Planning

I have seen many trip blogs from people who do not bother about any other preparation but booking a flight. I am completely different in that regard!  I am more with Andy McNab and the Seven Ps from his book "Bravo Two Zero":

Proper Planning and Preparation Prevent Piss Poor Performance

The time-consuming process of setting up a trip in detail is an essential part of my pre-travel entertainment. That refers to

• booking flights with guaranteed bicycle acceptance and predictable costs
• developping a route with basically daily change of destination and accommodation
• taking the weather pattern into consideration

-Flights

Not much sense wasting a lot of words on this issue as the choice of airline entirely depends on the availability at your particular domicile. The only recommendation I wish to give is: Make sure your carrier of choice allows a confirmed booking of the bike in advance!

-From Europe to South East Asia my first choice is Turkish Airlines, who charge 30 + 60€ for the two sectors Cologne-Istanbul//Istanbul-Bangkok. They require just one call to their excellent service center once you have your booking reference; the fee is charged on check-in.

-Within South East Asia and from Kuala Lumpur to Australia or New Zealand I usually go for AirAsia who let you add the bike during the regular booking process and have very moderate fees, staggered by weight (20 / 25 / 30 kgs).

-Domestic flights within Thailand? Bangkok Airways!  They are "...pleased to inform you that passenger taking the bicycle to travel with on our flights will be granted with the bicycle waiver fee at no cost with terms and conditions as follows: It will be free for the first 15 bicycles registered as on first come first serve basis. It is limited for one bicycle per one passenger... "

-Route

Since it became obvious  my days in the police force were coming to an end there was no hesitation in what I would be doing immediately after retirement: Off to Chiang Rai in Thailand where my very first South East Asia ride into Laos commenced in 2008. I really like that small town in Northern Thailand with the Chat Guesthouse being my regular place to stay.

The decision regarding the subsequent route was made as quick: Along the Mekong down to the delta in Vietnam and back along the Gulf of Thailand through Cambodia and the Land of Smiles to Penang; to me the food capital in this part of the world. 

As I said above I do utterly enjoy sitting down over days, weeks and months researching anything available on my upcoming destinations leading to my own draft-roster accordingly. I am sure any other fellow cyclist with slightly more computer skills than myself would swiftly come up with a decent matrix but this is neither my strength nor my interest. I do open an ordinary word document and squeeze in a sketch and a table. End of the story. Here is my latest edition.

Very German all that planning stuff ? Far too much effort for something that will certainly see some changes? Yes and No I guess. Apart from loving the process of doing it I see several advantages preparing a schedule like this:

• I can print it out before departure and my family/friends appreciate having a hardcopy of my trip as they will know (at least roughly) where I am at any time
• The column in the middle is my "bullet diary" about the de facto start/finish locations, distances and any other info being worth mentioned in my successive posts
• If there are any changes to the route or any delays due to technical problems or health issues I can swiftly amend as I know precisely what´s still ahead of me

-Weather

Believe me or not: No mountain range would make me change my route. Big words but  I consider a climb something honest and you know and accept you will sweat and use the granny gears. 

A full day against the wind? Gives me goosebumps when I only talk about it. That´s why I drafted a separate post on this vicious topic.

Packing

Most cycle blogs you will find on the internet do start with a detailed packing list and corresponding photos. I usually skip them as I have developped my very own routine over the years.  All the same I am aware a lot of fellow cyclists who prepare for their first big trip away from home find it helpful to see what other people take and how they pack for a flight. That´s the one and only reason why I  summarized my current preparations which you can find on my internet site.

Heart

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