Solo Touring

Nothing wrong with touring alone if you're happy in your own company.
Very liberating doing everything at your own pace.
If doing Scotland be wary of the English school holidays. Accom in some places gets very busy so don't leave it too late in the day before finding digs for the night.
If you're camping - not an issue.
 
It's already been mentioned on the thread, but I think a successful group tour needs every one to be similar in abilities and needs/wants (or to be really easy going to accommodate the others). If you're the one that has to do all the accommodating, then it can get pretty frustrating.
Having organised group tours both here and abroad, I've definitely had the frustration as well as the enjoyment. Lord Snooty's earlier post brought back memories of some frustrations.
I haven't done a large scale trip away on my own, but I've done shorter, few days away solo, and I would say if you're happy in your own company then go for it.
 
I've had many brilliant trips away with friends for anything up to 4 weeks & I wouldn't change that for the world. Group trips are however a compromise. Even the trip where I set every day's route & the others followed along dutifully still had compromises.

As I get older I'm less inclined to compromise on what I want to do so recently my big / summer trips have been solo & unplanned - I book the ferry and have an idea where I want to go & what I want to see. So I get off the ferry & ride in the direction I want until I get tired / bored / hungry at which point I'll look at Booking & pick somewhere to stay

Over dinner or shortly afterwards I look at the map & decide tomorrow's direction. I'll even plot in in Basecamp but very often I'll turn off somewhere that looks more interesting, or drier !, and then I'm really "making it up as I go along" but it means if the weather doesn't look favourable ahead I can stop for a day or head in another direction without having to cancel or rebook anything and I don't have to ask permission or have a meeting about it

Last year in France my trip was changed completely by 2 different bike problems & I never got to do half the things I had 'hoped' to but it was still a bike trip & I wasn't in work so how bad. the main thing was I hadn't spoiled or curtailed someone else's trip

Really the only issues I see with solo trips is accommodation is more expensive, although as part of my 'growing up' I prefer a single room anyway, and not having someone to discuss the day with at the end of the day. A small price to pay I reckon for the benefits

If you're unsure if you can stick your own company when away I'd start small, a weekend on the WAW or 4/5 days in Wales or Scotland (but if you're doing the NC500 do book or you'll be sleeping under your bike !) would give you a good idea of how you'd get on travelling solo. "Just do it" :thumb

Not sure where you're located but always happy to meet up, socially distanced, and answer questions or offer advice, for all that's worth :rob
 
Blackblade-rry said:
It's already been mentioned on the thread, but I think a successful group tour needs every one to be similar in abilities and needs/wants (or to be really easy going to accommodate the others). If you're the one that has to do all the accommodating, then it can get pretty frustrating.
Having organised group tours both here and abroad, I've definitely had the frustration as well as the enjoyment. Lord Snooty's earlier post brought back memories of some frustrations.
I haven't done a large scale trip away on my own, but I've done shorter, few days away solo, and I would say if you're happy in your own company then go for it.
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As stated above, I have done group trips, often making the arrangements for accommodation for up to 12 people. I don't plan routes but people can ride along with me if they want. This tends to happen to the first coffee stop but then people will go different routes as I tend to avoid motorways and plan to get to the hotel between 5-6pm. I am also fond of tight, single track roads and some will want a less challenging ride. Some will just blast along the autoroute. What my current touring group have in common is a fondness for a decent dinner and slaking a thirst. When the group is large, we might even split into smaller groups to dine as you can't always get a table for 10 or 12, and some of us are willing to pay a bit more for fine dining in places like https://www.caveau-des-arches.com/ whilst others went for a pizza (in Burgundy FFS).
 
AndyB_11 said:
I always used to laugh if I was away in a group because there’d be all sorts of snide comments on the ferry about having to wait for the smoker every time we stopped but it was inevitable that my version of refueling which was petrol then coffee and a smoke taken outside at the same time inevitably meant I was ahead of the others who’d sit around a table inside gassing for 30 minutes every stop.

I like riding abroad on my own because I can turn up any road I want to and if I want to stop and have a beer at 4pm when I use booking.com to choose my final destination for the day nobody can complain.
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there is an added bonus when solo touring, if you bin your bike in the hotel car park then there are no witnesses
 
wessie said:
there is an added bonus when solo touring, if you bin your bike in the hotel car park then there are no witnesses
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Nobody to help pick it up if it’s a lardy adventure bike which would be even more embarrassing :D
 
Good advice here as ever :thumb

I enjoy solo touring as well as with others, but I think being relatively easy going helps.
Solo is absolute freedom. Where you like, what you like, when you like. What’s not to like?

I remember a rain cloud following me around on a trip where I intended to take in Brittany - I ended up in Spain by the end of the day.

You can smell the flowers as you wish. Sit and watch the world go by.
I think I did 11 miles on one day a few years back.
Excellent times. (sighs to self).
 
Lord Snooty said:
Group touring only really works if you are all great mates, including the other halves, you are all at the same riding ability and of similar thinking. I go away with a group of 8 of us, four couples, we have done loads of trips together and it works because there is never any angst or disagreements. We did a regular trip to a gite, owned by one of this forum, in the Charente region, last year one of the couples could not make it so one of the group had a couple of friends who had expressed an interest in joining us. It did not work.

Our first day in France required a 340 blast south from the ferry port, so a long day ahead with an ETA of at least 9pm at the gite. As we are about to head off the new couple "insisted" that we stop every 150-170 miles or after two hours maximum because she needed to get off the bike, not a great start, he didn't have a map or satnav and expected to be led everywhere. Due to traffic congestion on the autoroute around Nantes because we hit it at peak time I was unable to get us into a service station until after nearly 2 and a half hours - then it started! The whining, the moaning, the discontent, the accusations of being insensitive to her needs. Tongues were bit and we headed off again, as the evening set in we came off the autoroute for the last 30 - 40 miles on N and D roads and that's where the difference in riding abilities were exposed, 3 on GSAs and he is on a 1600GTL. It was getting dark and it started raining and we were getting on with it and he was falling behind all the time. Five miles from destination I found a place to stop for us to have dinner before before we got to the gite. Their faces were like thunder and the moaning and bitching increased in volume and sourness. The next day at breakfast we were all very pleasant and told them that they were not obliged to come out with us on the rides and if they wanted they were more than welcome to do their own thing at their own pace, it was their week away and they could do what they wanted. Sadly, they didn't want to do that because he was so ill prepared without a map or satnav and it was obvious he just wanted to rely on others. So every day, I planned a day out to suit their limitations, did the route planning and led the rides. We also tried to help him with his riding by giving his some tips and advice. Some form of peace settled down.

I nearly lost it on the last day though, we had to have a very early start as the ferry was brought forward, it was still dark when we left. I am in the kitchen kitting up and they come in and in a pretty aggressive and downright rude manner told me that I had to stop to suit them both. They could have asked me in a polite manner to plan the stops for their convenience but it was barked at me like an order. I bit my tongue again and calmly told them that sadly they French authorities had not placed a service station to exactly to suit their needs. I did give them the option of having my map of France and making their own way at their own pace and meeting us at the ferry port. This they declined. So off we headed. I walked outside and I was raging, I told my mate who had invited them and he was mortified and apologised for ever asking them. I maintained my cool for his sake and I was glad to see the back of them when we got back to the UK. Even though I organised the whole trip, did every route, organised every ride out and places to visit and led all the rides they never once said thank you.

Have never seen or been in touch with either of them since, thankfully.
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I’m sorry but I’d have told them to get fucked on day 1.
 
I think it depends how you view your trip.
Are you going for a long bike ride or a holiday?

If it’s all about riding the bike then solo is fine in my mind. Long days in the saddle, ride as you like then early to bed, up early and repeat.

If you want a bit of craic then you’ll need a bit of company - but not necessarily on the ride.
There are motorcycle hotels and campsites in Europe where the beer flows and there’s plenty of camaraderie in the evening - you can easily plot a route joining them up.
You could ride to a destination with an airport and your wife (or whoever) could fly out and join you for a few days.
If you’re touring England, Scotland or Wales you can post your trip up on this forum, I’m sure there would be people who’d like to meet up for a local ride and beer in the evening.

Either way you’ll definitely enjoy yourself
:beerjug:
 
JohnnyBoxer said:
One of the only the troubles of solo touring is that I find ‘you just keep pushing on’ sometimes and forget to stop and just take it all in

When touring with mates, you can stop and discuss the previous few hours riding and remark on the little things

Solo or with Mates has advantages and disadvantages
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On the contrary, on your own it’s much easier to stop where you fancy, detour off, gawp at the scenery and press wild flowers. All without wondering how to find somewhere to do just that with maybe six or more bikes behind you, or even just one.
 
roryg said:
Im new to adventure biking and I want to hit the road and do some tours now i picked up an 1150 but I really fancy doing the alps this summer, is heading off solo worth planning? I like the idea of having free reign on my trip, stop when i feel like it, get accommodation when I'm tired..... Any general knowledge worth sharing with a noob regarding touring?
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Give up any notion that because you have an 1150, it’s somehow different. When you get to the Alps, you’ll find just about every make of bike (some of them described in this website as completely unsuitable) on every mountain pass between Albertville and Cortina.

For a week away in the Alps:

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These bods came from Finland, all the way to the Eagle’s Nest in Austria:

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Yup, you can just jump on a ferry in Ireland, get off (I guess) somewhere in north west France, ride ‘to the Alps’ (wherever that is exactly) and ride back again. If though you have planned (or not planned) that to be five days away door-to-door and want to do it, as so many do, avoiding every motorway and main road in the process, you might well find yourself frustratingly disappointed.

My suggestion would be to up and away from the Irish section to read through some of the posts in the Travel section and in the Trip report bit. There are some pretty good ideas. If you want hints and tips on the Alps in particular, look for posts from Rasher who knows his stuff. There’s even some bloke stupid enough to have cut every popular Scottish motorcycle route (and more) into Adventure biker friendly GPX files.

But first, get to know yourself and your new bike. What do YOU think is a long day? 100 miles, 200, 300, 350, 400? Do you want to do it everyday for maybe two weeks, with no days off? Are you a real “I never take a motorway, me” kind of bod, determined to ride every green lined Michelin map D road, no matter what? Are you a roll out out of bed with a hangover at 10 AM and set off at 11:30 merchant, to be in your hotel at 16:30 to get back on it by 18:00 and into bed at 02:00 AM, having stopped at ever ‘must do’ stop and lunch in between? Do you want to start looking for your hotel and (maybe) fuel at the end of a day baking in 30 C degrees or pouring rain, as that - and only that - is what makes an ‘Adventure’ with a capital A?

I ask only this as the most simple and common mistake bods make when first touring in a car or on a motorcycle into France and beyond, is underestimating just how big the place is. They also under estimate how long a dreamed of bimble down the D roads for 250 miles might actually take, if you stop at every picture opportunity. If a GPS device has one useful function it is to display estimated time time of arrival. Watch it move out, getting later every time you stop.

The above maybe makes it all sound really hard. The truth is, it’s really easy, not least you are in civilised Western Europe, not Outer Mongolia. You’ll work it out, I’m sure and for everything else....... there is UKGSer, including lots of advice in what gloves to wear.
 
Wapping said:
On the contrary, on your own it’s much easier to stop where you fancy, detour off, gawp at the scenery and press wild flowers. All without wondering how to find somewhere to do just that with maybe six or more bikes behind you, or even just one.
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Not always - but can be better either way


Sometimes organised and advertised commercial trips are good too

I did one last October to the Picos and booked it at last minute

Anonymous and meant I could do my own thing during the day and have company at night in the hotel bar & restaurant if I wanted

In the end the group were a great bunch and we rode together often, but had a few afternoons solo or just with a couple of lads

f52874646e172dbc34c6781100ad1932.jpg
 
Commercial trips certainly fill a gap in the market and can often represent ‘good value’. Companies like MCI, having been doing it for years, so they can’t be bad.

Some, needlessly, regard them as a ‘rip-off’ as they can do it cheaper. Yes, you most definitely can for yourself, but you won’t earn a living out out of it if you do. That is for certain.
 
Wapping said:
Commercial trips certainly fill a gap in the market and can often represent ‘good value’. Companies like MCI, having been doing it for years, so they can’t be bad.

Some, needlessly, regard them as a ‘rip-off’ as they can do it cheaper. Yes, you most definitely can for yourself, but you won’t earn a living out out of it if you do. That is for certain.
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Until last year I hadn’t done a commercial bike holiday for years

Last one was MCi in the 1990’s

This latest one was great and may go again with them - a low key affair and met some good folks
Nobody fell out and there were some very funny people - as you say all manner of bikes from a Triumph scrambler to a K1600 were on it and there were only 2 GS bikes - which was nice
 
Wapping said:
I ask only this as the most simple and common mistake bods make when first touring in a car or on a motorcycle into France and beyond, is underestimating just how big the place is. They also under estimate how long a dreamed of bimble down the D roads for 250 miles might actually take, if you stop at every picture opportunity. If a GPS device has one useful function it is to display estimated time time of arrival. Watch it move out, getting later every time you stop..
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This is probably the most important bit of advice in this thread, France is bigger than you think, Europe is really big :nod

The rest depends entirely on your personal wants and needs but this you need to know :thumb2
 
Wapping said:
Who was it with JB? :beerjug:
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Smallworld Bike Tours on FB

In the end it was just like a mate’s trip, easy going

You could join in or log out and have a few hours on your own

Say in the morning a destination was suggested and a departure time by the organiser and most would say yep, sounds good and join in and go on it and have lunch
Then after lunch, some would mooch off and do their own thing

Some would do their own thing each day and meet up at evening dinner

All very civilised and grown up
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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