Cycle Tour -time running out...

Badger2009

I'm undertaking a solo 900km cycle over 8 days next month (too late to pull out!!)

The pre-tour nerves are kicking in now and I'm concerned I haven't done enough for it....

Since February I've been doing 2-3 rides during the week (20-40km distances) and a long spin at the weekends(80-120km). On the tour I am not concerned about speed at all so don't mind crawling along sub 20km/h. The route hasn't a huge amount of climbing.

Anyone got any advice or is it too late??!!

Rojo

I did a cycle tour on a fully loaded bike with camping gear etc from Holyhead to London back in March... Route was about 500km over 5 days!

Wasn't a doddle or anything but it was a great challenge which I thoroughly enjoyed. You'll have a blast!

Ps I did absolutely no training - you'll be grand! :-)

Where are you off to?

Mercian Pro

Relax and enjoy it.
On the Hospice Cycle every year, newcomers are often concerned about the accumulative effects of five 100+ days in a row. In practice, most find that they are fitter on days 4 & 5 than at the start. Part of that is down to breaking each day into four sections and having good coffee/lunch stops every 25/30km. You have already mentioned keeping to a gentle pace and that helps too. Starting each day reasonably early ensures that you won't be under pressure later on.

Badger2009

Thanks for the comments guys. I haven't done anything similar before so a bit on the nervy side.

It's across France so there will be some climbing the last couple of days but other than that relatively flat.

It's pretty much a credit card job so will be travelling fairly light.

ford2600

Badger2009 wrote: »

Thanks for the comments guys. I haven't done anything similar before so a bit on the nervy side.

It's across France so there will be some climbing the last couple of days but other than that relatively flat.

It's pretty much a credit card job so will be travelling fairly light.

Give bike a good service before you go, new cables, brake pads, decent tyres, hubs etc

Bring spare cable and maybe a kevlar spoke in case of breakage.

Cut to a minimum what you are carrying, small containers for sun cream, sudo cream, oil etc.

Wash your gear in evening when showering, and dry by using towel to squeeze out most of water.

Your looking at 4-5 hrs a day in saddle leaving 19-20 hrs for all the other stuff.

Pick a nice route, it'll be making or breaking of your enjoyment of trip.

Enjoy all that French food and wine

cdaly_

ford2600 wrote: »

Give bike a good service before you go, new cables, brake pads, decent tyres, hubs etc

You'd want to do the service now to give new cables time to stretch and be re-adjusted. Also time for any oversights in the service to be rectified...