Back to Bicycle Fish
Trip Planning Utility, In
Excel
Printable &
Practical !
Updated
: 2008. May 16
http://members.iinet.net.au/~bikefish/trip_planning_utility.htm
Why
use Excel ? | Instructions | Email
for copy
When you print it , the document will look something
like this (examples used to illustrate only ..)
|
1 |
Plan |
On the Road Record |
|||||||||
|
2 |
Km |
Place |
day # |
date |
day |
Destination achieved |
distance achieved |
cumulative distance achieved |
Overnight arrangement |
Cost: $ |
Notes |
|
|
375 |
|
26 |
10 July |
Sun |
|
70 km |
456 |
Camp |
3.50 |
Meet Larry |
|
|
425 |
|
27 |
11 July |
Mon |
|
89 |
545 |
Hotel |
25.00 |
|
|
|
500 |
|
etc |
Etc |
Etc |
Etc |
Etc |
Etc |
Etc |
Etc |
Etc |
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Acknowledgement : this
is an idea I have developed from a similar one by Scott Ellington.
Technical
prerequisites : aprox. the same as the ability to compose & send an email.
(This would be a good way to introduce yourself to spreadsheets, if you have no
previous experience!)
I have used Excel
because it’s the spreadsheet program I know. I hope it is adaptable to other
programs.
I
know there are some people who either
1.
Never
plan a trip … OR
2.
Never
plan in writing … OR
3.
Plan
their trip in very elaborate detail & never deviate from their plan after
making it
The following
procedure will not interest those
people. However, if you’d like a
utility that’s useful before, during AND after the journey, read on ….
An Excel document
will be useful :
·
Before
: plan your trip, find out if you can travel the distance required in the time
available, note any fixed dates or commitments etc
·
During:
see if you are going to make it, in the time available; keep compact notes as
you travel ; be able to show people how your trip has progressed ( eg your
hosts, and other people you meet !)
·
After :
for keeping records etc, the doc is easy to file in your archives either as
paper or electronically (or both !)
1.
it’s
very compact, ( 1 page for 50 + days ), and thus easy to carry on the bike
2.
Automatic
Fill feature make set up quite easy and neat
3.
Autosum
feature allow easy mathematical calculations
In
Excel …
1.
New
Document ( Ctrl + n)
2.
Enter
Column headings as :
a.
Plan :
Km
b.
Plan :
Place (eg Town Name)
c.
day # (
eg “ Day 6..”)
d.
date (
eg “ 12 July 06” – Format this column for “dates”)
e.
day of
the week (useful because facilities may
be restricted on Sundays etc)
f.
destination
( for the day) eg Town Name
g.
distance
achieved
h.
cumulative
distance
i.
Overnight
arrangement : ( eg camp site, YHA, WSL, Motel
etc)
j.
accommodation
Cost ( if any): $
k.
Notes
(on the destination)
( For compactness,
you may need to abbreviate some of these Column Headings ..) The Table will now
look like this >>>
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
|
Km |
Place |
day # |
date |
day |
Destination achieved |
distance achieved |
cumulative distance achieved |
Overnight arrangement |
Cost: $ |
Notes |
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3.
[using] …File….Page Setup ….Page…[set to ] “Portrait
… “ AND
4.
Page
Setup ….Page… Scaling ….[set to ] “ Fit to one page wide by one page tall ..”
5.
Autofill
Col C for Day #’s [ this can be done in a single “fill” operation with Steps 6
& 7 ! ]
6.
Autofill
Col D for “date”
7.
Autofill
Col E for “day of the week”
8.
Enter
any FIXED dates/places as “Notes” in Col K ( eg “return to work”, “visa
expiry”, “appointment”, “commitment”, etc) which you MUST observe…
9.
In Col
A & B, enter as much - or as little - as you want for the PLAN ( the Plan
may or may not change as you go – that depends on you ! ) You can enter either
“Cumulative Distance” and/or “Place” for any date ….for myself, I count around
500 km per week, so eg 3 weeks = 1500 km) Consider using PENCIL for this column
!
10.
For
easy readability in Hard Copy, set Font Size to 14 for the data rows, and 16
for the Header row. “Plan” and “On the Road” row can be , say, Size 10
11.
use
…Format …Column….Autofit ( to make the document conveniently compact.) The ultimate Column [ “notes”] should be the
widest, for use as “hard copy” on the road …..
12.
If you wish, to distinguish between “Plan” and
“ On the Road” reality, add a [new] Row at Row 1 ; then, “Merge Cells” A
& B in the (new) Row 1 to produce a “two
segment” Table, as above…)
13.
Use View…Header /Footer … to introduce a
Heading [ useful for the printed Copy…]
14.
When
you’re ready, PRINT the doc, and add to your other equipment ( eg in your
“mobile office” – discussed
separately on Bicycle Fish)
15.
Now… it should look like this >>
“[Header
Title eg] My Trip 2006”
|
Plan |
On the Road Record |
|||||||||
|
Km |
Place |
day # |
date |
day |
Destination achieved |
distance
achieved |
cumulative distance
achieved |
Overnight arrangement |
Cost: $ |
Notes |
|
375 |
|
26 |
10 July |
Sun |
|
70 km |
456 |
Camp |
3.50 |
Meet Larry |
|
425 |
|
27 |
11 July |
Mon |
|
89 |
545 |
Hotel |
25.00 |
|
|
500 |
|
etc |
Etc |
Etc |
Etc |
Etc |
Etc |
Etc |
Etc |
Etc |
UPDATE
: it may be useful to make first in Excel, then copy to a Word document, then
copy BACK to Excel…sounds strange, but it has nice features …
If necessary, I can send you a copy by email ! <bikefishATiinet.net.au>
Enjoy !
Now here is a final draft….
|
Plan |
On the Road Record |
|||||||||
|
Km |
Place |
Day |
Day |
Date |
Destination |
Km/day |
Km To
date |
Camp /
stay |
$ |
Notes |
|
0 |
Examples |
1 |
Sun |
1-Jun |
|
15 |
15 |
Camp |
20 |
|
|
25 |
|
2 |
Mon |
2-Jun |
(Examples…) |
22 |
37 |
friends |
Nil |
|
|
50 |
|
3 |
Tue |
3-Jun |
|
50 |
87 |
Pub |
25 |
|
|
75 |
|
4 |
Wed |
4-Jun |
|
25 |
112 |
WSL |
|
Meet
Andy… |
|
100 |
rest |
5 |
Thu |
5-Jun |
|
35 |
147 |
YHA |
|
|
|
125 |
|
6 |
Fri |
6-Jun |
|
100 |
247 |
B&B |
|
rest day |
|
150 |
|
7 |
Sat |
7-Jun |
|
100 |
347 |
|
|
Madge
1900 hrs |
|
175 |
|
8 |
Sun |
8-Jun |
|
100 |
447 |
|
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|
200 |
|
9 |
Mon |
9-Jun |
|
100 |
547 |
|
|
train
1930 hrs |
|
225 |
|
10 |
Tue |
10-Jun |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
250 |
Pt
Augusta |
11 |
Wed |
11-Jun |
|
|
|
|
|
WSL
booked |
|
275 |
|
12 |
Thu |
12-Jun |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
300 |
|
13 |
Fri |
13-Jun |
|
|
|
|
|
YHA
booked |
|
325 |
|
14 |
Sat |
14-Jun |
|
|
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|
350 |
|
15 |
Sun |
15-Jun |
Beiging |
|
|
|
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|
|
375 |
|
16 |
Mon |
16-Jun |
|
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|
400 |
|
17 |
Tue |
17-Jun |
|
|
|
|
|
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|
425 |
|
18 |
Wed |
18-Jun |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
450 |
|
19 |
Thu |
19-Jun |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
475 |
|
20 |
Fri |
20-Jun |
|
|
|
|
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|
500 |
|
21 |
Sat |
21-Jun |
|
|
|
|
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|
|
525 |
|
22 |
Sun |
22-Jun |
|
|
|
|
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|
|
550 |
|
23 |
Mon |
23-Jun |
|
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|
575 |
|
24 |
Tue |
24-Jun |
|
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|
600 |
|
25 |
Wed |
25-Jun |
|
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|
625 |
|
26 |
Thu |
26-Jun |
|
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|
650 |
|
27 |
Fri |
27-Jun |
|
|
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|
675 |
|
28 |
Sat |
28-Jun |
|
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|
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|
700 |
|
29 |
Sun |
29-Jun |
|
|
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|
725 |
|
30 |
Mon |
30-Jun |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
750 |
|
31 |
Tue |
1-Jul |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
775 |
|
32 |
Wed |
2-Jul |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
800 |
|
33 |
Thu |
3-Jul |
|
|
|
|
|
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|
825 |
|
34 |
Fri |
4-Jul |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
850 |
|
35 |
Sat |
5-Jul |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
875 |
|
36 |
Sun |
6-Jul |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
900 |
|
37 |
Mon |
7-Jul |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
925 |
|
38 |
Tue |
8-Jul |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
950 |
|
39 |
Wed |
9-Jul |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
975 |
|
40 |
Thu |
10-Jul |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1000 |
|
41 |
Fri |
11-Jul |
|
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|
1025 |
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1050 |
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1075 |
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1100 |
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