A reader writes:
Hey Tom, I’ve got a nice one for you: ‘Longer bike trips for the older generation, how to go about? How to train?’
Everywhere we get slapped around our ears with bike trips, bikepacking and more on social media. Not only the bikes look new, the gear high-tech, but the riders all so young?
I’m mid 50’s (only), and wanting to take a bike trip, but was wondering about training schedules on my my (t)rusty old steel frame…
Thanks for the question! It sounds like you’re concerned that the images you’re seeing of cycle touring on social media don’t resonate with you.
This can be confusing when, at the same time, people like me are trying to convince you that there are, for example, only three simple steps involved in cycling round the world, and you don’t need any fancy gear to do it.
In particular, it sounds like the social media depictions of adventure cycling are telling you a different story about a different (younger) type of person riding a different (newer) type of bicycle on a different (trendier) looking kind of bike trip.
To add to that, it may be that – in your 50s – your body is sending different messages about the prospect of a long cycling adventure than you remember from earlier times.
To keep this answer concise, I will start by saying categorically that you can safely ignore anything you see on social media that isn’t actually helpful or relevant to you.
The most visible content in this world is that which feeds on whatever is trendy, and this itself is nothing but the product of clicks, taps and “likes” by people looking at smartphones. Trends get attention, attention generates revenue, and the lights stay on in this corner of the dead internet a little longer. And social media algorithms feed you this stuff because the ultimate beneficiaries of the system are their shareholders’ bank accounts.
But trends have little to do with distinctly untrendy pursuits like cycle touring, which have remained unchanged for decades. For all the reasons bikepacking has swamped this field, one is simply that it comes in fancy new packaging, and novelty sells. Old-school cycle touring isn’t cool, never has been, never will be, and none of this should concern you at all.
So again – ignore what you see on social media and think about what you actually would like to do. I would recommend getting a decent book with a good pedigree, such as the Adventure Cycle Touring Handbook, or (if you’ll excuse such a blatant plug) my own How To Hit The Road, or reading a down-to-earth essay such as this one in Razorcake that cuts through the crap and hones in on what’s really involved. The less cool, by the way, the better.
On the subject of training as a cyclist of the “older generation”, I will not pretend to speak from experience, being of an age when young people think I’m old and old people think I’m young.
And I have plenty of regular readers who would tell you that you, in your 50s, are also still young!
But regardless of age and physical condition, one tried-and-tested way of training for a longer bike trip has always been to go on a shorter version of it and see what happens.
The easiest way to do this is to go on an overnighter or weekender. Load up your bike just as you would for the longer, future ride, set off on a Saturday morning, see how far you get, stay the night somewhere, then ride home on the Sunday. Doing this will tell you everything you need to know about what life on the road is going to be like for a longer period of time, including how fit your body is, how many aches and pains you’ll have the morning after, and what you can do differently next time.
If you do decide to start making these training rides a regular thing, my top tip would be to do so on the same bike and with the same luggage load you’ll be taking on the longer trip.
And the last word I have on this subject is that lifestyle training might serve you as well as (or better than) physical training, which is why I wrote a long article on how to train for a cycle tour without actually riding a bicycle. It was intended to be tongue-in-cheek, but readers have occasionally taken it literally and then written in to let me know how helpful it was.
Hope this helps, and good luck!
This is part of my “No Stupid Questions” series, in which readers write in with questions about cycle touring or bikepacking and I attempt to answer them. Check out more recent posts in the series or ask one of your own.
Something to add?