In summer 2022 we crammed two enduro bikes and two gravel bikes into our VW T5 and headed for the Alps. For just over a fortnight we drove to new riding locations, parked up at a tolerable altitude for our uninsulated van to be cool enough to sleep in, and bought so many lift passes for bike parks that the bill for those alone was in the region of £500. Add to that our fuel bill, toll roads, eating out, and all the other holiday spends, it cost a fortune. It was the best holiday either of us had ever been on, but we had not anticipated it costing quite so much to ride our bikes, especially given that we had no accommodation costs.
Planning our 2023 summer holiday seemed like a nobrainer. We would plan to do the same again but spend less money. We started a list of places we wanted to visit, with a vast reduction in mileage by spending longer in each location. We would cook more meals, make packed lunches, and maybe use the gravel bikes more because we wouldn’t need a lift pass on those rides. We hoped to sort the insulation out on the van, too, which would save us having to drive up to about 1,500m every night for cooler temperatures.