TIPSSKIPIT
Whenusingasatnav,learnhowto
skipwaypoints:turningaroundto
gobacktoapointyou‘missed’by
6ftistheNo.^1 causeofnav-rage
9 Learna few
basicphrases
If you’regoingtoEurope,
it breakstheicetobeabletosay;
“Sorry,I don’tspeak...”or“Pump
twoplease”or“CanI havethebill?”
inthelocallanguage.
ToptipLoada translationapp
ontoyoursmartphone,incase
allelsefails...
8 Ridewithplentyinhand
If you’renotusedtolongdays
inthesaddle,bepreparedto
havea breakwhenyoufeeltired.Always
keepthingssensible,especiallyif riding
ina group:giveeachotherspace;make
yourownovertakesandpickyourown
lines;don’tjustfollowthebikeinfront.
You’reonholiday,soenjoytheroads
— butrideata pacewhereyoucan
appreciatethescenerytoo.Pay
at tentionto speedlimits,especiallyin
townsandvillages,asfewthingsspoila
holidaylikea speedingfine.Theone
thingthat’sworseisa crash...which
bringsusbacktothefirstpoints:takea
breakif youfeeltiredandridesensibly.
ToptipA slidingscaleofspeedingfines
iscommoninEurope:thefasteryougo,
themoreyoupay.Morethan50kphover
thelimitandthebikemaybeimpounded.
7 Knowyourgadgets
Thebesttimetolearnhow
yournewactioncamera
10 Justrelax
worksisnotatthetopofthat
famouspass,whileallyourmates
arewaitingtogo...Whetherit’sa
newintercom,quad-copter,phone
apporsatnav,setit upandlearn
howtouseit beforeyougo.
ToptipCheckYouTubefor
instructionalvideos.
Don’tobsessaboutyour
routeorgetstressedif you
thinkyou’vestrayedfromit.Stop,
checkwhereyouareandadaptif
necessary. If youwantto make an
unplannedstop,justdoit — don’tbe
a slavetotheschedule...butaccept
thatyou’llgettothehotellate,or
adjustyourroute.If allelsefails,sat
navsandphoneappsaregoodat
goingdirectlytotheday’sfinal
destination.It reallydoesn’tmatterif
youdothat: it’s stilla day ridingyour
bike,attheendoftheday...
ToptipIf youthinkyou’relost,just
tellyourselfit’sexploringandenjoyit.
Whethersoloorina
group,ridehowyou
wantto andenjoy
Essentials
A fewmodsandadditionsto
makeyourtourmoreenjoyable
A gelseatpadcanhelptostave
offa numbbum
A screencanhelpreducewind
blastandwithit,fatigue
Rubberpegswillinsulate you
andkeepallthevibesgood
52 | JULY 2019
TOP TIPS