He was accompanied by a mobile home and transported to and from these presentations (too much planning
) when he would have preferred to be resting after a day of cycling.
On a side note - I've read more than a few reports from cyclists doing charity rides who commented that the obligations imposed such as social media & presentations en route turned out to be far more onerous than they anticipated.
It depends, if there are other people involved a plan is often necessary to get them on board and show that you've done due diligence. Conversely you lose some of the flexibility and it takes some convincing to get people to agree to deviate from the route in the event of new information.
That's very true. If someone wants to come along with me I'll explain my relaxed attitude to planning. Most people, especially non-tourers find that very difficult to accept. I used to spend ages coming up with plans/routes/accommodation for the benefit of others. No longer.
On my own European tour I had some concrete long term objectives but short-term the extent of my planning would often be "what's the next big town and how far is it"
Touring is best when you see a road and say "I wonder what's up there" and indulge yourself without time pressure, although the standout day for me was a combination of planned and unscripted; I booked into a hotel for a rest day in Girona (with a cut-off time for check-in), and I got routed along a scarcely traversible trail through the gorgeous Guilleries-Savassona nature preserve - a place I'd never have visited without the time limit ruling out the longer routes. Challenging and alarming at the time but man, what an adventure.
Without a destination to aim for I'd be in serious danger of going nowhere!
The rain was falling for just under an hour. They could have stopped, but this would have thrown out the carefully planned timetable.
Villages/towns they passed through all had a scheduled time. No allowance for nature having a laugh. Which given they'd planned on travelling on back country lanes, at the height of summer, was overplanning.
The amount of time in the saddle was based on riding an unladen bike locallly first. Not the best way of working the timing out.
The rain was the last straw, in an afternoon when they'd multiple holdups on-route. Five people decided that cycling wasn't for them, and ditched the bikes.
I think that's a real shame! Not sure if the problem is too much planning or just poor planning. In any case, the fact that they never tried again is sad.
I spent 19 months touring the world.
I landed in South America with a 1:4,000,000 scale map and 4.5 months for that leg. I would decide which direction and roughly how long I wanted to travel. Head down the bus station and find a bus going the right direction. Get off in interesting terrain or looking places.
I ended up entering Paraguay after seeing a sign for the country when on a bus in Argentina. I was the only Gringo on the bus and border guards had me get off and find out why I was at their border. After a chat they stamped my passport and let me in. I visited the Jesuits ruins and had locals (who passed round a "herbal" drink ) on the buses I was on invite me into their houses when I found nowhere to stay where I got off. I got a lift with gun runners into Brazil. I sneaked over the border whilst customs dealt with the gun runners. This caused a problem exiting Brazil so I had to return to where I had entered explain myself, get an entry stamp then make a dash to the other border I wanted to exit at. I made it to the southern tip and managed to get a lift on a supply ship to Antarctica. I also found myself near one of the big telescopes up high in the Andes and was able to gaze at close up of Saturns rings. No cost as the person I was staying with worked there.
So you can certainly have adventure if you are flexible. But if I am touring in the Lakes in summer and not camping, then I will want my accommodation booked.
That's one hell of a story to have!
I'm also highly amused at the juxtaposition of the last paragraph - travel South America without a plan but not venture out without reservations in your back yard!
I understand exactly what you mean.
Google Earth, and, streetview are terrible things for Georgraphy nerds.
I'm currently streetviewing possible rides in Japan, just because I enjoy it and it's the dead of winter and I'm fed up with not being able to ride a bike. I'm finding some fantastic places well off the tourist trails that we can explore.
The knowledge that I'm hopefully taking the Elder son with me and I don't want him disappointed by getting hopelessly lost on the first day is also a factor, partly because one peculiarity in Japan is an almost complete lack of street signs.
I have a similar habit in Germany although here streetview is far more limited so I have to restrict myself to endlessly looking at satellite views. I find it helps me find interesting things I wouldn't otherwise know about, which become the focus/destination/motivation for the ride. If I don't have a destination I feel like I'm riding aimlessly and don't really get anywhere. This year I've got a few places in mind, a castle no-one has heard of, a couple of old towns hidden away in the hills, and a few railway stations with a distinctive type of station building I want to make a model of.
Told you I was a nerd. I would have probably missed all of these if I hadn't found them online.
On the other hand, my reaction to any festivals I accidentally come across is to run/ride away as fast as I can...
I'd say there's a distinction between looking at what is around where you will be and actively planning "when I'm near X I'm going to do A,B,C & D". I agree it's good to know A,B,C & D are there (I think missing out on things is one of the great drawbacks of just following your nose), but I'm not sure of the merits of having an actual plan to do all of them. From my own experience, many of the things I planned and looked forward to were disappointing in the flesh.
Myself, I like a small bit of planning, mainly to make sure I am not missing out on fun things along the way. In my early days of touring I rode past so many great things that I could have done without knowing they existed.
Well, that's the thing. If you've no info you can miss out on so much. On the other hand, too rigid a plan can make t more difficult to enjoy whatever the road throws at you.
i don't really think i carry that much weight really - maybe 12kg max - thats including food - but because i also do a fair amount of multi-day backpacking trips - my gear is already very light - i'm constantly amazed by how much 'stuff' some cycle tourers seem to be carrying - especially when i then discover that they aren't even camping.
The thing is for some, 12 kg is very heavy! For me, it's on the light side.
the only thing that pisses me off is people with a strong view of what is right. Touring is touring. You choose what you like. It is frustrating to see people have a bad time (one blog of 3 middle aged Americans had them booked every single B&B for a 31 night tour round the UK, and quelle surprise it went awry)
I agree 100%! There is no right or wrong. It's all so personal. And it varies so much depending on location, climate, physical condition etc.
And I too get frustrated when I see tours going down the tube or people clearly not enjoying themselves. I think so much has to do with the space between the ears and far less to do with anything else. I wonder what role planning plays in developing the psychological strength?
seeing this, it depends where you are. In west Texas the land is fenced in by gun toting ranchers. So if you know that the ONLY food or lodging options are at say 70 and 120km it means you can judge at the 70km point whether to keep going or not. And food is important to me so knowing I will get some matters to me!
Well, that's just being smart. In such open spaces I don't see knowing where you can eat or sleep to be an example of planning every last detail. However, picking out the best pizzeria within 5 blocks of a motel in a Texas town is probably too much for me.
Actually, finding a good, friendly place to eat is something I particularly enjoy in strange places.
