Tips for happy travel

On three continents in four years on the road, I have certainly made my share of mistakes and learning. I especially understood that the bike trip - whether it is a week or several years - is frankly easier than one imagines. Selected pieces.

This article first appeared in the excellent magazine Vélo Mag, July-August 2019 edition, and now online on their blog.

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North of Longzhan, China.

PREPARE

Did you know that you are not allowed to enter through any border crossing into a country? Well, not me! This is how I was sent back to Slovenia when I arrived in Croatia, the customs in question being reserved for European residents. This kind of mistake is easily avoided if you prepare a little.

Visas, interesting places to visit, types of road, the importance of the difference in altitude, all of this is relevant to study before embarking on the adventure. However, the longer the trip, the less the preparation is essential, since we have more time to turn around on a ten lipa.

You have to be prepared for any situation when you face the roads of Tajikistan.

KNOW YOUR OBJECTIVES

Everyone has their reasons for going by bike: training, visiting vineyards, discovering a new culture… These reasons emanate from the rules that one imposes on oneself. In my round the world trip, my personal goal is to meet people, not to cycle every mile. So it happened to me to travel by train, for example to go from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan, in order to cross a vast desert region. I was overjoyed, since the old Soviet train was packed with people ready to talk to me!

NEVER STRESS YOUR SPEED ...

… Unless your goal is to keep pushing the machine! Taking your time allows you to appreciate the landscape, the smells, the different vegetation. This allows you to listen to the wind in the leaves, the chirping of birds. To notice the ice cream stand, and to stop there. And why not take a nap in the grass right away?

One of my most beautiful naps took place in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in a small postcard town all of stones built. I had stopped on a wooden bench near an old bridge that spanned a river white with foam. After eating my improvised snack of bread, cold meats and cheeses, I dozed off to the sound of the waterfall below. I didn't wake up until a few hours later, all my gear still jumbled around me. I resumed my journey, still without a schedule to respect.

In addition to the naps, I suggest that you start your trip gradually, just to get over the plane transport and get your butt used to those long hours in the saddle. Plan at least one or two days of rest or sightseeing per week.

Blues in the pampas, Argentina.

FIND THE RIGHT PARTNER

There are advantages to traveling alone, as I do most of the time, but also with two or more. But finding the right partner for cycle touring is almost more difficult than finding a lifelong partner! Indeed, the company forces them to start their day at the same time, to cover the same mileage at about the same speed, to stop at the same places, to attach the same interest (or not) to photography, to have a similar budget… Do not hesitate to discuss these questions before departure.

In order to smooth out small differences in speed or interest, you also don't have to constantly ride next to each other. I met the German Freddy in Tajikistan, before our roads crossed again in Burma then in Argentina and Chile.

My favorite method, whether with Freddy or with others, is to ride alone and then we wait for each other to eat, visit or take breaks. I write "we are expecting", but in fact it was always me who was behind the German pedaling slowly and photographing everything! Tip: if you want to know if other cyclists are traveling in your area, check out the site wearevering.org.

The trio for a few weeks: Freddy, myself and Davide, time for a short photo break in front of one of the many glaciers overlooking the Chilean road.

BRING THE LEAST POSSIBLE

It's all well and good not to stress yourself with speed, but moving forward easily is still pleasant. The important thing in terms of luggage is not to have all the clothes, but rather those that are adapted to the climate of the place visited. As in cross-country skiing, the multilayer is required, for the sake of minimizing the volume. One idea is to make a list of the objects carried and to refine it from trip to trip, gradually removing what you use little or not.

For my part, I had taken my shorts, which at home I always put on when I went out on a road or mountain bike. However, I quickly noticed that it was complicated to wash them regularly and dry them properly. Also, given the raised position I adopt on my touring bike and my wide saddle, I didn't really need it. I posted them at home, probably at the same time avoiding the looks that I would no doubt have given me in countries less accustomed to this garment so fitted. So I've been riding since then wearing running shorts.

BRING AN UNNECESSARY OBJECT

I know, it seems completely at odds with the previous topic. But you always have to have fun! For example by carrying a folding chair, a hammock, a Bluetooth speaker ...

As far as I'm concerned, I hardly carry clothes, hardly anything for health, no pillow… but a drone that I use with joy almost daily. However, remember: ONE object, not a list. And please don't do like these two Koreans I met in Bulgaria either, each carrying a wooden chair in their luggage! They said they used it, among other things, as tent poles ...

In Kuala Lumpur with my guitar mounted behind the bike!

GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

We travel to eat curiosities, to try ourselves in an unknown language, to have fun, to sing loudly while driving in the countryside, to get rid of the dust on our body by jumping into a cold river in the middle of a hot day. My haircut has been missed countless times from Uzbekistan to Chile, I have swallowed toads in Cambodia, larvae in Burma, rats in Laos, raw chicken in Japan. I slept in a police station, in a Buddhist monastery, in an abandoned house in Bosnia and Herzegovina… And I have never had so much fun.

KISS THE LESS GOOD DAYS

Do you know the fun 1 and the fun 2? The first category is when all is well: beautiful sun, backwind, coffee latte in the afternoon. The second is when it starts to hail, a tire bursts and the asphalt path suddenly turns into a long gravel climb.

Guess which of the two fun we remember most afterwards ?! It is not for nothing that I tell much more often the story of my crossing of the Kazakh desert - where I had to fight my intense thirst by drinking fermented camel's milk - rather than that of South Korea on a beautiful and silky bike path. Nevertheless, the best trip is a wise combination of those perfect moments and impossible anecdotes.

TALK TO THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY VISITED

Although magnificent sunsets, majestic mountains and impressive architecture are immortalized in photos, the most lasting memories remain these unique encounters during the bicycle trip. Outside the tourist spots, people have nothing to sell and are usually really interested in learning more about those who travel with saddlebags. And to tell. One of my rules is to accept (practically) all invitations! I even developed an almost foolproof technique for getting a bed or a meal. If someone approaches me at the end of the day, they'll invariably end up asking where I'm sleeping. I then answer: "Most of the time in my tent, but with nice people when they invite me ..." I let the end of the sentence hover by sketching a smile, sometimes daring to wink!

This technique is especially useful in Europe. In Muslim countries, on the contrary, invitations are daily and gifts in the form of food are numerous. I remember this less fortunate man who so generously welcomed me to his home in the middle of the mountains of Tajikistan. Her children bickered gently over who would help me pitch my tent. The family house being too small for me to enter while respecting the privacy of women, the men went outside to offer me and share a picnic. We ate while sitting on a large multicolored tablecloth placed on the grass, close to a stream.

With a family in Gölyaka, Turkey.