November 20, 2021
Planning
Over planning? Under planning?
Long ago, while cycling in the Canadian Rockies we were fortunate to share a campsite with some climbers, who had come for the nearby peaks. I learned from them that most of the routes up the peaks were named, and that you could get almost grip by grip information on how to get up them. On the other hand, they said, there is an extra thrill in not having the instructions, and figuring it out for yourself. I thought then, and I think now, it's the grip by grip that is for me.
This translates in our approach to cycle touring. We really prefer named routes, ones with on road signage and downloadable gpx files. We not only prefer them, we adore them. So for example, just being on the "Alpe Adria" or maybe even the "Camino Maya" or something, is a plus in itself.
In Yucatan this is all somewhat moot, because there are not really enough roads to warrant a special track. Still, this does not stop us from plotting out a route, and making sure this is available offline in our phones.
The next level of planning is about where to stay. Dodie is actually a fan of rolling into a town and then physically looking for a place. I dislike this, because the first place you find may or may not be at the right combination of price and facilities, but you will typically not feel like roaming around looking for something else. Of course you could also go to booking.com there in the street, or find a Tourist Information if there is one, and if it's open.
No, better to guess how far you will go, and book the night before. This is generally what we have been doing on past trips. But this time out, maybe because covid has caused many closures, or because Yucatan away from the coast does not have a surplus of accommodation, we undertook to plan and book the whole trip.
This is the sort of thing the cat loves, because it means hours of shared time with Dodie under the hot desk lights. You need to be sure where you will be on each and every day. It's quite a pain!
Another aspect of planning, after you have decided what is coming with you and what not, is to know in which bag(s) all the pieces are. One of the joys of cycle touring is that the total number of items you travel with is actually quite limited, compared to what an average house is stuffed with. In time you become very efficient in dealing with the limited kit, and this simplification of life feels great.
But in the early going it can be mind boggling - especially for my mind. In our case we will start off cycling in the cold and rain, over to Vancouver. That means we will be wearing some kind of cold weather gear, and warm weather stuff must be in bags. We also need to carry bicycle packing and bagging material, and duffel bags that will serve for airplane checked bags and carry on. And for the first time, we'll have 12 batteries, that need to be bust apart in Vancouver and individually wrapped. These then go in one of those darn duffels that we (hopefully) remembered to bring.
In Vancouver we will leave cold weather gear in a hotel, and in Cancun we will leave bike packing material in a guest house. Only then do we get to cycle, to learn exactly where all the stuff on board the bikes is, and finally to revel in the simplicity of it all!
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3 years ago
But the greatest chaos cat ever was the one who invented the cat incense burner by peeing in the old style burner ring well of the kitchen stove!
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Update: one day later - it's all ready to go!
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3 years ago
Hey, you will be in Cancun at Christmas - so will we!!
3 years ago
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