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Perhaps you’ve been on a solo bike trip before, but the whole time were wondering – would this experience be better shared? Maybe you’ve always travelled with a friend or partner, but life circumstances changed? Possibly this is your first bikepacking trip, and you would be more comfortable cycling with someone else?
Whatever the reason, there has never been a better time in history to find a bicycle touring companion!
In this resource, I’ll be sharing the best websites to find a partner for your next bike adventure. You can either jump in on somebody else’s bike trip or cast your proposal into the ocean of bike travellers to see if you get any bites.
If you are sharing a touring proposal, I’d recommend including:
– A photo of yourself with your bike (a picture is worth a thousand words, right?)
– Your travel style (do you like to stop at museums, or go for day hikes, or try the ice cream in every town?)
– The start and finish locations and an approximate timeframe
– Your fitness level and expected distance per day
– The number of days off you prefer per week
– Your preferred accommodation (camping, hotels)
– Your approximate budget (are we talking two-minute noodles or Michelin star restaurants?)
Without further adieu, I’ve ranked the best places to find a bicycle touring companion or bikepacking partner.
Cycle Touring Companions Facebook Group
How Active? 5 to 15 trip proposals per month
Link: HERE
Cycle Touring Companions is a Facebook group of 5000 members (July 2021). You will need to request access to this group, but the admins approve requests pretty quickly. Now you can wade through the trip proposals or add your own.
Warm Showers Request Companions
How Active? 8 to 10 trip proposals per month
Link: HERE
WarmShowers is a popular hosting website for bike travellers. On the website, you’ll find a forum section specifically for adding your trip proposal, and it’s pretty active too.
Adventure Cycling Association Companions Wanted
How Active? 5 to 10 trip proposals per month
Link: HERE
The Adventure Cycling Association mostly provide resources for bicycle touring in North America. On their website, you can find a page for companions wanted. These are mostly USA-based trip proposals, and conveniently, they are organised into regions or specific routes (there are a smattering of trip proposals for Europe and Asia too).
CrazyGuyOnABike Companions Classifieds
How Active? 1 to 4 trip proposals per month
Link: HERE
CGOAB is mostly a journaling website for bike travellers, but if you dive into the classifieds section, you might just find your touring or bikepacking partner here.
CycleTouring.org
How Active? 1 to 2 trip proposals per month
Link: HERE
CycleTouring is a bit less active, but the trip proposals are seemingly for big overland journeys that are further into the future.
If you know of other *active* websites for finding bicycle touring companions, please let me know in the comments.
