There is an old saying, new riders pick a destination for the ride while experienced riders pick a direction and ride.

Now I have been touring for over three years and consider myself as an experienced rider and tourer, but when ever I decide to go for a ride, I like to pick a destination.

Does this makes me a novice rider/tourer?

Nope, in fact I consider route planning to be one of my forte. In fact I enjoy planning routes and churning out ride plans, not only for myself but also for people who approach me for advice either on BCMTouring or through my personal website and through emails and other forums.

For me there is a certain charm in pulling out a map to look at the roads, measure distances, speculate the average speed achievable, think of places to spend the night, research about it on the internet and though travel guides. And than go ahead and construct couple of different versions just for the backup in case some thing goes wrong or in case mood changes.

In fact a good riding plan isn’t apparent while touring because you are free from thinking where you would be spending you night or where you can tank up your vehicle and your stomach. It keeps you stress free and in case you have to change your ride plan, those backup plans you created while you were stuck in the concrete jungle come in handy.

Now there is nothing wrong in being spontaneous in fact spontaneity is an integral part of touring, but learning about the places you are going to ride to and discussing about them is also fun and even though it doesn’t measures up to the same level as touring itself but it’s as close as it gets.

So my advice to you would be to plan out your ride/trip in advance, discuss it with fellow travelers in travel forums like BCMTouring.com and keep a backup plan ready as well.

But never and I mean never try too hard to stick to the plan. Once you are on the road do as you desire, drive/ride as fast as or as slow as you wish. If you want to spend couple of hours relaxing next to a river or a lake, or simply want to indulge in photography than do just that and don’t worry about reaching the destination. After all you are on a vacation and you are free, so enjoy it while its lasts.

Once you are back in the shackles of responsibilities and “the routing” take out those maps and travel guide and start planning your escape…

Do you plan your rides/trips in advance like I do or subscribe to thinking of picking directions rather than destinations than do let us know by participating in this poll.