Racing in Europe on a Backpacker Budget: Part Two

In the middle of December I reminisced about living overseas, and relishing the opportunity for more travel. More adventure. More racing. But all on a limited budget. That was part one – this is part two. Packing up and heading overseas can always seem like a huge expense. And it isn’t ‘cheap’ – but there are lots of ways to minimise costs without detracting from the experience too much. It’s up to you to decide what mix of performance, experience and comfort you’re after on your trip. You could cycle tour from one event to the next, with minimal gear save for bikepacking style camping kit. Your race results would probably be fairly crap – but if results weren’t your main priority would that be a problem? Again, here are some more things I learnt – choose what you will, leave what doesn’t work.

Go for a good time. Or go for a long time.

Perhaps this should have been in part one. But you most likely know this already. You need to make a choice – are you away for three weeks and hitting a stage race and two marathons? Or is this an open ended trip, ending when you’re worn out and broke? If you choose to go for longer, and make a huge road trip, it can work out a bit cheaper. Especially if you’re flying from a long way away. If you start to be away for more than 3 months, you might consider all the other costs you can drop at home: rent, phone, health insurance (see below though) and more.

By dropping some ongoing costs, you might be able to afford another week, or even another month away from the real world.

Get a hire car

I did this for the first time in the US in 2008. A friend was in London on business around the time of the Spring Classics. I was about to jump on the Eurostar to head across the Channel. I was talking about the bus and train travel I was figuring out for North America. He interrupted. “Get a car.” The point was that within our lifetime casual car travel might well stop being possible, and the great American road trip would be harder to achieve. I had a car for about 7 weeks, and went more places, rode more cool trails, and had a greater adventure than I thought possible. Hire cars are often seen as overly expensive, but having what ends up being a big suitcase on the road can actually help minimise other costs. With a car, having a cheap tent and sleeping bag from a  big outdoor goods shop, and camping, becomes a lot easier. You can access more towns, with more speed. That might mean you can get to supermarkets for better value shopping, or can access accommodation that is just too hard to get to via public transport. And if you’re willing, you could even sleep in it. Also a good option if it’s really cold, or you’re scared of bears…

A car will also help reduce costs if you’re only away for a short period of time. You can cover ground a bit faster than by most (but not all) public transport. Play around with car comparison sites, and don’t consider it if you’re picking up and dropping off in other countries. Except France/Switzerland if you can utilise either side of Geneva airport. That’s a useful trick.

You don’t need to be stuck with airport pick up either. Many major airports are right on the train line. You can jump on a train to a regional hub, and save yourself the headache of getting out of town too. For example, fly to Munich, catch the train to Bregenz. Get a car there and you’re at the foot of the Alps and on the border of about four countries, plus right next to some pretty awesome riding. Just check opening times if you plan to do something like that.

Make your last feed your first feed

While this might be a bit hand-to-mouth for some, it is still a useful way to live if you’re a bit hard up and counting euros/zloty/francs etc. Some European marathon races have exceptional feed zone support. While I don’t suggest taking advantage of generous sponsors, it can be good for your performance in the current race and the next to pocket some more gels or bars than you need at the last feed. Firstly, the last part of the race on the profile is almost certainly harder than you expected. Don’t hunger flat now. Eat. And as a bonus, you should have some food to get you to the first feed zone in your next race.

Pack smartly

I’ll readily admit that I take a little more each time I travel – but that is probably matched with getting older too. With memories of a half filled 30L day pack along with a bike bag being enough for my first 4 week European jaunt, it really is surprising what you need, and how much you don’t. I won’t dictate what clothes you should wear – it’s more about packing consumables. Why take so many toiletries and bike spares? Just about wherever you go, they’ll have it. Start calculating the cost of a 600g tyre at $60 (or more) of excess baggage, and then think about chains (300g), sealant, shampoo, toothpaste… if you plan on taking all spares and everything you need on a longhaul flight, it gets excessive.

Buy your personal items beyond the essentials you need for the flight when on the ground, and save for the basic spares pick it up as you need it in race expos and sports shops. You could even mail order items ahead, like your race food and recovery mixes.

Disconnect

This is partly covered above – you could put your phone plan on hold. But you could also think about disconnecting completely. This might come under going for a long time, not a good time. If you have the time to find internet cafes, and look for transport timetables, use maps and go “retro” with your travel… why not just disconnect as much as possible? Forget about roaming charges, or what prepaid deal is best in each country. Leave your tablet or laptop at home, and keep your phone for emergencies. You will save money, and time, and quite possibly meet more people.

To bike box – or not

It doesn’t have to be a given that you use a heavy bike bag, or cardboard box, or soft case bike bag. Each method has merits, but think about what you’re doing at your destination before you commit. If you’re staying put, well go for the bike box. Constant travel? A lightweight bike bag like those from Ground Effect are ideal – just BYO padding. If you don’t really know what you’re doing, try a cardboard box. And if you’re riding a dual suspension bike – why not strip it down? This is especially useful for coming home when it’s likely your bike will need a rebuild anyway. But it makes getting around when in transit a lot easier – especially for negotiating public transport.

Make sure you are covered

Getting injured when riding and racing is sub-optimal. Especially overseas. Travel insurance that covers racing can be hard to get affordably, but it is a worthwhile investment. You don’t want to get stuck with big medical bills overseas – be it from illness or injury, theft or major travel delays, this upfront cost can cover itself many times over.

That’s it for now, but we’ll have a third and final instalment covering eating, making contacts, and switching your national pride soon.