But it also nice to combine the best bits of all of these things. To get all the excitement of riding fast on an unburdened bike, to appreciate the decadent luxury of eating at cafes and pubs along the way, but to also savour the freedom and satisfaction of carrying all your sleeping gear and camping wild.
There’s a time and a place for zooming off for a day out on your bike.
And “credit card touring” (road bike + toothbrush + credit card + hotel) surely makes a whole lot of sense.
I recently cycled round the north of England for 4 days. I travelled as light as I could. I bought food along the way, I used my phone for photographs and navigation, I reached speeds of 86kph, and I slept wild on hilltops. They were good days!
This is my ideal set-up for an overnight micro adventure without, I hope, teetering into that weird world of people who buy light kit, weigh their kit, cut bits off their kit and spend so long doing all this that they never get outside and do anything!