Average daily distance with loaded touring bike | Squat the Planet

Average daily distance with loaded touring bike

D

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So maybe Im just old and out of shape, or lazy... But this dude on facebook told me, his daily average on a 6 week 2200 mile bike tour, was 87 miles... A DAY!!!

But he didnt just do it with a loaded bike, front and back panniers... He was pulling a two wheel trailer, and a 30 LB dog... He actually sent me a picture of his loaded bike, dog, trailer and all... It seriously looked like 100 lbs of cargo... 2200 miles in 45 days is 50 miles a day with only 1 rest day.... I can almost believe that.... But then he said no, he took lots of rest/exploring days and when he did travel, he averaged 87 miles a day..... I call BULLSHIT! What is he fuckin SUPERMAN! pulling a heavy ass trailer with a 30lb dog and shit.... Did he shoot some steroids? How the fuck is 87 miles possible with all that shit in tow...

Am I the only one who finds this hard to believe?

The longest day I ever did was 58 miles in one day... with panniers and roughly 30lbs total for gear. The next day my left knee hurt so bad, I only did like 10 miles. On average, I did about 30 miles a day...


So I wanna ask everybody...

How many miles do you average daily?
What was your longest day ever? in miles
 

Antlered

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87 miles in a day is quite a lot, but is doable if the terrain is flat or mostly downhill and paved. It takes a lot to get the bike moving, but once you have momentum, it's comparatively easy to keep moving. I've never ridden over 40 miles in a day, but that's because I like to take my time and enjoy the journey. That's why I'm on a bike. If I have somewhere to be in a hurry, there are much faster ways to get there. It is cheaper to take a plane, because 6 weeks of food, in the amount to keep a cyclist with a high activity level fed, is several hundred dollars. A plane ticket is roughly equivalent.
 

train in vain

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So maybe Im just old and out of shape, or lazy... But this dude on facebook told me, his daily average on a 6 week 2200 mile bike tour, was 87 miles... A DAY!!!

But he didnt just do it with a loaded bike, front and back panniers... He was pulling a two wheel trailer, and a 30 LB dog... He actually sent me a picture of his loaded bike, dog, trailer and all... It seriously looked like 100 lbs of cargo... 2200 miles in 45 days is 50 miles a day with only 1 rest day.... I can almost believe that.... But then he said no, he took lots of rest/exploring days and when he did travel, he averaged 87 miles a day..... I call BULLSHIT! What is he fuckin SUPERMAN! pulling a heavy ass trailer with a 30lb dog and shit.... Did he shoot some steroids? How the fuck is 87 miles possible with all that shit in tow...

Am I the only one who finds this hard to believe?

The longest day I ever did was 58 miles in one day... with panniers and roughly 30lbs total for gear. The next day my left knee hurt so bad, I only did like 10 miles. On average, I did about 30 miles a day...


So I wanna ask everybody...

How many miles do you average daily?
What was your longest day ever? in miles
ive never done a bike tour but i used to ride on average 40 miles every day somentimes much more. i probabbly weighed around 270lbs and usually had a backpack loaded with all sorts of stuff that weighed annother 15+. the most i did in a day was about 80 miles and it was easy. i was also riding fixed gear. so take into consideration my welllll above average cyclist weight and my bike choice and someone most likely smmaller than me riding a loaded touring bike 87 miles doesnt seem so outlandish. not to me anyway. i would have crushed you in a sprint too haha. youre probably just out of shape.
 
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Matt Derrick

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87 miles a day is way beyond the average. is it possible? sure... there are some downright hurculean cyclists out there. i toured through a small portion of europe with a friend that was just a beast on a bike. he did one trip from baltimore to montreal with 150 mile days, which is just insane in my opinion.

for us mere mortals though, the best i've ever done was like 52 miles in a day, and that was with a fully loaded bike on very flat terrain in ideal weather conditions in oklahoma. to contrast, i managed to pull off 35 mile days in eastern virginia but that just about destroyed me since the hills are endless and it was in august.

so as the saying goes, your mileage may vary.

overall though, i wouldn't be all that concerned about how many miles you're doing in a day unless it's just to challenge yourself. if you can only do 10 miles in a day, do that. then the next day do 11. and so on. in two weeks you'll be doing 20-30 mile days without any problems. also, im sure you probably agree with this already but don't get wrapped up in mileage, the point of bike touring (in my opinion) is to explore and have fun. do it at the pace you're comfortable with and im sure you'll have a blast.
 
D

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Maybe he's superman status on a bike. I dont know. With some steroids and shit.
If he said 87 miles with just a loaded touring bike, I'd buy it... I can accept that someone is in way better shape than I ever was and he can do twice as much as I ever could...

Its the part about the 30lb dog, dog food, extra camping gear and a two wheel kid trailer that throws me off..

But Matt Derek said it best... In the end its not about the # of miles. Its about having fun and seeing cool shit..

I still wanna know what everyone else averages tho... And whats the furthest you ever did in a day...
 
D

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Maybe he's superman status on a bike. I dont know. With some steroids and shit.
If he said 87 miles with just a loaded touring bike, I'd buy it... I can accept that someone is in way better shape than I ever was and he can do twice as much as I ever could...

Its the part about the 30lb dog, dog food, extra camping gear and a two wheel kid trailer that throws me off..

But Matt Derek said it best... In the end its not about the # of miles. Its about having fun and seeing cool shit..

I still wanna know what everyone else averages tho... And whats the furthest you ever did in a day...

Average day with loaded rear paniers and day pack on my back totaling under 40 pounds total weight ide say 60-70 miles would be around my furthest. But that was when I was in my early twenties in great weather on mostly flat us highway1. These days ide say 40 miles or so a day and it would be time for a 12 hour nap. To me riding 87 miles a day especially multiple days in a row would be miserable.
 

Tude

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ha - at best packed out I was mmmm 40ish to possible 50-60. Did better when my stuff was in a vehicle behind me - then it was 60-80 happier miles.

Must say my brother, fresh out of service - trained for a summer here in ny - traveling with front and back panniers with all our telephone books and doing 70 miles a day down around a finger lake (hit some dam big hills) - till he took off in Fall - and did NY to CA with full load (understand that I'm sure he traveled as light as possible as a solo bicyclist) - only having Mom send him new equipment (break downs) and clothing etc at certain stops. He did this solo - and towards the end he said he was doing upwards 100 mi/day. Met up with a guy mid west and so I guess that inspired him --- he ended up finishing cross country much earlier than he estimated - but also said when he got to CA that he did not fit into his jeans anymore - his thighs were too big. hehe
 

Django

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I'm currently in on a tour.
August to October, with lots of sunlight, I was about 60 miles avg. My highest was 130 km (is it like 75 miles?).
When daylight got shorter and snow and all that shit, I reduced my avg to like 40 miles. Now I'm in the west coast, about 55 miles without pushing too hard
Lots of climbing, lots of downhill.
 
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D

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I did 70 miles/day for 30 days straight (no rest days). Biggest day was 125 miles. That was through the Canadian Rockies. You kind of get into a groove and can keep riding. Just gotta keep eating.

You said 87 miles/day for 2200 miles across 6 weeks? Well, that would be only riding 3-4 days per week. So he was taking a lot of rest days. Having more weight on a bike doesn't change things a whole lot. Much different than extra weight in a backpack.
 

vajrabond

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I think it depends on health, weight of gear, and the terrain. There's also aspect like is a person taking breaks, stretching, and eating the proper 3-5k calories? If they aren't, I highly doubt they are doing over 50 miles a day. I've also noticed in myself it to be entirely dependent on terrain. I've had an entire day uphill on a mountain that I only went like 12 miles. I had a day of 120 miles, but it was mostly flat or downhill. I'd say 50-60 is a good average if you aren't pushing it too hard and are enjoying the sights. It can be all dependent on cardio and leg strength though. I follow all sorts of world cyclists who carry 100 pounds of gear who sometimes do about that every day.
 

ResistMuchObeyLittle

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It reminds me of a ton of hikers I met on the PCT who were obsessed with the # miles instead of the journey and beauty and the experience. It drove me insane hearing about it non-stop. At a certain point I became quite rude when all I'd be asked every day was how many miles did I get in- I'd say, "I don't give a flying fuck about my miles. I'm here for the journey".
The most I've biked is 60 miles in a day. I'm in no hurry. I also got caught in 2 thunderstorms that day which really sucked.
 
D

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Like you, Id rather have a few miles that were fun, than many miserable miles.... But I think if youve ever counted your miles... Its natural to wonder how many miles other people are doing... Some people are a bit too obsesive about it tho...

Did you hike the entire PCT or just a section of it?
 

ResistMuchObeyLittle

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@BikePunky EXACTLY! It wears the soul down.

@george990 I section hiked and worked at a lodge along the trail.
By the end I was really starting to dislike hikers. Like Bikepunky stated- you'll tire of the gear talk and miles, what you're eating, etc. Etc. It's becomes a psychosis.
 
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Whats seems cool about the AT is the commeradery. Its such a popular trail, that all you have to do is basically show up and start walking, and you'll make friends and get to know people along the way... Where else can you find that level of companionship? Ya know... Everyone your hiking with is experiencing the same things as you, and you all have something in common just for that...

Think about it, where else can you meet people you can relate to??? Ive tried to make friends at homeless shelters and while travelling and stuff, but its hard... Its almost depressing... People at homeless shelters are depressed, broke, and they're more worried about whether your trying to steal from them, than they are just getting to know you... Most of the people you run into are either real scumbag crooks, who just want to see what they can get out of you... Or they'd rather sit around drinking and smoking than go out and do something...

I gave up on trying to make friends... Theres a few people I enjoy seeing, when the opportunity presents itself.... But damn, its too much trouble anymore
 

Gabriel Pullman

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Yeah I have averaged than down a hwy with hills. But really averages sound screwy sometimes . Like 225 miles in 3 days and one day I did 96 miles. 3 days so no breaks.
No head wind. Done the route before.
Medium weight cargo.
But then on the coast I think my average is 45 miles a day.

If the person is exploring tho . I mean that's miles without cargo I would assume.
Who knows. I don't keep with any of that any more really . My last tours I just get high smoking hash and ride.
It's all about the ride , counting miles suck.
I'll squat anything with a roof. Getting to a camp or next checkpoint means nothing really anymore.
 
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MFB

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90 a day seems pretty reasonable. 8 hrs a day at 10-12 miles per hour. What you lose on the uphills ya make up on the downhill. I always figure what else do I have to do, might as well get some miles.
Everyone's different. I like the misery of endurance challenges and the feeling of sleeping in my hammock completely spent. The highs are so good when you push yourself to the lowest of the lows.

Regardless, livin' on a bike is dope, however it's done.

What's really fucked to me is seeing doods and gals covering 50-60 miles a day on thier feet. Trail and road. That shit is nuts.
 
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Matt Derrick

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90 a day seems pretty reasonable.

even in the most ideal conditions (wind at your back, no hills, light load), that's crazy. try it sometime and tell me it seems reasonable. not trying to attack you, just saying, i've almost never heard of anyone doing 90 mile days when bike touring. not saying it can't be done, just saying most people probably shouldn't expect more than 50/day.
 
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