Have any of you went touring? aka went on trip that lasted more than 1 day? I saw finche had via mtb, I've got a road bike and I'm thinking of getting into a couple this summer around here and Indiana and Wisconsin. I'm not sure if I can pull one off though. How good of shape do you have to be in?

Depends... how many days and how many miles in a day? Most organized rides average between 30-70 miles a day. As far as being in shape, you should definitely train-- do a 50 mile ride twice a week... in between those rides, do shorter rides. If you can't do long rides right now, work up to them. Start with 10-15 miles, and then add each week. More than anything, you need to get used to being in the saddle for long periods of time.

I'll be doing a 7 day cycling tour in Connemara in Ireland next year. I'll have more insight for you then.

Right on. I just went a 50 miler this past weekend. I did well until we stopped to eat about 35 miles into it. My muscles froze and I struggled for the last 15. I've been trying to get 40 - 60 miles in a week if possible.

and saddle soreness sucks.

Let's just say that my husband particpates in a 7 day ride in Oregon every year. It usually averages around 70 miles per day, and ends up being between 400-500 miles for the week. To train for that, he was riding his bike to and from work every day, which is about 150 miles per week, and then sometimes riding with me on the weekends. He was more than prepared.

I rode in a 62 mile ride a month or so ago, with less than 100 miles logged on my bike, so it can be done. I wasn't worn out or exhausted afterwards either.

You also need to consider terrain. If these are hilly rides, you need to train for endurance too. Last year I did a ride where the first 14 miles were uphill with over 4000 feet in elevation change in that ride. Part of my training for that included doing an uphill climb in-town, 9 miles with an average 7-8% grade, twice a week.

I did the Sparta-Elroy trail here in WI over 2 days, but I'm too pathetic to tell you about it.

Then why post in this thread?

i'm hoping to train for this sort of stuff as well. i want to be able to bike around northwestern europe (say from paris to amsterdam) when i'm over there next summer. I'm going to start training pretty seriously this summer, biking to work both ways every day and see if I can take it.

You'll love not having to pay for gas for weeks at a time too!

especially over there. yikes. seems like the ideal way to get around really condensed areas like that...get to see the most on bike.

[olive branch] We took Busty on that Sparta trail, and he hadn't been on a bike in years. It's about 33 miles each way, which takes most folks around 4 or 5 hours. His ass was killing him on day 2, causing him to stand on the pedals most of the day, which is wasteful, but whaddya gonna do. That trail is gorgeous, and goes through 3 old train tunnels, one of which is almost a mile long. You need a flashlight and you get dripped on a lot.

Have you thought about a trailer yet? We got one of those Burleys, and it was very nice. Adds weight, but for a 2-3 day trip, you need more stuff usually than is comfortable on the back.

Smaller, harder saddles are the way to go, though it doesn't feel like it at first... don't know what you have now, but they stay out of the way of the tops of your hamstrings and really make things easier in the long run. Those big, couchy-looking ones are tempting for beginners(?) but not worth it.[/olive branch]

Yeah, I'm a beginner. I'm not sure if my road bike is comfortable enough for multiple days (I got a great deal on said bike, but I think I should've test rode it some more before I bought it). I was thinking trailer or getting a pannier(s). The more I think about it, the better a trailer sounds. I know exactly how Busty must have felt on my trip last Sunday. I can't wait to develop a gigantic callus on my ass.

<---- 2004 Schwinn fastback (tiagra)



Also:

I'm also looking to buy an old 1970's road bike to convert it into a fixed gear/single speed for getting around the city without feeling like my bike is going to get stolen and as a hobby. Has anyone done this? Or considered doing it?

Older bike conversions can be tricky, just because of the difficulty sometimes in finding parts. But it's a solid enough idea. Might be easier to just find a cheap junker that rides well and leave it as-is.

The ass callus only gets better with repitition. No substitute for time in the saddle, unfortunately. After a while, it just doesn't hurt anymore. Is that the gayest thing I've ever typed?

i have a beater city bike setup the same way. it's easy to do and you'll probably find you'll take the bike everywhere! it's nice not having to worry about something when it's locked up outside. i gave mine an ugly ass pink/flat black rattle can paint job. no one will touch it!

It may sound gay, but it's totally true!

one of those things where i looked up and read it, and

Did you make it a fixed gear or a single speed (or did you buy a flip flop hub so you could make either).

edit: that paint job sounds sweet.

it's just a single speed. i would've preferred fixed but set a budget of $100 CAD for the whole project. i'll try and get a pic of the bike tonight and post it.

Rawk.