I have just been watching a 40 minutes film on YouTube about this Canadian couple who rode the Eurovelo 6 trail from St Nazaire to the Swiss border, a distance of 1487 kms in 32 days through stunning scenery including my own town of Orleans.
I think they are in their early 60s.
I really enjoyed seeing many of the chateaux I already know and felt quite homesick afterwards. I am grateful to this couple for reminding me what a beautiful country France is.
Like my title says, I really wish I had the guts to take my bike and ride eurovelo 6 but I am too sedentary . What a shame.
Great post and kudos for making it.
I don't "know" you from here so I don't know if there are any personal circumstances that prevent you from touring. I'm answering based on your post.
What exactly is the problem?
If you really are too sedentry then there's an easy fix -
training, oops, I mean practicing. In simple English riding a bike. Forget distance, focus on enjoyment. (I'll ride far further, happier if I'm enjoying myself.) Forget speed and think about where you'd like to go. Forget specs and think about what you'll see, feel (and for me eat and drink!)
There's no rule that says epic distances have to be covered. There's no rule that says you can't take a bus/train/plane or taxi. There's no rule that says you have to pass a bakery without a coffee and pastry.
You make the rules for your own tour. And then throw them out and do what you want.
(In the example you gave they averaged less than 50km per day. A bit more if they took rest days. With all day to do it 50km doesn't seem insurmountable. And if it does what's wrong with averaging 25 per day?)
If guts are the problem, or a lack of them, then a little mental
training, oooops, I mean practicing is in order. If you can cycle your bike then riding in France is not beyond you. France is one of the great cycling countries. Build confidence. Don't shy away from the things that bother you - face them down.
I've yet to have a tour where the "bad" things that happened didn't turn out to be, well, maybe not a blessing, but an experience that opened doors I wasn't expecting to be opened.
(To my way of thinking the mental side is often far more important than the physical side, especially when it comes to enjoyment. I can slow down, get physio or medication for a physical ailment on tour. If my head's not right only I can fix that.)
You've been inspired! (Often the first metaphorical pedal stroke of a tour). And for some reason your mind has put up a barrier or barriers. There's obviously a bit of internal conflict because you've posted here about it.
It seems to me that more inspiration is called for until the inspiration freewheels through the barrier(s).
CrazyGuyOnABike is always my first recommendation for inspiration. A really useful search function means you can search a variety of locations and types of touring. Often the most inspiring are the people we relate to more than the locations. (There's also the inhouse
Travelogue subforum).
I'd find myself asking "if they can do it why can't I?". The answer to that is the answer to everything.
If YouTube is your thing there's no shortage of videos. Same process. Same question.
I've often found reading about areas to be particularly inspiring.
Fill yourself up with inspiration.
And then hop on your bike and have your great adventure.
They say at the end of our days we regret the things we didn't do, not the things we did.
The best of luck to you.
Or should I say bonne chance?
