Probably just me being slow to figure this out, but.
Did a 6-day tour last year from Canning, NS over to Cavendish Beach on PEI. Nothing crazy, mostly gravel, some quiet pavement, a chunk of the Confederation Trail. Surly with two rear panniers, frame bag, the usual setup.
First two days I rode like someone with a concussion. Missed turns I'd literally planned the route around. Ate one of those Petro-Can chicken sandwiches that I knew, knew, was going to wreck me later. Had a 30 km imaginary argument with my accountant. Couldn't have told you which way the wind was blowing.
Eventually figured out the gear wasn't actually the problem. I was just hauling around invisible cargo. An email I'd been avoiding for nine days. A half-finished argument. Some work thing I kept putting off.
Somewhere around day 3 it starts to shift. Not in any obvious way. You just notice you've climbed for an hour without thinking about anything. By day 5 or 6 the answer to whatever I'd been avoiding kind of just appears. Not as a big epiphany. More like, oh right, that was actually obvious, why was I making it weird.
Anyway, I never see anyone write about this part of bikepacking. Everyone's super into gram-counting, which fine, but the heaviest thing on the bike for me is always mental cargo I couldn't leave at home. Wrote a piece about it here if anyone wants the longer version.
Mostly curious if anyone else has noticed this. Specifically, does it work on shorter tours? Like can you get there in 3 days, or do you need at least 5-6 for it to actually start dissolving the noise?
by djrivard1
7 Comments
This sounds more like someone feeling the effects of time spent alone outside of the daily grind rather than bike touring specifically. I’ve started bike tours in total amazement and feelings of adventure and freedom that lasted throughout the month, and others tours where I was getting over break-up or anticipating the next step in life professionally. All a matter of where you are in life and your headspace IMHO. Having time off alone to reflect and be with yourself is pretty sacred, enjoy it and be gentle with yourself my friend!
P.S. your accountant is obviously wrong
Nah opposite for me.
First days on tour I feel liberated and excited, and end up going much further in distance than I expect and have to tone things down
that’s the prison which takes you 2 days to escape
This post is AI.
Yes. And the first 20 minutes of each ride are always the hardest for me.
It’s a physical and mental reorientation process. After 20 or so minutes I’ve stopped thinking about every little muscle complaint and I’m in the zone.
I also feel like the further you get from the start the less of the emotional pull of whatever is back there and the stronger the drive to move forwards.
But this is my personal experience.
Not quite the same, but I often spend the first couple of days regretting my packing decisions usually because I feel my bags are too heavy.
By day 3 or 4 I’ve pretty much forgotten all about it. I think it’s cos it takes time to get into the swing of things and get used to the new routine. Once you’re there – physically and mentally – then things pick up.
Two years ago, I did my first longer bike-tour for 80 km, which was harder than I anticipated because I’m an idiot and forgot mountains are tall.
Anyway, I did it because life was stressing me out during that time. Work, a new roommate I sheltered because she needed a roof, personal issues with a friend, it was all too much. I felt like I needed to get *out*, to just go out there and forget everything for a while.
I will never forget how it felt like when I was driving halfway up a mountain (>500 m) because the bed&breakfast I found was behind that mountain and I didn’t realize that when I booked it. No water anymore ’cause I didn’t bring enough, carrying my backpack on my back and a jute bag around my shoulder because I was heavily underprepared and didn’t know these bike bags exist, and been pushing my bicycle up a steep hill because there was no actual path there anymore, it was meant for hikers, not cyclists.
This wasn’t the kind of mental stress I’ve been dealing with the last couple weeks before the trip, this was the kind of stress that leaves you wondering if you’ll survive your trip and get to your destination safely, even if, realistically, nothing bad would have happened to me. It’s the kind of stress that let’s you focus on the *now* instead of anything else that happened beforehand. It’s just me, my bike, my bags and this damn rocky hill I have to cross.
Being completely lost in a giant forest without a map or GPS gives you a new perspective on what actually matters in life. Do you keep going or go back? Do you give up or push through? I wouldn’t say this trip changed my life in any way, but it gave me exactly what I needed at that point in my life, and since then, I’ve been wanting to go on a bigger trip than that again, but this time, with my boyfriend next to me.