Kuma

I'm going to (hopefully, finances permitting) participate in an 8-day cycling trip in the Dolomites in northern Italy beginning in late August, 2010 (this one: https://www.cinghiale.com/tours/the-dolomites).

I'm an experienced cyclist in decent condition already, and I know how to get in shape, but this is going to be such a special trip that I want to make sure I'm in peak (no pun intended) condition. I'm looking for information resources out there that will help me create a training plan for this specific type of trip.

Most of the training plans I've seen either online or in books are aimed at someone who wants to do a single-day event, usually a race or a century ride. This will be an 8-day series of rides in the 65 mile range, but filled with epic hill-climbing. I'm not looking to win any races, but I want to be able to ride strong for the entire trip and enjoy the other activities also.

Can anyone recommend information resources to put together a training plan that will help me do that? Is a coach necessary to create this sort of plan? As helpful as I know that would be, finances are somewhat of an issue, so I'd like to do it on my own if possible.

late

Friel says "The purpose of tour training is to develop enough endurance and resiliencey to get back on the bike day
after day. Preparing to tour places a greater emphasis on weekly mileage, or more specifically, time in the saddle.."

The problem is that you will be spending so much of your time climbing. You will need to do some training climbs,
and you will need to reproduce the pedalling difficulty regularly, be it climbing in a higher than normal gear, a gym bike
at high resitance, or a spin bike with the brake screwed down til it hurts.