Hello again everyone, thanks for all the useful tips given before our first tour, we have now returned and I thought it would be courteous to let you know how we got on, and maybe help others with some tips.
The Route:
We went to Devon and Cornwall for our first trip, which was 5 days long, we covered 176 miles from Taunton to Plymouth via Croyde, using Sustrans 3 and 27 mostly. We attempted some decent climbs (biggest probably 800') and averaged about 8mph, which was definitely at our limit. We didn't go out there with much of a plan (return tickets to Exeter) and admit that planning in rest days and rough ideas of where we wanted to go by when (though not set in stone!) would have increased enjoyment.
Equipment:
We ended up spending alot on equipment. Not alot on bikes ~£150-200 each, but good quality panniers, clothing, cycling tools and camping gear were in the region of four times that amount altogether. Much of this is multi use (i.e. camping gear, general bike maintenance or shopping) so we don't mind so much but it's certainly a major outlay, especially when we consider how much we already owned or borrowed. Obviously once you've bought all this, holidays are cheap in future but you've got to be fairly confident you'll do it again. My plan was to make do with certain items and buy the best of the best for others such that they would last a long time and do the job excellently.
Everyone said we would love it and it would become addictive. Ok, I'd like to say we did enjoy it despite; the monsoon-like weather (a months rain in a day! It rained at some point EVERY day), the wear and tear to both our left knees (not sure why the left), the final day crash which bust my front wheel, the lack of route planning meaning late riding in search of campsites and not planning rest days for touristy things. I can't actually pinpoint what it is about cycletouring that we enjoyed but somehow it hit a spot. Addictive? We'll have to see, I'd be surprised if we tour again this year, but the plan is to tour next year and perhaps spread our wings a little. We might never recoup the expense of the holiday against alternatives but I can't say there are any regrets so far (except for crashing).