advice for long distance cycling

conor rowan

blorg wrote:

I think there is just a _little_ bit of exaggeration here, if you think about what a "40 degree incline" would actually look like

Seriously though, on the weight thing, 40kg is not just insane - it is orders off what you should be at. Are you including the bike in that?

My first long tour across Spain I did the same, brought far too much and ended up discarding/posting back most of it (although even then, nowhere near 40kg!) This is why a few long-distance tours are so important, they will solidify in your mind what you actually need and what you don't.

honestly not that much of an exaggeration, granted the 40 degree part was only for 20m or so, the majority being on the 15-20 degree end!:D
yea 40 kg was way off ,ill have a better idea closer to depart date. heading over to wales on the ferry and cycling to snowden soon enough so should have a better idea after that.

el tel

I reckon if you set off this month you'll be right on schedule to make the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics

blorg

conor rowan wrote:

honestly not that much of an exaggeration, granted the 40 degree part was only for 20m or so, the majority being on the 15-20 degree end!:D

The steepest road in the world is 35% at it's steepest point, the Alpe d'Huez is an 8.1% average; I do think you may be overestimating. 100 hilly km in 4h20 isn't bad going at all though.

conor rowan wrote:

yea 40 kg was way off ,ill have a better idea closer to depart date. heading over to wales on the ferry and cycling to snowden soon enough so should have a better idea after that.

The key thing is actually doing the extended loaded touring, not "building fitness" days, etc., as others have said you will get fit quick enough. You need to set out for a minimum of two weeks with the bikes loaded as you intend to set off to China. It doesn't sound to me that you have gone out at all, even overnight, with the bikes loaded up as you intend to set off.

conor rowan

blorg wrote:

The steepest road in the world is 35% at it's steepest point, the Alpe d'Huez is an 8.1% average; I do think you may be overestimating. 100 hilly km in 4h20 isn't bad going at all though.

The key thing is actually doing the extended loaded touring, not "building fitness" days, etc., as others have said you will get fit quick enough. You need to set out for a minimum of two weeks with the bikes loaded as you intend to set off to China. It doesn't sound to me that you have gone out at all, even overnight, with the bikes loaded up as you intend to set off.

fair enough on the overestimating the incline,clearly it felt like that at the time;) . like i said at the start, none of us are cyclists by any stretch which is part of the challenge. as we're organising this trip ourselves and have to do so in a very short time, so its very unlikely we'll be able to do any big cycles for preparation, weekends away will be the best we can do. our route plan is based on doing 400km a week, in the format of 100km a day for 4 days, rest for 2 and the 7th day being allocated for delays and unforseen mishaps. this schedule and the fact we'll be travelling through europe first should hopefully allow for any lack of experience we have before setting off

blorg

I don't see any reason you can't take a week or two between now and departure? Seriously, it will be the single most important thing you can do, beyond the basics of planning the route, sorting out your visas etc. It will give you a taste of the actual loaded touring experience and an idea of what you need and how best to go about it.

100km a day for 4 days is going to be heavy going on loaded bikes but not entirely impossible.

kincsem

Try a lap of Howth hill full loaded. You might get very picky about what you bring. Since there are a few of you, do you all carry the same things, when you only need one between you?

conor rowan

kincsem wrote:

Try a lap of Howth hill full loaded. You might get very picky about what you bring.

this is sound enough advice, altho we're doing a cycle to snowdon in wales and camping out in our gear which we hope will achieve the same effect

kincsem wrote:

Since there are a few of you, do you all carry the same things, when you only need one between you?

we're trying to avoid this altho we do realise we need to bring spares just in case, for example we're bringing 2 stoves between the 3 of us in case one breaks