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Winter tour planning
Sunday, January 3, 2016 @ 17:47
Winter tour planning
First of all, Happy New Year and hopefully you have spent the holiday well prepareing for the new motorcycle season!
I guess I am not the only one pondering how long this winter will last and when it will finally make up its mind (here, in Denmark, the conditions are still borderline ”rideable” for most of the time). The bike is cleaned and maintained - waiting for its turn to roar on a long tour once again. Commutes are simply not enough anymore.. I take this time off to dream and think of future rides. And there’s no better place than Tourstart to do just that!
From Rio Negro to the Alps, Hanoi and even Sydney – Tourstart users see it all.
I’ve gathered some tours from all over the world for you to get inspired. I would definitely like to ride in each of these locations:
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Africa
Jan-Åke Rosenqvist’s (Swedish, KTM 950 Adventure Orange) challenging 20 hour tour in South Western Kenya: Kenya tour 2013
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Asia
Member Anh Wu (Vietnamese, Honda XR 250 R) shares his ride plan in Northern Vietnam. 577 km and an estimated duration of 9 hours. Ha Giang scenic ride
Tourstart is a multi-platform tool
Yet another great advantage of Tourstart is its multi-platform accessibility. Even if I find myself stuck at a gathering or on a long flight, I can turn on the mobile iPhone and Android app and browse through tons of offline available maps, check out future events, even look at the same crazy South American tour from above.
Tour planning tips
As a part of this holiday edition, I have also decided to write down some of the key things that I consider while planning a new trip. Maybe it will remind you of something or simply inspire to sit down and start dreaming:
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Set a daily kilometre limit. 500 or so is what I aim at. It gives me plenty of time to rest, enjoy the scenery and snack in-between riding.
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What kind of weather are you up for? In general, I try to do my research and be ready for all kinds of possible weather. Besides that, I plan how to pack my gear so that I can always access it and ride comfortably (not too hot/cold, always dry, etc).
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Don’t plan to have a date/important meeting after a 10 hour ride.. Besides your physical condition, which might not be as presentable as you’d like it to be, riding long distances also tires the brain.
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Prepare to take loads of photos/film often. Can your memory card store 500 photos? If not, maybe it’s time for an upgrade? The necessity of deleting pictures to take new ones along the way is terribly frustrating.
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Will you be able to pay by cash everywhere you go? Having some emergency cash is always a good idea and if you will be off to an exotic destination, getting some cheap cash in advance, already in your home country, could be a good idea.
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Something a bit off topic, but I myself am considering to bring a kickstand pad of some sort. Loaded bikes tend to have problems with standing on sand/gravel or other mushy terrain. A simple piece of plank should do the job, though!
With that I leave you to plan and wish you an adventurous new year – one full of new experiences and few punctures! Can't wait to see your ride plans on Tourstart.
Lukas J.
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