What one piece of advice would you give to a noob off on a first cycle tour.
- Thread starter SteveThomas
- Start date
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- Location
- London
On your second suggestion, an assumption of 250 miles a week seems good to me. 50 miles a day plus 2 rest days for general chilling sightseeing. The slack should also cater for minor mechanicals and any tough gradients. And if you cover more distance a nice surprise. Would be interested in others thoughts on this issue.
Gravity Aided
Legendary Member
- Location
- Land of Lincoln
Like Grandpa's underwear.
Depends.
Younger or middle aged person, on a good touring bicycle, with an appropriate amount and weight of gear, seems like a good number. I could speak better to this were I to do some really good testing of this on an older person, (55+) but my longer range touring days are past, as Mrs. GA is chronically ill. But, when you look at CGOAB and a few other reports, that seems like a good estimate of what people settle into. You just have to leave room for the exceptional, which this formula does.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
Just remember every mile before lunch is worth twice as much than after (depends on how much 'recovery fluid' is involved in the lunch stop though)
Ajax Bay
Guru
- Location
- East Devon
That is so pessimistic and suggests poor estimation and general budgetting capabilities.
Take the speed that you find comfortable/reasonable for a 3 hour ride unladen (refer to your rides done in the last few months), and then subtract 1 mph for every 5kg carried (ie baggage and carriers) and 0.25mph for every hour (rolling) over 6. This formula is, of course, designed to deliver an estimate for planning purposes and will vary from person to person. Terrain (ie climbing), difficulty of navigation and use of narrow roads and likely (high) temperatures are also worth taking into account.
That was an attempt at humour.
Plan a trip that needs less money and less time than you have, the money so that you can check into a hotel (assuming you're camping) if the weather gets dangerous and/or deeply unpleasant, the time so that you can be spontaneous and flexible if you see something interesting to stop at or you encounter bad headwinds or mechanicals. You don't want to be miserably pedalling through a thunderstorm just because you have such a tight schedule or no get out route.
