Riding your bike for thirty minutes each day doesn't compare to riding all day for several days in a row. Your muscles and lung capacity might be sufficient, but you can become sore due to the position of your body on the bike. Staying in that position for hours on end is likely to inspire cramps and fatigue, so training for a bike tour is an absolute necessity. Follow these tips so that you can enjoy your bike tour without pain and soreness.
Choose a Comfortable Bike
Even if you've had the same bike for fifteen years, you should realize that training for a bike tour is different. Ride it for about two hours on low-traffic streets and practice shifting gears and crossing streets. If, after the two hours, you feel miserable, you might want to try out other bikes. Go to your local sporting good stores and look at some of the available models. Sit on them and get a feel for how they differ from your bike.
Increase Distances Incrementally
Rather than deciding to ride for an hour or two hours every day, start with thirty minutes or so and increase your distance incrementally. Obviously, you're not going to be able to ride all day when you have other obligations, but you should get to the point when a three- or four-hour ride isn't taxing. Once you get to that point, you might want to try a longer ride on a Saturday or Sunday to see how you do. Knowing how your body will react to longer rides will help exponentially when you finally decide to embark on your bike tour.
Ride Through Hills
If there are any rolling hills near your house, that is where you should practice riding your bike. Most bike tours involve hills, which are considerably more difficult to navigate than flat lands. If you don't have any hills near your home, consider purchasing an inexpensive exercise bike that has an "Uphill" feature. This is a simulation, but it should help you determine how well you'll handle going up and down hills. For example, my exercise bike has a hill option that allows you to go up and down three "hills" in a pre-programmed session.
Time an Hour Ride
In order to plan for your bike tour, you should know how long a distance you can travel in an hour. That will give you an idea of how to plan your trip, including how far you can go in a day. You'll need that information when making reservations for lodging during your bike tour. Keep in mind that you'll go a shorter distance in an hour at the end of a day than you will when you start out fresh in the morning
Ride with Paniers
Purchase bags (called paniers) that attach to your bike and add weight. Most people have to use these during bike tours because you can store food, water and maps in them. Not only will you get used to the different balance of your bike, but it will also help you for strength training. When you first start riding with paniers, make sure to start at a short distance and work up incrementally again. Fill the paniers with items you will likely have on your bike tour to give yourself an accurate weight.
