Starting our trip
When we started our cycling project back in 2018 we never did anything like this before thus we had no routine or idea. We just started and the routines were shaping by themselves (and sometimes changing) on the road. In the beginning of our trip, we stayed a lot at friends places and since Sweden, we are wild camping constantly so it is slightly different. However, we want to give you a little insight into how our daily cycling day goes. Of course, not every day is exactly the same and the weather, route, and places of interest along the road decide also a bit how the day is.
Our daily schedule
Our daily schedule looked more or less like this last year.
6:00 AM: Antonia wakes up
7:00 AM: Tim wakes up
7:30 AM: Breakfast
8:00 AM: Start packing and/or breaking up tent
9:00 AM: Start cycling
10:30 AM: Little break
12:30 PM: Lunch break + nap time
14:00 PM: Start cycling again
16:00 PM: Arriving at camping, host or wild camping
18:00 PM: Dinner
Our usual routines
Morning
At first, we used to have a strong morning routine. Waking up early to cycle a lot before lunch. We mostly cycled in blocks of 2 hours and then have a rest for about 10 minutes. Our usual average speed was between 15 and 20km/h so that means we did around 35-45km before lunch depending on the route.
Midday
We usually had lunch between 12:00 and 13:00 depending on where we found a nice place to rest. For us, it is important to have a nice spot so we didn’t mind to cycle a bit more until that point. Unless we were very hungry. If we needed to do groceries and we were close to a town we first did some shopping and took out lunch afterward. After lunch, we usually took a short nap (about half an hour) to restore some energy for the kilometers that were left for the day. Since Sweden, it was a bit more relaxed since we could wild camp anywhere, and often we didn’t need to arrive somewhere to be able to have a place to sleep.
Evening
We used to stop cycling at 4 pm. This gave us time to put up our tent, cook dinner, and relax without having to rush. Of course, some days we were cycling a bit longer or shorter but usually, we did between 50 and 75 km daily. Since Norway, we cycled less on a daily basis because we entered some more hilly and mountain areas (up to 1000m ascending daily).
Shifted routines
Morning
Our mornings now are shifted a bit due to cold weather and snow. It is harder to get out of the sleeping bag when it is still freezing outside and it takes also more time to get everything packed in the snow. This means our waking up time is around 8 PM and the breaking up takes longer so we started lately between 10 am and 11 am. Of course, this is temporary and lately, the temperature is rising so hopefully soon we can go back to our normal routine. Also, we are heavier packed with more gear and winter tires which means we are a bit slower. Usually, we do now around 25 km before lunch.
Midday
Our lunch breaks are very similar to what we did in summer. The biggest difference is that we cannot do a nap after lunch since it is colder. When we stop cycling for a moment it starts to get cold so we try to be on the move until we are at our camp spot.
Evening
The biggest difference with last summer is that we cycle longer after lunch. We keep on going until 6 or 7 pm before arriving at our camp spot. We would cycle between 30 and 50km on a daily basis.
Rest days
When we started our tour we had a rest day every 3 or 4 days. This didn’t change much. Sometimes we push it, especially when we are in the middle of nowhere. Then we cycle more days in a row.
Conclusion
We follow our inner rhythm, the weather, and the terrain we are cycling through. We have a plan but it is very flexible and we often check with each other how we feel about the initial plan. Sometimes we need to change it or adapt because of tiredness or situations with places or people that we want to enjoy. So in general our routines are very similar to last summer. The biggest difference is that we are a bit slower because of the weather. However, probably when it gets warmer again this will change.
