Originally Posted by
PhilPub
^ Thanks, very useful comments. I've done some research on the route so I've got some idea what to expect, but it's good to hear some first-hand experience. I've not weighed the gear, but without going ultra-lightweight I've been careful with a few key elements, e.g. sub-2kg tent, and I think the clothing is just about down to a bare minimum.
We've got a mini-tour planned in a few weeks, ~200 miles over 3.5 days of riding which will include a fair amount of undulating roads in S England, so this will be a chance to see how the legs are after heavier mileage over consecutive days, sleeping in a tent, etc. It'll also tell me if I can make any adjustments to my kit list - hopefully discarding items rather than adding things I wish I'd taken. I'm a pretty strong cyclist, but new to touring so don't want to take anything for granted. I'm also a keen runner so I want to look after my knees!
thats a great idea to do a mini tour for all the reasons you say. I bring up the gearing thing because on my very first fully loaded tour, way back in 90 or 91, I had too much weight (probably 45-50lbs) and my gearing was not low enough for the very hilly terrain where I went (had 25 gear inches) and I really hadnt ridden enough and none with all the stuff on the bike. Throw in having a slight dodgey knee from ski falls in the past, that got shown up due to all the hard work, and I had a knee issue, plus it just wasnt fun, all the slow cadence up long steep hills and a sore knee and no choice but to keep on at it,making it worse for the knee.
I was, and still am a skinny fellow, so probably that didnt help, but do at least be wary, for you and your partner, and take care of your knees.
Have fun with the mini tour. I have family over there, in Worthing and in mid Wales, so I know that you will be meeting "undulating" thats a given.
as you mention having done research for that trip, thats one thing with that route, there is a ton of good info out there for the route, where to camp, stores etc etc, heck even when I did it long ago pre-internet, there was good info about it that made it logistically straightforward to do and to know what to expect when and where.
For both your mini tour and the big trip, I would recommend setting lower mileages the first few days, it helps get the legs into the whole "riding a heavy bike" thing, a bit more enjoyable Ive found. Also, getting out in the morning at a good time to give yourselves more hours to cover a given distance (to a set State Park for example) is a big help in not having to push it just that little too much for too long-again, for both the fun factor and the physical.
In the end, after not too many days you two will find the rythmn and distances that work well for you, thats the important thing, ride your own ride that works for you.
cheers