Hi folks.
Just trying to get my head around how people plan their long tours. I would like to have some control over where I go, but I also want to be flexible with my schedule. I have a couple cycle tour route websites, but I'm not sure if posted routes are necessarily the best routes. So that takes me back to manually setting routes. That might not be the best way either.
I want to avoid problematic highways while actually choosing an efficient and interesting route to my destination. Camping is also something that I wish to chase, with a hotel once every so many nights to get cleaned up, get wireless, charged up, and maybe some laundry. Oh right, and some warmshowers. Hehe.
I think it would be a good thing to have various approaches to all this in a thread. I'd love to hear how people have approached this planning.
Looking forward to your input. Cheers
(delete duplicate post)
I would say the #1 rule is not to overthink it. I am 18 months into a round the world tour and I have really only a general idea of the way I am headed; I have changed course a good number of times and visited quite a few countries I never intended to at the start.
For routing I heavily rely on Google Maps and my Garmin Edge GPS. Google Maps is particularly good for picking routes on side roads which I then transfer to the GPS. I rely on these to the extent that for many countries I have not even had a paper map at all.
Once outside Europe though to be honest there are often not a lot of options, there may be only one road for where you want to go. The directions from Hanoi to Phnom Penh, via Laos (where I am now), run something pretty much like "go west for 750km; turn left; go south for 500km; turn left; go southeast for 1,250km; arrive at Phnom Penh." I have been cycling for over 1,000km now on what is technically the biggest road in Laos; busy it is not! The majestically named "Mahendra Highway" in Nepal is similar; it is the only road running west to east across the country but has the appearance of a small country backroad in a developed country, with traffic levels to match.
Hi Blorg. Thanks for the post.
Ya I think I'll be taking the same approach. I'm wanting to camp as much as possible, so electricity and charging iPhone/batteries/laptop and getting WiFi is a concern. But thanks for the vote for planning yet flexibility.
Cheers
I am planning on camping for most of my time in Australia (2 months) so am looking at possibilities for electricity myself. I have used a small (Powermonkey) solar panel in the past and frankly it is barely worth it, it is just not big enough to charge anything reasonably quickly.
The Goal Zero Nomad 7 panel got a good review on CGOAB and is probably what I will go for; the other option is a dynamo hub (like a SON) but you also need to add a device that will regulate and transform the power so it will be useful for charging devices. The off the shelf solutions out there are surprisingly expensive.
Either of the above options will charge an iPhone/batteries/etc but a laptop requires a lot more power; might not be possible. Also bear in mind that the iPhone (in particular) is notoriously finicky about its power source and there may be issues trying to charge one with a solar panel or dynamo.
As to Wifi, you don't say where you are going but I have had pretty continual internet coverage through India, Nepal, China, Vietnam and now Laos with local 3G SIM cards. Cost varies but has been as little as $1.20/month here in Laos to $15/month in China. I've had internet in towns that aren't connected to the electricity grid here in Laos and on top of 5,000m mountain passes in Tibet. Sometimes slow, but it works almost everywhere, no matter how remote. I'm on it right now for that matter. Getting a data SIM means you never have to look for an internet cafe and you don't have to worry whether a guesthouse or restaurant has wifi. It pays for itself pretty quickly in my experience.
Yep. That's why the battery in the Fuse is important. I also charge AA's directly, as I've whipped up my own charger.
I am planning Europe. I should be getting a SIM card for Europe for my iPhone for texts and such. I don't want to overdo it. Sync my phone to the laptop when I can, bring in videos and pictures. My GPS in my main concern, as I want to rely on it, and have it record where I have been.
Cheers
Re finding power on your 2 month tour of Australia while camping ... unless you are riding in the more remote parts of the country (and you may well be as there is a lot of 'remote' here) you'll find access to power points pretty readily including at many camp grounds (more so at private ones than public but even many public grounds will have a proper amenities block with a power point or two).
Thanks for the info. I plan to ride from Darwin to Sydney via Alice Springs, which I think probably qualifies as "remote." I haven't paid for a campsite in 18 months riding so far and don't intend to start in Australia, if I can help it! To be honest after cycling across developing world in Asia for two years spending between €250-500/month Australia is going to be brutally, painfully expensive and I want to avoid paying for accommodation entirely. Food will be bad enough.
I spent about a month almost entirely camping in UAE/Oman and after my crappy solar panel broke I ended up taking very long lunches to try to get things recharged, which was a bit annoying... hence my thinking a good solar panel for Australia (where I don't expect the luxury of a place to take long lunches most days anyway.)
Hi Blorg -- Yup you'll be covering some very remote country with extraordinarily limited services but lots of super big road-train trucks. A solar panel should serve you well. With the Australian dollar at near record highs against the Euro, yes, you are going to find it pretty brutal. You'll find food, especially fresh food, very expensive along that route -- well the remote bits ie Darwin to the northern suburbs of Adelaide (if you are going that way). If you've not already explored it you may want to look into posting yourself some packaged food drops to road houses along the way, posting stuff from Darwin. Would probably save you some money and give you more control over your food options. Good luck with your journey and feel free to get in touch when you are nearing Sydney.
Thanks for the suggestions, I will make sure to get in touch in Sydney.
One plus is that the Stuart Highway is actually very heavily cycled; it is by no means an unusual feat. Lots and lots of riders have done this already and have written online about their rides, so I will have the benefit of their experience. Carrying enough water looks like it will be the main issue. I'll consider the food drop idea. I plan to get to Australia in July so at least it shouldn't be too hot (I had bad heatstroke in India and am quite sick of hot weather by this stage.)