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Following on from Ricko1984's thread, I whimsically mooted the idea of such a trip to MsJimmy. With an 8yo daughter, disappearing for 5 months isn't really an option - yet. But it will be a possibility at some point in the not too distant future. the question is - where, what, how? Riding from the door has always appealed to me, and there's a lot to go at in Scotland and wider UK I'd like to do. But for 5 months it would have to be more ambitious; Europe / Alps, Scandinavia, South America...
So, what would the best 5 months of your (biking) life involve?
Which bike?
Where would you go?
How would you do it (tent / bivvy / hotels)?
What level of planning?
I planned at one point to drive from the UK to Sydney. I think you only need to take a boat once or twice and it would have taken six months. I was at a low point in my life though and it was blatantly run away.
If I had six months now I'd like to try and cycle around the Baltic. I can start from home and head up through the rest of Sweden, then come back via Finland, Baltic Staes, Germany and Denmark. I'd have to take a tent for some parts of it, but I think I would want to split time in hotels or with friends. Bike? Something with an Alfine or a read hub gear. Probably a short travel full sus with skinny tyres or a gravel bike.
We had a motivational speaker at work that did this a few years bk with young kids. Took them on a boat somewhere tropical looking for 6 months, think it was South Pacific. Looked like they had a great time. I would just copy him, maybe add some bikes and a jet ski or two to the boat.
I'm sure doing a tour of the alps, even Scotland on ebikes with tents would also be awesome with a young family if they are in to their riding too.
An extended summer touring the mountains of Europe with a long travel trail bike, mixture of pedalling and trains, staying in hotels and with uplift companies is my dream.
No idea what the routes are like, but I quite fancy the idea of doing the Eurovelo 1 route through France to the bottom of Spain, then jump on route 8 around Spain to Italy, then switch onto route 7 to Southern Italy.
We’ve got a loose plan to take a year out when our lad is last year of Primary school before going off to high school.
summer : French / Spanish / Portuguese Atlantic coasts. Autumn : Canaries / Cabo Verde islands
Winter & Spring : Caribbean
Summer : Newfoundland, Prince Christian Sound, Greenland / West Fjords, Iceland
And back on summer mooring in Scotland in time for Autumn to return back to Normal life.
Been saving and working towards it for A Very Long Time now and got a few years left to put the bits into action
If I had six months now I’d like to try and cycle around the Baltic. I can start from home and head up through the rest of Sweden, then come back via Finland, Baltic Staes, Germany and Denmark
A guy on FB I follow did this a couple of years ago. He's offline at the moment I think, search for Tim Cycles the Coast.
Somewhere in Scandinavia for me I think.
A pal at work (mid 30s, no kids) did a really simple trip. Flew to the south of Spain and cycled home to Newcastle (via the Ijmuden ferry), over three months, matching his route to a few different Tour de France stages and generally following his nose. Credit card touring. He's a super fit lad but just did ~60 miles a day, easy pace, stopping for coffee, cake, beer as often as needed. Sounded and looked amazing.
I'd like to travel all the way down either side of the American continents. I reckon 6 months if you could cycle the awesome bits, fly over the dangerous bits, drive the boring bits...would be pretty tremendous.
I have a very similar plan in mind to the pal of @fatmax; fly to Morocco, ride home. No idea how long it might take but certainly long enough to actually enjoy the travel and culture along the way.
I hope to retire soon and this is one of the two longer trips I have in mind.
Made redundant in march 2018. Big payout. Took 8 months off. Rode my bike loads. Did a month touring Europe in the van with the bike. Utter joy
Had 3 months in Sierra Nevada last year old van with gravel bike and uplift days with big bouncer. Sailed round Hebredies and Norway with a XC bike for 5 months. 9 months of ridingand climbing in Nepal, New Zealand and S America. Countless trips over the years, start doing and stop planning you and your health will not last forever.
Only plan the first few weeks normally then make it up as I go along, vague idea of certain places.
Did a five month drive and hike trip around Oz before kids were born. Plan was for a year and while it was fabulous we actually got bored of having nothing worthwhile to do in the end.
Am I broken/weird?
I have absolutely no idea what I'd do with a 5 month break from "normal".
There's lots of bits I'd like to do and a fair few places I'd happily visit but I've no burning desire for an "epic".
I can't help think I've got a blind spot on the whole wanderlust thing, which is odd as I love being out and doing stuff. Maybe more driven by what than where?
I spent 6 months SCUBA diving in Asia. I liked it so much I moved to Thailand and taught diving for 10 years.
Both the 6 months and the 10 years were good.
take a year out when our lad is last year of Primary school
Intrigued how that would impact a kid, or would you be looking for him to repeat a year?
Either bike-packing south America from the Colombian Caribbean coast down to Tierra del Fuego on the Andean side of the continent or just pushing a loaded bike out of the front door and riding south. I've always been tempted by riding to the northern tip of Norway, but I'm not sure about the weather or the biting insects - been there, done that. 'Planning' in the loosest sense of the word, big atlas rather than OS-scale maps...
Or without the bike, South America with a bunch of trekking and climbing kit. Or maybe Nepal, but peak fees... Or the Karakorum. Or, so many places.
I travelled with work for years in my 30's & 40's, across much of the world - have little desire to just 'travel'.
Van, enduro bike, the Alps, Italy, Spain.
You didn't mean I had to go touring for five months did you? I'd rather not, thanks.
@csb @scruff9252 - I was going to ask the same question, how does that work?
A pal took his kids out of school for a few months to travel round Asia, I think it somehow counted as education and presume they did some "home" schooling along the way (the mum's a teacher).
Spent 5 months working as a chalet maid in Whistler Summer 2010 for an MTB guiding company, part of the deal included a season pass to the bike park I was 53 . I'd taken redundancy from Royal Mail the year before then diagnosed with Osteoporosis, crushed vertebrae in my spine and advised to never ride off road again 🤔
14 years later still doing it and got a trip to the Italian Dolomites booked for June 👍
The look Mrs Oldfart has just given me I can confirm this was the 2nd best 5 months of my life 🤔😁
Two friends walked to Spain from Calais with their 2 kids and dog. Kids were about 6 and 8. They were gone for a year. Kids seem fine and just went back to school with no issues.