I guess we long term cyclists have all heard this question many times before and I also guess most of us will reply with the short answer that it all depends.

It depends on the weather, the altitude, the mood, your age, the road surface and the terrain. How much food and water you are carrying or if your bags are full of warm winter clothes and the heavy load slows you down.

Sometimes there is a time pressure where you need to keep going or you might be on the road for years on end and cycling is just the way of getting from one place to the next and you already slowed down a lot.

You might sit on a tandem, you might cycle in a bigger group, maybe your bike is a trike or you would like to cycle faster but your partner is not able to speed up a bit.

And quite a few other reasons which influence your daily distance.

 

But in all honesty, I would say it also depends on your character.  

 

• Are you out to prove something?
• Do you feel bored if you are not sitting in your saddle all day long?
• Are you a romantic person who likes to stop often to smell the roses or are you sporty and not happy if you haven’t done your 100 km for that day?
• Do you like to interact with people a lot?
• Do you prefer the more adventurous roads where you carry your bike more than you can cycle, or are you sticking to the paved, flat roads where cycling is easy?
• Or you might feel pressured through your followers and have the feeling you need to perform and satisfy their expectations?

There are some out there who are doing 150 km every day and others who do not even carry a speedometer any longer. We all call ourselves touring cyclists.

On one hand, it is somehow a funny question we get asked from strangers, on the other hand it makes total sense.

I asked five other world cyclists about their thoughts to this question and I will tell you my personal experiences at the end.

 

Mirjam Wouters  Cyclingdutchgirl (37) Netherlands

 

Mirjam you are calling yourself the slowest touring cyclist around and you cycled about 90.000km in 13 years before you became a mom just recently.

You obviously like to travel slowly. Why?

Yes, I do like to travel slowly because I am not in any hurry. I don’t want to be the fastest person to go around the world (I didn’t necessarily want to be the slowest either, but I think it might work out that way).

I get easily side-tracked. The cycling is all fun and nice but the unexpected things that happen along the way are what you remember. 

So, if I stop somewhere to fix a tire and someone comes along and offers me a job…. I take it (Australia). Or when someone tells me there is a wedding/festival/rodeo coming up in a few days, I’ll hang around and join in. Either by volunteering or as a guest. It’s just more fun this way. (For me)

Or when you meet a nice guy and you have a baby, it slows things down a bit…

But it all happens and I still love the open road and can’t wait for what kind of adventures are ahead!

 

John Butcher (41) Australian 

 

John cycled in 3 years 38 000 km and counting. He posted recently a quote on his FB page.

 

 

John, can you please explain this a bit for us?

This quote, which won’t resonate with everyone, came to me while riding in the Baltic States, having then cycled around 36 000 km through a range of not only different countries but more importantly to me, a range of different cycling mindsets.

In general, I’m the guy who likes to average around 100 km per day, give or take. Middle of a European winter, probably not going to happen, likewise high up in the Andes, otherwise at other times it’s a done deal, if left alone I’ll clock up 150 km plus days.

“The slower you ride the more you learn about the country” 

The latter is important to me especially when I’ve just entered a new country or city for the first time. I take the time to notice how the locals are looking at me, observing me, this’ll give me a safety heads up.

Once you’ve slowed down, soaked it up, have an understanding of your new environment you’re much more likely to get involved or be invited to be involved. You’re able to learn about the country!

“The faster you ride the more you learn about yourself” 

In all honesty, going slow bores me, at least it has done (I’ve ridden thousands of kilometers in some amazing parts of the world, and only ever saw the road surface, head down bum up!).

I’ll wake up one morning with a need to prove something to myself. I’ll pick two points on a map, then just gun it from one to the other regardless, and I mean regardless! The climate, the terrain; it doesn’t matter, really, I could ride past all Seven Wonders of the World and I wouldn’t care one little bit.

My most memorable point to point experience was in Argentina, I picked a 1200 km stretch and decided to nail it in 10 days, however on day 2 having ridden 290 km I decided to cut that back to 7 days!

All this in 40 plus degree heat, limited towns for water and food, through a dust storm, headwinds daily and all while crisscrossing through the Andes. I truly pushed myself to the outer edge of my comfort zone, then some and then way beyond out into the darkness of pain, discomfort and a hatred for life.

Through this I learnt not only the true extent of my craziness, but too, to the measure of my physical capabilities and to the depth of my mental toughness. I really never thought I had it in me to push and ride so damn hard. The faster I rode the more I learnt about myself. And it pays to know yourself!!

 

“Speed matters” 

 

 

Annika Wachter (30) German Roberto Gallegos (33) Mexican

Tasting Travels 

The couple cycled 5 years, 32.000 km and crossed 30 countries and got married just recently while touring.

 

Annika  When travelling as a couple, are there frustrating moments because of different fitness levels and different travel habits?

We have been travelling together for over five years now. Still that doesn’t mean we’re hungry at the same time or exhausted at the same time or comfortable on the same speed.

So, we found a way in the middle. I usually cycle in front of Roberto, because it is easier for him to adapt to my speed than it would be for me to try and keep up with him. He could do a faster average, but he is somewhat limited by my speed.

On very rare occasions I’m feeling stronger than he does. But then usually it turns out his wheel was loose or his tire was a bit flat.

We usually try and have at least a short five-minute break every maybe 25 kilometers, but we are not too fuzzy about the exact number of kilometers.

I’m a late sleeper, he is an early riser. I like Nutella and he likes peanut butter. We tried for a long time to find a way in the middle. In the end, we just bought both.

About most things, we have adapted to each other without even noticing.

In the end, it’s all communication between each other and finding compromises that work for both sides. Sure, there are frustrating moments. But it’s the positive moments that really count.

 

 

Roberto   Your slogan is cultivating empathy by bicycle travel. To me it sounds like, the bicycle was always more of a transport system to fulfill your goal to bring the world closer together instead of seeing the bicycle as a piece of sport equipment.

Yes, the bicycle for me is definitely a vehicle for getting to know people, places, cultures and food in a closer way. This has been a big reveal for me. The only reason we started the travel with the bicycle was TO SAVE MONEY!

Then as we were travelling we figured out how special this form of travel was for us. We like meeting new people in different context rather than just hostels or hotels, and cycle travel for us fulfilled that. You can go to remote places with the strength of your legs. It is incredible for me where the bicycle can take you.

Concerning distance…. well for me it is really not important.

 

Beat Heim  Betzgi  (50) Swiss 

Betzgi  cycled 200 000km in total in about 70 countries.

He loves mountains and high passes and cycled 70.400 km + 620.000m elevation gain in 1133 days on his last trip.

 

Beat, can you tell us about your way of cycling the world? How do you enjoy the road?

For me, it is not so much about how far I cycle every day. It is more how long do I ride. As I am often in mountainous regions, progress is often not measured in kilometers but rather in altitude gain.

As an average I probably cycle about 6 hours a day. That can be anywhere from 40-140km. That may not sound like a lot. And it really is not. On the other hand, if you look at my yearly mileage (about 23’000km) most would probably say that is a lot.

It’s because I ride almost every single day. On my last tour, which lasted over 3 years I never stopped anywhere longer than 3 days (with one exception where I had to wait for a visa).

I just love to be on the road and I am always curious what lies behind the next mountain range. If you travel for a long time like that, you have to find a rhythm that works for you. For me it works best if I ride not too long but daily. That way I can keep going for years. Then every now and then I throw in a little challenge for myself. But those challenges are never about distance. It is more about cycling a remote route or a high pass. Just cycling kilometers, I get bored quickly.

The more I ride the more important it has become not only in what country I ride, but what route I take. A challenging, remote route through a great scenery beats kilometers anytime.

 

 

Me,  Heike Pirngruber Pushbikegirl (45) German

I cycled in total about 68.000 KM in 47 countries in 5,5 years.

At the beginning of my current trip I mainly wanted to get “THERE”. Even if I didn’t really know where “THERE” was. But I had this constant pressure to keep going, to not lose out on anything. I had the feeling, it is a once in a lifetime possibility and I need to see as much as possible in one day, because my life might end very soon.

Looking back, I am a bit sad, to have missed out so much in a lot of countries, because I didn’t give myself the time to stay in places far longer to soak it all in. But having said this, it was also very often the Asian countries visa pressure which pushed me forward every single day, because I didn’t want to take any other transport system to make things a bit easier.

After about 2.5 years on the road I finally understood, that there is still enough time ahead of me. I got up one day and thought that this is totally silly what I am doing. Slow down Heike said a voice coming from “THERE”.

Now, another year later it seems like I finally know how to enjoy the road and especially my life. Time is mine now – I finally soak it all in.

The longer I was on the road, the slower I got and the more adventurous and remote my roads became. And I like it that way!

Conclusion: 

 

As you can see we are all different and if you are concerned about your fitness level or your mileages you want to cycle the best advice I can give is not to copy someone else’s pace, someone else’s way to cycle or someone else’s life on the road. Try and find out what’s best for you – that’s all that matters! Happy riding!

Feel free to share how you like to cycle the world…..questions are also welcome 😉