When is a tour not a tour? I've no idea. Perhaps I need some guidance. 

It seems to me that no-one much would approve an entry, for example, about my morning's round trip to a local cake stop. A large piece of sponge, no matter how spectacular, doesn't seem quite enough to nudge things over the threshold of "bicycle tour." Although, you might reasonably claim that the cake is at least as worthwhile. 

I think my own working definition of a tour is something that involves an overnight stay. (And cake, otherwise what's the point. Others may disagree). It's on this basis that I reckon a cross-country trip to see a friend might just qualify for inclusion amongst the transcontinental junkets which, sadly, I don't think my wife will let me indulge in for a bit. It's not yet two months since I left her for a fortnight to do the Land's End to John O'Groats challenge.

This trip in question will take me from my home, just south of Exeter, to Twyford, which is somewhere slightly east of Reading. It's just shy of 160 miles, and I'm planning to do it in a day.

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This will be about 40 miles longer than I've ever done before, and it feels far from a certainty. Once I get there, if I get there, I'll be spending a couple of days chilling out with a lovely chap called Stuart, who's been my close friend since uni. And then I'm planning to come back in a far more manageable two days. So, three cycling days, with an average of just over 100 miles per day. With hopefully at least a two-cake-per-day average. I'm definitely, definitely going to hit one of of those targets.

The major day of cycling, this Friday, is already predicted to be rainy, potentially with some gusty winds as the remnants of  hurricane Ernesto reach the UK. The good news is, these winds will be coming in from the south west, so they might lend me a slightly damp helping hand. 

I've no idea yet what the return journey promises. Ignorance is bliss. I just know that it involves a cheap hotel at the 90 mile mark.

It's been pointed out to me that I do have a car on the driveway, and also that there are direct trains running between Exeter and Reading. Both observations are true. But it doesn't make them any more interesting, at least not to me. I did a quick check on the worldwide interweb, which as we all know is unequivocally trustworthy.  There, I found a carbon offset checker. As well as wanting to register me for future mailings and to sell my personal details to 837 carefully selected partners, it tells me that this journey would create around 125kg of CO2 if I did it by car. That's actually more than the weight of me plus bike.

Also, having spent about £3k on bike kit for my earlier LEJOG trip, I need to ensure that the business case for further cycling purchases remains strong. I reckon another 300 miles of touring should bring my cumulative costs down to about £1.50 per mile. (We'll exclude accommodation and food, just because). This is still about ten times the travel  cost incurred by driving my actual car, but I'm working on closing the gap before anyone else does the maths.

Right now, these factors, and the adventure, seem worth pushing pedals for. I may of course feel differently at the end of day one.

Blogs will be up slightly in arrears, because the days will be quite full. But I've put my intentions out there now, so I'm committed. You're my accountability partners. Wish me luck. 

The bike, Raven, is now sitting in the garage freshly cleaned and oiled, and she's raring to go. So am I.  Let the carb-loading commence.