This blog is an account of my now perennial mission to take my piratical duck on an exciting trip. I intend it to be a resource for touring cyclists and also as a means for my friends and family to be assured that I am still in possession of my pulse. If I find my self in a particularly aspirational mood, I catch my self hoping that I might even encourage someone to give cycle touring a go.
I've been touring for a number of years, and before each trip I search around for inspiration, reading touring blogs and sites. Useful as they are I've never found a touring blog that really fell in line with my own touring philosophy. I don't go in for exceptionally exotic or extreme tours, nor am but I'm generally not afraid to try new or unconventional bits of kit so hopefully some of the lessons I've learned will be helpful to others.
Touring sites I've read seem to fall into two broad categories:
The minimalist: Those who believe that cycle touring is a back to basics experience, and tend to focus on all the trappings of modern existence that you can do without; this doesn't quite align with my definition of holiday. I'm quite regularly told by and camping enthusiasts that my touring-life would be much easier if I ditched a lot of the cooking gear I carried in favour of subsisting on cereal bars and dehydrated potatoes. This attitude, to my mind, misses the point; its a holiday, not survival training.
The extreme environment tourist: I'm a sprinty, fidgety sort of cyclist. Touring in environments where you have to manage your pace such that you don't freeze because you broke a sweat, or conserve water as it you are existing in a Frank Herbert novel doesn't appeal to me all that much. I want to ride the pace that my legs feel like they can handle, and indulge in an occasional head-to-head with local cyclists.
My approach
When I tour I go for a number of reasons the main ones being:
- A holiday away from work, and somewhere remote enough that I don't feel obliged to be available by telephone all the time.
- As much as I love cycling, I want to make full use of my time off, which means indulging other hobbies of mine along the way.
- Physical challenge (and more specifically the feel good factor of taking on tough terrain, and coming out on top); it doesn't have to be crossing a desert to be tough.
- Experience culture, environments and people; it doesn't have to be exotic, just interesting.
- Keeping my carbon foot-print low by reducing my use of planes etc.
...Basically just having fun in places I got to on my bike.
So whats with the duck?
The piratical duck was entrusted to me by a friend of mine who likes ducks, and I took it upon my self to see that the duck became properly cultured and traveled.
The bottom line
One thing that everyone who writes about touring seems to agree on is that its a great way to properly experience a country (including your own) in a truly wonderful way. Car and Coach tours, tend to remove you from the surroundings, like you're experiencing a country with all of your senses dulled. When you ride through a country you experience it with all of your senses, even the ache of your muscles speaks of the topography and rhythm of the land.
