Bicycle touring - Taken to the limit

As I've been riding my bicycle all spring and summer so far, I started thinking about doing a little bicycle touring. Bicycle touring in my opinion would be trips of 50 -100 miles. Pack a lunch and some snacks and go for a few days.

The idea really gets me excited, and it's relatively inexpensive entertainment. I happened by my childrens school teacher, who is/was an avid bicyclist and repair guy, Ron Keall. Ron knows his bikes inside out, and walked me through the parts on my bicycle while helping out tuning up the bike at the same time. I was amazed at how much better the bike ran when I knew what the tweeks were.!!

Ron mentioned that his longest cycling tour trip was 3,000+ kilometers from Nova Scotia to Minneapolis. I was immediately intrigued by his stories. He spent 33 days on his trip and did everything from staying hotels, to gypsie camping.

Ron mentioned that http://www.warmshowers.org is another good source for people that may help you on your way with warm showers, a place to stay, and maybe even a meal.!

I'm kind of intrigued with the idea. The major cost would be getting the bicycle up to speed, and then getting the panniers (bike luggage), tent, and accessories for the bicycle trip.

The cost of the trip would be limited to food, camp grounds, or hotels, bike repairs, and any entertainment you wanted to take in. From what I could read at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com most people didn't really go out for too much entertainment when they're on the road. They seem to be tired from all the riding.!

When you talk about dollar cost of adventure, bicycle touring has to be one of the cheapest ways to go. It's a little extreme as you're in the elements the whole time, however, if you plan well, you can deal with most of adversities reasonably. To get a hotel every night would make the costs prohibitive.

I'm curious to know if any of our visitors have done any extensive bicycle touring in the U.S. or Canada. I would love to hear your stories.