Originally Posted by
spinconn
From a strictly physical standpoint do you not need a day a week to recover your muscles or is that not an issue going slowly in lower gears?
I wear (and navigate) with a fitness watch (Garmin Enduro), keeping track of my heart rate. I don't remember ever getting to the stage where suggested recovery times would be more than a few hours. I am certainly not an expert, so you'll perhaps want to try better sources, but touring being a low output activity (i.e. HR is essentially never above aerobic level) there may not be a need for planned recovery.
On the fitness side, a more serious issue is perhaps caloric deficit. A full day in the saddle may easily burn 3-4 000 calories. (40 portions of oatmeal, or 20 bowls of ramen, or 16 snickers bar, or half a liter of olive oil...
Unless you carry enough fat in your body -- or eat copious meals -- you might end up losing muscle mass.