Four of us, middle aged men, will be spending six weeks together. This isn’t just a boys weekend away.
We all know each other very well. We’ve known each other for at least 30 years, have ridden tours together, socialised together and even partnered in business together but the stresses of six weeks together will, I’m sure, boil over at one point.
Someone will want the off-road route more than others. Someone will drink one too many. There’ll be a few breakdowns. Lost keys (usually me), money discussions, illness, theft and we’ll all struggle with the balancing act of choosing campsites and hotels in 35 degree heat in the Balkans.
We’re all mature people but that also means we have well-developed opinions. We get stubborn in our middle age – a result of too much experience and not enough energy to think from new. However compatible we think we are, it’s not going to be enough to stop us having problems.
I believe that everyone in our team of four is absolutely prepared for this and will be starting the tour with flexible intentions.
“No problem with the hotel the evening. You do that and I’ll check destinations for the tomorrow.”
“Chain lube in in my left pannier . Help yourself.”
“If it rains we’ll just take a break and have a coffee”
You can imagine how these friendly gestures develop over time though, when someone has taken the bulk of the overnight booking responsibility, has run out of chain lube or just wants to get to the bloody destination so they can have a shower and a sleep.
There are ways to deal with the pressure that builds up.
Although I wouldn’t recommend riding solo for more than a few days, there are other riding constellations and routes that we, a team of four, can form on a daily basis and I think this has to be the core of our thinking when it comes to dealing with personal issues. We must be prepared to split, and to reform a day or two later.
In terms of preparation , sharing some equipment lists might be a good idea in order to give us the best possibility of getting out of mechanical problems.
A daily route leader is recommended but we must be prepared to share that task. A couple of bad days in terms of risky routes, closed roads or team pressure is more than enough for anyone to have to deal with.
On the financial side of things, an agreement on the rough split of hotels and campsite and a target budget if necessary,. The budget is already stressed by about €300 extra in petrol costs thanks to the Iran war.
Im not going to dwell on the possibility of serious illness because if that happens we’re just going to have to re-focus. It could take a week, or a person, out of the plan. This is where a team of four is going to be an advantage. I know we’re all going to handle that situation through to the best possible outcome.
Ultimately we just have to expect a few problems and be prepared to change plans. Not every day is going to be great. 6 weeks of travelling away from home is a serious challenge in itself, let alone with limited resources on a machine that could break at any moment.
This post will update because one of the most important to-do’s still remains on the list – a formal team planning meeting. With one of us, me, in another country, it’s difficult to make that happen but, this week, 13 months before the planned start, it looks like it will happen. I’ll share this post with the team as my stake-in-the-ground.
They’ll probably hate me for it. 😉
One more thing. Im not going to ask an AI chatbot to provide us with its international-average thoughts. We, the team, are the knowledge here.