How much preparation do you do?

[yello]

I'm quite taken by the idea of riding the Euro cycle route 6 from the French Atlantic coast to Romania, following the Loire the Rhine and the Danube. 4500km in all, so it'd take a bit of time!

Anyways, googling around, I read of people taking months, nearly years, to prepare their journeys. I find myself wondering why so long. Clearly, different journeys have different levels of planning required - particularly where borders are concerned - but something like a 10 day European jaunt doesn't require that much planning does it?

Please, someone tell me they've thought 'that sounds cool' and just got on their bike and done it.

 

[andym]

I'm quite taken by the idea of riding the Euro cycle route 6 from the French Atlantic coast to Romania, following the Loire the Rhine and the Danube. 4500km in all, so it'd take a bit of time!

Anyways, googling around, I read of people taking months, nearly years, to prepare their journeys. I find myself wondering why so long. Clearly, different journeys have different levels of planning required - particularly where borders are concerned - but something like a 10 day European jaunt doesn't require that much planning does it?

Please, someone tell me they've thought 'that sounds cool' and just got on their bike and done it.

You're going to do 4500 kms in ten days? Yikes.

I think there are people who seem to spend huge amount of time obsessing about the best tyres, or whether it's better to attach their stuff to the rack with straps or bungee cords. Yes I think you can overdo it.

For a trip on an established route there are probably already lists of places to see and places to stay. So probably not a lot of research to do - but that said it's worth taking the time to do some research: it's very easy to go steaming along the route and then realise you've passed by some of the most interesting places. Or alternatively sometimes cycle routes are designed to bypass urban centres - which is fine except it means that you need to make a conscious decision about what you want to see, because it involves turning off the route.

 

[david1701]

if you have the kit and the skills you can be very flexible like that, noobs that don't need to do more planning

 

[yello]

You're going to do 4500 kms in ten days? Yikes.

um, no...

I'm kind of divided over the issue of researching the 'things to see and do'. One part of me doesn't want to miss anything 'must see' etc but I'm equally aware that I'm not really into seeing the sights (or is that sites? both work!). As I've said elsewhere, I'm a bit of a heathen; show me a 18th century château and I'll show you an 2nd furniture store that charges admission. Wasted on me, it really is.

I've always been of the belief that invariably the truly memorable events are the unscripted ones so outside of logistics, I really don't want to plan a great deal.

 

[andym]

I've always been of the belief that invariably the truly memorable events are the unscripted ones so outside of logistics, I really don't want to plan a great deal.

Well yes, but equally the things to see might be a fantastic waterfall, or stretch of coastline, or caves.

And the problem with at least some long-distance paths is that there's only so much long-distance cycle path you can take in one go. Yep happenstance can turn up nice surprises but it can also mean you miss the nice places and end up in the duller ones. Personally I go with the thesis that a bit of planning can help you get lucky.

 

[yello]

there's only so much long-distance cycle path you can take in one go

Yes, that does concern me with that particular route. Cycling down the Loire may sound ideal... but I'm sure you can get sick of that bloody river after a while!

I accept the hazards of my unscripted approach, that's why I try to balance it. I just don't want to be a slave to 'Lonely Planet' or whatever. And, as I said, I have a limited tolerance for tourist attractions anyway. All cathedrals look alike to me after a while!

 

[palinurus]

Almost none. See the weather is looking nice, book a few days off work, check bike over, get maps(sometimes, or sometimes I buy them as I go along. Or intend to, but don't), pack (usually evening before).

Go. Realize I've forgotten to pack phone. Assume I will find hostels or B&Bs.

 

[andym]

Yes, that does concern me with that particular route. Cycling down the Loire may sound ideal... but I'm sure you can get sick of that bloody river after a while!

I accept the hazards of my unscripted approach, that's why I try to balance it. I just don't want to be a slave to 'Lonely Planet' or whatever. And, as I said, I have a limited tolerance for tourist attractions anyway. All cathedrals look alike to me after a while!

For someone who has just said he has no interest in chateaux, the Loire does indeed seem like an odd choice.

But what about the place where 'Leonard de Vince' spent his last days sketching flying machines? Or troglodyte houses? Etc etc. Knowing which places the Lonely Planet or Guide Routard recommends doesn't mean you have to go to them. But they are often well worth checking out.

And all cathedrals are alike? Pah.

 

[palinurus]

I never visit anywhere when touring, once I start cycling I don't like to stop.

Unless it's to eat of course.

I just like a change of scenery.

 

[PaulSB]

I'm not an experienced tourer but have found a fluid, unplanned approach suits me best. On my first tour I had everything planned and felt I was on a bit of a treadmill. Since then I've tried to have a general idea and then plan each day the previous evening.

Last summer I cycled from Glasgow, Arran, Oban, Outer Hebrides, Ullapool, Inverness. I set off with road atlas maps, bought a map of the Hebrides and guide book in Oban. Worked out my basic A to B route and then used the guide book to decide what I should see and diverted accordingly.

If I was riding the Loire I don't think I'd notice the river all the time. It's the riding I love!!

 

[vernon]

I've done the EV 6 eastwards as far as Beaune and the only planning I did was to find the first available ferry to St Malo after breaking up from school and buying the EV6 maps as far a Switzerland and from St Malo to Nantes oh and booking the European Bike Express coach back from Beaune. Apart from that, each day was a surprise. I have done the same stretch of the Loire twice, once slavishly following it as far as Orleans with a couple of cyclists who were cycling to Czechoslovakia then parting company when i had a day off in Orleans to buy a new bike. The second time I was on my lonesome for the entire route and much of where I went was new and my ride was more leisurely as I visited ancient churches as they took my fancy along with monasteries, museums and landmarks. The EV6 maps indicate places of interest and I had a good time just taking things as they came.

This year I will be cycling from Beaune to Passau. I have bought a German cycle map book translated into English and my reading of it is so infrequent that I can not even remember the title. I've booked the Bike Express to Beaune and a train from Passau to Amsterdam where I'll be spending two days before catching a ferry to Newcastle. What will happen between Beaune and Passau is left to fate.

 

[vernon]

I used a more casual level of planning for my LEJOG and JOGLE rides. The only things that were predetermined were the start dates, the starting places and the end points but no end dates as I had no idea how long I'd be.

 

[psmiffy]

My approach is

how long is it before I need to be somewhere?

How far can I cycle in that time without being stupid?

where would I like to go?

How do I get back?

Leave office at 5pm Friday night for ferry/airport - make the rest up as I go along?

 

[vernon]

I've always been of the belief that invariably the truly memorable events are the unscripted ones so outside of logistics, I really don't want to plan a great deal.

The most memorable bits of last years tour in the Loire Valley and its environs was when I stayed at a camp site at Autun for two night so that I could eat pike and baked peaches with rosemary at the camp site restaurant which was closed on the first night. I went to kill some time at the local roman amphitheater only to find that it was the first day of a roman re-enactment pageant and I ended up spending half a day there. The meal was worth the extra night and I had a fantastic day overall.

The aqueduct that featured in your posting was another highlight as I appreciate great engineering.

 

[yello]

And all cathedrals are alike? Pah.

Do you note my self-deprecating humour? I think you might be reading my posts as too black or white factual rather than the with the light-heartedness I'd intended.

There are things other than châteaux on the Loire btw but I do take the point that knowing what there is on-route doesn't obligate you to see it. I'd agree with that.

I'm very pleased to read there are people that don't plan a great deal though. Like others, most of my pleasure is derived from being on the bike and moving along. And simple pleasures like setting up the tent and visiting the local shop to buy dinner provisions. Makes me feel somehow liberated. The riding gets interspersed with visits to whatever might be around when I'm feeling like a break but I don't look to fill my days away with such things. No slight intended to people that do, just that it's not what I do.