What makes you decide to go on a bike tour?

tourdafrique

Hi there,

I was just curious to find out what motivates and makes people to decide to take time off work or, in some cases even quit their job and sell their house, and embark on a bike adventure? It's something that a lot of people have trouble understanding, since it can be a very challenging thing to do and is pretty far away from a "typical" vacation that most are accustomed to.

Would be very interested in hearing stories of people that have made the leap and the circumstances that led up to that.

Boris

jibi

What is around that corner????
another corner
and another

My motivation is pure curiosity

george

megilleland

Age (50 at the time), marriage break-up, self employed-all work no play, change of one's lifestyle. Once on the road you always think why didn't I do this earlier. First tour one year on the road. When you come back you realise what a waste of time this country is. Everyone hopes its going to get better, but it never does. Best advice was to get on your bike. Its so refreshing to see another point of view abroad.

swagman

Because its unnatural to be stuck in one place all your life.

andyrock

My Parents laughed when I told them I was taking a year off for a cycling trip because as a child I said to them that I would ride my bike around the world one day. To me it just seems natural to load a bike with camping gear, a good book for the evenings and map and go cycling.

xilios

For us it was curiosity, just to see what it would be like. Well we tried it and now are trully addicted to touring. We can't think of a beter way to travel, meeting different people seeing all new places its just a great way to escape from it all, even for just a short time.
Even though we havn't taken a multi month tour (yet) we still find the 3 to 5 week tours around Europe quite adventurous and can't wait for the next.

takeonafrica

Because I will only ever regret the things I don't do.
And I certainly don't want to wake up in 10years time finding that I'm in the same place, doing the same thing just because that's what everyone else does.

I love travelling... I love cycling.... makes sense to quit work and follow my dreams.
Can't wait. (time to departure - 7months 24days, and counting!)

Crapaud

takeonafrica wrote:

Because I will only ever regret the things I don't do.
And I certainly don't want to wake up in 10years time finding that I'm in the same place, doing the same thing just because that's what everyone else does.

I can relate to this. I realised that I hadn't done any of the things that I'd wanted to do when was a lad. It was a bit mid-life-crisis-ish.

From when I could read I've suffered from an unfulfilled wanderlust; a combination of Enid Blyton (and other adventure books), ancient history (the Romans, Greeks, Aztecs etc.) and a childish sense of wonder meant that I was left wanting to be an explorer and adventurer and go and discover (on a personal level at least) other peoples, cultures and environments.

This was the background to my first tour: the Tour du Canada. The final push to actually doing it was that I had a healthy loathing of the place that I worked. Even after being granted time off to do it, moves were made by other parties to scupper it. It was at this point that I decided to hand in my notice, if necessary.

While I haven't, to date, done a great deal of touring, I love the simplicity and the sense of freedom of it. I've got a few projects on the go ATM, but the world seems to be conspiring against me. Still, when the time's right I'll have most of the preparation done and I'll be off...

I don't know if the above makes much sense, but I've tried a number of ways to express my thoughts only to discover that they're quite complex, so I'll stop there.

takeonafrica wrote:

I love travelling... I love cycling.... makes sense to quit work and follow my dreams.
Can't wait. (time to departure - 7months 24days, and counting!)

Site bookmarked for further reading.

robthehungrymonkey

This is a very thought-provoking thread.

I've had "problems" since I was 18 and did a ski season in the French Alps, I then went to Canada, and although at the time I thought 'ok, now's the time to get a proper job and earn some money' since I came back (i've recently turned 26) i've always felt i've been missing out.
It's the way that everyday was something fun and exciting, wether that was a normal day going up the hill, or hiking a particular peak, or even just sitting in amoungst the mountains looking around and loving it.

Since I've taken up cycling, I now want to do some long touring as well! Maybe not for years, but a couple of months, to cycle to my parents place in spain for example. But I want to do this regularly, not just a one off.
But, I also feel I should not put myself (and my girlfriend) in a position where i was when I got back from Canada, no money, no job etc. I'd like to come back to this country eventually and be in a better position than when I left (maybe have an asset that isn't a bike/car/snowboard).

I'd love to be free from the everyday stresses and pressures you put yourself under when you're living in this country, in a normal 9-5 job, and I WILL one day. But at the same time I fell now is when I need to build a foundation to allow me to do all these things in the future...

If only I knew where i'd be in ten years time, and choose now wether to swap that for a life in mountains, with summers spent cycling the world...

( apologise for the babbling, it appears i've written loads!)

mercsport

A bit of a 'confessions' thread this .

I can empathise with everyones' angst here . I've been 'there' too . In a sense I never returned .

A vagrant from art school on I've led a dissolute life up until now - my early dotage - without coming too much of a cropper , I'm glad to say .

Brief bio' : Youth to mid twenties was spent bumming about the northern hemisphere -Iceland mostly and Canada - until return to home and working pretty steadily ( building ) until mid-forties and g/f waving bye-bye, at which time I felt it was time to hit the road again . At this point I thought the 'cycle ought to be the way to go .

And I did in a sort of way . Managed to take-off on a succession of summer long trips to Europe which sustained me enough through our drear UK winters . But haven't done a decent trip for several years now , I confess . ' The Thrill Has Gone ' as BB King would put it . Made a lame attempt at LEJOG - in August I think - to try and revive interest again but the weather was so wretched it had the opposite effect ( got to Shap when I declared 'bugger this' ). I was pleased only in that I found out - fat though I am - I could still knock out consecutive 100+ miler days . But , in truth , am given to wonder what it is that that proves .

In conclusion , I would commend anyone that's of a mind to take off , to do just that . If not pinned to the ground by wife /kids and the rest . Do it . In my experience there'll always be something to do ( if willing to work ) to pay the bills and the trips . In my estimation I've managed it about half and half work / play time . Not bad , but I have a chum that's managed about a 10 / 90% ratio - but he's cleverer than me by far . Although I'm definitely jaded in spirit now, in recollection my happiest times on the bike have been pretty much anywhere - where the breezes are warm - in Europe in summertime . No finer place on earth .

pneumatic

Chaucer had this quite well sussed in 1320:

When in April the sweet showers fall
and pierce the drought of March to the root and all
....
And the small fowl are making melody
That sleep away the night with open eye
(So nature pricks them and their heart engages)
THEN LONGEN FOLK TO GO ON PILGRIMAGES.

It may be related to something deep and residual in our brains from the time we were hunter gatherers. Pastures new, and all that. I dream about it almost every day!

I also agree with the Monkey. If you give in to your wanderlust just once, you are addicted for life.

so far, I have used "once in a lifetime experience" at least 4 times to justify a tour to my nearest and dearest!

CyclepathToHell

Freedom. My tour, my pace, my terms.

The mixture of adventure/expedition with tourism.

The sights, smells and many trials. It's not been a great tour unless I at least once ask myself 'why am I doing this?'. If I do, I know I will remember it more powerfully.

The lack of public transport.

The fitness.

The fact I can eat anything I like and still lose fat.

The feeling of immense satisfaction I get when I've done it.

pneumatic

CyclepathToHell wrote:

The feeling of immense satisfaction I get when I've done it.

and don't forget the long Winter evenings by the fireside boring the testicles off your mates with your tales of derring do, accompanied by an interminable slide show, of course.

CyclepathToHell

pneumatic wrote:

CyclepathToHell wrote:

The feeling of immense satisfaction I get when I've done it.

and don't forget the long Winter evenings by the fireside boring the testicles off your mates with your tales of derring do, accompanied by an interminable slide show, of course.

Haha, the only people who can tolerate my touring tales and photos are my mum and sister!