Touring for a tour
 

I plan to spend about 9 weeks tour with a couple of friends, and we want to hit the ground running from day 1, which means pre-tour training. My question is if while on tour we want to achieve 80-160km (50-100 miles) a day, how many kms should we be rideing and how many days a week to get ready for these distances?

Some info about things like your current activity levels would go a long way towards helping people provide useful comments. For example....

When I did my first tour, cycling was a part of my daily life. I rode for sport, fitness and for transportation. As such, I didn't do anything outside the ordinary to get ready for the tour, which ended up lasting nearly 4 months and covering some 6,000 miles, other than take one 62 mile ride with the bike fully loaded, and a few sorter rides partially loaded, in order to get a feel for handling. So I would say you don't need to do anything extraordinary. Just ride like you would if you were not planning to tour.

Yes ... what kind of activity level do you have now?



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My early days of touring were hub-and-spoke or short (less than a week) tours. My first somewhat longer tour was in 2003.

By then, I had been riding avidly for 13 years, I had spent 3 years racing, and then got into Randonneuring. My motivation for that somewhat longer tour in 2003 was to ride the Paris-Brest-Paris 1200K ... and while I was in that part of the world, I also toured. So I had been training for the 1200K event.


If you want to do 80-160 km/day, my recommendation would be 1) get at least one century (160 km) ride in, preferably more; 2) ride enough that you feel really comfortable with 80 km.

And on your 9 week tour, make sure you've got some rest days planned.

Currently in a week I ride 70km (44 miles), run 15km, and weight training for about 4 hours.

This will also be my first tour.

is that get one 160km ride a week or just one before the tour?

Currently in a week I ride 70km (44 miles), run 15km, and weight training for about 4 hours.

This will also be my first tour.

So you're going from 70 km/week to a proposed 560+ km/week?

Yeah, you'll want to work on that a bit. Ride 5 days a week, and start gradually increasing your distances on two of those days. What's your longest day now?

So ... this week, for example, ride 15 km/day for 5 days = 75 km.
Next week, increase the distance on two of the days ... 15 km/day for 3 days + 20 km/day for 2 days = 85 km
The following week, increase the distance on the two long days again ... 15 km/day for 3 days + 25 km/day for 2 days = 95 km.

If you start to struggle with the longer days, back off a bit for a week or two, then start increasing again.

And as for those 15 km/day days ... mix them up. Ride hills one day, do intervals on another day, and maybe a casual recovery ride on a third day. If it is winter where you are, join a 1-hour spinning class 1-2 days a week instead of the hills and intervals days.


An absolute minimum of one 160 km ride before the tour. So that you know what it is like. Preferably 2 or 3 or more ... so that you know how to ride that distance more comfortably.

5 days a week it is just a 7km commute to and from work at the moment. Do I need to work up to 560+km a week, or is it not required to work up to that sort of distance?

Don't concentrate on miles, it's seat time that you will need. Work up to 6 hours in the saddle first, then look at the miles covered in that time. That should tell you where you are and what you can expect.

If it were me, I'd work up to at least 1/2 that (280 km/week) with the occasional week of 350 km or 450 km thrown in as you get close to the departure time.

Am I right in assuming that you have not ever done an 80 km ride? What's the longest ride you've done?

30km is the longest I've done, but i'm 24 and very fit

Don't forget about proper recovery nutrition. I always drink a protein shake after a hard workout. It really makes a difference for the next days ride or workout.

Well, you've got youth on your side. :)

Still, if you're going to embark on a 9-week tour, and hit the ground running with 560+ km weeks, it's a good idea to start building up. Just keep increasing those long rides 2 days a week ... maybe start this week by doing two 25 km rides ... and then two 30 km rides next week ... and then two 35 km rides the following week ... and so on.

Plus shorter rides 3 days a week.


Or if you want to go the hours route ... ride 1 hour a day for 3 days a week + 1:30 a day for 2 days a week ... and gradually increase the longer rides that way. 1:30 this week, 1:45 next week, 2 the following week, etc.

A "shakedown" trip might also be wise. Something short, like two or three days. The sooner the better in your case after you have gotten more miles/saddle time under your belt. It would give some idea as to where you are with being ready.

Age & fitness count huge. You could probably leave today, doing 120km/day for first three tour days and be fine, with only maybe a little soreness. By the fourth tour day you can open up :)

If you have time & desire to train I'd recommend working up to doing back-to-back days of 80km/day. When you feel great after doing back-to-backs your ready to go.

No matter what you'll achieve a zen-like-oneness with your bicycle after two weeks on the road.

I'm assuming it shouldn't make much of a difference if I train on the bike or on an exercise bike right?

as mentioned, being younger and in very good shape is a big help, but given that you will be doing a lot more riding, and riding where you are working a lot harder than your commute because of the weight (and I suspect throw in going faster than you may think because of the competition between you and your friends;-) at the very least get a really good experienced look at your bike setup--seat height etc so that there isnt anything really out of whack that could end up causing you knee issues or whatever.

if at all possible, despite your "hitting the ground running" comment, planning the first couple of days with less distance is always nice to let your legs and bum and everything get used to the work more gradually. Depending on how much weight you guys will be carrying and how much climbing you'll be doing right off (not to mention your bikes gearing being low enough) doing a few days of 70 or 80k is a nice way to ease in--plus it will show up stuff that could cause grief.
Hopefully though, doing some longer rides with stuff on your bike about the same weight as you plan to take is always going to be good to really give you an idea of how 80km with load feels, and this is the time to find out stuff like, I dunno, your hands hurt like hell, your arse hurts like hell due to improper shorts or whatever, or a hill is murder to get up because you can't gear down any lower etc etc.

I'm twice your age but when I think of my first bike trip, I really should have done more riding with all the weight on the bike before the trip so my legs and knees would have been stronger.

If anything though, really make sure your bike is setup properly for you. You or your friends don't want any knee issues cropping up because of a bad setup, even at 24.

mostly though, have fun. Think of it this way, proper training before the trip will just mean you'll have more fun, so its a win win.

One "formula" I've heard that works well for me is to gradually work up to one third of the distance you'd like to ride on tour. I had a goal of riding 600-mile weeks on my last tour and I gradually increased my cycling up to 200-mile weeks (over many months) and that went well. I got in very good shape and didn't hurt myself and the tour was enjoyable from the first day. I only rode one century while in training, but rode centuries on roughly one third of my tour days.

I suppose you could argue conversely that you shouldn't exceed 300% of your pre-touring distance when you start touring, then cycle yourself into shape, if needed or desired, while on tour (not my favorite thing to do). Of course, much depends on your age, fitness, natural athleticism, etc.

an exercise bike is ok, but putting some weight in your panniers and doing hills regularly will prepare your legs in a way that you cant do on an unloaded bike or an exercise bike.
Doing gradually longer rides on your unloaded bike, and doing hills with some weight is a pretty simple way to get your leg and knee muscles stronger and specifically with the hill training--gets your head ready for working hard going up hills with a bike that weighs maybe 30 or 40lbs more than it does unloaded.

btw, camping planned? ie carrying tent, stove etc etc?

Yes i plan to camp, and carry a stove

That all sounds about right to me.

On the notion of training on an exercise bike... I'd say that putting in even 50 miles at a time would be absolutely awful. It makes my head hurt even thinking about it. Even if you could get past the boredom, it wouldn't really be a very good way to get ready for a tour IMO. I guess it would test your commitment to the tour though :)

In my experience, there are 2 variables that need to be experienced: daily distance and weight.

If you plan to ride 50+ miles a day, you have to know that you can do that day after day. Even a fit 24 year old (and your partners) can be sore or have bike riding mechanics that make that kind of riding hard, even painful. Also, you will get more fit as you ride, so instead of putting the hard days first, try to plan a few easy days at the very beginning of the tour to acclimate you to the experience.

It is also very important that you take a long ride carrying the weight you plan to tour with. Riding a racing bicycle 20 miles a day is a far cry from pushing a loaded touring bike 50 miles a day. It is easy to pack too much weight and to struggle as a result. At the very least, you must take a shakedown ride with your touring gear at a day's mileage just to see what that is like. Not only is good to test your legs, it might also convince you to select lighter gear or leave some stuff home altogether.

For me, I ride a bike for exercise 2 - 4 times a week between 15 - 35 miles. When I have a tour coming up, I slowly ramp up my riding and distance so that I am riding 3-5 times a week between 35 - 50 miles. I also slowly add weight to the bike until I can ride 2 consecutive days at my touring distance (50 miles/day for me) carrying all the gear I will tour with. Even then, the first couple of days I try to plan easier days just to ease into the touring regimen.

Being young and fit will help in your ability to do this tour. But, it is no substitute for proper training and preparation.

more info needed:

where will you be riding? flat land or mountains? short, steep grades or
long grades? riding though forest with canopy cover and wind breaks,
or open grasslands/along the coast?

what altitude? major change? you at fort jackson now, planning to ride
to tibet?

how about weather? heat/cold extremes, dry or humid, monsoon rains?

how much stuff will you be taking? tent, sleeping bag, 6 changes of clothing,
hiking boots, 8-track player, frying pans......have you piled it all together
and weighed it yet?

are your friends first-timers also? will y'all be training together? how
are you planning your route schedule? what about rest days?

you didn't mention what bicycle you'll be on....what gearing?

If it's practical for you, bike commuting is a great way to train for touring. You are riding consistently, carrying loads and often riding the same kinds of bikes. I bike commute year-round, and touring is like another day commuting except more fun.

Start where Its Flatter, follow rivers , ride for a week or 2 before I head into the Mountains ..

When Younger , I was already riding around most days , on tour My day's mileage were just time in the saddle, not a Mile Count, dependent..

Older I just lowered the Daily Goal .. If anything , now I look back and regret not Stopping More and learning about where I was Passing thru..

Rather than Hammering out More Miles a day.. My Tour choices were in Other countries .. than the US.. Histories differed ..