Cycle Tour - How to Decide Where to Ride?

Where shall we ride?

Anywhere there is a track it is possible to ride. 

As is evident from very early days of cycling - the first person to circumnavigate the Australian continent on a bicycle was Arthur Richardson in 1899, about 18,500 km, taking him 253 days.  He warmed up in 1896 by doing the first ride across the Nullarbor from Coolgardie to Adelaide taking 31 days. Carrying only a small kit and a water-bag, he followed the telegraph line. He recalled much ‘sweating and swearing’ on sandy roads west of Eucla, and hot winds on the Nullarbor (‘about 100º in the shade’) and judged the twenty-four miles (39 km) of sandhills west of Madura station the worst in Australasia. (Ref #1)

Roads, tracks, bicycles and packs have improved a lot since then, so destinations are endless.

Sometimes the tracks aren't well used!

A few points to consider first up:

• Am I chasing a holiday or an experience, or both?
• Where is a destination that first comes to mind to experience and/or holiday?
• Will I ride a mountain bike, a road bike or a hybrid/gravel bike?
• How much time will I have?
• What is my budget?
• What is my health status?

Many of these are not mutually exclusive.  Ie. If your budget is low you possibly wouldn’t choose to go to Switzerland, where cost of living is high and wild-camping is banned.  Or, if you rarely ride and a tad overweight you may not choose The Dolomites or the Pyrenees to ride through.

Step 1: Why this Journey?

Have a reason for this journey. It gives focus and purpose to the planning and to the tour. Make it your story. Is it about scenery, nature, discovering other cultures, tracing history, family connections, exploring historic trading routes, cycling iconic rides (eg. Tour de France routes), following passions for architecture, food, wine, art, history, following movie or book locations? A special event to attend, visiting friends along the way, meeting new people, sharing a unique experience with loved ones, creating wonderful memories, or a mental or physical challenge?

Step 2: Where To Ride To?

Choose a destination based on your answer to the Why question. Home country or overseas.  Narrow it down to regions, towns, destinations based on your reason from above. Make a list of desired destinations within that destination that can be linked together to create a route and follows your 'Why' theme. It should be people, places and things you are passionate about and are excited about visiting or experiencing. 

We usually start with a general idea from the Why question, then get the large Atlas/RoadMaps out and pour over them for days to see what is in the general area. Then we start on the internet looking at specific attractions within areas and towns and finding out what else is nearby that would be interesting.

Can you guess where the next planned route might be?

The joy is the affirmation of the “discovered by research” and the discovery of the “undiscovered” along the way.

Let’s look at an example:

In 2022, after 4 Western Australian regional tours in the previous 2 years, we decided to risk Covid and other obscurities, and once again, take our Merida road bikes overseas in 2023. 

We were chasing a lower risk adventure, taking in a re-visit to one of our favourite cities, Prague, and visiting some of the areas in Germany that Jenny’s parents had been in WW11, as well as the sight of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. 

Both Jen and I had crossed the Berlin Wall when it was still in operation and were keen to experience whether there was still a difference between the old West and East Germany.

Venice, Northern Italy, The Dolomites,  Austria, The Black Forrest were also regions that entered our minds.

With a budget in mind we chose to see whether we could create a circular route with a return ticket Perth to Prague.  We looked at the big map and the idea popped into our heads: Prague – Vienna – Venice – Trento – Frankfurt – Berlin – Baltic coast at the Polish border – Stralsund – Gorlitz – back to Prague.   2 bikes and our luggage, bikes bags and excess luggage left in Prague, then head off with bikes as our vehicle. We would stay in 3-star accommodation along the way, with a distance/day in mind to average about 70km.

This rough route was put into the Komoot App and the result was not good, too long – around 4,500 km.  We had allowed for 8 weeks away (56 days) with a maximum of 3 days riding, then 1 day rest and discovery, meaning a  maximum of about 40 days riding = approx. 2,800 km. 

The outcome: we pruned it - we planned to catch a train (with bicycles allowed) from Prague to Verona (Italy) and begin the journey to the Venice region (Chioggia to touch the Adriatic), then wind our way through Bolzano (on the Via Claudio Augustus trade route), through the Alps to Innsbruck, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Berlin then North East to Poland and the Baltic coastline, then onto Stralsund.  From Stralsund we would catch a train to Gorlitz and then cycle back to Prague.

We left on the 9^th of May, 2023, and the story of our journey is told in our blog and videos on YouTube.

Recommended Reading to Inspire you:

#1 "Tour de Oz" by Bret Harris. 2017. The extraordinary story of the first bicycle race around Australia.

"Lone Traveller - One Woman, Two Wheels and the World" 1998, and other books by Anne Mustoe. Remarkable stories of bike touring before the benefits of mobile phones, gps and navigational devices. 

Jen & Greg 
October 2024