Originally Posted by
Thulsadoom
I hate to say this, since I consider myself one of the more encouraging members of the touring forums, but I don't think that you realize the cumulative affect that fatigue will play on a long term tour. Even if you do regular fast centuries and even doubles and triples you won't know how your body will react to weeks and months of touring. There's a lot to do.
You ride all day, you have to set up camp, you have to find food, do laundry occasionally. There's bad weather, noisy nights, hills, bad roads, head/cross winds, you name it. You won't have your nice soft bed and regular lifestyle to retreat back into in order to recover.
One day, you're bound to wake up and feel like death. Everyones reserves have limits. You're liable to want a nice motel and a couple of days off, and that's when your time schedule and financial planning takes a tumble.
Lots of truth here. I consider myself to be a pretty fit cyclist and swimmer, and sometimes I forget that my body needs more rest than what I want to give it. I like pushing myself physically and mentally, but it's always a challenge to figure out what's enough and what's too much. It's a fine line that tends to move around a lot with lots of variables such as how much cycling, diet, sleep, weather, illness, other activities, family, work, and an endless variety of other concerns.