Conundrum

Specific board for this popular undertaking.
Tiggertoo
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Conundrum

Post by Tiggertoo »

I am in a quandary (the reason to venture onto this board after a long self-imposed hiatus).

My LeJog will be next June and I am wrestling with going with a tour or going alone. The venturer in me says: go alone, the pragmatic in me says: go with the tour.

Going alone means arranging overnight accommodation - either in advance or on the run, so to speak, and going on the tour means, it is all taken care of.

Going alone, I suspect the overnight accommodation will be in the range of - say - 900 pounds for 9 - 10 days, thus saving 1,000 pounds by not taking the tour. 1,000 pounds + or - is a deal of money to pay for convenience. I could buy another bike for that. :roll:

Without going into specifics, do the forum denizens have any useful thoughts?
rotavator
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Re: Conundrum

Post by rotavator »

I think you have to weigh up the pros and cons:

How well do you get on with groups of new people?

Would you prefer to camp rather than use hotels and B&Bs?

If the organised tours use hotels, are they of a standard you like?

Do you prefer cooking and/or choosing your own food versus set meals in hotels etc.?

Would you prefer to travel ~1000 miles on an unloaded road bike or on a loaded touring bike?

Would the relative ease and convenience of an organised tour spoil the sense of adventure and feeling of achievement that you would get from a successful DIY tour?

Do you prefer the freedom of choosing your own route, speed, stops, detours etc to the set route and timetable of an organised tour?

Would the £1000 saved really come in handy for something else or would it soon be forgotten?
mattsccm
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Re: Conundrum

Post by mattsccm »

By your self. A quarter of that 1000 quid will enhance you own plans nicely for luxuries.
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Conundrum

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
I am also planning to go next june (both ways) I will be solo camping where I can or not at all.

If you go self supporting you are probably looking at total weight of 20 - 22 kg.
And you might well need to carry water and food so up to 24 kg.
This includes camp stuff - tools - power banks - extra water when you can get it, and spare food between stops.
Carrying spare food means no flaffing going in to cafe's etc, which slows you down.

How used to wild camping are you.
How much do you require home comforts
...........................

Good Luck!
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill
Please forgive the poor Grammar I blame it on my mobile and phat thinkers.
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Mick F
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Re: Conundrum

Post by Mick F »

Do it for a charity.
Make sure you contact and know loadsa people and they will donate to your cause, and one or two may contribute to your costs.

I did LEJOG and Back in 2006 (1,800 miles )and stayed at a mixture of relative's places, B+Bs and YHA's.
Chap I knew very well, gave me £200 towards my accommodation costs.

Did my ride for the Alzheimer's Society.
Mick F. Cornwall
philvantwo
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Re: Conundrum

Post by philvantwo »

You mean you spent that £200 on yourself and didn't give it to the charity?
Shame on you mick f :(
puffin
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Re: Conundrum

Post by puffin »

Mick F wrote: 11 Nov 2021, 9:31pm Do it for a charity.
Make sure you contact and know loadsa people and they will donate to your cause, and one or two may contribute to your costs.

I did LEJOG and Back in 2006 (1,800 miles )and stayed at a mixture of relative's places, B+Bs and YHA's.
Chap I knew very well, gave me £200 towards my accommodation costs.

Did my ride for the Alzheimer's Society.
That is awesome, how did you feel at the halfway point? Was one half more enjoyable than the other?
puffin
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Re: Conundrum

Post by puffin »

Hi Tigertoo, I'll look out for you in June (I'm starting late May).

You have a pleasant conundrum because both options are fine, different but fine.

I have always done it solo and the benefits of that are you get time to yourself (how often in life do we get two weeks to ourselves?) It is said that going solo means you can go at your own pace, but that's not entirely true as you are usually aiming for pre-booked accommodation but it does give you freedom as to how you arrange each day.

Great things have been said about tours. They certainly take away the organisational issues and they do provide support. However, I have already organised my accommodation for next year (Sheeeeez its expensive this year, really expensive) and as a surrogate for support I buy bike breakdown insurance. I've never had to use it so can't speak for its efficiency.

Going solo you meet people, but I guess going with a tour you do too...just less of them for a longer time.

A difference is the risk of breakdown, that being the type of breakdown's you can't fix if going solo. A lengthy repair would put all your booked accommodation at risk.

Either way, you're going to enjoy it.
rareposter
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Re: Conundrum

Post by rareposter »

Everything that @puffin said above.

Tours take out a lot of the logistics (finding / booking accommodation, food stops, bike (or body!) breakdowns) and a lot of people really like the simplicity. it does allow you to concentrate more on the act of riding the bike rather than wondering if you're on the right route or where the next water stop might be or if you'll find accommodation that night.

You've also got a guaranteed group of like-minded people to do it with while still usually retaining at least some opportunity of riding by yourself for a bit.

The downsides are that you're on a prescribed route at prescribed times and you HAVE to ride from A to B. There's no option, say, to cancel the accommodation at B that night and ride further or stop early.

Solo though, while you have the increased logistics to consider, you've also got complete freedom to stop here, detour there, take a day off, ride faster or slower, explore a bit.

You mention the money aspect - what is included in the tour, is it just accommodation or does it cover all food too? Is there mechanical support and luggage transfer? Because that (to many people) would be worth the extra money; the ability to ride light, have everything sorted. You're paying for the convenience.
I think you'd be hard pushed to do 9-10 days for £100 / day - puffin has already alluded to that in the comment earlier. Solo accommodation will be a large chunk of that (potentially more per night in high-tourist areas in June) then you need to add food on top of that. Going cheaper means camping which means carrying more and quite possibly also buying more in advance of your trip so it still comes out evens.
Jamesh
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Re: Conundrum

Post by Jamesh »

I think that a tour is ok if you like being with people of the Facebook, Instagram, strava gen, who are into their lives and pursuits.

I'd hate it, much prefer the moments of solitude and reflection, the people you meet on the way and the ability to change route as you choose.

Should be easy to do it less that £100 per day food and board. I could have saved a fair bit not using booking.com and going direct.

Cheers James
PH
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Re: Conundrum

Post by PH »

If you want some company then there's probably other ways you can find riding companions other than an organised tour. The idea of touring with a group of people I don't already know, doesn't appeal to me, though I know it has extra appeal for others, no one can answer that one for you. I like touring with a few people I know, it's an extension of the day rides we do, but these are usually tours with a good degree of flexibility and the ability for the group to split and do different things without falling out! But most of my touring I do alone, I enjoy the planning and research, I like the ability to change the plan, without compromise or consultation. It's a trade off and as with any you won't always get it right. I don't have a limitless touring budget, even so I wouldn't compromise a tour to save some cash, I'd rather do one tour in a way I wanted than two I didn't.
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Mick F
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Re: Conundrum

Post by Mick F »

philvantwo wrote: 13 Nov 2021, 9:16am You mean you spent that £200 on yourself and didn't give it to the charity?
Shame on you mick f :(
The chap asked me how much I was spending (out of my own pocket) on accommodation. I said it was £200, so the next time I saw him a couple of days later, he gave me cash to pay for it.
That was 2006.

In 2010 I rode JOGLE on the Raleigh Chopper.
http://jogleonachopper.blogspot.com

A neighbour had the beast in a barn and was going to take it to the dump! :cry:
I took it off his hands, got it going, and was so taken with it and enjoyed the novelty of riding it, I spent ages getting it ready for the JOGLE.
After completing the ride, I sold it for £200 and gave the money to charity.
Mick F. Cornwall
Vorpal
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Re: Conundrum

Post by Vorpal »

So many elements of something like that depend on personal preference, I think it is difficult for others to advise you.

For me, much of the enjoyment I get from touring is being able to explore, stop & take photos, have some cake & coffee, visit a museum, etc. I would be hesitant to join an organised tour for that reason.
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― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Tiggertoo
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Re: Conundrum

Post by Tiggertoo »

As for price of accommodation (Puffin): the choice hotel for me on my first night in Plymouth shows these rates: 26 May - 67 pounds, 27 May - 93 pounds, 28 May - 101 pounds, 31 May - 110 pounds, yet a few days later, 5 June - 63 pounds. Prices are all over the place and might very will mean my budget of 900 pounds for 9 - 10 days may be on the light side since that budget also has to include everything else.

I have a great deal of experience wilderness backpacking but none for bikepacking, so going solo would be a new experience - which is always good. My back pack usually weighs in at around 30 lbs, so sans pack, food, tent, etc and bear canister, I suspect my bike carrying need with hotel 'camping' might come in at about 10 lbs, which I would plan to carry using an Alpkit saddle bag and handlebar bag.

Although I do like alone time, I have a natural ability to make friends easily, but even ten days is not a long time to be voluntarily anonymous, so riding 1,000 miles with mostly myself for company would be okay. When I am in the wilderness, I may go days without seeing another human, but I always take the opportunity to have a chinwag when I do. Life is all about enjoying the chance encounters with people from other nationalities and cultures.

So, the real issue for me is either taking on an adventure without support and saving a few pounds, or taking a tour merely for the convenience of baggage carrying and paying the full load.

100 miles + a day still gives plenty of opportunities to wander off the route and visit interesting sites, eat at roadside cafe's, take a nap in the sun, look at pretty girls, take pictures - but not of the aforementioned pretty girls - and still arrive at the already organised hotel before light out. Tours do not have a roll call, but one does have to let the 'leader' know where one is so the jets don't get scrambled to search.

Anyway, thanks so much for all the suggestions and advice, I have some work to do yet in order to be in a sensible position to make a final decision on whether 'To tour or not to tour! That is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to pay the price, or ride unarmed into a sea of troubles' - apologize to Hamlet for the paraphrasing.

Tigger.
Last edited by Tiggertoo on 13 Nov 2021, 10:27pm, edited 3 times in total.
Tiggertoo
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Re: Conundrum

Post by Tiggertoo »

:D
Last edited by Tiggertoo on 13 Nov 2021, 9:56pm, edited 1 time in total.
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