Originally Posted by staehpj1

That is all well and good, but on a multi thousand mile tour most folks need to have a pretty good idea of when they will finish. So a reasonable idea of average mileage may be needed for planning purposes.

I do find that having an open ended schedule and not being a slave to the schedule is a big plus if you can manage that.

I also agree on the being away from cities and enjoying nature part, but meeting the local folks and other travellers is some of the enjoyment of touring for me.