It was last year whilst listening to the talk ‘The Secret Double Life of the Adventure Cyclist’ from Emily Chappell, Anna McNuff & Will Hodson at The Yorkshire Bicycle Show that I became inspired by the thought of micro adventures or touring. They covered an array of points about the joys that can be experienced by getting on a bike and cycling into the valleys, camping for the night and returning to the day Job in time for Monday morning.
Their main point being how accessible it is!
This pretty much stuck with me, the stories they narrated to the audience made me hanker after some of this ‘adventuring’ malarkey! With this in mind I obviously choose to tread cautiously and sign up to a 4000KM 14 day race across Europe!
It’s been a pretty steep learning curve in terms of preparing but the most useful tool so far has been advice and recommendations from others. Here’s where Pannier.cc comes in – this is what I see as the ‘Go to’ for planning and preparing your future micro adventures.
“Pannier, a dedicated cycle touring resource, has launched this week to help cyclists plan, prepare for and share their touring adventures. Pannier offers: a Journal for publishing cycle touring journeys, stories, and cultural pieces; a Prepare section for helping cyclists prepare for a tour – outlining four touring styles; a Shop for sourcing the best touring equipment – from touring saddles, to tents and stoves; a Routes and mapping app for travelling cyclists; and an Engage section for sharing special moments from life on the road. Pannier’s aim is to inspire and enable more people to experience the Great Outdoors from the saddle of a bike – the best, most joyous way of exploring and discovering the world.”
“The idea behind Pannier is to celebrate bike travel, however hard or easy, long or short, and to make the
process of planning and preparing for a cycle tour more straight forward. Travelling by bike really is a great
escape so for us, it is as important to convey the value and enjoyment of a weekend tour close to home as much
as a far-flung six month adventure, which is often what the cycle touring stereotype implies.” Stefan, Founder
It’s safe to say that I’ll be using this a lot in the coming months, so if you’re like me and want to see what right on your door step? Head over to Pannier.cc and start planning your adventure!
