Riding All The Way

Many tour cyclist set off with a determination to cycle all the way, except when certainly unavoidable - usually ferryboat to cross over seas or rivers. Indeed first timers often assume it ought to be done this way, that they've somehow cheated themselves and betrayed the greater cause should they take the train or a bus when a perfectly ride-able road exists. On this view the ride is an act of distillation; it's just you, your bike and the world. Recognize this as a not uncommon over-adventurous reflex to the routine and predictable life you may be leaving behind; you are up for it and want to get your teeth into a challenge!

In the car-dominated country the environmentally assenting activity of cycling as full-time transportation encourages a certain passion which might turn your back on any form of engine-powered aids. It's something that more experienced riders get over once they realize it's not necessarily about riding, its' about traveling. It doesn't mean you have to hail down a local farmer in a pickup every time a stiff climb or an irritating headwind presents itself it merely recognizes that a bicycle's great advantages includes its natural flexibility - and that one of the better lessons gained on the road is flexibility.

Riding it all is challenging stuff indeed; the downside of this kind of dedication is clear: a fair amount of uneasiness and even threat at times - heading out of owns on hectic motorways or through run-down shanty-towns, riding in excessive of warm and cold, unable to catch up with the favorable seasons for tour.

Lashed to a bus roof, in a downpour or on a ship or aircraft, you can cut out a busy or borning stretch or have a chance to acquainte with some locals and so enrich your live through. Travel gives you the freedom to find your own style as a process of self-discovery, and that is ofen easiest done in the company of strangers where you can re-think up yourself as the miles unroll.

If your have more time to spare, you might want to ride every inch of the way. Otherwise, you will have a lot more fun and get further if you press 'fast-forward' once in a while. The key point is: it is your ride, not someone else.