Just planning my first tour. I can’t decide between coasts and castles then follow the coast back to Hull. Or a circular tour of cathedrals starting from Hull, down to Lincoln, Norwich, Ely…then head back towards Sheffi3ld, Wakefield.
I’m thinking 3 or 4 days and max 100 miles a day. Is 100 too many?
I’ve done quite a few Audax and am reasonably comfortable on the bike.
Is it best B&B or wild camping?
Planning my first tour
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simonineaston
- Posts: 8063
- Joined: 9 May 2007, 1:06pm
- Location: ...at a cricket ground
Re: Planning my first tour
How exciting! Reflecting on the tours I've made, usually of northern France, I do think that I got as much pleasure from the planning and the various aspects thereof, as the actual tour!
As to the question, I tend towards the dawdle end of the spectrum, stopping to eat at cafes and pâtisseries and popping in and out of churches, museums, etc and so to aim at 100 would have been trying to cover too much ground. But that's jut me.
As to the question, I tend towards the dawdle end of the spectrum, stopping to eat at cafes and pâtisseries and popping in and out of churches, museums, etc and so to aim at 100 would have been trying to cover too much ground. But that's jut me.
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
Re: Planning my first tour
We don't do anywhere near 100 miles a day. How about planning 50 mile legs and doing one or two a day as it turns out?
Did you deliberately rule out camping in campsites? How about taking the tent and gear so that you can choose each day how to spend the night?
I strongly recommend a shakedown ride before the tour... what equipment do you need, where should it be packed etc...
Have fun
Jonathan
Did you deliberately rule out camping in campsites? How about taking the tent and gear so that you can choose each day how to spend the night?
I strongly recommend a shakedown ride before the tour... what equipment do you need, where should it be packed etc...
Have fun
Jonathan
Re: Planning my first tour
Excellent, but.Gee wrote: ↑16 Jun 2022, 8:21am Just planning my first tour. I can’t decide between coasts and castles then follow the coast back to Hull. Or a circular tour of cathedrals starting from Hull, down to Lincoln, Norwich, Ely…then head back towards Sheffi3ld, Wakefield.
I’m thinking 3 or 4 days and max 100 miles a day. Is 100 too many?
I’ve done quite a few Audax and am reasonably comfortable on the bike.
Is it best B&B or wild camping?
I was born (many years ago) in Sheffield. I had family in Hull. I cannot imagine why anyone, let alone a cyclist (pedalling the whole way) would wish to visit (for a Holiday) either of those two places! As for Wakefield, there was a Prison which I actually have been inside to visit one of said relatives! Back around 1960. Possibly converted into a Butlins now but obviously far superior due to quality of the building itself.
Please note that the above is a personal opinion and in no way reflects other CTC user opinions....
It is expected that readers have a dry sense of humour.
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VinceLedge
- Posts: 572
- Joined: 12 Dec 2020, 9:51am
Re: Planning my first tour
B & B touring is easier to start off with, much less kit to carry and less bags needed on the bike, good way to do 1st tour.
Agree with others about not aiming for too much distance if you want to enjoy the route.
Agree with others about not aiming for too much distance if you want to enjoy the route.
Re: Planning my first tour
I have a good sense of humour - I need it - I live in Hullleftpoole wrote: ↑16 Jun 2022, 8:47amExcellent, but.Gee wrote: ↑16 Jun 2022, 8:21am Just planning my first tour. I can’t decide between coasts and castles then follow the coast back to Hull. Or a circular tour of cathedrals starting from Hull, down to Lincoln, Norwich, Ely…then head back towards Sheffi3ld, Wakefield.
I’m thinking 3 or 4 days and max 100 miles a day. Is 100 too many?
I’ve done quite a few Audax and am reasonably comfortable on the bike.
Is it best B&B or wild camping?
I was born (many years ago) in Sheffield. I had family in Hull. I cannot imagine why anyone, let alone a cyclist (pedalling the whole way) would wish to visit (for a Holiday) either of those two places! As for Wakefield, there was a Prison which I actually have been inside to visit one of said relatives! Back around 1960. Possibly converted into a Butlins now but obviously far superior due to quality of the building itself.
Please note that the above is a personal opinion and in no way reflects other CTC user opinions....
It is expected that readers have a dry sense of humour.
Re: Planning my first tour
I started touring by doing some shortish b&b tours .... and I've still not made it to camping despite having done a lot of backpacking in the past. 
Personally, I use the opportunity of a few days on the bike to visit a part of the country a long way from where I live. It adds a bit of time/faff at the start and end, but it always seems worth it. But maybe that's because I live in Hertfordshire??
As for distance, I generally aim for between 50 and 60 miles. I'm usually somewhere hilly, so maybe that's not entirely representative. If I do 70, it's starting to be a long day.
One of the things that's taken a while for me to process is to treat a tour as a holiday/voyage of discovery and not as a series of audaxes or exercise rides joined together. This might be because I started cycling during lockdown as exercise, and I've subsequently always linked the two together.
Good luck and have fun.
Personally, I use the opportunity of a few days on the bike to visit a part of the country a long way from where I live. It adds a bit of time/faff at the start and end, but it always seems worth it. But maybe that's because I live in Hertfordshire??
As for distance, I generally aim for between 50 and 60 miles. I'm usually somewhere hilly, so maybe that's not entirely representative. If I do 70, it's starting to be a long day.
One of the things that's taken a while for me to process is to treat a tour as a holiday/voyage of discovery and not as a series of audaxes or exercise rides joined together. This might be because I started cycling during lockdown as exercise, and I've subsequently always linked the two together.
Good luck and have fun.
Re: Planning my first tour
For daily distance I would say it depends on:
1. how fit and strong you are
2. how much weight you are carrying, especially if your route is hilly
3. how much climbing is there each day
4. how much sightseeing or leisurely lunches you are planning
Most of my tours have been with camping gear across hilly Wales and I average 50-60 miles per day. However, I met a lightweight bikepacker on my last tour who was doing 100-150 miles per day over similar terrain....however, he did complain about being too cold at night and "bonking" on the road several times so my choice of a 3 season sleeping bag and eating more than usual were sensible IMHO.
Credit card (hotel/B&B) touring or circular day trip around a fixed base are starting get more appealing to me because I am struggling when lugging loads up hills, however, it does mean booking ahead especially for peak holiday seasons in popular places. And then you are taking a risk on the fickle British weather, whereas, if camping, you can wait for a good weather window, i.e. high pressure, to be forecast.
I don't usually wildcamp mainly because I like to have a hot shower at the end of the day and it is illegal in most of England and Wales. However, in the Scottish highlands it might be a good or the only option.
1. how fit and strong you are
2. how much weight you are carrying, especially if your route is hilly
3. how much climbing is there each day
4. how much sightseeing or leisurely lunches you are planning
Most of my tours have been with camping gear across hilly Wales and I average 50-60 miles per day. However, I met a lightweight bikepacker on my last tour who was doing 100-150 miles per day over similar terrain....however, he did complain about being too cold at night and "bonking" on the road several times so my choice of a 3 season sleeping bag and eating more than usual were sensible IMHO.
Credit card (hotel/B&B) touring or circular day trip around a fixed base are starting get more appealing to me because I am struggling when lugging loads up hills, however, it does mean booking ahead especially for peak holiday seasons in popular places. And then you are taking a risk on the fickle British weather, whereas, if camping, you can wait for a good weather window, i.e. high pressure, to be forecast.
I don't usually wildcamp mainly because I like to have a hot shower at the end of the day and it is illegal in most of England and Wales. However, in the Scottish highlands it might be a good or the only option.
Re: Planning my first tour
It's really a mixed bag deciding whether to stay in B&B's or to wild camp. Having to make it to the B&B means booking ahead and then you lose the spontaneity of the journey but having somewhere dry to sleep at night and a shower/wash clothing. etc. has a major appeal.
When I backpack it is always in remote wilderness areas and usually quite dry so stopping anywhere and setting up camp is easy and usually a relief from the slogging. Cleaning oneself is done with wet wipes with no crowds to gawk and no concern with having to find water, something one has to be concerned with bikepacking and wild camping.
I also wonder about the need to visit urban areas, with Britain having such lovely countryside, why go to crowded, dirty towns?
When I backpack it is always in remote wilderness areas and usually quite dry so stopping anywhere and setting up camp is easy and usually a relief from the slogging. Cleaning oneself is done with wet wipes with no crowds to gawk and no concern with having to find water, something one has to be concerned with bikepacking and wild camping.
I also wonder about the need to visit urban areas, with Britain having such lovely countryside, why go to crowded, dirty towns?
Last edited by Tiggertoo on 16 Jun 2022, 4:16pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Tigerbiten
- Posts: 2503
- Joined: 29 Jun 2009, 6:49am
Re: Planning my first tour
Two points.
1:- Carrying a full camping kit will slow you down by roughly 2 mph.
So on a 10 hour day cycling you'll cover 20 miles less.
Have you taken this slow down into account when planning your daily distance
Also there's no point in carrying it and using a B&B unless the weather is really bad.
2:- The unwritten rules for wild camping are "arrive late, leave early, leave no trace".
So this almost forces you to cycle long days.
That's OK on a two day trip.
But can get very tiring day after day unless you're aiming to maximize your daily distance.
You'd probably be better using campsites and only wild camp if you cannot find one because you suddenly decided to explore somewhere you didn't plan on.
Plus it may be harder than you think because you need to stock up on enough water to last you till after breakfast.
Luck ..........
1:- Carrying a full camping kit will slow you down by roughly 2 mph.
So on a 10 hour day cycling you'll cover 20 miles less.
Have you taken this slow down into account when planning your daily distance
Also there's no point in carrying it and using a B&B unless the weather is really bad.
2:- The unwritten rules for wild camping are "arrive late, leave early, leave no trace".
So this almost forces you to cycle long days.
That's OK on a two day trip.
But can get very tiring day after day unless you're aiming to maximize your daily distance.
You'd probably be better using campsites and only wild camp if you cannot find one because you suddenly decided to explore somewhere you didn't plan on.
Plus it may be harder than you think because you need to stock up on enough water to last you till after breakfast.
Luck ..........
Re: Planning my first tour
In think 100 miles is way too much, 4 or 5hrs cycling is plenty, when you factor in setting up camp and tearing down in the morning, you'll be glad you didn't go for the ton up!
Re: Planning my first tour
I cycled across France for my first tour. Had never tested the bike fully loaded. We camped- we were young and naive.
In those days we targeted 50m or 80km days- on about day 4 we were due to go over ventoux and I put my foot down so we went round it. It was fun though, learnt a lot.
So you could probably do substantially more than 50 miles a day if you are fit and an experienced cyclist especially if credit card touring. You might want to consider whether you want more of a sportif style trip (fast, light, big distances) or more of an amble- lots of things to see, camping, gentle pace- it really is your choice and different things work for different people. Ambling for you might be 70 mile days.
I’m an ambler, lots of photos, plenty of ice cream, these days I do mostly B&B and 70km a day. I want time to read my book and wander round the city/town. Just back from Italy and visited lots of amazing cities like a Ferrara, Mantua Cremona- didn’t want to blast past on a bike but I did cycle a good distance and got to see the cities too.
In those days we targeted 50m or 80km days- on about day 4 we were due to go over ventoux and I put my foot down so we went round it. It was fun though, learnt a lot.
So you could probably do substantially more than 50 miles a day if you are fit and an experienced cyclist especially if credit card touring. You might want to consider whether you want more of a sportif style trip (fast, light, big distances) or more of an amble- lots of things to see, camping, gentle pace- it really is your choice and different things work for different people. Ambling for you might be 70 mile days.
I’m an ambler, lots of photos, plenty of ice cream, these days I do mostly B&B and 70km a day. I want time to read my book and wander round the city/town. Just back from Italy and visited lots of amazing cities like a Ferrara, Mantua Cremona- didn’t want to blast past on a bike but I did cycle a good distance and got to see the cities too.
Re: Planning my first tour
Tempted to say that 3 or 4 days is pretty much a shakedown tour. Enough time to test things out, including yourself and see what it's like pedalling day after day.
B&Bs are often expensive, I'd look for Travelodge or Premier Inn. Usually around £40 mark with one being cheaper and one a bit more in a 4 day run. As soon as first lockdown eased I had a Travelodge and Wetherspoons tour of East Anglia - absolute heaven.
I'd certainly stick to lower mileage, 50 a day is good, but you can up it if you want. I s'pose it comes down to what you want - miles or sights. Just ridden 72kms in the heat but did some sightseeing on the way. Seemed about right to me.
I like the heat and hate cold and rain. (Your) bad weather can put a very different complexion on your mileage.
Whatever enjoy and welcome to the wonderful world of two wheel travel.
B&Bs are often expensive, I'd look for Travelodge or Premier Inn. Usually around £40 mark with one being cheaper and one a bit more in a 4 day run. As soon as first lockdown eased I had a Travelodge and Wetherspoons tour of East Anglia - absolute heaven.
I'd certainly stick to lower mileage, 50 a day is good, but you can up it if you want. I s'pose it comes down to what you want - miles or sights. Just ridden 72kms in the heat but did some sightseeing on the way. Seemed about right to me.
I like the heat and hate cold and rain. (Your) bad weather can put a very different complexion on your mileage.
Whatever enjoy and welcome to the wonderful world of two wheel travel.
Re: Planning my first tour
If someone else is carrying your bags 100 miles is doable, but one thing about touring is that it can quickly become very sameish day after day.
A couple of years ago I rode about 108 miles as Day One of my planned LeJog and what with the hedgerows and winding roads and traffic, I did not see much other than the road ahead - even St. Michaels Mount was shrouded in mist, so 100 + miles just to push the pedals and say I had done it was pretty small returns for all the planning and expenses.
Bottom line I think is to have a plan, have a theme and be free wheeling on your expectations. After all, isn't the goal to just be outside, see new places and enjoy the exercise?
A couple of years ago I rode about 108 miles as Day One of my planned LeJog and what with the hedgerows and winding roads and traffic, I did not see much other than the road ahead - even St. Michaels Mount was shrouded in mist, so 100 + miles just to push the pedals and say I had done it was pretty small returns for all the planning and expenses.
Bottom line I think is to have a plan, have a theme and be free wheeling on your expectations. After all, isn't the goal to just be outside, see new places and enjoy the exercise?
Re: Planning my first tour
We are new to cycle touring, but I would ask yourself the question if you are a Cyclist or a Tourist. Obviously there are often certain time constraints, however for us the ultimate goal is to set off and see interesting things, so if we travelled 10 miles, and saw something interesting, we may stop there for the day. For us if traveling much over 50, we could not see things and explore. At 100 miles, its travelling not touring. Serendipty is our key word, or would be if I could spell it.
But so long as you are enjoying it.
But so long as you are enjoying it.