Axis of Success for Bicycle Touring

23 Dec Axis of Success for Bicycle Touring

When planning a bike tour, there are 3 factors that comes into play. (1) Are you healthy enough to take the trip? (2) Can you afford to take the trip? (3) Do you have enough time to take the trip? I call this process of determination my Bicycle Touring Axis of Success^TM.

Your level of enjoyment will be determined based on any of these 3 factors or levers. The higher these levers are, the more you will enjoy your trip. Let’s see what I mean.

Health

Let’s be real for a split second here. If you are thinking about riding across the country, but you have not been on a bike for 5 years, you are not going to enjoy it.

We bicycle tourists don’t really consider ourselves athletes, but it does not mean we are not healthy. Without good health, it’ll cost you more time to get in shape even though you may have the money ready for a bike tour.

I highly recommend seeing your physician before embarking on any journey with your bike. Your intention may be good, but your body might be the limitation.

money by 401(K) 2012, on Flickr

Money

Money plays a very important role when it comes to bicycle touring. Having money will allow you to buy the right equipment, like a bicycle, for the trip. You will need money to buy food to fuel your body. Therefore, having money is a big lever that will influence the enjoyment you may have on the road.

Little money means you may not have access to healthy food. When you’re not eating properly, you won’t have the energy to ride longer and further. This will cause you to take more time to complete your trip.

time by Sean MacEntee, on Flickr

Time

Most people have obligations in life. They have a full-time job or a family to care for, so their time will be limited from a few days to a few months if they have a backlog in vacation hours.

Because of this, you may not be able to go on long trips even if you are wealthy and healthy. Time constraints will determine how far or how long you can be on the road. Being healthy, you would be able to ride faster and cover more mileage or if you have money, you can ride as far as you can one way and pay money to transport you back home.

“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” –Theophrastus

The Equation

The calculation of bicycle touring success is as follows:

Success % = .001 x ((money x 33)+(health x 33)+(time x 33))

Money, health, and time is based on a rating from 1 to 10. 1 means you’re not doing so good, whether it’s money, health, and time. A 10 means you are rocking it for each category. The best possible score is 99% success. You need to at least score higher than 66% in order to consider going on a bike trip.

How It Works

Let’s run through two examples for the sake of understanding.

Example 1

We have a gentleman named Gus. Gus is 35 years old. He has a steady full-time job, a single man, and he normally rides his road bike every weekend. Gus considers himself comfortable when it comes to his income.

Here are Gus’s values based on these facts.

Money = 8

Health = 9

Time = 6

Success % = 76%

Since this value is above 66%, Gus is primed to have a successful bike tour.

Example 2

On the other hand, we have Wally. Wally hasn’t ridden a bike for over 10 years, but have been following Milestone Rides. Wally is retired and is living off of his retirement. Wally is diabetic and overweight.

Here are Wally’s values.

Money = 7

Health = 2

Time = 10

Success % = 63%

Unfortunately, Wally may not be successful on a bike tour.

Here is a Google Spreadsheet for your reference.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Rb0NKG672AGYtugUGVbpONopzHjmfDEHkcsimzELOGI/edit?usp=sharing

Note: The form is editable, so make sure you don’t delete anything or modify anything outside of the green boxes. Thanks!

Final Thoughts

The Axis of Success is just something I made up for fun. Take it with a grain of salt as I am doing the same. If you are running through these calculations, and you’re below 66%, but you certainly feel that you’re ready for a bike tour, by all means, get out there and ride. Just make sure you check in with your doctor first.

Use this as a guide to improve on any of these areas. If you need money, figure out a plan to make more money or save your money. If you need to be more healthy, put in the time to workout and train for the ride. If you need more time, negotiate with your boss about your schedule. Improvements on any of these 3 areas will significantly improve your enjoyment.

Let me know what you think about this calculation. Try it out for yourself and see if this makes sense in the real world. Please leave comments below to let me know your thoughts.