MidLife50

Wife and I just completed a first trial run at overnight touring. As I recently posted this is prep for a 7 day Gap/C&O credit card tour in about 2 weeks. We took an out and back tour on the Tanglefoot rail trail in MS. We left New Albany on Saturday morning, rode 44 miles to Houston, stayed in a lovely hotel/B&B (Daisy's on the Square), and rode back the 44 miles to New Albany on Sunday.

Here are a few things that a couple tour newbies learned...

Climate happens. In this part of MS in late May, the average high/low temperatures are 87/68. The actual temps we had were much much cooler at 65/53 so we were a solid 15-20+ degrees colder than average. We packed our rain jackets, not because we were expecting rain, but because we wanted to try out bigger mileage with a similar load to what we're planning but we never once took off our jackets on Saturday. Given that PA/MD/WV/VA/DC are all generally a good bit cooler than MS I think we'll be adding at least another layer plus gloves to our packing list...just in case of cold weather. Which of course guaranties that it will be sunny and 90 degreees.

Pace demands focus. Our normal daily rides before work are about 12-15 miles at about 10mph. We are older plodders on hybrids. Then we slow it down for our longer weekend rides (usually 20-30 miles) to about 9mph. Imagine our surprise when at the end of Saturday's longest ever (44 miles) ride and 1st ever ride with loaded panniers we averaged 10mph for the entire route. I know all measurements have their plusses and minuses. We use Strava to benchmark for consistency. So we discussed it, planned to diligently slow down further on our Sunday return trip and managed to slow all the way down to 9.5mph, about 16 minutes longer for the entire distance. We're going to have to work on slowing down more.

Nutrition (Part 1). Not eating enough is not good. We normally ride semi-fasted in the morning and then have breakfast once we're done. Given a drive of over 1 hour to the trailhead, we went to a drive thru and I had an egg/canadian bacon muffin while my wife had an egg and bacon biscuit. Each of us also had coffee and water pre-ride. We packed 1 banana and 2 honey/oats granola bars each. It wasn't enough and we were bonking those last few miles on Saturday. We resolved to eat more, and more often, on Sunday.

Nutrition (Part 2). Too-much of a too-big breakfast too-soon before riding was not a good idea either. I felt those eggs/bacon/biscuits/fruit/coffee for about the 1st 15 miles on Sunday. I really need to find a happy medium...and take a little down time between a big meal and riding. We did get a nice lunch packed including fresh chicken salad on home-baked sourdough bread, plus packed another banana each for the ride Sunday. We had a banana about 20 miles down the trail, plus a Coca Cola from a vending machine for a quick energy boost (sugar, caffiene, water) about 10 miles further. I felt a bit foolish sitting down for lunch only about 10 miles from the end Sunday, but that chicken salad sandwich was just what I needed. We're trying to think of what else we can take for a quick "pick me up" while riding and all we could come up with was peanut M&Ms?

Panniers rock. First time out and we were lightly packed. I'm estimating about 20 lbs total based on weighing 1 bag (had already emptied the 1st before it occurred to me to weigh them). Other than needing to be a bit more cautious getting on/off the bike, I really didn't notice them at all. I did worry about them, obsessively tightening and retightening them at each and every stop and repeatedly asked my wife to confirm that I hadn't lost them after every bump along the way. Based on all the things we learned I know I'll have a few more lbs in the bags for our big trip upcoming. I got great advice about positioning them as far forward as possible without hitting my heel.

Stops make all the difference. We stopped at every trail town along the way (about 1 every 10 miles). We got off the bikes, had extra water, used the facilities, had a snack, and generally took a leisurely break. Probably 5 - 10 minutes each. It's my theory that those regular breaks kept us fresh for the entire day. And it fits with our Gap/C&O plans to really see the sights along the way. "It's not a time trial, it's a vacation tour" should be our motto.

Early to bed, early to rise. As mentioned earlier we both were bonking at the end on Saturday. We cleaned up, had a beer (Small town pricing...$6 beer was only $2.99!), and took a walk around town. Then we decided to go to dinner. I'm almost embarrassed to admit we went to dinner around 5pm. We had a long relaxing meal and then decided to relax in our room (too cold for sitting outside as much as we would have liked). It was all we could do to make it to sundown before we starting nodding off. And then with plenty of rest we were up early and started getting ready to go. We discussed taking a book to read, or some other relaxing downtime entertainment for our upcoming trip. But we can see an early rising and resting pattern making sense for our tour.

Unusual bike noises get your attention. We lubed our chains last week a couple rides before we left on our tour. Then Sunday, on the return trip I started getting a regular noise in my drivetrain. It sounded like maybe I had a small pebble in my chain or something like that. I stopped, looked, watched as I ran through my gears but never could identify what exactly it was. But it sure got my attention...along with thoughts of walking my bike 30 miles to fix a problem. Then after about 30 minutes or so it was gone just as suddenly as it started.

Touring is fun. We had our share of unexpected twists and turns but none of it took anything away from enjoying our 2 days of riding. I really appreciate all the advice and support and encourage more suggestions if you have them.

skidder

Sounds like everything went OK.

Eating and nutrition: Everyone is different. I regularly don't eat before riding. I do 15 miles rides on weekday mornings before work and don't eat prior to it, just drink a glass of water. Weekends are similar, as I don't eat before 20-30+ mile rides (but I do bring a bottle or two of water). Never had a problem with this set-up. It might just be I'm adjusted to it, but I also like a good meal in the evening and that should be enough for the next morning. When on tours I usually stop for breakfast ('brunch?') after 1 - 1.5 hours of saddle time, and a late lunch, too. Plenty of nutritional pseudo-science out there, so you have to experiment a little and find what works for you.

Tourist in MSN

Glad you had a great time.

Temperature, I really like a down vest. I almost never wear it on the bike, but wear it in the campground, or in your case when walking about town. Wear it with the front open if you do not want much warmth. Zip or snap it up for more warmth. Touring, I store my stocking cap in a vest pocket. And they compress down very small to carry on the bike. Neck gaiter adds warmth, especially biking. On the bike a neck gaiter with rain jacket, you can be quite warm.

If you have an insulated head band that you can wear under the helmet, that is quite warm too. When I buy a helmet, I always try to make sure that the suspension can be adjusted to fit with and without a headband to put some insulation over my ears.

Your previous thread, I think I suggested you not scrimp on the food you carry with you. Sounds like you did.

I ride pretty slow for about an hour and a half after a big meal, especially if the meal has a lot of fats because the body has to work harder to process fats than carbohydrates.

Sometimes I need a bit more electrolytes, and find that salty snack food can help. I often carry some Chex Mix or some similar salty snack food on the bike. Or, if I see a McDonalds, some large fries that has plenty of carbs with some salt can help me get pedaling again.

If I am having a long day with a lot of uphills, I try to take frequent breaks, but I try to keep my breaks to no more than 5 minutes, my legs can stiffen up a bit if my breaks are too long. I often take out the camera for a quick break if I see something photogenic.

You are going to enjoy your GAP and C&O trip.

GadgetGirlIL

I can completely relate to this! I just spent a week up in central Wisconsin hiking, using my bike to shuttle for my point-to-point hikes of the Ice Age Trail. I had my fleece headband and gloves in my suitcase and then pulled them out as the weather forecast was upper 70s/80s for the highs all week and overnight lows in the mid 50s. Well, that changed just a few days in and the last two days the temps never got above 45 degrees and included some light rain. It was 39 degrees when I started my bike shuttle on Friday morning. Areas to the west got some snow.

I did keep my rain gear which when layered with all the other things I brought did keep me comfortable. But next trip the fleece headband is going with - I don't care if it is mid August!

You are going to have a great time with your upcoming tour!

Tourist in MSN

One more quick note, thanks for the update.

Lots of people ask for advice and we never hear from them again, until months later when they want more. The lessons learned update is appreciated.

djb

I certainly agree on these points, so yes, thanks for the update.