Open ended travel planning

So yesterday I left the UK on an open ended cycle tour, with the plan of heading East.

Since telling family, friends and work about my trip a few months ago, something that was only a thought in my head became a reality, just like that.

No amount of planning could get me completely ready for this, as I still found myself unpacking and repacking my panniers yesterday, on the morning I left, I realised to be ready for something like this is pretty much impossible.

It’s not just the bike, the kit, the route. What’s harder to plan are the unseen things, the leaving family and friends, the comfort of home life and everything that goes with it.

Making a break from that was always going to be hard but it’s just one thing that I have chosen to sacrifice to undertake a trip that I have been dreaming about for longer than even I can remember.

I am in an extremely lucky position to be able to even start to think about making a trip like this, never mind undertake it. So as I have made the leap and have had the opportunity to do so, I am going to give it full guns and immerse myself in every minute. Not just the the tailwinds, sun, perfect camp spots and traffic free paths, but also the headwinds, snow, rain, punctures, bad moods, flesh eating dogs and crazy drivers. (Maybe I won’t enjoy the dogs).

So, as I write this at the end of my first day I have sought refuge from the imminent sleet and snow in a cheap hotel to push that first night camping one night further. It’s going to take a while to get into the swing of life on the road, but that’s one of the beauties of this kind of travel. It’s not easy, the lows are low, but the high of pedalling overland on two wheels are unforgettable.