5 Essentials for a Long-Haul Cycling Trip

If you love to hop on your bike and hit the open road with nothing in your way other than your own legs’ stamina and your body’s determination to go further, then a long-haul cycling trip may be the perfect next vacation for you. Whether it is across the state or across the country, a few days’ worth of rewarding exercise paired with relaxing nights of camping along your route will be totally worth all the hard work. There’s no better way to see (and appreciate) nature than from your bicycle!

The most important part of any bike ride—or any adventure for that matter—is making sure you are adequately prepared. You have to have the right equipment and the right training. Once you have those things out of the way you’re ready to get going! So besides the necessities like your bike, helmet, cycling gear, and water, here are five other essentials you may want to consider packing to get the most out of your next trip!

Click here to see the 5 Essentials for a Long-Haul Cycling Trip

Sponsored by ENO.

Summer Quest Across Michigan, Top to Bottom

In July I'll be conquering Michigan, from top to bottom, over the course of a three day journey. 

I'll be starting in Detroit and heading north, riding about 100 miles a day, until I reach the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula in Mackinaw City. So far my training has been on point this year and I don't foresee any issues meeting my goal.

I plan to camp along the way and take in the sights. If you have any suggestions of places to stay or visit on the route, please let me know!

Michigan is a beautiful state, especially as you head north, and I can't wait to see it all on bike.

First Mountain Bike Race

This year, with some encouragement from my friends at Roll Models, I thought I'd give mountain biking a try. It's a little bit different from what I normally do and it looks like a lot of fun.

I only made it out on the trails twice to practice before the first race of the season so I didn't necessarily have too high of hopes for the first race. However today's race at Pontiac Lake Recreation Area, (my third time on a mountain bike trail ever) went much better than I had expected and I finished in 2nd place!

Well my first ever mountain bike race on my third ever trail ride went better than expected...

A photo posted by Marc Langlois (@marcxlanglois) on Apr 26, 2015 at 12:30pm PDT

I'm very pleased with my performance and this just proves that with more work and more training, I can do even better at the next mountain bike race next month.

Beat the Train: April 11, 2015

Today was our weekly, Saturday morning, Beat The Train ride in Detroit.

Super cool photo off Cook and I riding today. Great day today between 55 brutal miles and working around the house with @katelynshelby. This weather is great.

A photo posted by Marc Langlois (@marcxlanglois) on Apr 11, 2015 at 6:01pm PDT

The weather was beautiful and it's a great way to start the weekend!

Surly Trailer: Biking Work Horse

Perhaps one of my greatest bike-related purchases of 2014 was the Bill Trailer by Surly. This bike trailer is an absolute work horse, allowing me to pull large items and large amounts of weight almost effortlessly.

There are quite a few options these days for trailers that carry relatively small loads. Trailers are nice because they can be detached when not in use, but most trailers can’t haul much weight and the ones that do suffer some design drawbacks such as incompatibility with many kinds of bikes. Conversely, there are quite a few cargo bikes that can haul bigger loads, but cargo bikes meant for a lot of weight can be difficult to load, are sometimes difficult to ride, and require a lot of space to store. But this Surly trailer helps bridge the gap and are meant to haul a lot, to be easy to use, and work with a bike you have already.

The Bill Trailer is 63” long and 24” wide. It’s made out of TIG-welded 4130 Cro-moly steel for strength and long life, with stainless steel hardware for corrosion resistance. The beds have threaded eyelets for bolting down decking, corner posts, or creating other custom accessories using readily-accessible materials from your local hardware store, lumberyard or home improvement store.

The wheels are 16", keeping cargo low to the ground. 16" wheels are also stronger than larger diameter wheels favored by many trailers. Surly even designed their own hubs to meet the requirements of this frame. The rims are double-wall with stainless eyelets. The spokes are stainless steel, radially laced. Combined with smooth, easy rolling 1.95" tires, these are stout wheels designed specific to their purpose.

The hitch system is designed to be as universal as possible. It works with full-suspension frames, disc brakes, rear racks, and fenders. It adjusts to accommodate hub widths from 120 – 145mm and allows you to align the centerline of the trailer on the centerline of the bike. It will work with bikes that have wheels as small as 20" and as large as 29" while keeping the bed level with the ground. This is especially important when you are hauling long items that hang off the back of the trailer.

The Bill Trailer comes as just a frame, which is great because we can customize it for whatever you need to use it for. Using 2x4s and some hard plastic sheets I built up a great low profile frame. Then in the bed of the trailer, right behind the bike, I secured down a sealable, water-proof box where I can keep tools, tie straps, and anything else I may need on the trip.

I've paired my Bill Trailer with my Surly Cross Check and it is a match made in heaven. Since I've owned my trailer, I've definitely put it to work. Hard work.

A photo posted by Marc Langlois (@marcxlanglois) on Dec 28, 2014 at 11:44am PST

A photo posted by Marc Langlois (@marcxlanglois) on Jan 21, 2015 at 3:40pm PST

My  most common use for the trailer is taking our yard waste and recyclables to the City Recycling Center which is just over a mile from our home. But everything from pulling my girlfriend and our puppy to the ice cream parlor, or toting friends around downtown to pulling a snowblower to help a friend dig out of a Michigan snowstorm, this Surly trailer can handle it all!

Nature Tour of Detroit

Despite the cold temperatures, I took my girlfriend's family and their friends who we vacation with every summer on another two-wheeled tour of Detroit. This is part of our monthly group outings. Our last tour was focused on Detroit's history so I figured this time we would see the beauty in Detroit's nature.

As with every tour, we started out at The Wheelhouse Detroit where most of the group rented bikes. From there we continued up the Detroit River Front and through Milliken State Park.

Detroit's Milliken State Park is located along the River Front is the first urban park in Michigan, providing a 31-acre green oasis in the midst of downtown Detroit.

The first phase of the park - the harbor - opened to the public in 2004 and offers several covered picnic areas, shoreline fishing and a 52-slip harbor. A 63-foot light tower that is a scaled down replica of the Tawas Point lighthouse marks the harbor entrance.

The second phase of the park opened on December 1, 2009 and includes a wetlands demonstration area that shows how wetlands act as nature's water filtration system. Interpretative signs explain how the wetland naturally cleans the water and then returns it to the Detroit River as clean water - without going to a wastewater treatment plant.

The RiverWalk passes through the park in the area closest to the Detroit River, along fishing platforms and a memorial to Peter Stroh, a noted conservationist who was a tireless advocate for the opening Detroit's waterfront the public.

There is a very nice 3.5 mile bike path that laces through the the wetland and waterfront, linking the park to Atwater Street or back to Rivard Plaza.

After riding north up the River Front, we headed towards the bridge to Belle Isle.

Belle Isle is a 982-acre island park in the Detroit River, between the United States and Canada. It is connected to Detroit by the MacArthur Bridge and is the largest city-owned island park in the United States, however, the park is currently leased to the State of Michigan for use as a State Park.

Not only is the park a great place to spend the day riding your bike, there are also a lot of sights to take in. The island is home to the Belle Isle Aquarium, the Belle Isle Conservatory, the Belle Isle Nature Zoo, the Detroit Yacht Club, the James Scott Memorial Fountain, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, a Coast Guard station, a municipal golf course and numerous monuments as well as a swimming beach.

In good weather, Belle Isle is the perfect place to spend a quiet Saturday away from the city! However today it was a windy autumn day, in the low 40s so we breezed through and spent most of our time on the island inside the buildings and staying warm.

This will be our last group tour of the season, due to the weather, but I'll keep biking all year-round!

Similar tours can be booked through The Wheelhouse Detroit, located on the Detroit River Front. 

Cyclocross Training at the Detroit Endurance Lab

As my first cyclocross race draws near, I'm starting to kick up my off-road training.

Yesterday I attended the Detroit Endurance Lab's Cyclocross training, which was held at Milliken State Park on Detroit's River Front. Taught by Landall Proctor, owner of DEL, attendees were taught the fundamentals and the finer points of Cyclocross (CX) racing.

During the session we focused on basic riding tactics and dismounts. Landall broke down the basics of the dismount and how to handle barriers and situations you may encounter on a CX course. He also covered different approaches to hills and how to tactically and efficiently run up a hill in race-type situations.

This was my first real cyclocross training and everything I learned helped quite a big coming from Landall, a Cat 2 cross vet. We went through the motions with some real hands-on trainign and coaching to help instill some confidence in my competing. There was a set of barriers where we could pracgtice dismounts, proper carrying techniques, as well as getting back on the bike quickly without causing any mechanical or or physical problems. We ended the class by making a small loop through the park to get the feeling of riding with others and beome familiar with fighting for positions. It was the clsoest to an actual race that I've ever been.

I've taken a few other classes at the Detroit Endurance Lab, but this was my first CX focused session. It was tough but I learned a lot and I feel a lot more confident in next week's race.

Located in Detroit, near Milliken State Park, the Detroit Endurance Lab is a training studio for cyclists and runners. Their indoor cycling classes use CompuTrainer, which provides the most interesting indoor bike experience ever, which will help you see improvements over the course of your training. Cycling and triathlon coaches worldwide use CompuTrainer as their primary testing instrument. Even USA Triathlon and USA Cycling test and train their team athletes with CompuTrainer.

They also offer personal coaching for area triathletes, cyclists, and runners, offered for both beginners, experienced athletes, and every one in-between.

I'd like to give a big thank you to Landall for taking the time to help all of us and make sure we are ready for our race come the weekend!