Slow down, stop and smell the roadkill. Don't worry, riding is training, you will be in shape for the ride when you get done.

Marc

+1 :thumb:

It is a different experience to ride with panniers, so give yourself 30 minute to familiarize yourself the first day when you start out. More if you are bad at mechanical problem solving since there are little tricks you can try out to help get the load working better, but if you can't think that way, you will not find it as automatic. We aren't talking soloing a big wall in yosemite with 350 pounds of gear here, we are talking riding a bike like Miss Gulch did in the Wizard of Oz.

There are 3 reasons to train before the trip: 1) because you have to keep up with someone more fit; 2) because you are starting out right into some really tough terrain; 3) because you are the kind of person who will push yourself too hard no mater what you do and you will wear yourself out no mater how easy the start. There could be health reasons for training, but I will leave that up to you.

But if you don't tick any of those boxes you don't have to train. Training is a relatively new concept with serious training equivalent to what the average health club person does, not having come to the Olympics until around 1936. And society gets more sedentary every year so training may be necessary for some, but in general it is just a funny fixation.

Getting a good position on your bike is very important, and something I leave time for on the first day, if I am riding a new bike. I could also be doing stuff like breaking in a new Brooks.

Both of these are bad ideas to leave until the first day of a tour. A new bike with new cables will need adjustments within the first 100 to 200 miles. Same with new wheels. Even if you have the mechanical skills to address the issues, it's more difficult to solve mechanical problems on the road then it is at home. A bike that has been used for training with a load will have more of the bugs worked out so that you spend more time riding and less time fiddling.

Breaking in a Brooks? On tour?!! Any new saddle whether it's a Brooks or anything else is just a recipe for disaster. What if you don't like it or, worse, it causes you problems? Nothing quite like riding out a couple of days just to have to ride back to the start in pain.

Training or at least not making major changes to the bike, your routine or you, are the best way to avoid problems and make a bicycle tour a trip to remember with fond memories rather than as a horrible experience.

Yeah, best to have everything broken in some time before you head out.

IMO unless you're *really* out of shape, I'd (maybe) ride a little more than usual in preparation. It's not like you're trying to win a prize.

12stone and only 5.8 sounds like it could be an issue. The type of cycling you will be doing won't increase your fitness and won't even strengthen your legs. Healthy lifestyle and light running combined with cycling will help with your fitness. I think if anyone is going for a tour that means they will spend time in the middle of nowhere or long periods of time in rural areas should be able to cycle 50mile a day and not be messed up after it. If you struggle with 50mile a day then have a look at your lifestyle and see about getting yourself at a level where you can cycle 50mile a day for a week. It may sound like i'm being nasty but if you can't cycle 50mile a day for a week i'd advise to travel by camper van. There may be a time where you cycle 40mile and then come across an area where the next 10mile is very rural and has hill after hill after hill. You need to be able to climb these, the weather could be very hot, the winds could be coming at you making it much harder, so when trying to sort out your fitness make sure it's not a very basic flat 50mile or you will have trouble. I have friends in their 20's who don't cycle or play any sports and they couldn't run a mile and would struggle to cycle 20+ if it involved hills and countryside roads.

Wow, this really makes touring look enjoyable and accessible. I'm surprised anyone starts to tour at all. :)

Good luck on your tour. The Finger Lakes area is a great place.

It will be interesting to hear what you have to say if you go over the Pompey Hills on Highway 20:) However, you may not get that far east of the FL region.

I tend to agree with folks about training for a tour. If you are bike touring , you must like riding a bike. I wonder why folks think training, riding a bike, is so onerous? My wife and I try to take long rides whenever we can regardless of whether we are preparing for a tour or not. A month or two before the start date we just start adding more hills during our rides. As folks have said, ride a little with you bike loaded, and get the fit dialed in well before you leave.

There are tons of people who really aren't in the greatest shape who go backpacking and bicycle touring kind of a lot. The way your post is, you make it sound like it's a competition, and that you need to be in the best shape and racing as fast as possible to enjoy it (you don't).

To the guy who posted the topic: IMO you should probably stop focusing so much on preparing (in terms of fitness), and just make sure you get your foot out the door and keep going- at whatever pace you think is best, however you think is best. I wouldn't worry too much about daily mileage etc. either. I've found that taking my time and actually *enjoying* the ride however I want is much more pleasant.