training for a tour
 

I live 10 miles from my office and was wondering if the round trip ride 3-4 times a week until August will be enough training to support a 100 mile short weekend tour.

How do you train for your long distance touring?

I would add a few weekend rides in the 35 mile range, or more if you are comfortable with it. But several 20 mile round trip rides (with a long delay in the middle of the ride for something called work) a week is certainly more training than I have ever done before a long tour. A "100 mile short weekend tour" sounds like not much weight on the bike, are you doing a bed and breakfast or something like that? If so, that is very little weight on the bike, so should be easy.

You'll find the motivation to pedal increases on tour to compensate for some lack of 'training.' You'll be fine.

If you're planning on this being a loaded camping tour, and haven't done that before, it's always best to do at least one trial overnighter to sort out the gear.

Your short commute rides will be plenty to assure you can do your planned tour. However, the best way to train for a tour is to...ride your bike. If you can find the time, just get on and ride. It doesn't matter if you only have an hour or so, any extra saddle time can make a difference.

I still remember taking off on a tour, my first on a tandem, after several months of time-crunch at work (in order to clear things up to take a month off). The only riding I did was my 50 mile round trip commute. Sure enough, about 50 miles into day one I had to get off the bike for an hour. By the fourth day, it was all good and we were back up to our usual mileage without any discomfort.

I will be riding my bike to meet my wife and friends for a weekend getaway. My wife will be loading up our truck and taking everything needed for the weekend and I will drive back with her after the weekend trip. My goal will be to ride for 90 or so miles then stopping for the night at a hotel and completing the last 25 miles the next day. I will be bringing a change of clothes and some biking essentials but not a full loaded tour.

Depending on how the trip to the destination goes I may consider the trip back....that would be totally cool if I could ride back home as well.

The good thing is that my ride to work is an awesome workout with hills.

Yeah, the commuting rides will do a lot. If you can do a few extra weekend rides in the 50-60 mile range first, that would help a lot. The last 30 miles of a 90 mile ride is very different from the first 30 miles. Most of it is attitude, but some of it is physical too. You should try to work in a few longer rides so you can develop that attitude.

For a 90 mile day, you need to have a nutrition plan for the day too, I find that a steady stream of calories is important if I am doing over about 50 miles.

When you said a 100 mile short weekend, I assumed that was 100 miles round trip, split up over two days. Thus, my initial recommendation of 35 miles was based on that. But you should work some longer days into your training plan.

Some of your commuting rides may also involve rain, which is good so if you have rain on your tour you know how best to deal with that. One of my most important bits of attire is a rain cover for my helmet.

I think you will need to do a lot more than 10 mile rides to have a good time on a 90 mile ride. And you have provided no information on the terrain of your commute as compared to the terrain of your planned excursion. 20 miles of relatively flat riding broken up into two segments with ample rest between is not going to prepare you well for 90 miles with a lot of climbing. I used to commute 20 miles 2-3 days a week over relatively flat terrain with a few short hills. This was year 'round. While it helped some, it wasn't enough to out me in hill century shape.

Good info! Once I build up some stamina I will have two smaller day trips planned. One will be to ride to my sister house and the other to the beach both are 40 miles away (one way).....different directions though so it will be fun to vary the elevation and scenery.

If you make that commute a part of your life, you'll be amazed at several things and being in shape for a 90 mile ride is only one of them. For me, a lifetime of bicycle commuting lead directly to a very early and very healthy and active retirement, for instance.

As alluded to above in the comment about rain, touring is more than being in physical shape. It's about knowing how to spend all day on the bike in adverse conditions and how to get better at it. And even about getting good memories and stories out of it.

it's more than just stamina. there's the mental preparation, of course, but also the
butt preparation.

ten miles on the bike? no problem.
twenty miles? still okay.
forty miles? getting a little sore.
60 miles? ohhhhh......the pain!....and forty more to go!
only ten miles the next day? no way, call the wife to pick me up!

nothing prepares for extended time in the saddle better than extended time in the saddle.
oh, and good-fitting cycling shorts, and a comfortable broken-in saddle that's properly
set up.

Bike commuting is great training for bike touring. You are getting into the habit of riding regularly and carrying loads. However, as others mentioned, it would help you a lot to add some longer weekend rides to your training schedule. There are mental and physical aspects to long rides that are best accomplished through "saddle time."

If your was two 50 mile rides, I'd say no problem. 90 miles in one day is a lot for anyone. It perfectly doable but if condition are not right, you won't enjoy it. Wind can slow you down tremendously and kill your spirit. You might not want to ride those 25 miles the next day regardless of how the 90 mile day went. Make sure you drink and eat often but little each time.

If you have someone who can pick you up, just go and see what happens.

Already riding daily for transportation, at home, It seems , Looking Back ..
I tried to not start Day 1 at the bottom of a Mountain Road I had to go over that first day .

...More time in the saddle, turning the pedals . than Miles per day goals..

Pushed it hard tonight to see how my body would react and a few hours after I feel great....not where I was last year but making progress. Cannot wait to get back on the saddle and ride tomorrow!

+1 you'll be fine for 50 miles out and 50 miles back.

Longer rides need better recovery nutrition planning. I try to have some protein rich food within 30 minutes after hard exercise.

Take the long way on your commute if you can and ride 20 or so whenever you can make the opportunity. If there is a way to even the mileage on your travel days to 70/45 or 65/50, I think you will do better. Recovering from a 90 you haven't prepared for is a sure setup for a next day call for help. If you plan days you can finish well, this will be joy instead of torture.

20-mile commutes are not adequate training for a 90-mile ride. At least not one without a fair amount of discomfort. And especially if you are going to follow it with a 25-mile day. I'd recommend putting in at least a couple rides of 50-60 miles to prepare for your June ride, if you are going to enjoy it.

Best of luck.

For many years, my tours surrounded randonneuring events in various parts of the world. So ... I trained for randonneuring and let the touring take care of itself.

Going from 10 to 100 is quite a leap ... or even 20 to 100. I'd recommend picking one day on the weekend and gradually increasing your distance.

pick some place to stay , say, 42 miles away from home , and make a reservation for that night.

7 mph x 6 hours in the saddle gets you 42 miles down the road

Yes my goal is to ride 40-50miles a few times before the tour in the summer as I know that these 10-20 mile runs will not be enough. The ride to the beach is 45 miles away in the easterly direction and my sister lives 40miles west of my house...two different views for training.

Pushed it hard again last night and attacked some hills but honestly I do not like riding hilly routes....I LOVE the challenge of the climb what I dont like is the ride down the hill. Here is my line of thinking....if I ride 18miles and I am working for 9 of it then technically I only get a workout for 9 miles. However, with a 18mile flat route like a rail trail I have to pedal the whole length and technically I will have worked the whole 18 miles. I am guessing that the hills will build more muscles for power but the flat will increase endurance....I guess I will do both types of rides as part of my training. Am I wrong with this theory?

The whole training thing is such BS. A 100 mile weekend tour! I could train for that by breaking both legs, having my knee cap removed then couch surfing for 10 years. That is how I trained for my 1000+ mile tour in 2005.

People should learn their history. Don Willans got selected for the Anapurna expedition by looking like santa clause, drinking 16 pints of beer with Chris Bonington (or in front of Chris is probably more accurate) then leading up some local desperate in the dark. He still made the summit team to bag the first ascent. Now you have guys carved like greek statues so they can ride a desk.

Touring is a casual activity one does while seated. Now obviously there are 100 mile routes that possiblynobody on this board can handle in 2 days, but you don't mention extreme terrain, and for many of us there would be no amount of exercise that would prepare us for such outings, just as it is too late for me to climb Everest without oxygen, or maybe never was even remotely possible.