djb

I have a friend who does mileage like you. He rode across Canada once, and would do 200, 250, 300km per day. Always boggled my mind, but he was on a racing bike with very little baggage, but most importantly, he is just a strong strong rider.

You ride your ride, at your pace.

I like that expression as that is basically it, everyone has a diff speed and diff endurance, the most important is to have an enjoyable time for yourself at the pace you are comfortable at.

Erick L

Something like this, I guess:

bikenh

I totally agree with your statement. I would rather not have had to rush things as much as I did. I had to make NW Ohio by a set date since I said I was coming and reservation for the day after I had to be there had already been made. I ended up calling home to mom and brother and the they came and got me since I wasn't going to make the last 80 miles before sunset. I wasn't carrying the best camping equipment either. No sleeping bag. I knew I had to be back to NH before the cold weather set in. I kept watching the forecast and knew I had the deadline I had to meet. Yeah, I could have taken an easier route but I knew I had dry weather forecast for 8-9 days and I knew from what I had already been doing distancewise that I should easily be able to pull off the trip home using the longer route. I would still have to ride a lot of miles but I knew it was doable and it would keep me busy...riding, throughout the day.

Granted I don't tolerate boredom all that well so doing long days works with my personality quite well since I was on a rather tight budget trip to start with and I'm not really one for doing the museum thing.

I do ride a Specialized Allez, so not your normal touring bike by a long shot and since I do a lot of riding in hilly countryside I was in shape, distancewise for the tour. I wasn't used to loaded riding, other than much lighter weight loads while running errands around home, so I did have the real shock at the beginning when I figured I would easily be riding 160-200 miles a day and all of a sudden I find myself having trouble riding 120 miles a day. Talk about a rude awakening. I know much better how to train for any touring in the future as a result.

Everybody has their own reason for why they do what they do. The biggest thing is to know your reason for why you do what you do and then you can plan a great tour as a result.

Yeah, in the future it would be nice to do a tour at a much more relaxed pace(50-80 miles per day) but I'm not sure how well I would tolerate it mentally. Now if I was doing something more like what I've thought about for next(2013/14) winter(being a travelling snowbird) it could much easier, on a regular tour it would be difficult.

Rowan

Weaving in and out of banked-up traffic is no more difficult with panniers than with a backpack.

djb

agreed, I do it all the time commuting here, just gotta remember the one has a wider arse with two bags than with 1, or none.

bikenh

You also have to remember when your leaning away from trucks, on a road with little shoulder and high curbs, more than likely your going to drag your panniers on the curb, not good. My backpack never dragged.

djb

Tis true in really tight situations

yosarian9

Thank you all for the help.

djb

your welcome yos, we wouldnt want you stuck in a Catch-22 situation would we?

Machka 

Changed a rear tire pinch flat today ... opted for the Pannier-Removal, Upright-Bicycle technique.

VeloBabble

Is that sarcasm? I am not sure I have ever seen that before.

catonec 

In post #4 I labeled it "friendly sarcasm" which may indeed be unique.

djb

Which is pretty much what sort of answer a person would get in real life if they asked how to change a tire without a stand.
Followed by the helpful comments if it was seen to be a serious, albeit, inexperienced question (which pretty much what happened here)