Ask ten riders what ruined their last trip and you will not hear hero stories. You will hear the same five or six things, which every one of us has done at least once.

The second day too long

The first day runs on enthusiasm. The second one collects the bill. If you put the longest leg at the start, you enter day three already tired, and from there everything is a loss.

Put the long leg in the middle of the trip, when you are in the rhythm, and make the first day shorter than you feel like.

Booking the whole trip

A trip booked end to end has no room left for anything: for a valley you would like one more day in, for a storm, for a closed road. It forces you to ride in bad weather to reach the bed you have already paid for.

The first two nights and the last one, booked. The rest chosen on the road, a day ahead.

Leaving on untested gear

New boots, new jacket, new gloves and a new seat, all on the same trip — that is the classic recipe for four days of misery. Any new item wants a test ride, loaded, first.

Ignoring what is wet

Wet gear put back on the next morning is not just unpleasant, it costs you a whole day of good humour. That is why "is there somewhere to dry it?" matters as much as the parking when you choose a room — and it is something owners rarely mention on their websites.

Arriving in the dark

Animals come out at dusk, exactly in the hours when you want to make up time.
Potholes disappear, and fog comes down on the passes.
Small places close reception, and the hot food runs out.
An unknown place, looked for at night, is twice as hard to find.

The simple rule: last fuel stop and last planned kilometre an hour before sunset.

The rest, briefly

Riding in a group with no regrouping rule. Two people lost at a junction, an hour gone.
Having no plan for the first day of rain. "We carry on the same" is not a plan.
Relying on signal. In a valley, a navigation app with no downloaded maps is a blank screen.
Letting the tank drop below a quarter in an area with few petrol stations, because "another one will come".
Scheduling your return to work for the morning after the last riding day.

None of these is spectacular. All of them can be avoided with a decision taken at home, with the map in front of you.

And what you learned the hard way — which petrol station was closed, which guesthouse really has a garage — leave it on the map for whoever comes after you.