Touring Preparations

As our month-on-the-road experiment gets ever closer, my usual touring preparations include the inevitable lists of things to remember and the associated piles of things I need to pack.

I have a pile for work-related things. Another pile for tools, which I hope to never need, and a pile for the absolute essentials, such as my beloved travel kettle that ensures each day begins with copious quantities of coffee.

I’m only going to Europe, so anything I forget is a shopping trip away; nonetheless, visiting hypermarkets isn’t the reason for the journey, and anything I can do to avoid them, is well worth the effort.

That wonderful blend of excitement and anticipation, mixed with a bit of trepidation I feel before a tour, never gets old.

Touring Preparations

As the departure date got closer and my attention to the details increased, I noticed that my colleagues all have very different approaches to touring preparations.

Roger is the most likely to get on his bike and disappear, facilitated by his organisational skills. A tight, well-rehearsed process that he has refined over time. Everything has its place, and if the desire to bugger off struck him at breakfast, he’d be gone by lunch.

Carle has a quiet confidence that nothing is a problem he can’t overcome. He is the very definition of “It’ll be fine”, and annoyingly, he is usually right.

And I’m an obsessive planner who tries to envisage every possible problem and plan around it before I leave the garage. This is why I find myself staring at a computer screen in the weeks leading up to a tour, trying to optimise routes and discover places to stay that won’t break the bank.

Route Planning

How much to plan and how much should be an adventure is a difficult balance to achieve. On the one hand, I want to get to the destination. On the other, if I’m passing a road that looks good, then exploring – just because I can – is part of what touring is all about.

In defence of my need to plan, I’d argue that I’m combating the GPS’ desire to optimise my journey on fast but boring roads, and if I select “Twisties”, the GPS can’t tell the difference between a curvaceous, fast-flowing backroad and a goat track. [See: Another Magical Mystery Tour]

Carle’s approach would be to take the first road that isn’t a motorway, heading in the general direction of his destination. Roger would execute the journey with maximum efficiency, favouring the “forward operating base” approach.

Forward Operating

The concept is that you accept one dull day travelling to the chosen location, followed by ditching the luggage and spending as many days as possible exploring the roads in that area.

We have done it in Wales, the Picos, Northern Spain and the Harz Forest, and it works well if you want to pack as much riding as possible into a limited number of days.

Reading the motorcycle touring forums will highlight the locations that work well with this approach, and for those of us in the UK, Wales is a great example. The need to plan routes almost disappears when surrounded by miles of twisting tarmac.

Yet, even in the Picos or Wales, I always find myself staring at the route planning software, looking for that perfect road for tomorrow’s ride. It has been suggested that I’m overly obsessive, and they might be right. But, let’s face it, it’s a first-world problem.

Advance Booking

If exploring an area is your preferred option, then where to stop for the night becomes easier. Finding only one decent place to stop for several nights removes the frustrations that can come with trying to find a half-decent place to stop every night.

I’ve tried rolling into town and looking for somewhere to stay, but I always felt I was picking from what was left rather than making an informed choice.

Either my wallet would end up complaining at the kicking I was giving it, or I would find myself wondering what might have happened in the room before I got there and why it smells so strongly of disinfectant.

Booking in advance doesn’t guarantee a good place – I’ve stayed in some shockers – but it does mean a room for the night at a price I’m happy with.

I’m often told that independent hotels are happy to discount if you don’t use Booking.com or another consolidator. The idea is that the hotel is pleased to see you, and they don’t have to pay a commission on your booking. So, you rock up at 6 pm, and they will be happy to fill a room at a discounted price that would otherwise sit empty.

However, I’m yet to meet the person this has actually happened to, rather than a story about someone’s mate. I did get a discount once, but only if I ate in their restaurant. The half-price room was excellent, but it was still an expensive night.

Good cancellation terms seem to be the key. I get to calm my overactive paranoia by booking in advance, but can still change my plans without having to pay for the privilege.

I agree that having a sequence of rooms booked can bring a degree of “Got to get there” to each day, but travelling is the objective of the trip, and for that, a destination is needed.

Best Laid Plans

Having planned a trip – the 3,000-mile GSXS100GT road test – the first thing that happened was the ferry broke, and we were delayed 24 hours.

You might think it was a simple case of cancelling the first night, and all was well, but as the planned tour was a series of one-night stops, the second night stop was 500 miles from the port.

Roger cut straight through the problem and opted to use the motorways. Decision made. Front sight focused, and his objective – a track day at Portimão – secured.

I spent the time waiting for the ferry to plan faster – but still entertaining ways – to catch up to the original agenda and was thankful for the cancellation options.

Meanwhile, in his usual relaxed fashion, Carle decided Spain wasn’t going anywhere, and he’d sort it all out when he got there. Three thousand miles in 10 days or 11 days made little to no difference.

A Month on the Road

And so, it begins. Roger opted out of this tour because someone has to keep the lights on. Carle started preparing his bike four days before departure, certain that if there were anything he needed to fix, it would be done in time.

And I looked up the local motoring laws for the countries we are visiting and noted the phone number of every British Consulate we might need – and some we don’t – just in case.

After all, what could possibly go wrong? Let’s find out.