Very long tours - relative progress
- Thread starter psmiffy
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
amaferanga
Veteran
- Location
- Bolton
In my experience it goes one of two ways - either you get fitter and start pushing big distances or you find lots of interesting things to do/drink too much beer and start having too many days off. Guess it depends how ambitious you are with your end destination and how well defined your route is.
Where you contemplating heading?
Where you contemplating heading?
5 months is a long time on a bike,you will be flying after the first two weeks.im only guessing here but i would imagine you will get much stronger and faster,just look after yourself eat and drink as best you can and i dont mean beer or wine.
so what's the plan where are you thinking of touring.
so what's the plan where are you thinking of touring.
Redmountduo
Veteran
- Location
- Hucknall. Nottingham
We have done a number of tours 4 months plus.
We have always got faster with time, but have on a number of occasions chased mileage instead of enjoying the scenery.
We had to make a definite effort to slow down and remember the reason to tour was to SEE things!! We really enjoy the long tours and the rythm that comes with them.
Hope that helps a little.
We have always got faster with time, but have on a number of occasions chased mileage instead of enjoying the scenery.
We had to make a definite effort to slow down and remember the reason to tour was to SEE things!! We really enjoy the long tours and the rythm that comes with them.
Hope that helps a little.
redmountoduo-I agree-in my eperience though there are bits you take your time and are great - and bits you crash through which are also great - one of the disadvantages (from a progress point of view) of touring in europe over the new world is that there is always something interesting around the corner every five minutes
e-rider
crappy member
- Location
- South West
I also tend to chase the miles and the end destinations each day. But, I enjoy the feeling of reaching the destination earlier than expected and relaxing for the evening with a pint.
If I think back to the rides, I always have the best memories of the riding, and things I've seen 'from the saddle' rather than off the bike walking about - that just creates problems of bike theft or pushing a loaded bike down busy pavements.
If I think back to the rides, I always have the best memories of the riding, and things I've seen 'from the saddle' rather than off the bike walking about - that just creates problems of bike theft or pushing a loaded bike down busy pavements.
StirlingCrispin
New Member
- Location
- Stirling, Scotland
Depends how fit you are when you set off!
I found myself losing a lot of weight, even from a fairly lean frame, and then eating anything and everything from about week 3. It's easy to get burnt out, so factoring in rest days to allow recovery would make a lot of sense too.
I found myself losing a lot of weight, even from a fairly lean frame, and then eating anything and everything from about week 3. It's easy to get burnt out, so factoring in rest days to allow recovery would make a lot of sense too.
The longest I've done is 5 weeks and I felt I got fitter but accumulation of fatigue meant that I needed a day off after about 3 weeks. I had planned on a day off each week but it just felt right to keep moving. I think doing the Dolomites after 2 weeks caused the fatigue and I think if the terrain had been flatter I would have carried on regardless. Some days I'd only do 30 odd miles, pitch the tent and relax, read, swim, drink all afternoon
elduderino
Guest
I recently did a 3 month tour and it definately got easier. Towards the end I was doing 75+ miles everday and barely breaking into a sweat and I could cycle up a mountain singing along to a song pretty comfortably.
The only downside was that I tended to take less time out to sight see.
The only downside was that I tended to take less time out to sight see.
I was away about 10 months and definitely got fitter but not necessarily faster. Average of 12mph fully loaded must just be the speed I'm naturally happiest riding at!
I had a very definite geographical target (to get to every European country) which I think helped - if I had just been aimlessly riding around or making it up on a weekly/monthly/daily basis I think it would have been hard at times to keep the enthusiasm. It only happened once or twice but I did have points when I just thought 'I'm sick of this'. That was one of the interesting things for me though - finding out how I would react to it and everyone's different, I suppose.
I had a very definite geographical target (to get to every European country) which I think helped - if I had just been aimlessly riding around or making it up on a weekly/monthly/daily basis I think it would have been hard at times to keep the enthusiasm. It only happened once or twice but I did have points when I just thought 'I'm sick of this'. That was one of the interesting things for me though - finding out how I would react to it and everyone's different, I suppose.
Cathryn
Legendary Member
- Location
- Marlborough, Wiltshire
My longest tour has only been 4 weeks (so far). I didn't lose any weight but def got stronger! I got my best ever legs and bottom!!
On shorter tours, I tend to put a few pounds on because I'm always hungry at the start and am filled with this blissful misconception that I can eat anything because I'm cycling all day!
On shorter tours, I tend to put a few pounds on because I'm always hungry at the start and am filled with this blissful misconception that I can eat anything because I'm cycling all day!
Hello, i am planning long trip on the bike also but nobody doesnt want to go with me. my friends are lazy on stuff and i was wondering if is possible ´to join in you.´I will have time only 2 months i hope it doesnt matter.if possible to get some information about your trip. for example when you start and so. thank you
vandatubes
New Member
- Location
- orpington
Like what I am reading but how do you get this time off work?
Or do I need to retire asap?
regards
Or do I need to retire asap?
regards
vandatubes said:
Simple - quit. Sure, you come back to nothing (job, place to live) and a bag full of clothes you forgot you had but after a year or so everything's back to the same old boring existence that made you want to go away in the fiirst place (I'm not missing it much, honest...).
It may seem like it at the time but giving up a job and mortgage/rented flat (in my case) isn't actually that much of a big deal...or it wasn't to me anyway, depends on your circumstances, obviously. That's all assuming there's no young dependents involved of course.
I was quite surprised to have people emailing me through my blog saying 'I wish I had the balls to do what you're doing but I have a nice job that I'm too scared to leave', the reality being that they could have probably done something similar twice over by now and gone back to the same (or similar) job that they're probably still sat in thinking 'I'd like to go for a big bike ride'.
I suppose I'm lucky in that I managed to come back and change my career, getting work in an area that I wasn't in before but wanted to be in, and never wanted to come back to the same/similar job. When it comes down to it, though, you just have to decide how you want to live your life - I decided to take the risk and quit everything to go away and I'm glad I did. I guess it could have gone the other way but, again depending on your circumstances and the experiences you have, it's hard to see how such an experience could not enrich your life in some way.
