Long time lurker, first time poster. Seen some intriguing breadcrumbs in the archives about big bike tours in the offseason (or e.g. multi-day rides to races) bringing planned or surprise fitness gains and had some experiences myself in that line, looking to do it a little more deliberately this winter, deliberating between setups (light and racy, light and racy bike with a trailer, heavy and upright and bomber) and methodologies (last trip had a lot of hotel time, would like to go cheaper and camp more this time). Interested to hear any stories/tips/inspiration you might have. Thanks!
My experience has been anything that significantly increased volume on the bike has been great! Most recent example last year I was returning from injury (5 months of no riding above recovery pace due to a meniscus tear) when I started riding with my wife who was training for an ultramarathon MTB event. Frequent weekends of 2-3 days of 7-10 hours in the saddle but not a single focussed training session, and virtually no riding above zone 2 led to me being within a couple of watts of an all time FTP. It’s not like these were noob gains - I have had a solid FTP in the past. I was amazed at how much the low intensity volume brought on my overall fitness. I have had friends who have experienced exactly the same when bike touring - high volume day in day out at low intensity will bring gains.
I have been doing this for a very long time,some trips are slow multi-week camping affairs and some are shorter, faster,motel rides. On Sept 2nd I am off on another one,a 1,600k,8 day ride from Noosa to Cairns staying in motels along the way. I am using it as training for the Laguna Phuket Tri in November. Here in Oz doing Epic Camps (borrowed from Gordo and Molinas camps) is great as so many of the small country town have pools to train in.It is amazing how good a swim session can make you feel after a hot day on the road.
I have also ridden multi day/week rides to get to an event and back but that probably isn’t the best for race performance.
My experience has been anything that significantly increased volume on the bike has been great! Most recent example last year I was returning from injury (5 months of no riding above recovery pace due to a meniscus tear) when I started riding with my wife who was training for an ultramarathon MTB event. Frequent weekends of 2-3 days of 7-10 hours in the saddle but not a single focussed training session, and virtually no riding above zone 2 led to me being within a couple of watts of an all time FTP. It’s not like these were noob gains - I have had a solid FTP in the past. I was amazed at how much the low intensity volume brought on my overall fitness. I have had friends who have experienced exactly the same when bike touring - high volume day in day out at low intensity will bring gains.
Very nice (also 10/10 marriage). Was this mostly road riding?
I have been doing this for a very long time,some trips are slow multi-week camping affairs and some are shorter, faster,motel rides. On Sept 2nd I am off on another one,a 1,600k,8 day ride from Noosa to Cairns staying in motels along the way. I am using it as training for the Laguna Phuket Tri in November. Here in Oz doing Epic Camps (borrowed from Gordo and Molinas camps) is great as so many of the small country town have pools to train in.It is amazing how good a swim session can make you feel after a hot day on the road.
Hell yeah. When you say Epic Camps, you mean tours with some swimming and running thrown in?
Cheers! I’d like to think that we’re pretty supportive of each other! And 100% MTB. She was doing her first 160km MTB event so I joined her for pretty much all of the training. We had some fun trips away as part of that training, though I must admit I wasn’t that enthusiastic about some of the 3am starts that we did before 10hour rides to simulate race day!!!
I have been doing this for a very long time,some trips are slow multi-week camping affairs and some are shorter, faster,motel rides. On Sept 2nd I am off on another one,a 1,600k,8 day ride from Noosa to Cairns staying in motels along the way. I am using it as training for the Laguna Phuket Tri in November. Here in Oz doing Epic Camps (borrowed from Gordo and Molinas camps) is great as so many of the small country town have pools to train in.It is amazing how good a swim session can make you feel after a hot day on the road.
Hell yeah. When you say Epic Camps, you mean tours with some swimming and running thrown in?
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Yep and sometimes the odd race as well. Australia is the only place I have found it really easy to get pool swim training in as I am touring.There are pools literally everywhere,even in the smallest of towns.
Malaysia and Thailand are great for beach swim and run training while on tour.
Jurgen Zack hosts an annual Training Ride/Camp each January from Bangkok to Phuket as part of Siam Tours calendar. It is 9 days all included and supported and is very popular with the tri geeks. Too bloody pricey for me though. I could tour Thailand for a month on what they charge for 9 days. Hahaha.
As I’ve gotten older, I’m less interested in racing. This current year is the first where “touring” riding has become the majority mileage and time. I’ve got ready access to a huge network of rural and lightly travelled gravel roads and some long rail trails. I built up an old 1990 Raleigh steel frame with some 105 components, got a rear rack and front bag, and started riding. It was an adjustment in mindset, but I think it has taken. This year I’m exploring my surrounding region, with no more than overnight stays in a hotel. I like rides that have destinations and some new scenery. I like reading up on the history of the small communities I ride through. Next year I’m hoping to do a few more short tours in my region, and I’m a looking at some long rail trails that are in neighboring states for some multi day tours.
This sounds really fun, and a different pace of life than a lot of us are used to.
My parents have taken that change recently as well, with my Dad retired and my Mom nearing, they’ve started doing some nice week long bike tours, usually point to point. Its a different change of attitude from my Dad’s ultra enduro riding recently (PBP 2019)
Did a weeklong bike tour staying at B&B’s on our honeymoon in Maine, and we weren’t cyclists. I was a runner who wanted to be a triathlete. It was the best base building I had done at that point. Four years later, in mid-season, a buddy and I put together a 7-day bike tour/tri-camp in Rocky Mt NP (camping) for its mountain climbing and altitude training shortly before back-to-back Chicago Bud-Light & Sun-Times Triathlons–did sorta an American Flyers thing. Though we really didn’t know better. Two years later, my wife and almost one-year-old daughter toured the Southwest states on a two-week camping trip with me riding toward the next NP park on days we broke camp. They swept me up an hour or two down the road. Seven years later, I did another mid-season week of cycling, with running and swimming through the northern Rockies (camping). And one more time, less than two weeks before the tri season started this year, I biked in Girona, Spain, and Alpe d’Huez, France areas (cheap hotels). All trips, post rides, resulted in better than expected race results. Cycling provided a solid base, power, and speed without degrading swimming or biking. These were great family, riding, and sightseeing trips to remember a lifetime. Probably better than the racing, though they definitely helped the race performances. No reason to make your trips solely in the off-season.
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Triing: A Journey of discovery, challenges, and camaraderie while racing in 50 States and the continents beyond.: Morris, Doug: 9798848193657: Amazon.com: Books
I have a middling level of bike fitness still although I decided not to compete in Tri any more this year. Instead I went on a 750km 3 week unsupported (i.e. carrying all our own gear) tour from Santiago de Campostela in Spain to Lisbon, Portugal with a buddy riding hybrid/road bikes, about 45-80k daily. It was quite tiring by the end of the day, but we made it ok. Afterwards I didn’t notice any huge uptick in fitness. I’m 76 years old.
During the 2020/21 I took up Ultra Cycling as all other races were banned, however in Switzerland, at least, some Ultra cycling events were allowed to continue. In 2021 I did a 4.5 day ultra (1400km + 28000m), 5 weeks later smashed my IM PB time (9h11)
In 2023 I did the Transcontinental Race (4000km, 45000m) in 13 days and 3 weeks later got my first IM AG podium in Wales
In 2024 I did the Transcontinental Race (4400km, 40000m) in 12 days… In October I am doing IM Portugal
Even though I am still pretty tired, and my HRV has not recovered to normal, last weekend I did a mountain Grand Fondo 168km with 6500m, and maintained an NP of 230w, which is not far off my IM power on the bike - this is an indication that when fully recovered could be putting in some very decent numbers in Portugal
My running seems OK, yesterday (18 days after TCR) was my first run where I felt normal - pace was fine for a Z2 run, HR was normal, RPE was normal
My swimming is not OK, I have lost around 15s/100m - I think leg muscle got denser, fat reduced and upper body muscle reduced. Sitting on a bike for 180 hours has reduced ankle mobility and shoulder mobility. I think that it could take quite a few weeks to bring my (already poor) swim back
Definitely. Used to do long tours. With camping. Now 2 to 4 days. Staying in hotels. Germany and France mainly. Often mixed terrain. Sometimes jog and swim. Not always. Maybe do 120km a day. I like to get to my destination with a bit of energy left to explore the town. Sometimes multi-model. Easy to put bike on trains here. Yes. Also sometimes with racing. Ride to a sprint or Olympic triathlon. Stay overnight. Race. Ride home. Actually I’m doing that kind of trip to Berlin this weekend. Also. Big believer that not everything in triathlon has to be long, or hard, or ultra or extreme. Enjoy some chilled days in the saddle. Stop. Cool off in a lake. Visit a castle. Fitness boost guaranteed. Good luck. Enjoy the open road.
As with most things many make this way more complicated than it is - any sustained increase in training volume, tends to yeild impressive gains in fitness. Now a days, everyone wants numbers, charts, and graphs to account for all of this - but really, just riding more and doing it every day, can lead to substantial gains in fitness. Cycling is particularly better at this than running as there are not injury issues usually to deal with and assuming good bike fitting - you can really ramp up volume with out too much risk
Here’s my real-world example. I’ve struggled with consistency this year with my riding. Work, Travel, got sick etc . . the usual stuff getting in the way. Could NOT hang with the A-Group on out local Club Ride Hard Ride - was getting blown out the back after about 20 - 30K on a 70km ride. My wife and I went away on a scheduled dedicated cycling trip to Italy in late June - for 2 weeks we rode every day with a A LOT of climbing. Longest ride close to 100k, but most rides in the 2 - 3hr range each day. Not terribly fast or hard. The climbing was the “harder” riding. When I came home after a week of going easy - I went out for the Club Ride Hard Ride - no problem hanging with the A-Group! 
Australia is the only place I have found it really easy to get pool swim training in as I am touring.There are pools literally everywhere,even in the smallest of towns.
Iceland is like that too, (thermal) pools everywhere… it’s great
not bike touring, but I used to get good training effects from multi-day mountain backpacking trips.
As Fleck says, miles good, more miles better…
Long time lurker, first time poster. Seen some intriguing breadcrumbs in the archives about big bike tours in the offseason (or e.g. multi-day rides to races) bringing planned or surprise fitness gains and had some experiences myself in that line, looking to do it a little more deliberately this winter, deliberating between setups (light and racy, light and racy bike with a trailer, heavy and upright and bomber) and methodologies (last trip had a lot of hotel time, would like to go cheaper and camp more this time). Interested to hear any stories/tips/inspiration you might have. Thanks!
I signed our scout troop for two days of a 7 days bike tour the summer after my 2nd season of triathlon. I had never done any bike training or racing before switching to triathlon so I was still a little green on a bike and still has some low hanging fruit.
At the end of my 2nd Triathlon season I was doing 3+ hour bike rides at 20 MPH every Saturday. After my last race (early spring) I started hosting weekly 25 miles rides with the scouts for two months leading up to the bike tour. They were still 3+ hours, but they went at about 7-1/2 mph. I started to take my 25 year old steel framed mountain bike on those rides. I had used that same bike when I started training for my first Triathlon averaging about 16-17 MPH on long rides so my “Bike Tour” training was all low intensity stuff. We did a 68 mile leg the first day of the bike tour in 103+ deg F weather. Our scout permit was pull for the second day due to the extreme temperatures which was disappointing for me, but the boys were relieved. They had enough in one day to talk about and remember. Another local Triathlete however called me and told me that she had a key long ride (80 miles) that she was doing two days later so I got another opportunity to ride that week. It was still 103+ deg F and the lady I road with did not fair well. She had to call SAG and get a ride home I think we only hit about 55 miles but she said it was the hardest ride she had ever done which included a dozen Full Ironman races under her belt where she regularly podiumed. I on the other had was fine on the ride. I had been doing long (time not distance) slow rides from 10AM-1PM every Saturday all summer to where I got used to the heat as it slowly got warmer and warmer all summer. I also completed a 68 mile day on the bike tour going 7-1/2 mph from 6AM to 3PM on the bike tour in hot weather. So…my “surprising” fitness prepared me to slog out long slow miles in the heat. I have never done a tradition sweet spot base training. I always favored the periodized training that consist of short intervals at high intensity over short workout. The Bike tour go me to do the slow stuff at longer durations. I don’t think that it hurt me since I was cycling during the off season and maintaining my base. It gave me a good stating point for my race training, but due to lack of intensity I was in no way race ready.
Cheers! I’d like to think that we’re pretty supportive of each other! And 100% MTB.
Right on. That’s impressive, I don’t think I have the intensity control or depth of fitness to log those kind of hours on dirt, though to be fair most of the dirt near me has some pretty steep pitches. (As a practical matter, my big days out on the MTB usually involve some pretty extended lunch breaks and probably a long coasting descent or two.).
Too bloody pricey for me though. I could tour Thailand for a month on what they charge for 9 days. Hahaha.
Ain’t that the truth. Thailand and Vietnam sound great for this sort of thing. I’m probably going to end up in Mexico for my next trip like this, for similar reasons.
In 2023 I did the Transcontinental Race (4000km, 45000m) in 13 days and 3 weeks later got my first IM AG podium in Wales
In 2024 I did the Transcontinental Race (4400km, 40000m) in 12 days… In October I am doing IM Portugal
I’ve thought very hard about doing the Trans Am (rough USA equivalent) or the Tour Divide in the next few years, if my availability lines up. This kind of event really appeals to me. Good to know you had good results!
Afterwards I didn’t notice any huge uptick in fitness. I’m 76 years old.
a) sounds like a great trip regardless
b) negative results are still results, as they say
c) I hope I’m doing trips like that when I’m 76.
After my last race (early spring) I started hosting weekly 25 miles rides with the scouts for two months leading up to the bike tour. They were still 3+ hours, but they went at about 7-1/2 mph. So…my “surprising” fitness prepared me to slog out long slow miles in the heat.
Seems fair enough. Gordo Byrn had a bit recently about doing something like this–a weeklong trip where he did a whole bunch of very easy riding with his family, to prepare for a weeklong serious training camp, to prepare for a race.
As with most things many make this way more complicated than it is - any sustained increase in training volume, tends to yeild impressive gains in fitness.
Yeah, good reminder. I’ve been working myself into knots about gear and setup (steel MTB with slicks, racks, and maybe drop bars vs carbon roadie with soft bags and/or BOB trailer? how much of a kitchen do I want to bring? how much water storage? what if I can’t rack big daily miles???) but honestly whatever I do will probably be better than a typical at-home weekly schedule so no sense in sweating the details.
several years ago i spent a summer holiday biking from vancouver to toronto. vancouver to edmonton i did light, with friends, and slept in motels and couches. edmonton on, i pulled a bob trailer, camped 6 days out of 7, and self catered.
i quite randomly got the chance to race two triathlons (on back-to-back days!) en route; i wasn’t planning it but i had a pair of trainers and i chucked a pair of swedish goggles in my trailer just in case. what i noticed was that i had diesel power for days, but couldn’t really access the top end. this was coming off a time when i was a short-course/draft legal athlete and could reliably run sub-3:00 1000s on the track. i also started to notice that it would take me an hour or two to get warmed up in the morning when i’d start riding!
for what it’s worth i toured on a steel 'cross bike (lemond poprad) with aerobars on it. maybe the reason i couldn’t put down sprint tri power is that i rolling a heavy touring rig with gatorskins?
as mentioned above, any time you talk about doing 6+ hours of aerobic work every day for a few weeks, that’s going to deliver some benefits. now, are they the benefits you need? is it your swim technique that’s poor? your run-specific fitness? are you low on triathlon-relevant skills? obviously a bunch of all-day easy riding won’t fix that, and will in fact take away time that you could be using on it.
on the other hand, bike touring is awesome. it makes like more interesting. go build a good obituary, not a good CV. being the dude who rode to the race is cooler than being the dude who laser-focused his way onto an age group podium.
I have credit card toured before.
We flew to a city with bikes in a box, put them together in airport parking lot and rode ~100 miles each day to a new pre-planned hotel.
Waiting for us at each hotel was a FedEx box with new clothes, some food, some supplies … and a label to ship out dirty / used gear back
By far one of my favorite bike trips ever
I’ve thought very hard about doing the Trans Am (rough USA equivalent) or the Tour Divide in the next few years, if my availability lines up. This kind of event really appeals to me. Good to know you had good results!
Tour Divide is on my list - it looks like an epic race, but would be a big leap into the deep end on such a hard race. If you are considering race in Europe this may be interesting https://via-race.com/