This article and others provide all the tips and guidelines which, if followed, will make a long distance cycling tour as pleasant, enriching, and safe as it can be. Included in this article is how long to train for, what kind of training to do, and what kind of a routine to get into once on the road, including when to take breaks, and how to manage time.
As a preliminary consideration, it is best not to do a long distance trip alone. This is for enjoyment related reasons (when the ocean is first spotted, or a landmark is passed, or a good dinner is had, a fellow observer being present provides half the pleasure), for isolation reasons (spending a month or more alone on the road, particularly if one’s character is not inclined to it, can spoil the trip), but also for safety reasons (things are less likely to go wrong with two bikes and two bodies than with one, and crime does happen to the cyclist!).
Training for a Tour
The long distance cyclist should train for at least a month before the tour, and they should consider an extra month of easier training to start with if they feel they are not a seasoned general cyclist, or are particularly out of shape.
Weight should be added to the bike via the panniers mentioned in the above article (or a rear-attached trailer) that is comparable with the total weight of what will be carried on the road during the tour.
The cyclist should train roughly every three days, covering increasing distances each time and simulating the kind of gradients that will be involved in the trip. A ‘city loop’ is often a good choice here: picking a route, relevant in terms of gradients, that goes around one’s city (or general area, if one lives outside of a city).
A Good Daily Routine for a Long Cycle Trip
Time to get on the road! When it comes to a daily routine to get into, it is essential to have a relaxing, non-physical activity to partake in during lunch/the long midday break. This can include reading, playing sudoku, watching a program on a laptop or iPod (although power consumption needs can prevent this, in some areas), or whatever fits the cyclist’s fancy.
Since one cannot always count on there being a landmark to see or a town to stop at for every midday break, having this one regular activity can mean the difference between the second half of the cycle being a nightmare, and it being pleasant.
Stopping every half an hour, or at the very least every hour, for a short ten-minute break is very important. It may not seem as such at the beginning of the first few days – it may in fact feel tedious – but if it is practiced regularly from the beginning, the benefits will be felt throughout the trip. This is because it can help to prevent the soreness that occurs in the contact areas of the body from getting to intense. It does so by restoring blood flow through altering the body's position. As the latter point would imply, it is important to move around during such breaks. The cyclist should aim to be on the bike for a maximum of six hours per day, at least in the first couple of weeks of travel.
if these tips and guidelines are followed, feeling sore and exhausted will be minimized, feeling overwhelmed will be prevented, and the pleasurable aspects of a long distance cycling trip – and there are certainly many – will be fully enjoyed, making it a truly memorable ride.
This is part of series of articles on long distance cycling. The article What to Know For a Long Distance Cycling Tour: Food and Safety gives further information on what to expect in terms of what and when to eat and what precautions to take, and the article Gear For Biking Around the World gives a comprehensive list of equipment that will be needed. Have fun!
Robert Loughney - Robert Loughney is an aspiring writer and musician. He has a business page on facebook, and a blog. He graduated from the University of ...
