Considering my fondness for maps I’ve an awful sense of direction! I may give the impression I know where I’m going, but instead my internal compass has spun off it’s axis leaving me adrift and rudderless. The upside of this is you end up in completely new and unexpected places, the downside … you get lost!
Bad sense of direction aside, gazing and wondering at a map is my favourite step of planning a cycle trip. The world compressed to 2D encourages you to imagine what the landscape will look like, how steep the hills will be, the frequency of water sources and the condition of the roads.
As a cyclist you are more engaged with your surroundings than a cocooned motorist, you also tend to remember the ground underneath you.
Travelling by bike allows you to feel the road, absorb it, rejoice it and curse it! You remember the washboard roads, the deep sand tracks, swimming pool sized potholes and the downhill stretches of smooth tarmac. The quality of the road measured by the bruises on your arse!
It’s the roads and tracks that take you there.
Crank and Cog 
1) Wow that snaking road in Romania!
2) “Otterwechsel” 😀
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That snaking road is the epic Transfagarasan Road sometimes known as the best road in the world! The Otterwechsel cycle path is near the German Polish border. It follows a river, unfortunately we didn’t come across any otterwechsel! 🙂
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These photos are amazing! I would love to go there
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Thank-you! 🙂
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I noticed it’s scenery…away from people and urbanism. 🙂 I like both plus Nature too.
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Thanks Jean, it’s good to get away from it all sometimes!
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The magic of nature is so powerful. It is attracting me to visit such beauties around the world. 🙂 🙂
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Great to hear you feel inspired to travel! 🙂
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Great trips and posts! 😊 thank you for traveling so much and writing about it!
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Congratulations from Spain!
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A beautiful country we’d love to cycle around!
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You’re welcome!
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