Touring and Boredom
- Thread starter dellzeqq
- Start date
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I'm just glad that I'm too shallow to have to worry about that sort of cod mysticism - but hey ho, each to his own!
NickC
New Member
- Location
- The Netherlands/Croatia
Forgive me for asking, but if it bores you, why do you want to do it?
snorri
Legendary Member
- Location
- East coast, up a bit.
I feel just the reverse. There are always points of interest along a riverside,(thinking Elbe and Rhine) ferries crossing, vessels passing up and down, riverside hostelries etc. I see hills as an impediment to progress which interupt the easy going and pleasant rhythm of cycle touring.Cathryn said:
I tell you what - if you're not tied down by work but you fear that touring might be boring, then I can tell you categorically that it most certainly will. So a much better option which I would suggest is that you do the decent thing and do my job for me for a month for free while I do the tour that you would have done if you weren't bored.
Wet, cold, too hot, very tired, hungry, pi##ed, pi##sed off, lost, frustrated, injured, ill, covered in insect bites, content, happy, ecstatic but in 22 tours over 1000km never BORED
I find just being on the bike riding through the landscape be it rural, urban, industrial, mountainous or flat there is always something interesting to see or be part of – always something to be doing whether that is finding provisions for the day or this evenings campsite
The tedium of camping for the night, cooking the evening meal and packing up in the open air on a sunny morning is something I find very easy to live with (rainy mornings I can do without but they are part and parcel of the whole thing)
Excitement when it does come tends to be because something has gone horribly wrong – like a wheel or myself falling off – I can do without it – if you crave excitement on tour then you are in the wrong place
I never plan on tour to go and see anything in particular – towns tend to be waypoints on the route to be explored as they come along – both the ugly and the fantastic. I never find that touring is about getting from A to B – it happens as a matter of course – its about the journey and exploring new places
The longest tour I have done was 33 days in New Zealand - it came and went far too quickly for me to become bored!
I find just being on the bike riding through the landscape be it rural, urban, industrial, mountainous or flat there is always something interesting to see or be part of – always something to be doing whether that is finding provisions for the day or this evenings campsite
The tedium of camping for the night, cooking the evening meal and packing up in the open air on a sunny morning is something I find very easy to live with (rainy mornings I can do without but they are part and parcel of the whole thing)
Excitement when it does come tends to be because something has gone horribly wrong – like a wheel or myself falling off – I can do without it – if you crave excitement on tour then you are in the wrong place
I never plan on tour to go and see anything in particular – towns tend to be waypoints on the route to be explored as they come along – both the ugly and the fantastic. I never find that touring is about getting from A to B – it happens as a matter of course – its about the journey and exploring new places
The longest tour I have done was 33 days in New Zealand - it came and went far too quickly for me to become bored!
Cathryn
Legendary Member
- Location
- Marlborough, Wiltshire
snorri said:I feel just the reverse. There are always points of interest along a riverside,(thinking Elbe and Rhine) ferries crossing, vessels passing up and down, riverside hostelries etc. I see hills as an impediment to progress which interupt the easy going and pleasant rhythm of cycle touring.
Just goes to show though that different things for different people!! I guess part of the knack of a good tour is knowing what you enjoy and planning for that.
rualexander
Legendary Member
If only going away for a tour of 2 or 3 weeks I would plan it carefully so as to avoid any major possibility of being bored, for me it would be varied scenery, some good climbs, natural forests, lakes and rivers, and the potential for some good company, if not going with anyone else.
But for a longer multi-month tour you will maybe have to accept that some of it will be boring, or a drag, or just plain hard work, just like life really! But some of it will be the best thing you have ever done, you will meet some great people and see some amazing places! And even if some of it was boring you will want to do it again somewhere else.
If you find youself on a boring section, give yourself some regular targets, treats, have a good book that you can look forward to reading later in the day, etc
But for a longer multi-month tour you will maybe have to accept that some of it will be boring, or a drag, or just plain hard work, just like life really! But some of it will be the best thing you have ever done, you will meet some great people and see some amazing places! And even if some of it was boring you will want to do it again somewhere else.
If you find youself on a boring section, give yourself some regular targets, treats, have a good book that you can look forward to reading later in the day, etc
I tour in two different ways.
With my wife it is planned and with the trip as a "Project" such as the C2C or Hull to Harwich
On my own i tend to have two or three planned points such as ancient sites or churches. Apart from that the fun is seeing where you go, investigating an interesing side road or something mentioned in a cafe or pub, a steeple seen in the distance.... and stopping somewhere that simply takes your fancy.
You can overplan!
With my wife it is planned and with the trip as a "Project" such as the C2C or Hull to Harwich
On my own i tend to have two or three planned points such as ancient sites or churches. Apart from that the fun is seeing where you go, investigating an interesing side road or something mentioned in a cafe or pub, a steeple seen in the distance.... and stopping somewhere that simply takes your fancy.
You can overplan!
