This list of travel challenges is meant to make you step a little out of your comfort zone. If you like spending time in nature, then you’ve probably already completed some of these challenges. Nevertheless, there are ideas here that will help you plan your next outdoor adventure.

1. Roll around in the snow after taking a sauna (in the name of health!).

2. Organize a night picnic with lanterns/candles/campfire/the full moon.

Photo: Dave Lastovskiy/Unsplash

3. Go where 90% of animals and plants are unique and can’t be found anywhere else (we mean Madagascar, but if you find another place that meets the criteria, go ahead!).

4. Boil eggs in a valley of geysers – there are just over 1000 geysers on Earth, but it seems the influence of hot water on the human mind hasn’t been well studied yet because people tend to think of weird stuff to when they see a geyser. Like boiling eggs (there are hundreds of videos of this; check them out if you find the idea interesting).

5. Pop a bottle of champagne when you climb a new mountain peak. You deserve it.

Photo: © Lachezar Sokolov/www.203challenges.com

6. Spend the night in a hammock in a forest or on the beach.

7. Jump into a warm, open-air mineral pool while it’s snowing.

8. Bathe in a waterfall (one idea).

9. Hug a very special tree (a local attraction, a very old tree or a family tree).

10. Practice gökotta. Gökotta is a Swedish word that roughly translates as “to rise at dawn in order to go out and listen to the birds sing”. Read more about gökotta.

Photo: © www.203challenges.com

11. Try volcano boarding – hike up to a volcanic crater, enjoy the view, then try something more interesting: slide down the volcanic stones and ash with a special board at a speed of up to 75 kph (47 mph).

12. Discover sandboarding – slide down a sand dune with your feet fixed to a board.

13. Skinny-dip in a remote mountain lake.

14. Stand before the Gates of Hell.

15. Fly high in a hot-air balloon.

16. Breathe in the scent of lavender in Provence (between June and August is the best time to do it).

17. The most difficult challenge for active people: Spend a whole day doing nothing. Rest, observe the world around you, take a nap in the afternoon, have a cup of tea… Genuinely try to enjoy doing nothing.

18. Sleep in a floating bungalow (one idea here).

Photo: © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

All ideas are inspired by the book “203 Travel Challenges. Travel the World. Explore Your Inner Self.”.

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Need more inspiration? Take a look at our photo guide of our planet!

​This type of trip can inspire you to take a new path – enroll in a livestock breeder course, learn a new skill, or something else.

The post 18 travel challenges for nature lovers appeared first on 203Challenges.

Why is there so much fuss about giving an experience instead of an object?

If you need an idea for a really, really special and unforgettable gift for a loved one, choose an experience instead of just more stuff. Why? It has already been proven many times that experiences make us happier than objects, and that this happiness lasts longer.

To help you become everyone’s favorite gift-giver, read our list of 52 experience gift ideas, so you have at least one for every week next year. How thoughtful of us (and you)!

1. Opera/theater/show tickets (for the best seats, of course).

2. VIP concert tickets.

3. Plane tickets. Not really creative, but plane tickets are always a good idea.

4. A day at a spa center. Or, even better, at a warm outdoor swimming pool when it’s winter outside. Raise the stakes by bringing a flask of hot tea and rum.

5. A massage, preferably accompanied by a glass of wine or a cup of hot chocolate.

6. A thought-provoking book.

7. A book full of travel challenges.

8. Wine tasting. Beer tasting. Whisky tasting. Chocolate tasting.

9. A drawing/guitar/piano class.

10. A surprise trip (read How to plan the perfect surprise trip).

11. Bungee jumping.

12. Paragliding – a tandem flight.

13. A paragliding course (a whole new level where you can fly without an instructor).

14. Skydiving, diving, free diving

15. A day at a board games club.

16. A visit to an escape room.

17. A visit to a soundproof (anechoing) room – this is a hard task as there are just few anechoing chambers (absorbing every single sound and providing 99.9% silence) in the world, and they usually open only on specific days. They say that if you stay in an anechoing chamber for a while, you will start to actually hear your heartbeat.

18. A ‘coupon’ promising the recipient one day of your life together to do whatever they like.

19. Stargazing with a cup of hot chocolate.

20. A night at a Bedouin camp (for this particular idea you will need to already be in a country with Bedouins). If you are there anyway, use the chance to organize a great surprise by booking the night secretly, kidnapping your friend and taking them to the desert.

21. Glamping. Or champing (camping in a church) if you feel like scandalizing the religious society.

22. A dinner at a restaurant with such exotic cuisine that you can’t pronounce any item on the menu and you have to helplessly point to dishes to order them.

23. A whole day at a theme park.

24. A balloon flight.

25. A day on a yacht/boat with lots of champagne and a playlist with your favorite music.

26. A day snowshoeing in the mountains.

27. A cocktail night at a rooftop bar.

28. A night picnic.

29. A visit to a haunted/abandoned house.

30. A language course. Or step up your game by arranging a language course that takes place abroad.

31. A professional photo shoot.

32. If the person’s birthday occurs during a cold month, take them to a beach destination for a change. Or take them to a snow-capped mountain if they have never seen snow.

33. A party train ride. Book a whole compartment for the two of you, or for a bunch of friends. Bring goodies and drinks for everyone and let the party begin.

34. A hike in the mountain. Hide a box with a tiny cake and a bottle of champagne in your backpack. When you reach the peak, pop open the champagne and light the candles on top of the cake (you will probably have to buy non-extinguishable candles, because mountain peaks are windy places).

35. A night in a floating bungalow.

36. A dinner themed around the country of your most recent trip together.

37. Reunite the birthday person with an old friend who has been living abroad/faraway for years. Secretly arrange the friend’s arrival and, under the guise of a casual coffee with you, make the surprise meeting happen.

38. A membership for a museum, aquarium or a science center that lines up with the person’s interests.

39. A personal horoscope (if the person is into astrology). Substitute with a personal guided meditation, a human design, a personal coaching session or anything that will suit your friend’s soul.

40. A dance lesson.

41. Horse riding at sunset along the beach.

42. A subscription to yoga classes or any other sporty activity that will keep them healthy.

43. Anything homemade, because a homemade cake or herb-infused vodka is much greater than the product itself; it shows that you put time, effort and intent into creating it.

44. A luxury first night for a budget traveler. If you have a friend who spends most of their life on the road in crappy hostels and low-grade shared rooms, you can give them a ‘voucher’ for a first night in a luxury hotel for their next trip. After 26 hours of flying and interrupted dozes in airports, they will be more than thankful for a fluffy, cloud-like pillow and a real mattress in a soundproof hotel room.

45. Premium membership for their favorite app or online subscription. This could be Spotify, Calm or whatever service they love but would never splurge on.

46. Make one of their dreams come true. Has your friend always wanted to publish a book? To record their own song? Help them make their hobby a little bit more tangible by paying for the record or the publishing service.

47. Laughter. Have any of your friends been under the weather recently? Think of a way to make them laugh a bit: buy them tickets for a stand-up comedy show, take them to a comedy movie, or just organize a meetup with a mutual friend who is known to be light-hearted and always full of creative jokes.

48. A list of 52 challenges to complete during the next year. Make them fun and creative, and remember that some of them should be goofy and silly because that’s what friends are for! Thus, your gift won’t be forgotten for an entire year (and probably much longer). Browse through our Inspiration section to get some ideas.

49. A fixed sum of money with a catch. A 100-dollar note with a different kind of note, like: “On May 17, wherever you are, you have to spend this money on something unconventional, something you wouldn’t normally do. Spoil yourself, get adventurous or do whatever you feel like in the moment”.

50. A surprise party. OK, this is a classic. But if you haven’t done it yet, it’s almost always a cool idea.

51. A test drive of a fancy sports car.

52. A short video you secretly shot for this special person during your travels. Use a basic free video editor to make it shine a bit, then give it to the person on a memory stick wrapped in a ribbon.

53. Personal gift with print 🙂

I would also add a luxury pen to create memories. Or rather to preserve memories :)

Pin it now because you never know when you are going to need a list of good gift ideas:

Creativity is very important and a big plus in many ways.
For example, see who are creative agencies and what they do. You can inspire on the website hd-room.com 🙂

The post Best gifts that are actually unforgettable experiences appeared first on 203Challenges.

Here are some alternatives to the classic overpriced tourist souvenirs that could work as warm vacation reminders for you and your friends.

A recipe for a local delicacy

You can’t bring that amazing pasta you tried in a restaurant in Florence home with you. But you could introduce yourself to the cook and ask for the recipe, then cook it yourself at home (or invite friends over and share the treat with them). Not every cook is willing to share their recipes, but it’s worth trying (and smiling while you ask really helps).

Cooking courses are another good idea, although personally I prefer getting invited to a local’s home for dinner and then helping to prepare the food. I explain how much I’d like to see [insert amazing food here] being cooked and learn how to make it myself – people are usually flattered that you like their country’s cuisine and will happily teach you.

My way: On my last trip, I saw the mother of the owner of the hostel I stayed at preparing a meal, and although we had no common language (she was Chinese), a few genuine smiles and curious looks over her shoulder got me an invitation to the kitchen. Before I knew it, I was helping her cook a delicious meal!

Don’t worry if you fail with all these ideas: you always have the option of finding a recipe online.

Bring a recipe | Roman Kraft/Unsplash

A song

I love listening to local hits when I’m abroad, and I’ve discovered that music can make for an unexpected and rewarding souvenir to take back home.

Knowing your friends like the back of your hand will help you discover new artists to introduce them to after your trip. Once you return home, add your contribution to the playlist for their next trip. Find a whole album by one artist, or make a compilation of songs by local artists.

Bring a song | Mitchel Lensink/Unsplash

A postcard (including one to yourself)

I love receiving photos from my friends’ trips in my email inbox, but there’s nothing quite like real paper postcards in my real mailbox. More often than not the postcards arrive after they’ve returned from their trip, but who cares! It’s the thought that counts.

My way: I have a tradition to always send a card to myself to remind me of an interesting thought that crossed my mind during the trip. It’s funny how I never remember what I wanted to share with myself and I’m excited to read it once the postcard has arrived.

Send a postcard (to yourself) |
©www.203challenges.com

Any random item you discover, especially if there’s a story behind it

Seashells (be careful, there are many areas where you’re not allowed to take them from the beach), pressed leaves (they make for fabulous wall art or cards), oddly-shaped rocks – all of these can be good gifts for friends who don’t need much to be happy. Add a small printed card with the story behind the object and maybe a loving message to let your friend know you’re thinking of them.

My way: I have a pinecone garland at home that contains more stories, sunrises, forest trails and happy moments than anything else in my home. Every time I go on a trip where pinecones can be found, I bring one home and attach it to the ever-growing garland.

Collect random objects, like pinecones or seashells | Annie Spratt/Unsplash

Tea, coffee, chocolates, wine – yes, but from a local market

I have a rule – if a box of coffee or chocolates has a photo of the place and an inscription in English, don’t buy it. A wiser alternative is to shop for food and drinks only from local supermarkets or open-air markets, where prices are reasonable and you can uncover some fascinating local products.

My way: I like challenging my friends and family, especially the more conservative among them. From my last trip to Thailand and b, I brought home packages of dried silkworms and crickets – a local delicacy. To be honest, I had underestimated my friendship circle, because almost everybody dared to taste them and actually liked them, although some chewed with their eyes closed and were ready to spit.

Bring exotic food bought from local markets | ©Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Photos

Long ago, people used to print every single photo they took. Now vacation photos get buried in a pile of everyday digital shots and we miss out on the opportunity to reminisce on our happy travel moments. Personally I have found that the photos I love looking at most are the weird and silly ones rather than the posed ones.

My way: I print one photo per trip (sometimes from my Instagram account) and pin it to a photo ‘clothes-line’.

Print photos | Iwan/Unsplash

Bonus idea: seeds

Although I haven’t really succeeded in planting many foreign flowers and vegetables from my travels, I always pay a visit at the local store or market where I get a handful of packs with seeds for anything I think I might like growing. My best achievement so far are Thai beans and unknown Brazilian flowers.

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The post Stop buying souvenirs: 6 better alternatives to bring home instead appeared first on 203Challenges.

Organizing a cool surprise trip as a gift looks like a big hassle, but it’s totally doable in less than an hour. Just stick to this guide and avoid all distractions, please!

1. Choose the topic [2 minutes] – you shouldn’t need more than a minute to decide what your friend (wife, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, mom, dad, etc.) is most into. Animals? Consider visiting a farm or an epic zoo, or booking a nature safari. Wine? Find the best winery offer tastings in the region. Еven if you are a fan of wine, you will probably still be surprised by wine with a different and nice taste.
2. Choose the destination [20 minutes] – there’s no need to browse through thousands of properties – the fact that it’s a surprise will make the experience special anyway. Google something like ‘the best places for animal lovers in X destination’. Choose the main attraction of the trip. Then choose a hotel or guesthouse nearby. Don’t close any of the tabs with the destinations you’ve chosen and then…
3. Make sure the birthday boy/girl has no other plans for the day. Then proceed to the booking [3 minutes] – make a casual call to ask your friend if they have already planned something for their birthday, using the excuse that your colleagues are inviting you to go to the theater on the same day. Don’t reveal that you are planning something. If the answer is ‘no’, proceed to booking. If the answer is ‘yes’, try to get an idea of what it is and who is invited. I’ve reached such levels of plan sophistication that I called every single guest to tell them the birthday would actually take place at another place and time, and they should keep the secret and pretend to be attending the event organized by the birthday person. It worked perfectly well.
4. Send a mysterious invitation [5 minutes] – use free online software (like Canva or BeFunky) to create an fancy invitation. Include only this information: when and where the person should be and what they should bring. If you are taking them to a warm place, include flip-flops and sunglasses in the to-bring list. If it will be a wine tasting, you can ask them to bring aspirin. You’re done! Now wait until the birthday when you can…
5. Blindfold them for extra suspense – just when they think the mystery will finally be over, add some more anticipation by blindfolding them and playing their favorite songs while you arrive. Unless you need to board a plane. Unfortunately you can’t sneak a blindfolded person onto a plane…
6. Surprise!

…romantic

…add a spa treatment for two or a dinner at a rooftop restaurant to make it more memorable.

…adventurous

…book a bungee jump, a skydive or ride on horseback in the wilderness.

…kid-friendly

…because kids like surprises too. In fact, every trip is a trip full of surprises when you travel with kids (at least for you) because you can never know when little Jimmy will spill a whole plate of spaghetti on his sister’s head, while using the tablecloth at the restaurant as a cape. So just look up the best children’s activity nearby and bring the kids’ favorite toys and games. Kids are also usually happy to join in everything the adults do – if you let them. My friend’s daughter went paragliding for the first time when she was five years old, and she even asked to go for a second time.

Pin it because you will have friends with birthdays, like, every year:

Discover more gift ideas here: 52 best gifts that are actually unforgettable experiences

The post How to plan a surprise (birthday) trip in less than 30 minutes appeared first on 203Challenges.

Not all Cambodians, however, see you as a walking bag of dollar bills. You will meet many friendly, smiling people who are genuinely interested in you and your story. If you want to make friends with everyday Cambodians, here are three suggestions that helped me during my last trip to Cambodia.

©Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Return for a second meal at a good restaurant

There are so many places to eat in Cambodia’s tourist areas that you might want to try a new one every time. Return to a place you liked, though, and you’ll experience true Cambodian hospitality.

We visited the same restaurant in Angkor Wat two days in a row and on our second day we got two free bottles of water when we were leaving. We couldn’t believe that the owners remembered us from the previous day, as there were literally hundreds of people eating there both times we visited. This heartwarming gesture was even better appreciated as it was a scorching day and I had been feeling a bit ill.

Smile at people

Every time we smiled at random people on the street they gave us a genuine smile in return. In tourist areas like Siem Reap, even toddlers would smile back and shout a sweet “hello” in English. I always smile at unknown people when I want to take a photo of them – in most cases, a broad smile makes them feel at ease and happy to be photographed.

©Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Learn some phrases in the Khmer language

At one of the hostels we stayed at in Cambodia there were some useful phrases in Khmer written on the walls, but once I’d learned them, I started asking the receptionist for more. As this was a family business, soon the whole family gathered to give me a language class in Khmer, including their four-year-old twins who spoke perfect English due to the constant flow of tourists through the hostel. Even the little ones were happy to teach us some words in their native language.

©Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Bonus tip: take it easy!

Being nervous, hasty or creating a feeling of urgency is useless in Cambodia, where nobody wears a watch and the phrase “take your time” is perceived as a rule. The best approach is to absorb the timelessness and stop trying to impose your concept of punctuality upon people if you want them to be your friends.

Read more: Angkor Wat: Sunrise or sunset (+useful tips)

How to beat the crowds at Angkor Wat

Pin this to your travel boards:

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Celebrate the national day of a country – your own or another

You can start this by celebrating Independence Day on the 4^th of July, even if you’re not American. The celebration of different countries’ national days is a great way to honor foreign cultures and countries without actually traveling there. You can visit a friend from that particular country, organize a themed dinner with food from the country, go to a themed bar or restaurant, or have a movie marathon with movies made in or about that country. Some of the national days you can celebrate in July are:

• 4^th July – Independence Day (United States)
• 14^th July – Bastille Day (France)
• 20^th July – Declaration of Independence from Spain (Colombia)
• 21^st July – Belgian National Day
• 23^rd July – Revolution Day (Egypt)

Organize a trip for a friend

… or have a friend organize a trip for you. Let them know only the departure date and what clothes they should bring; everything else should be a surprise. Give them the tickets, the maps and a list of challenges they should complete on the day they depart.

You can choose to send them to a place they wouldn’t normally go (be prepared for some revenge in this case) or somewhere you know they’ve always wanted to go but for some reason haven’t been able to. We’re sure you can find a suitable place that is still affordable and worth visiting.

Go to an outdoor cinema

Nothing quite compares to the atmosphere of those warm summer nights in the city, and a night at an outdoor cinema is one way to make things even better. Fresh air, a few friends, a nice movie, popcorn, drinks and voilà! – you have the perfect recipe for an after-work chill session. If you have a backyard (or even just a balcony), you can get creative and organize your own open-air movie night.

Gather herbs and wild berries

It’s finally summer now and the last thing we want to think about are those cold winter days that seem so far away. But, as we’ve always learned from Game of Thrones, winter is coming and you’d better be prepared. One fun way to do this while it’s still warm is to gather herbs for your own personal blend of tea, or wild berries that you can use to make homemade jam. If you can’t identify herbs, download a mobile app that can do it for you, or hire a guide who can teach you how to do it.

When you get around to making your homemade jam, you can label the jars with not only the name of the berries, but also the place and the date when they were gathered, as well as a funny story that happened while you were gathering them. That way you will have not only some delicious jams, but also some heart-warming memories.

Rooftop challenge

If you’ve been following this website for a while, you might have noticed our obsession with sunrises. There is a reason for that – they are always absolutely stunning, and they offer the perfect opportunity to escape from the stresses of modern life for a while. Try this challenge and you will soon be obsessed, too.

So here it is: search the city for rooftop bars that offer early morning events and go to as many as possible. You can also do this by creating your own events on the rooftops of your friends’ buildings or any other rooftop you have access to. Compare them and choose the best one, then throw a party on the last day of the month to celebrate your newfound knowledge of the city’s rooftops. Make sure you’re prepared for a big night so you can greet the first sunrise of August; then, and only then, will you be ready for our August challenges!

Don’t forget to take with you things like tick clothes, wound dressing, food.

The post 5 July travel challenges to dive into the summer appeared first on 203Challenges.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all,

said Helen Keller once, and we believe her. If life doesn’t provide you with enough adventures, the next best thing is to challenge yourself.

During my last trip to Brazil, I asked each of my friends to pose a fun challenge to me. The list I compiled turned out to be the most inspirational read of my life. It made me play soccer with boys on Copacabana beach, sleep at a stranger’s house, speak in Portuguese (although I couldn’t and I still can’t) and cook a Bulgarian national meal for a Brazilian, among many other random achievements.

You understand. Challenging  yourself and others is fun. Here are 20 creative ideas for challenging yourself everyday, every week or every month (you can adjust the frequency) without having to suck on a lemon, neck a gallon of milk, swallow a spoonful of cinnamon or bite into a raw onion.

#1 Set an alert on your calendar or other phone app to remind you to do a good deed every single month. We all want to help others, but we are often so engrossed in our daily routine that we need a gentle little kick in the butt to do something selfless.

#2 Take the same photo of yourself in the same place every year. 

#3 Choose a day of the month when you meet a friend and you try a new restaurant together. Step up your game by choosing a different national cuisine every time.

#4 Every time you travel abroad, research what’s the strangest food there and try it. Like tarantulas in Cambodia.

#5 Every day, try to speak with a different accent or dialect. 

#6 Set a ridiculously low budget and take turns with your friends to cook a dinner for four for that money. Delicious food only, please – you must take this challenge seriously.

#7 Organize this with friends – everyone should bring only one food product without telling the others what it will be. Then you should cook something delicious with all these mystery ingredients.

#8 Wake up for the sunrise 30 days in a row. Maybe you can also practice the Swedish ritual of gokotta.

#9 Plant a tree every year. 

#10 Call that friend whom you haven’t spoken to for ages.

#11 Learn a new fun fact every day. 

#12 Prepare a breakfast for someone at home (even if this person wakes up earlier than you, you can prepare it the night before) or at the office.

#13 Spend a weekend with all electronic devices switched off (preferably they will be locked in a safe in another city and you won’t have the key).

#14 Say ‘yes’ to every single offer you receive for a week (like in the 2008 movie Yes Man with Jim Carrey, which you can re-watch for inspiration).

#15 Choose a different route to your workplace every day for a month. 

#16 Compliment a different person every day for a month.

#17 Stop complaining for a month. Every time you catch yourself complaining, put a dollar in a jar. At the end of the month, buy yourself a treat or spend it on someone who needs the money (see Challenge #1).

#18 Visit a new place every weekend for at least three months. It could be somewhere just 20 miles from your house – the only condition is that you’ve never been there before.

#19 Ask a different friend to think up a challenge for you every month.

#20 Bake cookies for a friend for no reason.

And don’t forget to take care for your eyes, and your health.

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Most people take this question for granted but it’s essential when planning a tour. Choosing the perfect bike could be a tough call even for the pro cyclist. Lightweight or heavyweight, off road or on road experience, short or long rides. When choosing a bike, aside from the budget, you should consider the kind of tour you are about to venture on.

You may decide to buy or rent a budget tour bike, a tricycle for the elderly or an expedition bike. It’s completely individual, however, you should ask yourself various questions before settling for one.

Are you prepared? 

Before you embark on the tour, set your preferred start and end date and time. Cyclists love to cycle. Unless we have a specific goal or end date, the temptation to go on may blind us. However, those who cycle to achieve a goal, need the motivation to keep on going. 

Remember to pack a repair gear to help out in case you need a temporary fix or a quick repair. Enroll for a basic course on how to repair your bike. Check if the saddle is comfortable and the bike is clean. You should be good to go!

If you’re planning to take a route for several days, weeks or even a month, ensure your body is prepared for the challenge. Train daily to ensure you are comfortable with taking on long rides. Pack your necessities for the road – enough snacks, water, as well as a first aid kit. 

Don’t forget the route maps, your ID, other documents and enough money for the trip. 

Have fun 

Don’t forget that the primary reason behind your trip is to have fun. Plan multiple stops for breaks, lunch, to snack or just to rest. The bike gives you all the freedom other means of transport do not.

Allow the ride to excite you. Go at your own pace. Be mindful of the new places and feelings you get to experience. And have fun!

The rules 

Whether you are taking a ride within your comfort zone or visiting a foreign country, make sure you understand the local rules.  Some of the ones to check include:

• Always use the established bike paths, it’s illegal to cycle on secluded pavements.
• Beware of wild animals when riding on off-road terrains.
• Bridleways can be used by bikers and cyclists, however, they should allow hikers and horse riders to pass first. What is more, the bridleways are often not suitable for all bikes.

Make sure you read the cycle code of conduct especially when riding in a new foreign place.

To sum up

Set on your journey. Some things you will have to figure out and learn on the go. Bottom line, when on the road – handle your bike carefully to avoid any unexpected repairs. Also, choose safer routes especially when going for a long-distance ride.

Cycling on bike paths or quiet routes, in parks or open spaces, your options are countless. Choose wisely and start planning!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sophie Elise is a passionate cyclist, author and blogger. Her favourite topics include exciting women biking stories, health, fitness, adventures and more. You can often find her work on sportsly.net

The post The effective guide to planning a safe and enjoyable bike tour – Part 2 appeared first on 203Challenges.

But, when you want to go for a bike tour, proper planning is essential for a smooth ride. Remember, biking isn’t the same as driving a car where the routes are the obvious four-lane roads. You must identify your preferred route and stick to it. 

Where exactly do you want to go?

The world is flooded with biking routes and let’s face it, you can’t conquer all of them at once. The first thing to do is choose your destination. Where exactly do you want to go to? 

Once you have identified the location, use any available hints, resources and recommendations to map out your exact route. Especially when going somewhere you have never been and alone.

When taking a town route

Whether you are familiar with the town or not, bike routes and car routes are different. Moreover, you don’t want to find yourself on a busy road when you can use other available side roads and detours.

Make Google Maps your best friend. The application shows all the possible routes that take you to a particular destination. However, don’t rely fully on it, because it will mostly show you common roads full of traffic. Google usually chooses the familiar bike lanes, but you can benefit from the street view option to get to know your surroundings.

In the bike-friendly countries, you can easily get a bike map from your local bike shop. If you’re into technology more than the old-fashioned way, then make use of the local GPS site and application (most municipalities will have one). The maps will show the exact route and landmarks that you will see on the way. They are quite helpful and easy to understand. What is more, you can create your own map or download available ones onto your bike computer.

Going from town to town

Race map routes are also quite useful when town-hoping or biking from a bigger city to another one. They are detailed for racers and include shortcuts and detours as well. Alternatively, go online and check the racers websites for a map of the route.

What if you are taking on a different country?

Do your research and understand the area, before reaching the border. Figure out if you need to exchange money to the local currency and what are the mobile service provider rates. Don’t forget to use the GPS and to download local guiding maps from the area of interest.

Luckily, you can access any helpful information within a single click or scroll on your mobile.

To be continued…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sophie Elise is a passionate cyclist, author and blogger. Her favourite topics to write about include exciting women’s biking stories, health, fitness, adventures and more. You can often find her work on sportsly.net

The post The effective guide to planning a safe and enjoyable bike tour – Part 1 appeared first on 203Challenges.

#1 We all have that one friend who is either on a road-trip or planning a road-trip or thinking about a road-trip or talking to people who are on road-trip or posting quotes about road-trip. – Crestless Wave

#2 That’s why I love road trips, dude. It’s like doing something without actually doing anything. – John Green

#3 My favorite thing to do is to go where I’ve never been. – Diane Arbus

#4 A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us. – John Steinbeck

#5 Map out your future – but do it in pencil. The road ahead is as long as you make it. Make it worth the trip. – Jon Bon Jovi

#6 Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. – Izaak Walton

#7 Road trips required a couple of things: a well-balanced diet of caffeine, salt and sugar and an excellent selection of tunes—oh, and directions. – Jenn McKinlay

#8 Now, on this road trip, my mind seemed to uncrinkle, to breathe, to present to itself a cure for a disease it had not, until now, known it had. – Elizabeth Berg

#9 Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road. – Jack Kerouac

#10 Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life. – Jack Kerouac

#11 I don’t have to take a trip around the world or be on a yacht in the Mediterranean to have happiness. I can find it in the little things, like looking out into my backyard and seeing deer in the fields. – Queen Latifah

#12 Part of us believes the new car is better because it lasts longer. But, in fact, that’s the worst thing about the new car. It will stay around to disappoint you, whereas a trip to Europe is over. It evaporates. It has the good sense to go away, and you are left with nothing but a wonderful memory. – Daniel Gilbert

#13 If you’re on a road trip, you need driving music. – Edgar Wright

#14 The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow Roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars, and in the middle, you see the blue center-light pop, and everybody goes ahh… – Jack Kerouac

#15 The freedom of the open road is seductive, serendipitous and absolutely liberating. – Aaron Lauritsen

#16 Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling. – Margaret Lee Runbeck

#17 Discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. – Marcel Proust

#18 The most beautiful in the world is, of course, the world itself. – Wallace Stevens

#19 At the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy and your eyes sparkling. – Shanti

#20 What it takes to realize everything is fine around you? A road trip to the mountains where your soul dwells in the echoes of the winds that carry fragments of clouds with them. What it takes to realize world is going back to chaos and infinite hurry? End of the aforementioned road trip... – Crestless Wave

#21 Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. – Mark Twain 

The post 21 inspiring and funny quotes on road trips with friends appeared first on 203Challenges.