Fun of trip planning vs. trip itself
 

I've got the happiness that an imminent trip brings (in North Queensland for me) and as I bounce around the intramaweb, pour over guidebooks, bounce ideas back and forth with the guy I'm travelling with, programming the probably unneeded GPS and resist the temptation to put pins in a map (because that would be just too much) I wonder whether I get more of a kick from this bit than the trip itself? I'd say that the trip just shades it over the planning phase for me but this is the only time at 35 years old that I feel like I did at 5 y.o. a few days before Christmas.
How about everyone else? It can't just be me that regresses is it?

Now, I just need to see if a shiny new 10 speed racer will fit in a saddlebag.

Nahhh...the trip is way more fun.

Breakdowns in the middle of nowhere, bugs, dust, dodgy roads, getting lost & corrupt officials are far more entertaining.

Its the things are impossible to plan that make it interesting, everything else is just living to a schedule & thats why I left in the first place.

3x
 

For me every trip has three fun parts.
- The first is the planning, getting books and maps, talking about it, browsing the web and getting everything ready.
- The second and best part is the trip itself. Nothing beats being alone on your bike on a road through the most beautiful scenery in the world. (on some trips I find the most beautiful scenery in the world after every other bend in the road)
- The third part is after the trip, putting my pictures in my scrapbook, updating my website, telling my wife, children and friends about the trip etc.
- And then I start with the first thing again, for my next trip..... ;-)

Dito the three stages... at the moment at the end of year 1 in a 3 year prep.. so its all good, the last mini trip, planned to go across the simpson, night before advised the flooding at each end has cut it off. go figure.. a flooded desert!!! so my enjoyment of the plan became 3 glasses of red wine, 4 hours and a map of Aus... all worked out in the end.. ohh and on the planning.. doing loads of trial runs, testing setups, a few shorts ones.. just to build it all up... yes please.. 34 going on 11

trip planning, especially when your going with more then one person is defently a big part of the fun, maps, beers, books, bikes etc. i also seriously enjoy contemplating stuf like: should i buy that new GPS, en where should i mount it and how. even if i never do buy it, it's great stuf to ponder.

Preparation is just as much fun!
 

No doubt about it, all that rummaging around on the Internet: making a list, chekcing it twice; making modifications to your bike; handling the logistics of getting everything (or nearly) done before departure is a great buzz.

As good as the trip? Well, that's hard to say, as you're comparing very different activities. But I find both very, very enjoyable.

There are those who think preparation and planning goes against the whole spirit of adventure and overlanding, of going out there and letting the trip 'happen' and unfold itself, but I prefer to do the work in advance. There's more than enough things that will come about on the trip to keep things interesting.

A good friend and travelling companion once sent me this quote of Amundsen:
"Victory awaits those who have everything in order - people call that luck.
Defeat is certain for those who have forgotten to take the necessary precautions in time - that is called bad luck."

Granted, it's more applicable to a trip into a barren, inhospitable, remote part of the world, than a weekend's trip up the motorway, but there is much wisdom in that quote. It's up to the individual to decide how diligently they wish to practice its philosophy.

All my Christmases
 

You can gleefully plan your trip down to a T... but what happens when you miss your first ferry ... and everything thereafter is forced not to happen according to plan?

I prefer not to be racing around, panicked that 'I'm going to miss MY ferry!!!'
Much better to know where the ferry leaves from, and what days it leaves on, and then head in that direction, hoping possibly for a tail wind on a few days, and if not, at least a few places or sights that hold my interest or inspire thought along the way.
This way, I will always catch MY ferry, because it will be the one that I catch
:)

The planning phase is great. There is a real sense of having the whole trip under control when you have ticked everything off of your lists and you have everything ready to go. The real thrill comes when you realise that you can get on your bike, fully loaded, and not fall off before you are out of sight of everyone who has come to see you off :laugh:

Focussing too much on plans just allows too much room for disappointment if you arent able to realise everything that has been planned for.
Why not be surprised when things go great, a bit peeved when things are not so fantastic, and thankful that you get to experience both.

planning
 

My idea of planning a trip is having the right maps and books, have the bike 100%, bring the right tools, read a lot about the countries you are going to visit to avoid unpleasand surprises and have the right medication if neccesary.
Not booking all hotels and ferry's in advance so you HAVE to be there.

Dot-to-Dot
 

Hi ya,
The planning is a most enjoyable part, but as I am still planning, and haven't been, I don't know if it's better. The first part of my AWT is across Canada, so I took all the pictures off my wall, printed out loads of maps from Multimap and now have a 4 meter by 1 meter map (12ft x 3ft) on my wall covered in dots. This is a copy of the Google Earth map I have on my PC, with stops and coffee breaks and campsites planned in for each day. :smartass: Read on before you say anything.:cool4: Starting at Halifax, Nova Scotia, the line of dots work up the map and across to Newfoundland then to Labrador City. Then they sort of tail off heading across to the Great Lakes, because at this point I realised that waking up in a tent with a blank sheet to achieve that day was absolutely BRILLIANT. So now my map is getting measles as I now plot places of interest, and not a route as such. I would hate to pass by some great feature that was just over the hill and not know it was there. My observations are that the planning phase is a real buzz, and I DO need to be out of the Artic Circle before it snows, but having the ability to say, 'I know this road leads to Metropolis, but I wonder what's down that road?' is gonna be just great, otherwise I figure I would have taken the bus instead. To be practical though, a lot of roads in Canada head a 1000km into nowhere and stop, so I still need a rough idea of where I am :detective:

Whatever your method, if you're enjoying it, don't stop!

Happy Trails

Stagbeetle

Planning is fun... I just wish I knew more!

Ciao Ciao