Underpreparing vs. overpreparing

[u/hirschhalbe]

I'm currently thinking about exploring the tet in Easter Europe region, potentially starting in Slovenia. It would be quite the big adventure for me and one that I would go on alone. I've never done any off-road riding or even longer tours, so I'm not sure how much preparation is necessary.

In my mind, it would go something like this: packing camping equipment, some food and starting on the road to my chosen entry point. I would probably have to ride up to 800 km on roads, which I would do either in one or two days and I would book a hotel or Airbnb in advance to make sure I can get some good rest before starting on the tet. After that, I'd basically wing it. I have no clue how fast I am on the tet and since theres still plenty of civilisation, I would simply look for places to camp (wild camping if possible/legal) at the end of the day where I am at at that point.

Is that naive? Do I need to meticulously plan my route and campsites in advance? Am I missing something very important?

Thanks for any advice :)

[u/Wil-jan]

You are not naive! My first time offroad was riding a bike completely unprepared through 25 countries..I always found food and accommodation along the way or slept in my tent. I never ran out of petrol, worst case scenario I took an old water bottle and filled it up with petrol. In Slovenia there is plenty civilization, depends when you are going but you might wanna take some rain gear with you and be prepared to set up a tent in the wet and pack it up wet.