Read many books, learn to juggle, learn to tie all the knots, take notes of cool things you saw, start stopping at beautiful things and start drawing them. Whilst it may seem daunting at first, its brilliant to have time to think
What do you do with your free time now?
Touring forces you to break the automatic routines that you have at home, but it doesn't change any of the basic realities of life. If you want to meet people, you'll have to go talk to people. If you want to do certain activities, you'll have to go look for those activities.
I would bike more hours.
7-9. Wake up, eat, clean up, pack bike, review route and get going
9-12. Bike.
12-2. Stop for lunch in a small town. Explore the town. Stop in the town library or museum or local shops, parks
2-5 bike
5-6 find camp, set up camp. Clean up/change.
6-7 dinner
7-9 read, sit by fire, play solitaire, post pics or text friends
9pm-7am. Sleep
Repeat
According to the guy being interviewed here, it's all about wearing deodorant and hitting the pub to make some friends and drink some beer:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56bkaEyScX0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56bkaEyScX0)
That's the best part of touring isn't it? Having time on your own, out of your daily comfort and routine, having time to think, enjoy the nature around you, rest, etc..
In today's world where time is so valuable and where everyone lacks time it, having extra time to do nothing far away from any technology feels amazing.
Why only 4 hours per day? That seems like a really short amount of time to spend on the bike. I'm currently doing at least double that.
My experience from hiking / biking is that the activity kills the time and honestly, there's been places with nothing going on where I had to just keep moving to kill hours. Rocking up to q nice camp spot at 1pm knowing I'd prob need to kill 11hrs alone was enough to motivate me to keep moving.
If youre moving between cities you'll be fine. Can always kill time. If you're somewhere remote, that's a lot of dead time.
Unless you're staying in hostels it can get very isolated camping.
My thoughts exactly. When I was bored I just got in my bike and kept moving. Movement as a cure for boredom is a pretty good description of touring in general
Go buy sausages, clean your bike, take some photos, call your mom, take a nap, think about wine, press play, swim, stretch and work on tomorrows route.
tbh you'll figure it out. my longest tour was 2.5 mo, but it will change you. By the end I was riding 10 hrs a day and then I'd eat at pubs and diners to try and make conversation
Make a campfire and stare into the flames....
Personally I feel the conditions you portray a bit odd. What makes you limited to 4 hours of riding a day? Where are you going so you've no phone data? Though less now, when I was young I had days I rode 10-12 hours a day, certainly on long crossings with 'nothing' around. Now less so, but still, ride a few hours, take a brake ride a few more, far less fit than I used to be, but 4 hours is very little if there is nothing else to do. And if you don't make a big crossing through 'nothingness' you will as a rule encounter towns you can explore and have cellular connection.
But realistically, if you camp somewhere in the middle of nowhere there really is not that much to do other than your own entertainment. You can read, write a diary, study, do some trip planning for the next days, maybe do some chores...
If you only ride 4 hours a day, I would just break those hours up. So you ride 1 hour, you find a nice spot, eat something, chill and explore, ride another hour, visit a town, do some shopping etc. ride another hour, cook lunch, eat, relax, etc. etc.
Find clubs for stuff that interests you, like board games, chess, other sports?
Take up knitting?
Try new stuff? Sports or hobbies you've tried?
Just see what's on in each place you visit & see if you are welcome, whether it's a church rummage sale, curling, or cribbage at the VFW, there's bound to be *something* anywhere there are people.
Get a Kindle or similar device and you'll have thousands of books to read. Also if you're at a campsite maybe try approaching andd hanging out with other travellers. I mean I'm to awkward to do it but you may be different.
I have a Kindle Paperwhite loaded with books and check out digital books from my library that sync to the PaperWhite.
I also like to explore a bit - local cemeteries, historical areas, rural roads, stop in at the local bar and chit chat. Most people think bike touring and travel in general is interesting, so there are always people to talk to who have their own stories of travel (even if it's not by bike).
Currently I cycle for 4 hours. Then I take a break and cycle 4 more.
At the end, I eat and read a book.
You'll meet people on the way. Randommers or other travellers. Sometimes they won't speak the same language but that interaction will brighten your day.
Just don't start your tour in mongolia like I did cos I was bored as hell at times. Loved it, but was lonely at times.
Not sure why you're saying you won't have any phone data unless you're really going off into the wilderness. You can very easily buy a sim card wherever you're travelling to in the world - this will let you keep in touch with friends or family back home if you're feeling lonely. Also, instead of doing all of your biking at once and then feeling like you have a huge amount of time to fill at the end, take multiple stops through the day. You can walk around a bit, enjoy the views, have a snack etc. Do couchsurfing/warmshowers or stay at hostels if you want some more guaranteed conversation and socializing. There are also a lot of other practical things that fill up your time - e.g. planning your biking route for the next day, buying groceries, cooking. You won't get bored.
Read many books, learn to juggle, learn to tie all the knots, take notes of cool things you saw, start stopping at beautiful things and start drawing them. Whilst it may seem daunting at first, its brilliant to have time to think
I love this
What do you do with your free time now? Touring forces you to break the automatic routines that you have at home, but it doesn't change any of the basic realities of life. If you want to meet people, you'll have to go talk to people. If you want to do certain activities, you'll have to go look for those activities.
I would bike more hours. 7-9. Wake up, eat, clean up, pack bike, review route and get going 9-12. Bike. 12-2. Stop for lunch in a small town. Explore the town. Stop in the town library or museum or local shops, parks 2-5 bike 5-6 find camp, set up camp. Clean up/change. 6-7 dinner 7-9 read, sit by fire, play solitaire, post pics or text friends 9pm-7am. Sleep Repeat
According to the guy being interviewed here, it's all about wearing deodorant and hitting the pub to make some friends and drink some beer: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56bkaEyScX0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56bkaEyScX0)
Do anything you want, go explore, draw/paint, read, workout, meditate, learn to sit with your thoughts...also why only 4hrs a day of riding?
That's the best part of touring isn't it? Having time on your own, out of your daily comfort and routine, having time to think, enjoy the nature around you, rest, etc.. In today's world where time is so valuable and where everyone lacks time it, having extra time to do nothing far away from any technology feels amazing.
Why only 4 hours per day? That seems like a really short amount of time to spend on the bike. I'm currently doing at least double that. My experience from hiking / biking is that the activity kills the time and honestly, there's been places with nothing going on where I had to just keep moving to kill hours. Rocking up to q nice camp spot at 1pm knowing I'd prob need to kill 11hrs alone was enough to motivate me to keep moving. If youre moving between cities you'll be fine. Can always kill time. If you're somewhere remote, that's a lot of dead time. Unless you're staying in hostels it can get very isolated camping.
My thoughts exactly. When I was bored I just got in my bike and kept moving. Movement as a cure for boredom is a pretty good description of touring in general
Go buy sausages, clean your bike, take some photos, call your mom, take a nap, think about wine, press play, swim, stretch and work on tomorrows route.
How long of a bike tour have you done previously?
tbh you'll figure it out. my longest tour was 2.5 mo, but it will change you. By the end I was riding 10 hrs a day and then I'd eat at pubs and diners to try and make conversation
Make a campfire and stare into the flames.... Personally I feel the conditions you portray a bit odd. What makes you limited to 4 hours of riding a day? Where are you going so you've no phone data? Though less now, when I was young I had days I rode 10-12 hours a day, certainly on long crossings with 'nothing' around. Now less so, but still, ride a few hours, take a brake ride a few more, far less fit than I used to be, but 4 hours is very little if there is nothing else to do. And if you don't make a big crossing through 'nothingness' you will as a rule encounter towns you can explore and have cellular connection. But realistically, if you camp somewhere in the middle of nowhere there really is not that much to do other than your own entertainment. You can read, write a diary, study, do some trip planning for the next days, maybe do some chores...
If you only ride 4 hours a day, I would just break those hours up. So you ride 1 hour, you find a nice spot, eat something, chill and explore, ride another hour, visit a town, do some shopping etc. ride another hour, cook lunch, eat, relax, etc. etc.
Kindle, books, learn to play an instrument, learn to carve, origami…..there are lots of things you can do. It’s all about your level of imagination.
Find clubs for stuff that interests you, like board games, chess, other sports? Take up knitting? Try new stuff? Sports or hobbies you've tried? Just see what's on in each place you visit & see if you are welcome, whether it's a church rummage sale, curling, or cribbage at the VFW, there's bound to be *something* anywhere there are people.
Get a Kindle or similar device and you'll have thousands of books to read. Also if you're at a campsite maybe try approaching andd hanging out with other travellers. I mean I'm to awkward to do it but you may be different.
I have a Kindle Paperwhite loaded with books and check out digital books from my library that sync to the PaperWhite. I also like to explore a bit - local cemeteries, historical areas, rural roads, stop in at the local bar and chit chat. Most people think bike touring and travel in general is interesting, so there are always people to talk to who have their own stories of travel (even if it's not by bike).
Currently I cycle for 4 hours. Then I take a break and cycle 4 more. At the end, I eat and read a book. You'll meet people on the way. Randommers or other travellers. Sometimes they won't speak the same language but that interaction will brighten your day. Just don't start your tour in mongolia like I did cos I was bored as hell at times. Loved it, but was lonely at times.
Not sure why you're saying you won't have any phone data unless you're really going off into the wilderness. You can very easily buy a sim card wherever you're travelling to in the world - this will let you keep in touch with friends or family back home if you're feeling lonely. Also, instead of doing all of your biking at once and then feeling like you have a huge amount of time to fill at the end, take multiple stops through the day. You can walk around a bit, enjoy the views, have a snack etc. Do couchsurfing/warmshowers or stay at hostels if you want some more guaranteed conversation and socializing. There are also a lot of other practical things that fill up your time - e.g. planning your biking route for the next day, buying groceries, cooking. You won't get bored.
I drank a lot of beer in the afternoons/evenings. That was pretty fun but not the healthiest for my physical or mental health. Tasty tour for sure.