Training for extended tour

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I've done only short tours previously, but am considering a longer, self-supported tour, 500-600
miles. Any insight and experiences in training for and planning such a trek, or pointers to other
sources of bike touring information would be appreciated. I've scanned the archives of
rec.bicycles.rides and a bike tour mailing list.

If this list is [email hidden], IMO you can not find a better source of collective touring
experience.
==============================================================
To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit phred.orgtouringOpen ↗
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to [email hidden]
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Scanning the archives is not enough, jump in and ask your (dumb oft repeated) questions. Someone
will answer it and someone else too shy to expose themselves will thank you. No question should go
unasked, no matter how basic it might seem.

Quoted message said:

How do you train for an extended bike tour?

The simple answer is ride your bike... a lot and daily.

Quoted message said:

How many miles per day do you do when training?

At least 10, seldom more than the longest day you expect to encounter on tour. My 'rule-of-thumb' is
to ride weekly,twice the average number of miles I would expect to cover on a day touring. For me
that is 100
mi/wk and I try to never ride more than 50 mi/day while on a tour.

Quoted message said:

Do you add luggage to the bike when training?

No but commuting to work with my panniers probably helps.

Quoted message said:

When planning routes through areas you're not familiar with, how do you characterize the route
choices? On a short tour, I'd planned to use a less-traveled smaller road, only to find it filled
with loose gravel!

So how do you plan daily routes? Choose one and have alternates?

I start with 1:200 000 scale maps. Pick the tertiary roads and hope for the best. As for gravel, I
tour with wide tires Vredestein S-Licks and try to have several options to get from point A to B. In
Danish, Grus happens! So expect some gravel along the way and you will not be disappointed.

Remember, touring is not a race, Even though you _can_ do 50 miles a day for 10 days in a row, does
not mean that you should plan your trip to do just that. Expect to average 12 mph.

My best tours have been when I did not have a daily target in mind each day, but mearly looked ahead
in hope that I could find an place to stay along the way.

BTW, these last two paragraphs are wisdom gained just recently.

--
Cletus D. Lee (world traveler) Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -

In message <[email hidden]>, Jon Meinecke
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

I've done only short tours previously, but am considering a longer, self-supported tour,
500-600 miles.

How do you train for an extended bike tour?

I don't. I just ride my bike regularly. Which means commuting, round town use, and the occasional
longer day ride. My daily cycling at the moment may range anything from 0 - 10 miles

Quoted message said:

How many miles per day do you do when training?

Quoted message said:

Do you add luggage to the bike when training?

I guess some of this depends on what sort of riding you do on a day to day basis. assuming you ride
regularly and if you can happily ride the sort of daily distance you expect to on tour without
feeling absolutely wrecked then you'll be fine.

It's not the total distance that makes it harder IMO, it's the daily mileage you hope to cover. In
fact I would say a longer tour is easier. If you just go for a few days, you body might just be
settling into the swing of things and you stop. On a longer tour of say a couple of weeks or more
after a few days you body has settled down into it all and it just then gets easier.

The first tour i did was 4 weeks in Ireland, I had only recently (in the previous year say) got back
into cycling proper. As well as my 'utility cycling' i did go out for a few longer rides of say
30-50 miles in the preceding few months just so i was happy that my body was ok with that.

I often have loaded panniers on my bike anyway, so am used to that, and at the moment I'm often
towing the kiddie trailer so that's a good load. If someone hadn't ridden with a full load, esp if
they were taking front panniers as well then I would recommend they at least give the bike a try
like that, just so they know things handle all right if for no other reason.

Quoted message said:

When planning routes through areas you're not familiar with, how do you characterize the route
choices? On a short tour, I'd planned to use a less-traveled smaller road, only to find it filled
with loose gravel!

So how do you plan daily routes? Choose one and have alternates?

I just pick the likely looking roads, usually the small wiggly ones, and take it from there, I often
will change the route plan from day to day as things pan out. It helps to know how the maps will
relate to the terrain of course
--
Chris French, Leeds

I do long tours all the time (say 800-1,200 miles). My basic advice is:

1) Doing is the best way to learn, i.e. each time you go out you learn more for your next trip.
Since you indicate you have done some tours already then I'd imagine you've got a handle on what
to bring. My training for a new year is usually 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 mile rides starting every
other day and going further and every day as I work up to it. Then I do about three 3 day - 2
night tours over known territory to work out the equipment kinks. Then 5 day tours ultimately
going on up to two week 1,000 miles or so tours.

2. Listen to your body. Years of long distance running have left me in tune with what my body is
doing. I'm not in nearly the same shape anymore but I still know how to keep myself in the zone
between under and over-exertion. With the high-heat, high-humidity days here, this is a
life-or-death matter. In bad conditions I usually take a mid-day break and force fluids according
to a schedule that is working for me.

Quoted message said:

So how do you plan daily routes? Choose one and have alternates?

I prefer main routes that I hope have a wide shoulder. With a suitable shoulder then I don't care
about the traffic volume and speed. I imagine most do the opposite, seeking a quiet back route with
the view that a shoulder is not needed with few cars. Another main route benefit is that they will
have the least elevation changes, which is nice. Also, I rely on roadside services (water, food,
email, etc.) so back routes with no services are both unappealing and not useful to me. Since I
camp, the other consideration for me is to not end the day in a built-up area. So as with golf, I
either lay-up and camp before I get to a city or plan on pushing on to insure I'm far enough past
it. And of course toward the end of the day I have to think about whether I should stop earlier at
the first good camping area I see or get some more miles in and hope there are other good sites
down the road.

"Cletus D. Lee" <[email hidden]> wrote

Thanks for the response and welcome back! Hope you'll soon post reports of your latest travels. The
signal to noise ratio of the newsgroup will likely beneifit whatever you post. %^)

Quoted message said:

Scanning the archives is not enough, jump in and ask your (dumb oft repeated) questions.

I've subscribed and will submit a few questions, very likely naive, shortly...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

How do you train for an extended bike tour?

The simple answer is ride your bike... a lot and daily.

That I am doing, though I could, probably should, do more.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

How many miles per day do you do when training?

My 'rule-of-thumb' is to ride weekly,twice the average number of miles I would expect to cover on
a day touring. For me that is 100
mi/wk and

I'm doing about 100 miles a week and hope to maintain that through the fall and winter (tough for
me to do).

Quoted message said:

I try to never ride more than 50 mi/day while on a tour.

Perhaps I'm being too ambitious, then. The routes I'm looking at fit best with 75+ mile days... I
probably need to adjust my expectations to more like 50 miles. I can do 50 miles, lightly loaded,
without feeling too tired unless the terrain is especially hilly.

Quoted message said:

No but commuting to work with my panniers probably helps.

I carry probably an excessive amount of tools for day outings, but I think I need to add even a bit
more for training.

Quoted message said:

[from maps] Pick the tertiary roads and hope for the best.

This is my thought, but someone else pointed out that bigger roads often have shoulders. It's
diffucult to tell how busy a given road is from just a map. Some two-lane, no shoulder FM roads are
quite heavily travelled around here.

Quoted message said:

As for gravel, I tour with wide tires Vredestein S-Licks and

I need to take a look at different tires. I'm not running tires that are adequate for touring, but I
had four flats in less than 50 miles of riding this weekend. One was a rear tire blowout (from a
sidewall cut) at about 20 mph! I had to use the folded dollar bill patch/trick to limp home with the
ruined tire. Add to that, a flat tire and broken shifter cable on an errand run later the same day,
rude drivers honking, and two more flat tires on Sunday, and perhaps I had a pretty good tour
training weekend after all! %^)

Quoted message said:

Remember, touring is not a race, [...] Expect to average 12 mph.

Funny you should mention 12 mph! I have 12mph plugged into MS Streets and Trips options for speed
on all roads! %^) I also add about 30 minutes of 'rest stop' per 20 miles of riding and additional
meal stops.

I presume from your 50 miles/day and 12mph 'thumb rules' that you plan to spend about 4 hours per
day actually riding.

Quoted message said:

My best tours have been when I did not have a daily target in mind each day, but mearly looked
ahead in hope that I could find an place to stay along the way.

That's the adventure I hope for, but I need to calibrate my expectations to my abilities.

Jon Meinecke

"Chris French" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

if you can happily ride the sort of daily distance you expect to on tour without feeling
absolutely wrecked then you'll be fine.

I can do 50-60 miles without feeling too wiped out, but I'd like to increase that.

Quoted message said:

On a longer tour of say a couple of weeks or more after a few days you body has settled down into
it all and it just then gets easier.

That's good insight and I hope that would be true for me. I'm not a spring chicken, however.

Quoted message said:

I just pick the likely looking roads, usually the small wiggly ones, and take it from there, I
often will change the route plan from day to day as things pan out.

Do you seek "local opinions" on routes before or during tours?

Quoted message said:

It helps to know how the maps will relate to the terrain of course

I have TopoUsa that gives a good overview of elevation profiles of routes. I just wish there were
maps that better differentiated road types (surface material, shoulders, traffic load, etc...)

Jon Meinecke

Another suggestion re. tour training;

If your schedule and budget allows, take part in a supported tour as part of the training.

These typically involve 6 days of riding to cover about 400 miles. They are supported, which means
trucks carry your baggage. Some camp, some "motel". They usually have mechanical support and a
"sag-wagon" . These things form a nice safety net if you're not sure of your capabilities.

--
Miles of Smiles,

Tom Blum Winter Haven, Florida Homebuilts: SWB Tour Easy Clone Speed Machine Clone High Racer Clone
www.gate.net/~teblum

"m worth" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I do long tours all the time (say 800-1,200 miles). My basic advice is:

1) Doing is the best way to learn, i.e. each time you go out you learn more for your next trip.

This is good advice I plan to implement. I'm not getting any younger waiting. %^)

Quoted message said:

My training for a new year is usually 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 mile rides starting every other day
and going further and every day as I work up to it.

Wow, that's serious mileage! I'd really like to be able to plan 70-80 miles/day tours eventually for
cross-country type traks.

Quoted message said:

2. Listen to your body. Years of long distance running have left me in tune with what my body is
doing. I'm not in nearly the same shape anymore but I still know how to keep myself in the zone
between under and over-exertion. With the high-heat, high-humidity days here, this is a
life-or-death matter. In bad conditions I usually take a mid-day break and force fluids
according to a schedule that is working for me.

I have and regularly use a heart rate monitor. I have improved my cardiovascular and aerobic
conditioning over the past two years. The HRM really helps to calabrate and pace myself.

Quoted message said:

I prefer main routes that I hope have a wide shoulder. With a suitable shoulder then I don't care
about the traffic volume and speed.

That was my experience.

Quoted message said:

I imagine most do the opposite, seeking a quiet back route with the view that a shoulder is not
needed with few cars.

I like this too. There seems to be a dicotomy between 'cross-country' destination-oriented trips and
less destination oritented, exploration tours... I'll have to fly somewhere to do the later.

Quoted message said:

I rely on roadside services (water, food, email, etc.) so back routes with no services are both
unappealing and not useful to me.

Some of the routes I'm looking at have 'cities' that are 40-50 miles apart!

Thanks for the advice. I'm sure I'll have more questions.

Jon Meinecke

Jon Meinecke <[email hidden]> wrote:
: "m worth" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

:> My training for a new year is usually 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 mile rides starting every other day
:> and going further and every day as I work up to it.

: Wow, that's serious mileage! I'd really like to be able to plan 70-80 miles/day tours eventually
: for cross-country type traks.

Last year I did some 75 km rides on the upright. This year I increased my weekly long ride to 200
km, gradually. I figure I could do 400 km the next if I wanted. Not to mention it's a bit easier on
a quality bent :-)

I think weekly mileage follows the same pattern, unless it's even easier to increase. So one could
estimate that you can reach your goal in about 2 seasons, provided you have the time, probably
faster if you just concentrate on adding miles and even cross the boundaries of reason as comes to
what's a good progression of training miles.

--
Risto Varanka | helsinki.fihpv.htmlOpen ↗ varis at no spam please iki fi

<[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Last year I did some 75 km rides on the upright. This year I increased my weekly long ride to 200
km, gradually. I figure I could do 400 km the next if I wanted. Not to mention it's a bit easier
on a quality bent :-)

75km => 200km => 400km

That would be an impressive two year performance improvement curve! %^) 240 miles in one day's
riding would be impressive! (Yes, I know the 24 hour endurance bicycling distance record is more
than *twice* that distance.)

Quoted message said:

So one could estimate that you can reach your goal in about 2 seasons,

Yes I need to train more miles. My goal is to ride more, rain or shine, cold or not, throughout the
fall and winter. I think having some 'aggressive' spring tour plan may help me keep on track. Some
fall/winter weekend tours will help calibrate.

Quoted message said:

cross the boundaries of reason as comes to what's a good progression of training miles.

Yes, as long as family and job will permit, and as long as the body will adapt and be strengthened
and not be permanently damaged. %^)

Nothing exceeds like excess!

Jon Meinecke

Jon Meinecke <[email hidden]> wrote:
: <[email hidden]> wrote
:> Last year I did some 75 km rides on the upright. This year I increased my weekly long ride to 200
:> km, gradually. I figure I could do 400 km the next if I wanted. Not to mention it's a bit easier
:> on a quality bent :-)

: 75km => 200km => 400km

: That would be an impressive two year performance improvement curve! %^) 240 miles in one day's
: riding would be impressive! (Yes, I know the 24 hour endurance bicycling distance record is more
: than *twice* that distance.)

The trick is that one is not really increasing performance, but duration (endurance). The key idea
is that you are essentially running in a steady state. You replace lost energy by eating while
riding or by burning fats from the huge fat storage that is there in almost any human body. The
strain of riding minus your recovery ability is +/- 0. With a little of training you can push the
equilibrium just a litte, and double the mileage. Your equilibrium pace will become faster, so you
need slightly less time, or perhaps more probably, you ride farther and farther under the
equilibrium, so it's less of a strain per hour of riding. Or your body just becomes very efficient
in maintaining the equilibrium...

The hard part is building the base so you can go for 100 km before your body overloads.

:> cross the boundaries of reason as comes to what's a good progression of training miles.

: Yes, as long as family and job will permit,

That was really the time part. If you think that your weekly long ride is 200 km and you can do 20
km in an hour of real time, you soon realize that this single ride will take half of your weekend. I
see this as a serious challenge in audax riding, you eventually have to sacrifice humongous amounts
of time to improve. Just general racing is more relaxed, you can ride to work and back or go ride
after work and that makes for nice training...

: and as long as the body will adapt and be strengthened and not be permanently damaged. %^)

Here's where the insanity pops in. I think permanent (or semipermanent) damage can often only be
detected after the fact, so it's better to be on the safe side.

This is the primary reason for annual mileage limits. You could bust your knees if you go beyond
safe limits, maybe over double the mileage you did last year... but better to check literature such
as The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling. I recall they had a 10% max monthly increase rule...

--
Risto Varanka | helsinki.fihpv.htmlOpen ↗ varis at no spam please iki fi

<[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

The trick is that one is not really increasing performance, but duration (endurance). The key idea
is that you are essentially running in a steady state.

Yes, perhaps performance wasn't the best term. Still, I consider an increase in endurance at a given
level of effort a performance improvement.

Quoted message said:

The hard part is building the base so you can go for 100 km before your body overloads.

I can and do ride 100k without overload. How well I can do that distance and longer for many days
straight on a loaded tour is the question... As you point out, that's the endurance and
effort/steady state vs. recovery issue.

Quoted message said:

you can ride to work and back or go ride after work and that makes for nice training...

I wish I could ride to work. %^(

It's 35+ miles one way by direct freeway route. An acceptable route by bicycle would be probably
40-45 miles.

Quoted message said:

check literature such as The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling. I recall they had a 10% max
monthly increase rule...

Thanks for the reference! I'll look it up.

Jon Meinecke

Jon Meinecke <[email hidden]> wrote:
: I wish I could ride to work. %^(

: It's 35+ miles one way by direct freeway route. An acceptable route by bicycle would be probably
: 40-45 miles.

You could do it once or twice a week. Also think of one-way commute. Can you sleep at the office? =)

--
Risto Varanka | helsinki.fihpv.htmlOpen ↗ varis at no spam please iki fi

"Jon Meinecke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Jon Meinecke <[email hidden]> wrote:
: I wish I could ride to work. %^(

: It's 35+ miles one way by direct freeway route. An acceptable route by bicycle would be
: probably 40-45 miles.

You could do it once or twice a week.

At my speed and with traffic, 90 miles would be 6 hours, optimistacally! %^P I think I wait until
my average speed is 20+ mph before I try it.

Quoted message said:

Can you sleep at the office? =)

Office? Not anymore. It's Dilbertsville, man.

Jon Meinecke

Jon,

Could you try this routine:

Drive to work (with clothes for next day) Get a friend to drive you home from work Ride to work Put
your bike in/on your car for the trip home

I do this "one-way" commute routine 2 or 3 times a week. It lets me ride to work in the morning when
it's cooler and traffic is lighter and I'm fresher. It gets my friends a car-pool partner for the 2
or 3 trips home.

My commute is 22 miles each way, so it's a fairly short one-way, but it's just a little too much to
do both ways with a full day of work in the middle.

The guy who taught this technique to me rides 35 miles one-way, then takes the train home at night.

My $0.02 worth

<Chas> Haluzak Hybrid Race -- the inline wheelchair

Jon Meinecke <[email hidden]> wrote:

: At my speed and with traffic, 90 miles would be 6 hours, optimistacally! %^P I think I wait until
: my average speed is 20+ mph before I try it.

Yes. The real hurdle could come from 6 hours of cycling + 8 hours of work being a too tough a day.
Can you find less demanding work in your area? =) Another challenge is eating and hydrating properly
towards the end of the working day, so you can be in proper cycling shape when the moment
approaches.

--
Risto Varanka | helsinki.fihpv.htmlOpen ↗ varis at no spam please iki fi

<[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

6 hours of cycling + 8 hours of work being a too tough a day.

8 hours? There's few workin' 9 to 5 and 35 hour work weeks here. Must be an EU thing! %^P

Quoted message said:

Can you find less demanding work in your area? =)

I would consider a new career as a fact and logic checker for some 'conservative' commentators
here... But that would be a (repetitive and boring) full time job. %^)

--

On the other hand of "training" for touring, I'm getting practice at bike repairs... I had a run of
tire cuts and punctures recently. I rode for more than a year without flatting. Since July, I've had
two blowouts (only one at speed), three ruined tires, and 6 punctures. I also had to limp home with
a broken rear shifter cable last weekend.

On the routine maintenance front, I recently replaced my chain, rear cassette, brake pads, and
repacked wheel bearings. I haven't serviced the bottom bracket or headset.

One of my clipless pedals had been squeaking. I partially disassembled, cleaned and lubed them last
night,-- hope that will get rid of the squeak.

I need to learn more about wheel maintenance. I had the wheels trued by a LBS. In terms of
on-the-road repairs, knowing how replace spokes (and/or use "emergency" spoke) and at least crudely
re-true a wheel is probably next on my agenda.

Maybe I should get a junk wheel and try replacing a spoke and true it... Can I learn enough from
on-line sources, or do I need to find a copy of Brandt's _The Bicycle Wheel_?

Jon Meinecke

Jon Meinecke <[email hidden]> wrote:

: I need to learn more about wheel maintenance. I had the wheels trued by a LBS. In terms of
: on-the-road repairs, knowing how replace spokes (and/or use "emergency" spoke) and at least
: crudely re-true a wheel is probably next on my agenda.

At least hopefully, spoke breakage should be very rare, with well-built wheels.

: Maybe I should get a junk wheel and try replacing a spoke and true it... Can I learn enough from
: on-line sources, or do I need to find a copy of Brandt's _The Bicycle Wheel_?

I looked at sheldonbrown and he seems to have quite good instructions. Haven't tried them out yet,
maybe in a week or two...

--
Risto Varanka | helsinki.fihpv.htmlOpen ↗ varis at no spam please iki fi

Hey Jon,

You're asking the right questions - the most important part of tour planning. I'm sure you'll figure
out the physical conditioning aspects, and quandries like how much water and road food to pack along
each day [lots]. Contrary to most people's advice, I'd advise fairly meticulous planning of your
route. You don't want to get into a situation where your only way out of some place is via
interstate highway or major truck route. You also don't want to be somewhere where the nearest
potable water is 80 miles away.

When I switched to recumbent touring, it became apparent that I couldn't count on bike shops along
the way to stock the essentials. If you have a 20" wheel, you better haul some patch kits and a
decent supply of tubes. I always haul a spare 20" tire too, and I've had occasion to need it. Same
thing with spokes. You can't expect every bike shop to have those little spokes. I have a 26" wheel
in back, so I don't load up as much one extras for that, since bike shops should have the goods.
Have a tool for every bolt on the bike. I try to make all my bolts Allen type, so I don't have to
carry a lot of different wrenches. Sometimes bolts loosen and fall out, so I carry a few spares. For
some reason, I go through a lot of zip ties and a little bit of duct tape on most tours. I'd
recommend a continuously renewable power source [generator] for the lights. Night riding is one of
the great pleasures of extended touring - relieves much of the time pressure on a given day. It also
avoids the necessity of riding in extreme heat or foul weather, and gives you options when the
pre-planned overnight town is not to your liking.

I've experienced or seen all kinds of mishaps on tour. I'll spare you the ones of socio-political
nature. But the mechanicals have been pretty impressive - broken rims, broken axles, broken spokes,
sprung freewheels. A couple I toured with this Summer experienced a broken seat mount on their
recumbent tandem. NBD: they found a welder in the next town. Some things you can plan for, some you
can't. If you hear a squeak or rattle, fix it. Example: this Summer, the shifting of my front
derailleur gradually got worse. I could make it work, but the shifts weren't crisp. I checked the
derailleur and cable. They seemed fine. I rode more, it got worse. Finally, I had somebody hold up
the back end whilst I turned the pedals with my hand. The chain ring bolts were so loose they were
about to fall out. [My tour bike has the chainrings under the seat, so I couldn't view them as I
rode.] If I wouldn't have tightened them then and there, I would have been in a whole world of hurt.
If you regularly deal with a good recumbent shop, have their phone number with you so you can have
them FedEx you replacement parts.

If you have the opportunity, I'd recommend the self-contained form of touring. As with night riding,
it expands the options substantially.

In the end, of course, you end up just doing it, learning as you go. What could be better?

Bobby

PS. I saw the later thread about wheel truing and maintenance. If you start with solid wheels, you
don't need to be an artist to maintain them. Just check them frequently. I pluck the spokes and
spin the wheels before starting every morning - more often if I've been in potholes. Use the
brakes as a guide to make sure the wheels have stayed true. It's not too tough if you deal with
them when they're only a little out of true. Even if you break a spoke, if you fix it right
away you only have one variable to deal with - the tension on the replacement spoke. Just
tighten that one until the wheel is true - it should at least get you to the next bike shop.

Jon Meinecke said:

I've done only short tours previously, but am considering a longer, self-supported tour, 500-600
miles. Any insight and experiences in training for and planning such a trek, or pointers to other
sources of bike touring information would be appreciated. I've scanned the archives of
rec.bicycles.rides and a bike tour mailing list.

How do you train for an extended bike tour? How many miles per day do you do when training? Do you
add luggage to the bike when training?

When planning routes through areas you're not familiar with, how do you characterize the route
choices? On a short tour, I'd planned to use a less-traveled smaller road, only to find it filled
with loose gravel!

So how do you plan daily routes? Choose one and have alternates?

Jon Meinecke

In message <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] writes

Quoted message said:

Contrary to most people's advice, I'd advise fairly meticulous planning of your route. You don't
want to get into a situation where your only way out of some place is via interstate highway or
major truck route. You also don't want to be somewhere where the nearest potable water is 80
miles away.

I think this kind a depends on where you are touring.

In much of the UK (or even much of Europe) for instance there are many route options at
anyone point, and in areas where there aren't route planning is easy as you don't have many
to choose from :-)

And as for no potable water in 80 miles - you can't go 80 miles without coming across a number of
settlements :-)
--
Chris French, Leeds

<[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

You're asking the right questions - the most important part of tour planning.

Thanks for the response! Planning is also a way to extend the tour to before the tour... %^)

Quoted message said:

I'm sure you'll figure out the physical conditioning aspects, and quandries like how much water
and road food to pack along each day [lots].

Yes. I have some background in backpacking and tend to plan for a good margin of safety.

Quoted message said:

[...] I'd advise fairly meticulous planning of your route. You don't want [...] only way out [...]
interstate highway or major truck route.

Exactly. Although, as some people have pointed out, the major rode may be better than the minor road
depending on conditions that may only be known locally. There are places (I25 Colorado) where bikes
are permitted on some sections the interstate.

Quoted message said:

I always haul a spare 20" tire

Is there a folding 406 tire available?

Quoted message said:

zip ties and a little bit of duct tape

The modern day bailing wire and bubble gum! %^)

Quoted message said:

[generator] for the lights [...] gives you options

Hub dynamos are apparently the choice option, but expensive. I presume the bottle-style generators
have improved since the last one I had (20+ years ago). Alternate plan is to use LED-based indicator
and headlights.

Quoted message said:

In the end, of course, you end up just doing it, learning as you go. What could be better?

Being prepared and doing a good turn daily! %^)

Thanks,

Jon Meinecke