Pages From the Road Journal of Everyman's Adventure
Get Serious
Touring is serious recreational riding; it's biking with at least one overnight stay, and often weeks on the road. There are several kinds of touring, and you'll find at least one that will intrigue and delight you. You might even enjoy the whole range of touring options! Bike touring will get you in shape physically, and you can have an entire vacation without using any gas. It lets you see your world from an entirely different perspective. It's an economical vacation for a single biker, a couple or a whole family. But, above all, it's an adventure - one which will have your friends and neighbors admiring your spirit and imagination!
Organized Guided Group SAG
SAG is an acronym for "support and gear." When you take this kind of packaged tour you don't have to carry your own gear on your bike and there is a vehicular support system - usually a big van or two. When you get tired, you can hop on a "SAG wagon" and throw your bike in the back - they'll drive you to the end of the scheduled day's trip or let you out again to bike whenever you want. The SAG wagon also takes care of mechanical problems and provides lunch and regular group rest stops as well as snacks and beverages of your choice all along the route. The bikes are usually provided, 
but you can bring or ship your own if you really want. There are guides who bike along with you to make sure you don't get lost. The organizers will provide all lodging and meals. At the end of the day you'll catch up with your gear at the scheduled motel, inn or campground (many organizers will provide optional tent camping, too) for dinner. The next morning you'll have breakfast before taking off on the new day's ride. If you're visiting a foreign country, there will be translators, of course. It's a good option if you're riding in a rugged or desolate area where there may be danger, or in a foreign country where it may be difficult to put together your own program.
This kind of touring often takes place in the beautiful or exotic parts of the world (although you can do it almost anywhere), and there are hundreds of tour organizers specializing in various kinds of touring or in particular geographic regions. Three years ago my wife and I took a week long bike tour in Alaska. It was unbelievably beautiful - we'd do this every year if we could afford it. It's also the most expensive kind of touring.
Group tour means just that - our group in Alaska was 20 bikers, a very nice, small number. Many tours will number from 60 to 400 - the more expensive the tour, the fewer bikers. Being in a group can be great fun - our group got along very well and included absolutely fascinating people from all over the U.S. and Canada! Certainly there are riders with different levels of ability, but you don't have to ride together as a group - you ride with those of similar ability and inclination. Then you meet at night and party!
Organized Self-Guided SAG
A self-guided SAG tour is designed for those who don't want to travel in a group or who prefer the adventure of finding their own way between nightly lodging. Your tour is predetermined, but you are given only route maps - the rest is up to you. There is no SAG wagon for support along the way, but your gear is transported every day to the next point of lodging. Bikes are usually provided and mechanical help is available each night. Meals may or may not be included. This is an increasingly popular mode of touring, possibly because it is less expensive than full SAG service.
Self-Organized SAG 
This is a group of individuals riding together at the pace and to the destination(s) of their choice with one person driving a SAG van or car. Often the driving responsibility is rotated through the group so everyone gets an equal chance to ride. The driver can ride ahead to make lunch or lodging arrangements, occasionally checking with the riders in case of mechanical or other problems. Advantages include considerably less cost and the flexibility to change schedule. 
Disadvantages include the necessity for the driver to be off the bike at all times and the need for all riders to agree on basic decisions. At least one of the group should be a reasonably serious bike mechanic.
Lodging can be motels/inns or campgrounds or any combination of those. Camping saves considerable cost, but the occasional hot shower in a hotel room is really nice. Likewise, meals can be had in restaurants or cooked at the campground. With a SAG, carrying cooking equipment and raw meal ingredients is not a problem. 
"Credit Card" Touring
This mode is for those bikers who don't want or need SAG assistance but want to enjoy nice lodging and civilized meals in nice restaurants. It means you'll have to carry everything you'll need on your bikes (or in a bike trailer), so your luggage will have to be minimal. It's a nice way to begin your touring experience, since it's not outrageously expensive and you can start with short trips fairly close to home.
A great first trip, for example, would be to drive to Xenia, Ohio, the hub of several hundred miles of Rails to Trails dedicated bike paths. You can ride your bikes for days among the area's quaint small towns (like Yellow Springs and Cedarville), which have many typical tourist attractions and lots of reasonably priced lodging. There are many, many ice cream shops along these trails.
"Real" Touring
"Real" touring is what hard core bikers do, and they'd never think of doing it any other way! This is out-the-door-of-your-home biking, carrying all your gear, with stops only at campgrounds. For "stealth" campers, it means any convenient (free) spot they can hide their bike and tent for the night, even if they have to eat cold oatmeal out of tin bowls. Since this is usually on private property and often illegal, I don't recommend it. It has its risks, not to mention its discomforts, and I personally would rather shell out a few bucks for a campground with a shower in a state park. But a lot of cyclists do it.
This touring mode is extremely flexible, and is ideal for those who would like to just wander for a while. You can also begin with a schedule, perhaps catching a few nights of lodging with friends, biker-friendly households or churches along your route. Anything goes with "real" touring - any combination of options you can arrange. It's for ambitious souls only, but it's the most real adventure you can get on a bike! There are those who have toured for months, even years, without hitting home, travelling literally 
around the world. Some have even sold their homes and set out on a "permanent" adventure with their pets! Each year, hundreds of bikers tour the US coast to coast.
But, of course, you don't have to be this extreme. Even a one-night trip to a nearby state park campground and back makes a great adventure, especially with young kids.
Open Event Rides
An inexpensive way to get started is to sign up for an open event ride. These take place in locations all over the country and are open to anyone who wants to ride. The routes are usually very scenic and the costs relatively low. Of course, there are likely to be a lot more riders and the quality of the food, support and lodging (usually camping) will be lower. The distances and time on the road will vary widely, but riding is typically point to point over a day with multiple days of riding. Many open event rides are for charitable causes, and riders will be expected to secure pledges of financial support from their friends and acquaintences in order to participate. Charity rides tend to be more local in nature and there are even fewer frills.
Start Now!
I hope this section will get you interested, then get you started in bicycle touring. Pay particular attention (as always) to the many helpful links in the Resources section, especially the on-line forums. The experts of the world are at your beck and call!
