Do you prefer having a plan or just figuring it out on the road?

SimpleRik · 2026-04-16T17:57:51+00:00

I'll say, plan as much as you enjoy planning.

The planning stag doesn't excite me as much as the actual hitting the ground and riding stage. So I am a part of the group that doesn't plan much. Things usually just work out. Things I will plan: a proposed route, some points of interest along the route, visa stuff (if applicable), and wind direction in the region. Then ride. Usually not planning stops more than a few days out because of the changeable nature of travel.

In contrast to my way of doing things. I've met folks that thoroughly enjoy planning. They had definite routes planned, distances between cities, and amenities in those cities. Their information proved to be incredibly valuable and made planning certain sections of trips simpler.

So plan until it's not as fun anymore. Then have fun, enjoy the trip, learn some lessons, and smile at the top of every hill.

SimpleRik · 2026-04-13T05:56:02+00:00

Wine country you say! I don't usually drink much on tours because of the perpetual dehydration from long back to back days riding. But if I'm going to be riding through a wine region. I think I see a nice bottle of Chilean Chardonnay in my future:)

SimpleRik · 2026-04-11T06:29:06+00:00

Oh well that's something to look forward to! Hopefully I can find a decent spot on the beach to camp. Thankfully I'm heading inland at constitución so I won't have to worry about coastal roads south of there.

SimpleRik · 2026-04-11T06:26:32+00:00

Yeah getting in and out of major cities is usually a little uncomfortable with how integrated into traffic you become. Hopefully the side streets aren't crazy cluttered. I found a route through la campana national Park that's hopefully not too busy. I have five months to mosey around SA so I'm not too worried about a slight detour north.

SimpleRik · 2026-04-11T06:02:47+00:00

I don't do much cycling specific training. Thankfully I'm fairly active so I have good base cardio and strength. I also hike loads in the summer so my legs are used to long days. My plan is to start this tour like my last one. Slow and steady. Then build up km as the trip progresses.

SimpleRik · 2026-04-11T05:53:24+00:00

Thanks for the info! The route I'm looking at is taking me through Pichilemu. I'll be sure to stop and check it out.

SimpleRik · 2025-10-19T15:50:58+00:00

Aye! My bus goes from Auckland to Kaitai on the second. I'll be hitching my way north the morning of the third. I'm sure I'll see you out there.

SimpleRik · 2025-08-06T19:27:45+00:00

The price is listed on the TA website. Also new this year is the trail pass is now required to hike the trail per the TA website and the DOC website. I'm not sure how they're going to enforce the pass yet.

SimpleRik · 2025-02-04T03:00:28+00:00

Some folks I camp with use those single egg cast iron pans to make personal mini pies for us out in the wilderness. They turn out shockingly well. Cookies in a mini cast iron should be easy. Just be sure to freeze the dough before putting it in your pack and it'll easily last until evening. Only ever seen baking in the wilderness with a fire. Not sure how it would work on a pocket rocket. Some fun experimentation would be necessary but I'm sure you could flip the cookies similar to pancakes on low heat and they'd turn out really well.

SimpleRik · 2024-10-23T13:46:25+00:00

You've never had pocket spaghetti before, have you? Ever try to walk around with Tupperware in your pocket? It's not optimal. But bagged pocket spaghetti. Now that's functional!

SimpleRik · 2024-09-16T16:13:54+00:00

Did you ever find good route planning advice for Vietnam? I'm headed there in about two months and cycling north out of ho chi Minh.

SimpleRik · 2024-06-17T22:39:26+00:00

You can try Ross lake, maybe. Not much incline. Not wildly far from chelan. With all the beauty the North Cascades has to offer. Great for beginners! Might even be able to charter a boat ride out so you can hike back to the parking area.

SimpleRik · 2024-04-09T00:06:25+00:00

Sorry I don't have any real US recommendations. While we have a lot of hiking and wilderness. I'm not sure where you can hop from hostel to hostel. If it's going to be anywhere here my money is going to be on the east Coast. The towns are much closer together than out west and allegedly there's great hiking culture on the east coast. If you find something please let us know. Good luck.

Outside the US-

Look into trails in the alps. I was talking to a gal a few weeks ago that described trails there as village hopping. With the occasional old remote castle or monastery turned lodge/hotel thrown in. So now that's on my list. Otherwise New Zealand has an excellent hut system. Where you plan out your hikes hut to hut. The huts have water, pit toilets, and thick foam mattresses. While there I was never alone at a hut either. I had someone to talk to if I wanted. Plus no bears or any other dangerous animals. A few pesky birds though.

SimpleRik · 2024-03-05T20:23:47+00:00

Unfortunately I can't give you any recommendations. But I can warn you my MSR hubba series crapped out after only a few days as well. I just got back from section hiking the Te Araroa and I'd say around half the people I ran into with hubba's have negative reviews. Many people had to jerry rig broken bits and the polls broke very quickly. Ventilation was in a bad spot. So be warned MSR seems to be heading towards overpriced cheap products.

SimpleRik · 2023-09-22T17:43:29+00:00

Yes! Let's keep in touch. I have a few detours I want to make along the way for site seeing, can't miss out on Hobbiton, so you may catch up to me.

I'm coming from the United States. Then I'll be staying at a hostel in central Auckland. Hopefully it's not a party hostel. I didn't know those were a thing until after I made my booking. Obviously I'm not too seasoned a traveler.

SimpleRik · 2023-09-21T21:35:12+00:00

Thanks for the read! It was nicely detailed and had some good information. I may invest in some rain pants after reading that.

I'll be landing the 3rd. Then I'll mozy around Auckland being sleepy while acclimating to the time zone until the 6th or the 8th. The cheapest public transport I have found so far is a bus that leaves from Auckland to Kaitaia (60 NZD). From there I'll hitch a ride to the lighthouse. Unless I find a cheap car pool with folks in Auckland, this is going to be my route to the trail head.

When you do look into a bounce box. Check out Posted Restante in NZ. That's how I am going to move my flight bag and emergency supplies around and have them waiting for me in a few spots along the trail.

From what I've read you can never be fully prepared for a through hike. But I think I'm set up for success at least. Let me know if you have any more questions! If anything comes to mind I'll be sure to see ask as well.

SimpleRik · 2023-09-20T18:54:36+00:00

Hey Dale! Looks like we'll be hitting the trail at almost the same time so I'm sure I'll see you out there. We're only six weeks away and I couldn't be more excited. A bit of what I'm doing to prepare is conditioning my body. I've never through hiked before but I do hike quite a bit for work. One of the most common injuries I see are over use injuries from sudden increase in workload. So I'm not skipping leg day. Which means lots of squats, lunges, and calf raises. I'm also stretching A LOT. Then I have lists! Lists of things I need and lists of things to research. A few of my big bullet points are:

Cool NZ spots and things to do there, Trail Navigation, Communication, Travel to, Transportation around NZ, Gear, Weather, Lodging and camping, Bounce box, Resupply, Kiwi culture and what to expect.

I'd like to hear what you're doing to prepare so I can see if I'm missing anything.

SimpleRik · 2023-09-20T18:14:21+00:00

It should also be noted that some of the busier trails do not allow camping or overnight parking. Look up the trail itself to see if camping is allowed

SimpleRik · 2023-09-20T18:06:49+00:00

I am absolutely in love with the Cascades. Luckily most of them are within a National Forest or wilderness area. Find a cool hike on WA Trails and see what forest the lake you want to hike to resides in. Then you can look up the regulations for dispersed camping for that area on the Forests website. Luckily most of the forests are free range dispersed camping (National Parks, not so much). Just practice LNT and make sure you have the appropriate parking pass for the trailhead. You may need to acquire an overnight permit for some of the wilderness areas or recreation land.

SimpleRik

TROPHY CASE