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9 May 2013
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Not very clear my fault !
I did not explain or write that first post very well. Let me try and clarify what I was trying to say.
I have "planned" the countries and areas I may pass through and "researched" POI along the routes. I haven't done any "detailed planning" such as times/dates/places/hotels/campsites or anything really ( I hardly ever do)
I totally agree with Mervifwdc and his comments its pretty much what I've always done. - Go armed with info so you don't miss that Roman ruin 5km off route!
My question was more regarding the feeling that I have "already been there" due largely to the research I suppose: thanks to the internet you can "see" it all with out being there. ( not literally all .........obviously that would be ridiculous on my slow broadband )
It may pose the question whether you need go at all? 
Silly of course you should go !
There will certainly be times that I "find" something en-route quite breathtaking. Similarly there may be occasions when I visit something and it isn't quite as breathtaking as I expected, due to, too much " research" .......perhaps?
Must be having a bad day and can't get away until September...............all getting too much. I'll be fine in the morning
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9 May 2013
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I tend to think it does not matter how much planning you do, or how much you know about the places you want to visit. If anything, it improves the trip. The one thing I tend to do is half research something, visit the place, and find out there is so much more about it when I look it up, that I wish I had known when I visited.
No matter how much research you do, it will never give you the sights, sounds and atmosphere of actually being there. That, to me, is what gives travellers their different outlook on life, to someone who knows every detail about everything, but has learned most of it off a computer screen.
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9 May 2013
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Yep, you can over plan a trip, I call it procrastination, well that's my excuse anyway.
I now plan where I'd like to go, how much it should cost and when I'd like to be home, that's it  as for the rest, well, let the wind of chance take care of that.
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10 May 2013
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Location: San Diego, CA, USA
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We as riders can absolutely overplan. It's what we do! I suppose some adventurers are fortunate to just strike out without solid plans but I couldn't do that. That's why I like HU so much--the experience and input from riders who have been there/done that. I am always learning something new by reading ride reports on places I'm planning to go.
Can we overdo it? Sure. But it's probably better than the alternative.
Plan for the best, be ready for the rest.
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12 May 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by otr002
Yep, you can over plan a trip, I call it procrastination, well that's my excuse anyway.
I now plan where I'd like to go, how much it should cost and when I'd like to be home, that's it as for the rest, well, let the wind of chance take care of that. |
+1
John933
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To buy petrol in Europe. Pull up at station. Wait. Get out a 20 Euro note, then ask someone to fill up the bike. Give person money. Ride away. Simple.
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15 May 2013
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I had a 2 years planning timeframe for the transafrica. And it was not overplanned at the end. But we were well prepared...
In this timeframe i had to evaluate and buy the car, to equip the car, to build a sleeping plattform - to had my eyes on the situation in and around Mali, on the visa situation.
Two years was pretty short.
But for an Europe roundtrip - just look the sightseeing spots - the big other part - has not to be well planned - just drive.
Surfy
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15 May 2013
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preppers
Quote:
Originally Posted by Surfy
I had a 2 years planning timeframe for the transafrica. And it was not overplanned at the end. But we were well prepared...
In this timeframe i had to evaluate and buy the car, to equip the car, to build a sleeping plattform - to had my eyes on the situation in and around Mali, on the visa situation.
Two years was pretty short.
But for an Europe roundtrip - just look the sightseeing spots - the big other part - has not to be well planned - just drive.
Surfy
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Same for me, but preparing a Landcruiser takes a lot more time than a bike, more stuff to modify. Our double trans Africa trip was also well prepared from a technical point of view. From itinerary point of view, I hate reading the travel guides so I left that to my partner and she did well and roughly planned the route, leaving room for changes. At the end of the day, the preparation for me was a very big part of the (pre) fun and it can already put you in a different world, atleast in your head! The con of being well or over prepared is that it indeed eliminates some of the spontaneity of the trip, that is if you’r not flexible. Bottom line I would say, don’t overprepare the itinerary but you cannot overprepare the bike! You can overload it though J
Cheers,
Noel
www.toyotaoffthemap.blogspot.com
Toyota LC HZJ75, '93
Toyota LC HJ75, '86
Africa Twin RD07a, '97
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15 May 2013
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For my trip I'm carefully planning the correct documentation for me and my bike (boarder, insurance etc.) in order to be able to move freely while on the road. I have a rough route in my head but it's always subject to change. 
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2 Sep 2013
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When I toured Europe for 9 months back in my youth, the only plan was the landing at Heathrow Airport. From there it was by the seat of our pants until we ended up on an island named IOS off the Greece mainland. To this day it was the very best decision I ever made in my 53 years.
You can never over plan, just don't over pack.
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3 Sep 2013
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Before doing my first big trip to Europe, made a detailed plan. Day by day, how many kms will be ridden, where to sleep etc.
Was in Mostar (Bosnia) in the evening, wanted to stay there. To stick my plan continued to Sarajevo. Heavy rain started, also the dark. Weather was cold. Couldn't see the road well. Tried to follow the cars, but they were fast. Nearly was going to make a serious accident.
Seen a light of bar. Stopped there. All my undies were wet and I was felling crazy cold. Hopefuly they had a room. Lesson learnt : don't over plan and don't try to stick your well prepared crazy daily route schedule...
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3 Sep 2013
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That's funny: I did the same thing heading in the opposite direction--downhill from Sarajevo through Mostar to the coast. No bar, though. Wet undies. Cold. Dark. Should've stopped in Mostar, by all accounts a very nice town.
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10 May 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by g6snl
My question was more regarding the feeling that I have "already been there" due largely to the research I suppose: thanks to the internet you can "see" it all with out being there. ( not literally all .........obviously that would be ridiculous on my slow broadband )
.......
there may be occasions when I visit something and it isn't quite as breathtaking as I expected, due to, too much " research" .......perhaps?
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This aspect of travel is explored quite philosophically in the book 'Skating to Antarctica'. (Jenny Diski, available secondhand for a couple of pounds).
It's autobiographical about the author's early life, and a package trip she did to Antarctica much later.
She has deep discussions with her daughter about whether or not to take a camera to Antarctica, arguing somewhat persuasively that to bring back photos of places you visit only distorts your own inner memories of those places.
Also, about how the actions of over-enthusiastic photo-snappers can affect the enjoyment of other visitors.
She then expands that argument into suggesting you should never look at pictures of any distant places that you may visit one day, because when you get there you won't be truly seeing the place for the first time. Do your research from text only, no photos. A bit difficult to do, as she discusses, and asks the OP's question:
Quote:
Originally Posted by g6snl
It may pose the question whether you need go at all?
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Interesting stuff if you're thinking about what research to do before going places.
(If you consider buying this book, the discussions I mention above only comprise about 3 or 4 pages in all, but are still pretty interesting despite that).
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10 May 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by McCrankpin
This aspect of travel is explored quite philosophically in the book 'Skating to Antarctica'. (Jenny Diski, available secondhand for a couple of pounds).
It's autobiographical about the author's early life, and a package trip she did to Antarctica much later.
She has deep discussions with her daughter about whether or not to take a camera to Antarctica, arguing somewhat persuasively that to bring back photos of places you visit only distorts your own inner memories of those places.
Also, about how the actions of over-enthusiastic photo-snappers can affect the enjoyment of other visitors.
She then expands that argument into suggesting you should never look at pictures of any distant places that you may visit one day, because when you get there you won't be truly seeing the place for the first time. Do your research from text only, no photos. A bit difficult to do, as she discusses, and asks the OP's question:
Interesting stuff if you're thinking about what research to do before going places.
(If you consider buying this book, the discussions I mention above only comprise about 3 or 4 pages in all, but are still pretty interesting despite that).
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sounds like a load of pretentious anally retentive bull to me!
A good plan rarely survives first contact with the enemy!
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12 May 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moggy 1968
A good plan rarely survives first contact with the enemy!
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"If You go out looking for Friends, You’ll find no Enemies.
If You go out looking for Enemies, You’ll find no Friends." (Attributed to Native American beliefs).
That should keep your plan in reasonable shape..... It's worked for me.
And I received this advice a long time ago from a traveller I respect very much:
"If you really want to bring home with you exactly what you see, and how the sights and scenery affected you, learn to paint and draw."
Don't think I'll ever achieve that, but I think it's pretty true.
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10 May 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by McCrankpin
This aspect of travel is explored quite philosophically in the book 'Skating to Antarctica'. (Jenny Diski).
She has deep discussions with her daughter about whether or not to take a camera to Antarctica, arguing somewhat persuasively that to bring back photos of places you visit only distorts your own inner memories of those places.
Also, about how the actions of over-enthusiastic photo-snappers can affect the enjoyment of other visitors.
She then expands that argument into suggesting you should never look at pictures of any distant places that you may visit one day, because when you get there you won't be truly seeing the place for the first time.
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I'm well aware of those arguements and it's something I've pondered about over the years but I've come to the opposite conclusion. There are downsides to having a permanent record of a transient experience but without photographs my own inner memories end up so distorted with the passage of time that often they're hardly worth having. The photographs act as anchor points, a means of distinguishing between memories and dreams. And as the decades have rolled on some of the earlier ones have taken on a life of their own as the associated memories have faded to the point where, although I know I took them, that person is now someone else, almost a stranger. Sometimes I look at them and feel I'm intruding. I don't think it's Dementia 
My conclusion - photograph everything to the point where it starts interfering with the trip. Five years later you'll be pleased you did. Similarly with planning - plan to the level you're comfortable with. If you've overdone it you probably won't next time. Some of my early trips were planned to the point where I can still recite the routing instructions through France like a mantra. I do the same trip now with absolutely nothing planned other than booking the ferry in advance because it's cheaper.
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Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...
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