The Day Trip Leave-By Plan

A day out by car worked back from the door: two edges on the clock, every leg with its breaks, walks with the climb in them, a leave-by time for every stop, the stop you cut before you go, the car split by rider, and the pass checked against the stops that fit

Our Drive Time & Fuel Calculator times one leg, our Day Itinerary Planner runs the day forward to the time you get home, our Sunrise & Sunset Calculator gives the light, and our Walking Distance Calculator times a walk on the flat. Those tools never meet, and the question on the day runs the other way: not when will we be home, but when must we leave here. A day planned forward from the first stop is how the last stop runs into the dark and the drive home starts tired and late. The Day Trip Leave-By Plan works the day back from its two edges, the time you will be home and sunset at the destination, whichever comes first. Every leg gets a delay buffer and a 15-minute break for each two hours of driving; every walk gets its climb and its pauses; every stop gets a leave-by time rounded earlier, and the stop you would miss least gets a cut time before you leave. In the worked example, sunset at a hilltop fort leaves 22 minutes of spare where home-by alone shows 37, and a $59 pass needs 4 paid stops on a day whose afternoon fits 2. Every figure is computed by the code our calculators run, and every worked number is an example for you to replace. It names no destination or pass, and it plans breaks as a floor: a tired driver stops. Included: seven steps, four printable working pages (a day clock sheet, a legs and walks sheet, a money and pass sheet, an after-trip log), reference tables, a quickstart, and a personalised sheet worked from the numbers you entered in our calculators.

Look inside

Two full pages from the plan, exactly as printed. Click either to read it at full size before you decide.

What is in it

• The Two-Edges Rule: home-by and sunset at the destination, and which one runs the day
• The Leg Rule: distance over average speed, plus a delay buffer and a 15-minute break for every two hours
• The Naismith Add-On: walking time with the climb and the standing still in it
• The Door Rule: a leave-by time for every stop, worked back from the edge and rounded earlier
• The Cut Rule: the stop you will drop and its cut time, decided before you leave
• The Split Rule: the car divided by rider, the tickets by person
• The Pass Rule: count the paid stops that fit, then price the pass
• Four printable working pages: day clock sheet, legs and walks sheet, money and pass sheet, after-trip log
• Reference tables: round-trip hours by distance and speed with breaks, the climb add-on, fuel economy in three units
• A quickstart checklist and a personalised sheet worked from your own calculator inputs

The plan picks up where the free Drive Time & Fuel Calculator leaves off. That calculator times one leg and counts its rest breaks; the Day Itinerary Planner runs the day forward to the time you get home; the Sunrise & Sunset Calculator gives the light; and the Walking Distance Calculator times a walk on the flat. The plan carries them through: the two edges of your day, every leg with a delay buffer and its breaks, walks with the climb in them, a leave-by time for every stop worked back from your door, the stop you cut before you go, the car split by rider, and any pass checked against the stops the day can hold. Every figure in it is an example for you to replace. Plan the breaks, stop sooner if you feel tired, and leave the phone to a passenger.