Richie's World Tour or Go Mad on a Nomad

[StuntPilot]

Richie

What a trip!

I really look forward to your posts and your experiences such as above are are a goldmine for those contemplating a similar bike tour. So thanks for that! Perhaps you can compile your experiences into a guide! Your comments on Iran are particularly interesting as there seems to be a lot of mis-information on what seems like a fantastic place for a cycle tour.

Looking forward to the next post and a Happy New Year!

Richard

[richie thornger]

Reasons to not go cycling in Iran:
Punctures, Too much hospitality.
That is all

Oh and don't go cycling in Tehran. Worst city I've been to for cycling.

Yeah at the moment I'm sort of using this space to write down anything useful that i can think of as and when it comes along. Sieve for a brain allowing.
Perhaps one day I'll get stuck somewhere with enough time to compile an easier resource.

[mickeg]

Regarding theft of wallet from a pocket, I have a couple pair of pants that I use for travel that have a zippered pocket at ankle height.  At that height, nobody would notice the pocket there unless I did something to bring attention to it.  I carry critical plastic in that pocket and most of my larger currency.  Most days when I will not need my passport, it also goes in that pocket.  But, to keep this pocket from looking too obvious, I have to keep the amount of stuff in it thin and lightweight.

The wallet in my regular pocket has the money that I plan to spend that day.  To make this wallet look more like my regular wallet, it has a couple credit cards - but they expired in the 1990s and have account numbers that no longer correspond to any of my accounts.  I refer to this wallet as my fake wallet.

[Donnydid]

Hi Richie

Thanks for the information, its always good to hear from someone who has been there and their
experience of a place.
I have read other blogs and lots of people have said that Iran was a highlight of their journey
and a few have said that they were almost killed with kindness. I'am looking forward to that
part of my journey very much, although I didnt like the bit about punctures!  

Cheers Richie
Dave

[richie thornger]

example of my photomapper screenprint of my Sri Lankan journey so far.
I'm wondering if I had a higher resolution screen, would the screen print be better??

[onebikeoneworld]

GPS, Routes & Geo-tagging

I have a Garmin Edge 800 gps/cycle computer which I use for recording my days rides.
After my Edge 705 failed on my Liverpool to Istanbul leg I have learnt this:
Set the unit to record to the memory card. That way if the unit fails, or even resets, which my Edge 800 has done once on this trip, you will have access to your data.
I then use a free program called PhotoMapper for overlaying the GPS co-ordinates onto my photographs so I can view them on a map.
The thing it doesn't seem to do is allow me to copy a co-ordinate to a batch of photos.
Anyone have any suggestions on this?

For photos I take on the move it works great. But when stopped at camp or in a town I want to copy the last known co-ordinate.

EDIT:
Isn't it funny, when you're not looking for something you often find it.
I've been looking for a way of displaying all my routes together on one map.
I've not been able to find a site that does this because because of all the data.
Whilst using photomapper I've noticed it does exactly this. I will have to do a screen shot but its the best solution I've found so far.
Unless anyone knows of another.
I'll see if it can cope with my entire route and post the result

EDIT 2
http://batmantorobben.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/screenprint-full-route-crop.jpg?w=660

I use Garmin mapsource and keep all my gpx files there, I can stitch them all together and show my whole map. I attached a screenshot of what that looks like.
As far as pictures & geotagging, look for a piece of software called GeoSetter which is quite brilliant.

[richie thornger]

Onebikeoneworld, Thanks for that.
 I don't use mapsource because I don't buy Garmin maps!
I will have a look into it and the geosetter.

Many many thanks

Enjoying your route, I'll be going that way......eventually!

[onebikeoneworld]

I rarely use Garmin maps either, the OSM maps that I've been using have topo information as well as roads and so are much more useful in mountainous areas.

[richie thornger]

I felt this was important enough to get off the beach and write down before I forget!
I have had great difficulty in finding ear plugs on my travels.
My silicone, wax and foam ones have all died or got lost.

Bring lots if travelling to noisy areas for two reasons.
1. It's noisy
2. Noisy areas don't seem to need the use of earplugs as they are used to the noise

[Danneaux]

Thanks, Richie! Very useful advice, and true in my experience as well.

Happy travels!

All the best,

Dan.

[richie thornger]

Mikemg, thanks for the fake wallet advice. I did set off on my original trip from Liverpool to Istanbul with one but I found because it was never used I actually forgot where it was. Should the day come when I get mugged or robbed it would be a waste of time That's not to say more switched on people will find it useful!!
My situation in India was typical I imagine of many a tourist.
Tired and worn out by scamming Indian tourist hotspot hustlers and just didn't have my brains on enough to put my wallet somewhere better. I've got shorts with zip up pockets but didnt have them on that day.
I'm not down about it, just carry on and smile

as for Mapsource:
I've just tried it and unless I'm missing a trick (i am quite distracted by the beckoning surf i can see at the bottom of my garden here and the dogs at my feet requiring attention, not to mention the pain my legs are in after yesterdays Ayurvedic massage) I need a map on my Garmin to overlay the routes on. My maps on my Garmin for Sri Lanka and everywhere else I've been for that matter are quite incomplete.
So overlaying the routes on Google using photo mapper is definitely doing a better job.
I just wish I could embed the google map on my blog and have it zoomable for all to see and play with.

I might get round to testing geosetter after I go for a swim

I'm having a break from the tent for a few days, No more elephants seen but I have seen my first ever 3 metre snake and I camped on a reservoir dyke usually reserved by a crocodile bigger than me to do his sunbathing. I went back the next day and there he was!!!!!!! See my blog photos.

[richie thornger]

I'll probably be jotting down a few nuggets in the coming weeks that may be blindingly obvious to some, but I'm going to mention them all the same.

Memory Cards:
Before I left the UK I bought the best quality, size and speed cards I could find for all my gadgets. I bought them from Amazon direct so that when I tested them if they did not do what they said I could get a refund nice and easy. So many on ebay etc are fakes, likewise in developing countries.

It's easy to pick up memory cards everywhere you go but if your super HD camera or video requires a decent speed, more often than not the card you buy will not be the speed printed on the packet.

On more than one occasion in Pakistan I had guys who were tech savvy remark on how fast my memory cards were. Even though they had the same ones (well it was printed on the card so it must be true)

Cheapo cards are fine for backing up (for a short while) but quite often wont play or record video quick enough.
Buy before you leave

and on a similar note....I stayed with a Policeman at his house in Iraq. He liked to dress well. We got onto the conversation of clothes and I pointed out to him that all the brand named clothing at the market was fake. He couldn't believe it, it was like telling a child about Father Christmas.

I've also seen fake Mammut, North Face and Mountain Hardware tents and sleeping bags in India. Clothing I expected but I didn't realise other stuff was about. (Completely naive of me)
That's not to say that a fake branded item is any less good for the job than a non branded item of a similar price.
My "Northface" rucksack from Iran is still going strong

[richie thornger]

FINGERS CROSSED!!!!
I may have found the solution to the ever growing route on a map and how to let people look at it dynamically.
I will report back after testing and if successful I will start a new thread just for this.

A very excited Richie, and as usual found totally by accident

[richie thornger]

Booooo!!! The solution I found has been preened by the Strava api bods and now doesn't work.
Hooray!! yet again I've found another solution by accident.
It's in it's infancy but as it gets tweeked I think this will be perfect.

It would be great if you could click this link Richie's Dynamic Sri Lanka Map

and let me know that it all works OK.
Then I can start a new thread on how to do it.
Cheers

[Danneaux]

Hi Richie!

I've attached a cropped screenshot I took of your map. It nicely shows your tracks, but is not dynamic (animated).

Does this help?

Best,

Dan. (...who can't wait to see where this goes)