In touring, the tortoise will defeat the hare every day. Touring is all about stamina, not speed.
-- You have to be prepared. If you haven’t put in the miles in training for the tour, your legs will give up before you know it. The mistake is to try a 100-mile ride with gear just because you’ve done 50 miles on your bike without gear. And it’s not just your legs – are you sure your butt will hold up as well?
(By the way – I use a leather Brooks saddle that predates my 1988 Miyata by 16 years. I switched the saddle from my 1972 Raleigh Grand Prix when I got the Miyata because the leather saddle was already well broken in. Now, after 36 years, you can’t even read the brand stamp on the saddle but it’s the most comfortable seat I can ride.)
-- You need to have put in plenty of time on hills. By the time you’re touring, you cannot let a hill tire you out. The danger is not just physical exhaustion but mental exhaustion. If you start letting the hills bother you, then every new hill becomes another setback and the day turns into a grind. You have to trust your fitness and stamina to handle every next bend in the road. The sign of being fit enough is that you can think about something else (hopefully, the scenery around you) while your legs are doing all the work.
-- Keep up your pedaling RPM, what cyclists call cadence. Don’t “mash” the pedals (pushing harder but more slowly). Shift gears so that you can maintain speed at the highest possible pedaling rate. For me, the minimum cadence needs to be 60 rpm, and up to 80 if possible. For regular road bike riding, the cadence should be more like 80 to 100. It’s surprising how often I can shift to an easier gear and see my speed increase.
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Randy, good to see you are safe and sound (safe anyway). Sounds like you are having a great time. I agree with you about being prepared and then trusting your fitness. I found the same thing earlier this year when riding brevets. There were times when I would doubt my ability to complete a ride when things were getting tough. I found that by telling myself that I was prepared and trusting in my training I was able to keep on trukin and even enjoy the ride.
There is no doubt in my mind that you are physically and mentally prepared for this trip. Keep us posted on how it is going.
On the last day, are you coming back via Hwy 70? Weather permitting, I may ride out and meet you. I don't want to ride Hwy 70 and find out that you decided to return via Hwy 54.
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