Originally Posted by
valygrl
So, if you are a smaller person, take that into account - when you hear guys (staeph1, I can here you coming) say they average xx miles / day and don't take rest days, you really need to discover for yourself what your daily milage will be. Most people say 60/day, some people definitely do a lot more, others a lot less. If you have to ballpark your pace, I would use 60 not 75 unless you are a very strong rider, even racer level.
Valygrl, your advice is always good. I had to chuckle about, "hearing me coming" though
Actually, to be clear I advocate taking it easy enough to not need rest days and when you need a break I recommend trying half days instead.
I recommend that anyone who is not sure what pace works for them do the following:
- Start out with easy days if on a long tour. On long tours you can make the time up later. This is better than overdoing and needing a day off right away.
- Allow more days than you will need if at all possible. A tight schedule can make the whole tour more stressful in ways it shouldn't be.
- Build daily mileage gradually as the trip progresses. No need for one step forward two steps back. The mileage will get easier as the trip goes on unless you train a lot more than I do and are in peak condition at the start.
- Never ride far or hard enough that you don't want to ride the next day. If that happens you did too much IMO.
- If you really need a rest consider riding an easy half day rather than take a day off. I find I recover better this way. I am not saying it is best for everyone, but I still recommend at least giving it a shot.
- Save full days off for doing something fun, don't waste them vegging out in front of a TV or something like that. Better to do a hike, go rafting, or whatever.