I follow several online cycling communities for inspiration. Day after day, I read stories of people cycling in all corners of the world, tackling routes, distances, elevations and weather conditions much tougher than mine, often camping and figuring their routes out as they go. I marvel at their grit and courage, and sometimes forward photos to Bruno to say, “Let’s go here someday!” At the same time, I don’t feel an urge to emulate their style of bikepacking - at least not at this point.

My current approach to cycle touring is much more leisurely. Yes, I enjoy being on my bike, and I’m planning around 4000km of cycle touring over the coming months - but I also like having a warm bed and hot shower at night, taking rest days to explore new places, and having a battery to help me with steeper climbs. For people who speak the language of “Type 1” and “Type 2” fun, my target is as close to Type 1.3 as possible - mostly comfortable and enjoyable, rather than hardcore.

I didn’t always know this. In fact, it took a few smaller bike tours last year - including a few weeks in Taiwan, followed by a month in New Zealand - for me to get a good gauge of what I found most enjoyable, and what I would eliminate if I could. This self-discovery and exploration was part of the point of those trips, though I also wanted to gain a lot of practical experience before trying our current route. Those tours gave me a solid starting point.

At this point, my vision of an ideal day involves a 10am start, non-rainy weather, changing scenery, some elevation (but not too much), a morning café stop for coffee and sweet treats, a leisurely lunch, and an arrival at my destination by 4pm - followed by a chance to wander around town for food, and an evening curled up with a book.

It doesn’t always pan out that way, of course. In fact, I’ve had one day on the tour so far that mostly fit the ideal state above. That’s okay - it’s a vision, not a rule. Compromises and curveballs are inevitable. I’m still getting plenty of opportunities to learn and push myself, and level up in terms of everything from navigation and coordination to injury recovery and winter cycling. But I still aim and optimise for overall comfort, where possible.

Part of why I keep this blog is to let family and friends know where I am, and to keep memories of the adventure. The other reason is because I feel like most of the people in my cycling communities and forums are far fitter, braver and more ambitious than I am - and so I wanted to share the journey of someone doing an extended bike tour on comfort mode. If I can do what I’m doing, then I genuinely think that the majority of people can do it too, at least from a physical and mental perspective.

(It does cost a bit more than bike packing with a tent, so I think I and most people may struggle to do what I see some impressive cyclists do - riding for years at a time on a shoestring budget, and crossing multiple continents on the way. But that’s okay too.)

Anyway, it’s still early on this tour, so I’d be interested to see how my perspective changes along the way. After all, that’s partly why I go on trips like this - it’s a new and different enough experience that it will help shape my understanding of myself and my interactions with the world. As Dar Williams says in one of my favourite songs:

'Cause when you live in a world

Well it gets in to who you thought you'd be

And now I laugh at how the world changed me

I think life chose me after all