Distance per day for tandem touring?

[patheticshark]

Hi all

I'm going tandem touring for the first time in July. Vague plan at the moment is to get the ferry to Dieppe, head south, then turn around and come back (probably heading down west of Paris and back up the other side). However! I am a total newbie when it comes to tandemming (I hadn't actually been one on until about 3 days ago) and was hoping someone could advise on reasonable distance per day for touring.

We'll be camping, so will have kit with us (it's good kit though so fairly lightweight), but we're both pretty into cycling (we both did the Dunwich Dynamo there and back last year and will be doing the same again this year; admittedly him much faster than me; and as some of you might remember I used to have a 52 mile commute) and both find 100 miles pretty comfortable on a solo... would the same translate to a fully loaded tandem? I'm not really sure about speed either; I am pretty slow (usually average 15-16mph on longer rides, not loaded but usually on one gear) but he is one of those pesky types who can maintain 21mph over a century, so I'm hoping it will average out to something reasonable.

Also if anyone has any general suggestions for routes etc please feel free to chuck them my way - I know there are tons of threads on touring in France here so I'm going to have a proper look through later, but any tips would be appreciated.

Cheers!
shark

 

[Herbie]

Hi all

I'm going tandem touring for the first time in July. Vague plan at the moment is to get the ferry to Dieppe, head south, then turn around and come back (probably heading down west of Paris and back up the other side). However! I am a total newbie when it comes to tandemming (I hadn't actually been one on until about 3 days ago) and was hoping someone could advise on reasonable distance per day for touring.

We'll be camping, so will have kit with us (it's good kit though so fairly lightweight), but we're both pretty into cycling (we both did the Dunwich Dynamo there and back last year and will be doing the same again this year; admittedly him much faster than me; and as some of you might remember I used to have a 52 mile commute) and both find 100 miles pretty comfortable on a solo... would the same translate to a fully loaded tandem? I'm not really sure about speed either; I am pretty slow (usually average 15-16mph on longer rides, not loaded but usually on one gear) but he is one of those pesky types who can maintain 21mph over a century, so I'm hoping it will average out to something reasonable.

Also if anyone has any general suggestions for routes etc please feel free to chuck them my way - I know there are tons of threads on touring in France here so I'm going to have a proper look through later, but any tips would be appreciated.

Cheers!
shark

Hello Shark...i think if you can do a 52 mile commute and find 100 miles not too taxing a wee tandem tour should be no bother...however going up hills can be hard work on a tandem.What kind of tandem have you got? and has your stoker got good strong legs?.I think 30 to 50 miles a day would be plenty as you want to stop and enjoy the scenery and stop and smell the flowers as it were...i'm sure you'll have a great tour..enjoy.

 

[patheticshark]

It's a Dawes, and I'm guessing it'll be pretty flat as it's France (and we will be avoiding mountains...).

I am stoker! So I'm going to say yes. Captain is far stronger.

Neither of us stop much on usual rides - I prefer getting to the destination and then exploring, so I'm inclined to see if we can do 100 miles a day. Would that be madness?

 

[Herbie]

It's a Dawes, and I'm guessing it'll be pretty flat as it's France (and we will be avoiding mountains...).

I am stoker! So I'm going to say yes. Captain is far stronger.

Neither of us stop much on usual rides - I prefer getting to the destination and then exploring, so I'm inclined to see if we can do 100 miles a day. Would that be madness?

I'd say thats pretty mad...i've toured in that region a few times and theres plenty of nice places to see on route..i wouldn't want to be riding eyeballs out for a hundred miles a day! i'd be knackered at the destination and not enjoy it so much but each to their own eh nice choice of tandem by the way...good luck

 

[srw]

At 15-16mph you're not slow! I'm usually up for about 14mph on a solo bike, and will do 12mph on the touring tandem and perhaps 13 on the fast tandem.

You may well be slower on a Dawes tandem than on a solo road bike - tandems in general aren't usually built for speed, and you may find that a tandem from a generic bike manufacturer rather than a tandem specialist is much less well attuned to riding than the equivalent Dawes solo bike.

Around France a couple of years ago we averaged 65 miles a day (see links). That was with luggage, but not tents. For us, that's about right.

You need to work quite hard in France to avoid hills - the north of France in particular around (err) Dieppe is rather corrugated, although by going south you're picking the easier direction.

 

[patheticshark]

Excellent, will have a browse through. Cheers! I've mapped a few tentative routes and they look pretty flat, so will aim to keep with them. I'm quite keen to do the Canal du Midi if possible.

I think we're going to have to do a couple of long rides fully loaded over here to work it out. Does anyone know of anyone who's done greater per day distances while tandem touring? I still like the idea of attempting something a bit mad.

 

[CopperBrompton]

I did a London to Paris via Dieppe recently, and while there are flattish bits, it's mostly either rolling or hilly. Then again, I'm a London & Essex cyclist, so I count the Angel as a hill. :-)

 

[alans]

I'd be content to do 60 miles a day on a tandem loaded with camping kit.When cycle camping I have a quality over quantity attitude to progress.

 

[Crackle]

Excellent, will have a browse through. Cheers! I've mapped a few tentative routes and they look pretty flat, so will aim to keep with them. I'm quite keen to do the Canal du Midi if possible.

I think we're going to have to do a couple of long rides fully loaded over here to work it out. Does anyone know of anyone who's done greater per day distances while tandem touring? I still like the idea of attempting something a bit mad.

You, do something a bit mad, never.

Sorry, I have nothing to add other than that and good to see you posting again, albeit briefly.

 

[growingvegetables]

On the tandem, I'm happy planning on 70 a day. Used to plan on a maximum of 50 miles a day - but that was for the sake of the teenaged kids I had in tow . I was good for a good few miles further.

And tandems are great for steaming up hills. Think about it, they don't weigh that much more than a single bike (nowhere near double) - and you've got double the pushing power? And higher gears for powering down into a good fast cruise.

 

[willem]

From my experience I think with a tandem you could be 10-20% faster than with an equivalent solo bike, as long as it flat. Climbing you could easily be 20% slower. So using the tandem will accentuate the terrain.
Willem

 

[biggs682]

i try and keep around the 12 - 13 mph area on the tandem as a min on the flat and who knows what on the hills .

tandem riding is more about social than distance riding so enjoy

 

[growingvegetables]

Climbing you could easily be 20% slower.

Hmmmmm -

Something tells me some Lycra-clad roadies I've seen in my mirror, legs a-whirring, lungs a-busting, hearts a-breaking, might have some very choice responses to that? Especially as they'd been passed, going uphill, by a guy in his 50's with a young teenage daughter stoking, laden with tent and sleeping bags and panniers front and back, wearing jeans, T-shirts, and walking boots.

For three guys in York a few years ago, I have reprimanded my (then 13-year old) daughter for pulling a book out of her shoulder bag and very obviously making a play of reading the latest Harry Potter, as they tried (and failed) to keep up! That was rubbing it in! [But worth it ]

 

[CopperBrompton]

Something tells me some Lycra-clad roadies I've seen in my mirror, legs a-whirring, lungs a-busting, hearts a-breaking, might have some very choice responses to that?

I'd say that's unusual, though. Trikes are slow uphill (heavy, and of course you can't use your weight on the pedals), and when I've done the big group rides usually the only things I overtake uphill are pedestrians and tandems.

 

[HelenD123]

I met these guys going across Canada on a tandem and they were doing some serious distances a day. He was a PE teacher and she was very fit as well. Have a read.