This tour I'm planning to explore some of the backroads - places where cycle tourists don't usually venture, and where there is likely to be little traffic of any kind. So as a solo traveller it seemed a sensible precaution to have a means of requesting assistance in the event of a mishap.

I started by investigating personal locator beacons - but soon found that PLB's are only capable of one-way communications, and are relatively expensive for devices with limited capabilities. So I investigated several tracking devices, and eventually settled on the DeLorme Inreach. If you want one, the Australian agent for the Inreach is Pivotel.

The Inreach is a little cheaper than a PLB, but of course there is a catch - you must sign up to a service plan with the Iridium satellite service. However, DeLorme offer a seasonal plan where the service is active for four months and is then suspended until the following year. It's still expensive but the SOS service provides affordable peace of mind. Best of all it allows two-way messaging and tracking. And the Inreach synchronises with an iOS or Android smartphone to send and receive messages and to provide full GPS navigation using the DeLorme Earthmate app.

So my little free-loading friend Boofle will be coming along to help with the navigation, and you will be able find out where we are by clicking the link on the sidebar.

Where's Boofle?