Changes and Training

There are now 9 months to the start of our trip and ferry tickets have been booked as the new timetables have been announced. 

It’s rather disappointing that we can’t get an overnight ferry back from Roscoff on the day we wanted.  There seem to have been changes in the timetables and we are now forced to get a day sailing back which drops us in Plymouth in the dark of the evening, which is not ideal.

Changes

Rob and I have met to discuss our plans further and have agreed a couple of changes to what we’d intended.

Firstly, we’ve decided to take camping gear.  This was because some hotel prices were found to be eye-watering near the coast and camping also gives us a “last resort” alternative if we find that there are no vacancies in hotels or if we have concerns over bike security. 

The default remains, though, as being a sensibly-priced hotel and bed and breakfast based trip.

Secondly, Rob has proposed that if we are going to be expending so much effort on our cycling trip and if people are willing to donate to an associated good cause, then we should raise funds for our preferred charities.  This makes good sense so we will nominate our chosen charities and start raising pledges nearer the time of our trip.

Training

Training by each of us continues on an ad-hoc basis.  I have referred to many books, blogs and forums for advice on preparation.  Some “tomes” make your eyes glaze over with the complexity and amount of training that they recommend but one book entitled “The Complete Book of Long Distance Cycling” has come up with something sensible which is easy to remember and doesn’t require quite the dedication of a Team Sky cyclist. 

It says, under the heading Loaded Touring:

“Train before the tour, not during it.  Some people figure that they can ride themselves into shape during the first week of the tour.  A much smarter approach is to start training about 3 months before the trip.  If you’re beginning from ground zero, ride 15 miles a day, 3 times a week.  Raise this to 20 miles after the fifth time.  Keep gradually increasing the distance.  As your form improves, check your trip itinerary and find your longest day.  If it’s 90 miles, you should work up to about 70 miles in training.  Full distance rides aren’t necessary.  At a touring pace with occasional breaks, you should be able to ride twice as far in a day as the average of your longest training rides”

As our longest day is likely to be about 45 days, this means working up to about 35 miles in training which is very “do-able”.

So, our ad-hoc training can continue, to maintain a base level of fitness, and then we can step things up as necessary in the New Year.

The same book also quotes a maximum of about 40lbs of gear, which is a helpful guide.

What I think I also need to do is add weight to the bike bit by bit and, at some time during the month before the trip, endeavour to replicate the bike’s fully-loaded state.  The effort needed will not only increase but it will be important to get used to how the bike responds.

Elan