Originally Posted by
DustyBottoms1
Overambitious? Yeah probably, but that doesn't mean I can't do it and make it back in one piece. I'm driven, stubborn, and tend to always figure things out one way or another. Plus I have a lot of time to train AND learn as much as possible between now and next May/June.
Why the 3 day ride? Why the heck not? No work involved, this will be all about pleasure and exploration.
Good call about getting in some good touring load experience...I'm not even sure what that means yet but based on some of these responses this is clearly something I need to figure out. I will be sure to fit a lot of that into my training. I currently only have a road bike (2015 Specialized Tarmac Sport) and I do not have panniers. Do most panniers work on a road bike and a touring bike? The reason i ask is because I'll likely get the panniers sooner than I would get the touring bike, and I would like to know if they can be swapped from one styled bike to the other.
Regarding altitude, this does have me a little concerned. I currently live in NYC so I'm at sea level. However, as mentioned in my OP, I have never really dealt with serious problems adjusting to high levels. Shortness of breath and a slight headache for maybe a ½ a day then I'm back to normal. The plan would be to fly into a part of the country that's north of 13K and spend a MINIMUM of 48 hours taking it easy and allowing time to acclimate to the elevation.
I meant to write, riding with a touring load, ie riding a bike that weighs 60 or 70lbs or whatever, going up hills, and taking into account less oxygen. I once rode down the west coast of the states on my touring bike with camping gear etc, and then visited a friend for a while in Palo alto . We went for a back packing trip in the sierra madres (think that's where it was, was over 20 years ago) for three days. I had just biked for 2 or 3 weeks, in really good shape, but remember very clearly how affected I was starting at 10000ft and up to 12 and a bit. Kind of like slow motion.
The three day question was more from a curiosity thing, ive always wanted to bike in south America, and would want to do a long trip, partly due to the expense of going. I'd ask the same if you were asking about in France or something, but no worries, not my business.
All the best with this, have fun planning and prepping.
Cheers