I end up creating a paper booklet for each tour. It starts with my airline info/tickets, train/bus tickets, accommodation listings from booking.com, and my broad-view map for the day. Other useful bits are added - copies of our passports, a few blank sheets for scribbled notes of any sort, and anything specific to the tour (as an example, my Covid test results a couple 9f years ago. When i think of it, I add the airline's bicycle policy from their website.
To round out this fairly nerdy booklet, I print out a cover page from the Cycleblaze journal thumbnail. I keep these after the tour as to re-enjoy the tour.
All this being said, we are currently downsizing our lives (even selling some bikes and gear) so I will probably get rid of the paper and just keep the digital version.
I use a combination of methods. My primary tools are a Google Sheets spreadsheet that has all the pertinent details: date, start and end points, address and phone number of the target lodging, etc.
I also use the Description field in each day's RWGPS route to record the intended destination, potential alternative stopping points, etc. as a backup, since I can download all of that to my phone and still have access to it even if I'm in an area with no online access (which makes my Google Sheets file inaccessible).
Exporting the Google Sheet to a PDF, then downloading the PDF as a file to my phone is another option but I don't generally do that. I do sometimes print the thing to hard copy and tuck that page / those pages away somewhere.
I do also carry a pen and small notebook, but use them more for capturing and recording info that arises during a day's ride as well as to hand-write journal entries for later transcription when I'm camped somewhere that's not on the information superhighway.
Keith, if you use the Google Sheets app on your phone (rather than accessing sheets through a web browser) there is an option to tag a sheet for offline access. That would allow you to see, and even update your spreadsheet even without cell service. Just a thought.
Thanks Mike. Yes I’ve found that a simple ‘mud map’ like this helps check there’s at least one navigable route with supplies along the way.
For my previous job I organised study tours for groups of 30+ people to Indonesia, and I always began my planning with a simple mud map. An overview before being immersed in minutiae.
Additional details, like distances can easily be inserted.
Even more info such as accommodation and other key contacts could be jotted on the reverse side. The paper is water proof. Tradie Notebook from Office Works.
2 months ago