase yourforeign currency before you go away; if you wait and withdraw money with your cards while you're over there you'll have to pay a hefty charge every time.

Also one major mistake people make is to buy a single trip travel insurance policy each time they go away, despite taking several trips abroad each year. The fact is that, depending on the circumstances, even two trips per year could mean that going down the route of annual travel insurance would be the more cost effective option.

Proper preparation will make the world of difference to your trip. Plan ahead effectively and you'll be all set for a holiday to remember.