Originally Posted by Machka

These sorts of things are also why I recommend including flexibility and time into a touring schedule.

If you plan to ride 75 miles every day for 3 weeks, and something happens to delay you, it may throw your entire plan into havoc ruins.

But if you plan to ride 50 miles a day for 3 days, then take a day off, then 50 miles a day for 3 days, and so on in that sort of pattern, then you've got some time to play with if something happens.

And if you're flexible with your plans, you could decide to turn left instead of right somewhere to avoid a certain situation. Or you could take 2 or 3 days off to wait out a bad storm.

So if the tumbleweeds are tumbling, the thunder is rumbling, and the goatsheads have just punctured your last tube ... with flexibility and time, you can shrug your shoulders, limp into the next town, and deal with the situation.