Originally Posted by
krobinson103
Lots of good input. Thank you. I think I'll go for 100km a day and add a bit if there isn't much to look at or I feel energetic that day.
One thing I always keep in mind during planning is that distance travelled and distance subtracted from the route can be two different things. You might travel 100 km and see that you've crossed the distance between two towns that, according to the route, are 90 km apart. This is why I distinguish between what I cycle on average and what I 'effectively' cycle. Trips work out fine if I calculate travel times based on an effective daily distance of 75 km, but I'm not really sure what my actual average is.
I find that distance travelled depends mostly on how much time I can spend cycling, I usually don't gain much by putting in more effort. In other words, I can go as fast as I go and that's it: speeding up only works for a short while before I go back to my regular laid back average. For me, efficiency in the 'logistical' stuff (packing, unpacking, shopping, eating, looking for a place to sleep, etc.) is where I lose or gain significant travel time.