N_C

Some may remember that i intended on doing some touring training for when I did self contained tours this year.

The training I was intending on doing was to load my B.O.B. trailer up and do my normal after work and weekend rides.

I have not done any yet because I got such a late start in the season due to weather and do not know when and if I'll be able to.

So this leaves me to wonder should I just take off and do a self contained tour on a weekend with out worrying about trainng for it?

I am doing fine at riding with out the trailer albeit I had a accident today.

My self contained tour would go as follows:
1. Leave on a Saturday morning, ride to a state park with campground in either Nebraska, Iowa or South Dakota.

2. Set up camp, shower, ride into nearest town & eat @ a local resteraunt (sp).

3. If possible so a little sight seeing.

4. Return to camp and sleep.

5. Wake up on Sunday morning, break camp.

6. Ride into nearest town for breakfest.

7. Then head home returning sometime Sunday afternoon/ early evening.

The most weight I'll be carrying is about 35 to 40 pounds & 10 to 15 pounds of that is the B.O.B. trailer and bag & another 10 to 15 pounds is my tent.

Sounds fun right? I hope it is when I accomplish this.

But should I just do it or train for it first?

Advice please.

Thanks.

Rev.Chuck

If you can do the ride unloaded, just do it. Drop your pace a bit and you should have no problems as long as you have some kind of base mileage. My only concern would be leaving my stuff at a campsite, but I am Mr. Paranoid, just ask the guy looking over my shoulder.

Guest

Most people know my story from my tour of Italy- absolutely zero training time, less than 5 hours total time on my bike before I left, a new bike on top of all that, very overweight, and totally scared witless. I struggled for a bit, but after a few days, I felt like I was fine.

I say just go for the practice runs loaded- know it will be slow going for a few days, but as you get more accustomed to riding with gear, you'll be ok.

If I can do it, I swear- anyone can do it!

Koff

RWTD

My major adjustment with a loaded bike came in the first few miles getting use to the balance issues .Other than the initial adjustment just view an overnight trip as training and go for it.Besides the thieft issue which I agree with Rev.Chuck on and not knowing too much about your riding I am a little concerned you may be trying to schedule too many centuries and long tour distances without putting in enough base miles at more moderate distances.I did alot of daily rides in the 30-35 miles range before I did a tour where milages were 60-80.And I did the tour distances of 60-80 miles and more training rides of 40-60 miles before I ever attempted a century.You can learn as you go along and I don't want to discourage you from setting out on an overnight trip but you may want to initially keep the milages reasonable to avoid becoming discouraged with cycling before you develop the fitness to do big miles.

Guest

Definately keep the initial mileage down! In the beginning, I was doing shorter mileage- like 9- 10 miles a day. I gradually increased my miles as I became more conditioned. I ended up doing like 60- 90 km a day at the end with no problems.

Load it up, start by doing short trips, and as you get more conditioned and confident, you can build up to longer trips and more mileage.

Koff

N_C

Hey guys thanks for the advice. After reading it I'm planning on a 2 day , 1 night self contained trip either the 2nd or the 4th weekend of June.

There are 4 choices that I have in my geographical area that I'm interested in camping at.

There are actually more but these 4 are the ones that are worth riding the distance to. The otheres are only about 10 to 20 miles away.

The closest is about 30 miles away, the 2nd & 3rd closest is about 45 miles and the furthest is about 135 miles away. More then likely I'll do one of the other 2 and save the long one for later in the year.

Again thanks.

NZLcyclist

I would suggest doing a training ride with the trailer or watever you are using, and pack a big picnic, and meet some mates out there and have a feed then come home! sounds good.... might have to try it myself!

Brendon

Chris L

I did an overnighter as preparation for my first tour a few years back. I basically loaded the bike up with everything I intended taking on the tour and just went. I camped at a spot relatively close to home so I could get back easily if there were any problems I couldn't deal with. I got more than I bargained for when the temperature hit 47 degrees C, but it wasn't so bad as I was camped next to the Coomera River (in which I spent most of the afternoon). I definitely recommend an overnighter as a way to prepare for longer tours in the future, and the overnighter is fun in itself.

Re: the earlier comment about leaving things at a campsite. I've done this a few times in various places and got away with it. The most important thing is to ensure your immediate valuables (wallet, camera etc) are carried on your person at all times. You should also get a spanky lock for your bike if you intend leaving it unattended at any stage. Beyond that, well, most thieves probably wouldn't bother stealing a heap of daggy clothes - they'll move on and target someone else.

Gordon P

If you can train, do it to whatever capacity time will allow, but otherwise just go on a tour when you can. You will just have to work harder to get to your destination.

Living gear unattended at campsites is a scary thing to do, and I am always worried when I do this. I have heard many tails of people losing stuff while camping, but mostly in the developing world. Fortunately, I have never lost anything to thieves, only to animals, but I have had people check my tent out while I was in it! My hiking partner had washed his tent and set it up in his yard to dry and when he returned home from work his tent stolen from his yard!