Long distant cycle touring only appeals to a certain type of cyclist. It requires focus and dedication to training on a regular schedule and most significantly; a large amount of time.
Most folks here in the UK cycle for a just few hours at a time. They generally hop on their bikes during the weekends for short and fast rides as if they're training for a race. You'll find large groups flying up and down the roads on the weekend mornings tricked out in their club jerseys on carbon-fibre bikes.
All that is fine and good. But for me; I have absolutely ZERO desire to worry over my cycling speed or cadence or heart rate or any of the other "cycling fitness details" promoted by the likes of Strava and embraced by the contemporary cycling horde.
Why do I cycle?
Good question! I cycle to go places and see the world at eye level; to be out-of-doors experiencing nature at a speed that encourages direct engagement. I want to take the time to meet interesting people and see beautiful places. I want to stop for coffee & cake when I feel like it and look at whatever intrigues me - from crumbling architecture to beetles crawling at the edge of the tarmac. If that sounds slow and lazy, you're spot on!
What's a Solitaire?
The main consideration after reaching the distance is that the ride must be a solitary ride. Any rides made with groups or other individual riders are excluded from this category regardless of the distances. And that's all that's to it.
>> View all my: Solitaires by Year.
Imperial or Metric?
As a blogger, this issue makes writing about and recording distances very awkward at times. Of course, it's easy enough to convert distances... after all, computers are designed to do these kind of calculations. See a super-simple script in action below:
Type a value of Miles in the field below to convert the distance to Kilometers:
Kilometres:
Why not just do Audaxes?
A surprising thing has happened; after all those years of cycling around by myself and despite the popularity of Sportives and Gran Fondos and Audaxes... I prefer it on my own. Weird, but true. Don't misunderstand me, I enjoy going out with others and seldom turn down a group ride, but getting out on my own holds a special charm.