Planning a multi-day bike trip

Setting off on a bike for several days changes the rhythm: you no longer go home in the evening, you ride stage after stage, you carry your belongings and you have to find somewhere to sleep. Yet a well-prepared bike tour is within reach of many cyclists, as long as you choose reasonable stages. Here are the basics for planning a bike trip of a few days.

Define the project

Start with three simple questions.

How many days? A long weekend of two or three days is ideal for a first experience.
Loop or one way? A loop avoids the train home, while a one-way trip lets you follow a river or a cycle route from end to end.
What kind of bike and terrain? Road, gravel, mountain bike or a loaded touring bike don't allow the same distances or the same paths.

Split the route into stages

How far per day for your level?

The right daily distance is the one you can repeat several days in a row, on a heavier bike, without finishing exhausted. It's therefore well below your longest day ride. A few cautious benchmarks, to adapt:

Beginner or family: 30 to 50 km a day on flat terrain, with plenty of breaks.
Regular cyclist: 60 to 90 km a day, depending on the terrain and the load.
Trained cyclist travelling light: 100 km or more, while keeping some margin for the unexpected.

Take the climbing into account

Elevation gain weighs more heavily with luggage. A short but very mountainous stage can be more gruelling than a long stage on the flat. Look at the profile of each stage, put the big climbs early in the day where possible and plan a lighter stage after a hard day.

Keep some margin

Plan a spare half-day or day on a week-long trip.
Note the railway stations along the route, useful in case of a breakdown, an injury or bad weather.
Note the villages where you can find a food shop and a water point.

Where to sleep each night?

Accommodation shapes the tour: it sets the end of each stage. The most common options are campsites, holiday cottages, B&Bs, hotels and, in the mountains, huts. Book ahead in high season or on very popular routes, and check that the place can store bikes overnight.

Bivouacking and wild camping are subject to rules that vary from place to place, and they're often banned in protected areas. For a first tour, relying on official accommodation makes organising much simpler.

Prepare the bike and the luggage

The bike

A full service before leaving: brakes, drivetrain, wheels, tyres.
Tyres slightly wider and more puncture-resistant than for a day ride.
Gears low enough to climb fully loaded.

The luggage

Panniers or bikepacking bags, keeping the weight low and well balanced.
Only the essentials: a spare cycling kit, an outfit for the evening, a warm layer and a rain jacket.
A full repair kit: inner tubes, patches, pump, multi-tool with chain tool, quick link.
Lights, a power bank and chargers.

Keep an eye on the weather during the trip

Over several days, you no longer choose the weather: you manage it. Check the forecast every evening for the next day's stage, looking mainly at the wind direction, the risk of showers and the feels-like temperature. Set off earlier in hot weather, and keep a fallback option if thunderstorms are forecast. The guide to choosing the day of a bike ride based on the weather explains these criteria.

Train before you go

The best preparation is still riding. In the weeks before you leave, build up to longer and longer rides, ideally on two consecutive days, and do at least one ride with the loaded bike to set up the bags.

If you're going as a group, a training ride together lets you check that everyone rides at the same pace. To arrange it easily, organise a group training ride with Cyclodate: you upload the route, suggest a few dates and everyone replies with their first name. The guide to organising a group bike ride gives the full method, and the one on exporting a GPX file helps you get your stage routes.