The clothing thing is interesting. The simple fact is that at some stage, you will have to stop and do laundry. That is, if you are camo-camping and haven't got access to facilities such as laundry and shower at a campground.

Irrespective of your dream, the drudgery of life still goes on. In your time and distance budget, you have to factor in shopping for food, stopping to pee and crap, scope out a suitable and safe camo-campsite (already alluded to), wash yourself and your clothes to stay healthy, service your bicycle, stopping and talking to people along the way who want to know what you are doing, and working out actually where you are on the map!

It all takes time, and when you're six hours into a ride and have ridden a quarter of your daily distance, you start to get nervy. That will affect your judgment and your interaction with other road users and people like those behind the counters at shops.

And if you actually do get sick along the way, you don't have much option but to stop and recover. How are you going to feel about losing time with that?

I've been hardcore, too. Riding 300km days to get to long-distance events, and I can brag about them later. But I've never set out on an extended tour of the length your are talking about with the intention of big distances each day.

I'd like to think you can get all the way through with 100-mile days, but if I was a betting man, I would lay short odds that you wouldn't last beyond three weeks at that pace.

Another thing to consider in your financial budget concerns your home expenses. Do you have to pay rent, and will you continue to do so while you are away? What about computer and internet expenses? Phone expenses? Health insurance? Do you have a vehicle with registration/licence that falls due while you are absent?

You might not have some or all of these expenses, but they still need to be factored in.

And one last thing (I didn't look at the packing list, so you might have them)... condoms. Mind you, you are intent on setting a cracking pace, but you never know what might happen along the way.