I remember my first bike tour. I was absolutely petrified at the start. I mean REALLY nervous. I remember seeing the town of Beaudesert disappearing behind me about 75km in and realising there was no turning back now. I remember it rained the entire first night at Mt French (which turned out to be the hardest climb on the entire tour). Fortunately for me I'd done an overnighter a couple of weeks beforehand, so I had a fair idea of what to expect, and I'm pretty sure that got me though the first couple of days. Then I remember getting over Cunningham's Gap and realising this was definitely possible. I had a few challenges after that, but by then I had grown in confidence. The same thing could work for you. You'll get confidence at riding on the road, camping, finding food or whatever by doing it. The more time you spend riding before taking off the better, you'll build both your confidence on the road and your fitness (never underestimate the value of this one).

I think that's the message here. Start by doing an overnight trip so you can dip your toes in the experience. It will seem like a steep learning curve at first - I remember I couldn't even put my tent up before I did my first overnight trip (I often wonder what became of the guy at Sharp Park all those years ago who showed me how to do it). But you'll learn enough on the over nighter to give you some confidence. Then you can take that confidence and attempt something bigger. Honestly, it will be a lot easier if you start with something a little smaller, then work your way up to biking across the country.