Routing

 ROUTING

If you have read my previous blog "Planning", you will know that I identified most, if not all the potential locations licensed to sell & serve alcohol within my home state.  These should fall within the "Bars and Taverns" bonus group, so Step 1 of my routing task was completed.

Time now to think about which routes to take in order to bag the various bonus locations, and as I mentioned in a blog last year, we seem to have two schools of thought on how best to proceed.

The first approach is the Think Less – Ride More school, which involves riding down your driveway, making a hard right-hand turn at the letterbox and disappearing into the distance looking for locations meeting this year's Grand Tour requirements.

This school's theme song might be the classic " Get your motor running, head out onto the highway, looking for adventure, whatever comes our way . . . . "

The second approach is the Plan the Ride / Ride the Plan school, which involves undertaking research to identify potential bonus locations ( now completed ), then developing route plans to maximise "points per mile", followed in due course of executing those plans.

This school's theme song might be the hit song " A-B-C, it is as easy as 1-2-3, or as simple as Do-Re-Mi . . . "

Being retired, simple 3-day rides are my preference, with 1 day outbound, 1 day riding around, and 1 day homeward, and I know from past riding experience that locations within a 500 km / 325 mi radius of my home make for a pleasant day's ride.

I know that for many people this is not very far. However, I am a "senior citizen" (aka old), plus my night vision is not what it used to be, so I typically get started about 1 hour after sunrise and park the bike about 1 hour before sunset, so 500 km is a "Goldilocks distance". 

An added advantage of this time-frame is that it minimising the interaction with "skippy", our equivalent to US forest rats.

OK, let's get routing . . .

This is a copy of my GLMC town's map, excluding all suburbs of Sydney - Newcastle - Wollongong within a 500 km radius overlay.

click on image to enlarge

My first step in routing was to eliminate all the locations significantly outside this radius, plus the locations in the Hunter Valley which will be covered by a day-ride.

click on image to enlarge

Now comes the fun part of developing efficient routes that maximise "points per mile" ridden.

I am sure that within a year or two, I will upload a list of my bonus locations into ChatGPT or some other equivalent AI module and download the "perfect" solution to my "Travelling Salesman" problem.

But for now, I am limited to using NI, as in natural intelligence, and while today's AI is electrically powered, NI requires a different power source.  Time to break out a bottle of Wild Oats Shiraz, a particular favourite of mine, to assist with some "deep-seek" contemplation.

As an aside, I wonder what it will be like in 10 ~ 15 years when ICE-powered vehicles are just a fond memory.  Will "electrocycling" be as enjoyable as "motorcycling" is today?

I mean, will a 2 wheeled electrical vehicle, with no clutch or gearbox, and with onboard AI handling all the mundane tasks of speed, optimal lean angle via reactive suspension, autonomous braking, traction control, lane assist, with GPS-dictated directions to take the "safest" route, be exciting ??

As they say "use it or lose it", so I guess that a Grand Tour is an effective way of "using it" while we can.

Anyway, returning to the problem at hand. Routing.

After a glass or two of Wild Oats for "inspiration", I started to play around with various route configurations, and came up with this solution.  Six routes that radiate out from my home in Sydney that capture the majority of identified locations.  

Say, 1 ride every 4~6 weeks for the 7 months of the Grand Tour.  Perfect.

Of course, the best laid plans never fully eventuate, but even so, I think that these routes will get me into the ball park of my objective of a Top 10 finish.

click on image to enlarge

If you are familiar with the highway network in NSW, you will recognise that that these routes are built around the Prince's Hwy down south, the Hume Hwy to the south-west, the Great Western Hwy out west, the Golden Hwy to the north-west, the New England Hwy to the nor nor west and the Pacific Hwy along the north coast.

For readers more used to the US / EU naming convention, that would be A1 down south, the M31 to the south-west,  the A41 out west, the B84 to the north-west, the A15 to the nor-norwest, and the A1 along the north coast, although no one uses those designations in real life.

Each loop is a 3-day ride of approximately 1,400 km / 850 mi, and with the exception of the North Coast ride, each loop minimises riding along the same road twice, a pet hate of mine.

Each loop involves 2 overnight stops in small country towns, where having a beer or two with local farmers after their day's work is often the highlight of a ride. 

Their way of life is so removed from the hassles of city living, as to be refreshing. Mind you, they have their own "hassles", like too much rain or not enough rain, or too hot, too cold or too windy, and so on.

Now, that my 6 routes are planned out, all I need to do is count down the days and wait for 01 March.

Game on, let's ride . . . soon, please.