I'm an Exercise Specialist and I teach Spin classes. My suggestions are to find a Physiotherapist who specialises in Endurance Cycling and ask for a full postural assessment, identity any muscular imbalances and get a corrective exercise program that an Exercise Specialist or an Exercise Physiologist can administer. In that way you greatly reduce the risk of injury. Next is to focus on self Myofascial release work with a Lacrosse ball and Golf ball for your feet. When training use a reliable Heat Rate Monitor and again get an Exercise program from at least a Personal Trainer, try the program and give feedback to your trainer. Get a Bike fitting so that you have a Bike that is suited to your body type.
Good advice. One of the hardest things, that I have seen novice cycle tourers have, is getting their cycle touring kit together. The only way to really get ones kit together that is to got cycle touring, so I recommend that anyone wanting to go cycle tour (big time - week plus) needs to go cycle touring (little time - a 2-3 days). For physical training I took my advice from an old friend (80++) that there is time enough to train on tour or as I translated it "Satis est tempus instituendi dum in itinere" (It took a year of Latin in grade 9). While training I restricted my distance for about the first week to a target of 50 km per day which doesn't sound like much and it isn't but it gives your body time to adapt. It always seems so odd to just go a wee bit down the road and stop for the day but after seven days you are a very long way from home and then you can start cranking a bit more (On tour my target is 80 (50-150 depending) km/day and 2000 (with rest days is nearly right on) km/monrh). I ride with a GPS and the most important thing on it is the clock (not the odometer or speed - though the heart rate monitor as I am over 70 is kind of important) as I take a drink of water every 15 minutes and always have a bag of Super GORP because it is a lot more than raisins and peanuts, as (you are very correct) never want to be thirsty or hungry (but avoid cheap calories).
Thank you for sharing your experiences Hermann! I love to hear them! Practicing with a little tour first is definitely a great idea and lots of other great tips here too.
@@SheelaghDaly The first few days of a long tour, are a little tour. I came to cycle touring with lots of outdoor experience. I don't consider camping a sport, you are just unrolling a bag in a tent. But if you have no clue because you have never done it, some try outs are not a bad idea. Not everyone has a back yard. I used to go camping uphill from Rosedale golf course. Probably not a good idea these days. Of course you can stay in motels, or break it up with a bit of both, if you have the money. Bike touring is just riding a bike, which all kids used to do all the time, and sleeping in sub-optimal conditions. If one is cycle touring across Siberian, there are going to be a ton of other skill sets that would be useful.
Even the phrase :"how to train for a bike tour" is an oxymoron. When anyone asks me about this, I usually tell them if they are out of shape to ride just a few kilometres the first day and add a few more kilometres each subsequent day. Within a week or two they'll be doing 40, 50, 60, 70 + kilometres per day. That's how I did my first tour and kept going for 5 months and 5,000 kilometres. Took it fairly easy. Stopped here and there to smell the roses and chat with the locals. No training needed.
Unfortunately, not everyone is in a position to spend time training on the road. I have free weekends regularly, but only about a month of consecutive leave each year. Training on the weekends and being able to start my tour from 80km per day lets me travel much further during these precious couple of weeks.
@@barmiro That makes sense. But all the training talk makes a lot of people think they need to be in top condition to ride a few miles a day on a bike. After 20 year of sitting at a desk and never riding. I set out on a tour age 46, and did 40/40/70/95 miles . Lucky thing is there weren't a lot of big hills, and I was on my own. Most people want to be in groups, and then it really hurts if you are getting dragged along, or embarrassing to take the sag wagon.
@@greenolivetours5614 Yeah, my younger cousins in the EU at the time got 7 weeks starting out, and said much the same thing, while I was getting two, or three, in a more senior job. Either way, it is still a head game. If you are short of time is it really sensible to dash around, do you see more if you go faster. Could be in a place like Europe where every town can be a treasure. Here it is just pine trees slipping by faster.
The first tour I did was 300 miles and it went well. I rode almost every day… some loaded over nighters and some just riding. The second tour I did, was 700 miles and I made the mistake of not riding at all for 2 weeks before the ride. I thought I would give my legs a good rest. The first 2 days were very painful. Keep riding almost daily before a tour, just don’t over do it.
do you think 2 months to build up to 100 km is enough time? I did 35 km yesterday for the first time and it wasn't too bad, although my pace slowed down towards the end. Also, great video! Helpful for a newbie
Hey Alex! I'm so excited for you to head out on your adventure! It's all so individual on the trip planned and how important it is to you that you accomplish certain distances/speeds. I think it's great you've started to build up some experience ahead of time -- that'll be a great jumping off point when you get out there. I would say, if you're able to, don't worry too much about your pace on tour. Take it easy especially at first, listen to your body, continue building your distance slowly and enjoy the experience :) Have so much fun!!
More like 2 days. 35km separates people who see a bike as a thing to woddle around the block on, from those who see it as a means to cover miles. Everyone is different, but after a 20 year layoff, I did 40, 40, 80 miles. I was desk bound and probably had a 44 inch waist. I was carrying all camping, food, and other gear. On the whole 2 week trip I averaged 10 MPH. I would cover about 40 in a few hours each morning, at maybe 13 mph, the heat of the afternoon would slow me down, and in the evening i would be tired. One day I was riding happily past a school as the kids scattered to their various rides (none of which appeared to be bikes), and a guy actually sprinted past me on the outside!. I didn't think I was that slow! In reality, when I looked down at the speedo, I would be doing around 14 mph, but every hiill, or stop sign slows you down. It just isn't that hard to crank off 10mph all day long. THE BIG DEAL is whether your saddle is comfortable, and your feet and hands. Brooks for seat, I had an 80 dollar (from 20 years ago) saddle from MEC, and it was only comfortable for about 30 miles. Gel and Ti, very nice, but only for short distances. I actually broke in the Brooks from new, on a trip. Pedal setup was orthopedic, but whatever you do it needs to be good for distances. I lost feeling in one toe, over the 2+ weeks, took months to come back. And for gloves I use cycling gloves with heavy leather palms.
I have always found if you can ride 75% of the miles you plan to do in a day you will do just fine. My rides have been a max of 80 miles/day (not my favorite) but generally 35-50 miles per day suits me just fine. Thanks for all the tips
I have been looking for exactly this kind of video Sheelagh that will help me understand bike touring. My plan is ride whole japan in 2024. I have been cycling since 2013 but mostly for races and triathlons so adjusting to the slow pace of touring is so difficult for me. Even on zwift I get board sometime and get back to being competitive for 30-40miles ride. All your videos are gonna help me immensely. Thank You So Much and Keep them coming!!!!!!!
Thank you so much Ashish -- I'm glad you're finding them helpful! I did triathlons before touring too :) That's totally understandable that you get bored on a trainer ride. Once you're out enjoying the scenery on a bike tour I think you'll love it ;) Your plans for Japan sound incredible!
@@SheelaghDaly I have 18 months to plan it out and learn everything I can by doing road trips in my own state. Only by trial and error I will learn things you have mentioned in your videos.
I have butterfly bars and a jones h 2.5 bar for my Surly Bridge Club XL 27.5 bike. I also have clip on aero bars for my jones bar to give my hands and wrists another option when they start to go numb. Have you tried aerobars on your bike? I also had carpal tunnel surgery on my left wrist last may which kept me from doing the aids ride last year. Now I'm 4 weeks away from this year's ride and I've discovered my body is not ready for the riding. I lost over 70lbs since June 2022 and some of that was muscle mass in my legs. Trying to rebuild so I can do a multi week tour this fall but will have to get myself back onto the bike and ride to break in my Brooks b17 saddle. Any advice on how to get ready for any touring? Would a power meter be beneficial to help keep me in zone 2 to help me pace myself in my training as well as when I'm on a tour?
I don't have plans to at the moment! These ones hold a lot and both these and the larger ones have the same max load (3kg/6.6lbs) so I don't think I'd gain much from the larger ones personally.
I am 68 year "young"...I plan my bike tours on 50 to 60 miles a day. I find this distance to be attainable day after day. I will say that I factor in a day off every 3 days or 180 miles. I have found that many people never teste rode the fully loaded bike BEFORE the actual ride. Second was people never had the bike "sized" correctly for them.
I'm In the early data foraging stage of tour planning/considering. I've tried several distances on day trips so far to see how my body handles the trek. I want to travel with my dog. My dog has easily trotted 30+ miles in a day. I'm thinking of getting a trailer for him so he wouldn't have to do the entire trip on paw. There's a foot race that would take 7 days of bicycling to get to. Now I just got to figure how these different pieces come together.
Personally I see more people scared away by "training" than encouraged by it, unless they are the kind of people who love to train anyway. I was 46, coming off a bad power accident where I lost most of my right kneecap, and all of my ankle function. I was overweight, and a desk jockey, hadn't done any bicycle commuting in maybe 20 years, or otherwise ridden. I naturally have large quads. As it turned out, I was 13 years away from a heart attack, and I am no good at endurance sports. When I set out with all my gear for camping, and food, from Central Ontario to Saint John NB, on a 2 week tour, my deal was to just see how far I could get. Due to my legs, I figured it might be one day. I did about 40 miles day one, and the same day 2. I was exhausted, and slept almost around the clock. Then I set off on day 3 and made it about 70 miles, and day 4 was my biggest mileage of any day 95 miles into Cornwall ( and back and forth to the center of town several times), which is slightly downhill next to the river. I had a guy ride with me on the 70 mile day, and he really picked up my spirits. After that I just cranked it off against headwinds, a lot of rain. Actually the first few days were 35 degrees in September! How did I make it the 2 ish weeks? I think the key more than training, is don't make a race out of it. If you tour with other people, you are making it into a race. If you start out in really steep country, also the case. The hills hit you hard going through NB. But the run up to the hills are gradually increasing grades from east of Toronto to Rivierre du Loup, and by then you don't even notice them.
Based on trips I took in Ireland during the 60s, and early 70s, my theory is that if you can walk, you can ride. It was common back then to see very old people out in the middle of nowhere, dressed in a "Sunday" black tweed suit, riding their bikes (or pushing them up a hill, a lost art), best case 3 speed, and probably as heavy as today's touring bikes with the load, if you pack light. Everything is extreme today, which is fine. But cycling is literally the most efficient way of covering ground on earth. I saw an article on different methods of conveyance, in a science magazine. Calories per gram per something or other. Amazingly, stuff is pretty similar. There was the super wasteful jet fighter, at 9; a lot of other stuff at around 4; cycling at 1.5, and fish like salmon at 1. You have to be streamlined like a torpedo, with your weight suspended in the water to beat cycling. People, just start!
That sounds like a super cool article/study! Love it. And love the attitude of just starting, being gentle rather than trying to push like crazy, and seeing how far you get. Thanks for sharing your experience :)
I'm wondering what kind of handlebars you have in this video? I'm on a Salsa Fargo with flat bars but struggling to find different positions to ride in. Looking for options before switching back to drop bars. I typically don't like to be super bent over on tours so ride in a more upright position. Thank you for your video!
I currently use butterfly/trekking bars. I made a video about them that may be helpful :) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bpsyzOcZUtc.html
Generally drops have more arm positions particularly ones where the palms face each other. Trekking bars are great when you need a lot of width, so if your tour was over technical ground. The thing with drops is that you aren't required to use them in a very deep position. My seat and stem are about the same height, and even though I am fat, I find I am comfortable in that position. My stem is not cut off, so if I needed to raise the bars even more, maybe I developed a sore neck, I can do so. Flat bars arrived with the MTB explosion, and downhill. But typical bars on a bicycle are turned back to the body, palms facing, as on what we call a Dutch bike today, but is really every bike for most times and places. Those give me too high a wind profile, would require an entirely different bike. I once was riding through Quebec around Kamarouska, and the wind was so sharp, I was standing on the pedal in it's most powerful position, with all my weight, in the lowest gear of my triple and I couldn't get the bike to move forward. There are conditions, a lot less extreme than that, where lowering one's "sail" is a lot more important than anything else. If you ever get a tail wind, you can raise yourself up high! The biggest problem with drop bars is the brakes. Whole other discussion, and easy enough to deal with, but it is an issue. Short version: Tandems use drops...
Saddle sores......No problem. I have a recumbent! I can do a century and get up and walk upright afterwards. Friends on uprights complain about hands, arms, shoulders, butt and other, ah, parts of the anatomy.
All good advise, I agree 100% But I am interested to know how you manage your knees now? I also have knee cartilage issues and until now manage with specific exercises. But I have a small fear in the back of my mind how they will hold out over long distances over many days.
Oooh I relate to this comment so much Graham! I definitely have that small fear as well. I talked to a physiotherapist when I got back from my trip and identified an imbalance that may have contributed to the knee flare ups. I'm planning to build in a routine of self-massage and exercises to support my knees. I also may get a bike fit done and want to do plenty of training on my bike with its new set up before I head out on my next tour. I hope it's all enough to keep the flare ups at bay! I hope your knees improve as well!
Ooh yes they are hard to find. I just got the simple 49N ones. They needed to be cut (shortened) to fit on the bars. I don't know that they're the best grips out there but they do the trick!
Another one great video on your channel.Im glad that I came across to your channel. Your tips are really good.I think the same that training before bike tour is important. I always cycle very often before bike tour. For me essential is to do several bike trip with longer distance per day than I will be cycling during bike tour. Another one tip which work out for me is to go for a 2-4 days bike trip before I start longer one bike tour. This is the good idea to test myself condition of cycling and check all of my gear. After that I always take my bike to the service and then I can start long bike tour. This is what I'm gonna do at the beginning of this summer. Greetings from Poland.
Great advice. I had to start a very tiring and time consuming job. Or possibly become homeless, so now I hardly get any time to train. And I struggled on my last bicycle tour. I am planning a longer tour next year and I do want to get bicycle fit again.
Great video, adding gear to handlebar does take some getting use too. I do more bikepacking (off paved roads). But you said in video, riding distance with gear and without is completely different.
I had a custom rack with a ledge on it, mostly carried my crocs. But it did what a handlebar bag does, without the same balance issues, because the front panniers were set to the rear.
