What does it take?

What does it take to do a bike tour?

Here's some suggested capabilities/strengths we've thought of over the trip. 

- have the right bike. Get a solid made for touring bicycle. Don't get something that's too worn unless you're an expert bike mechanic. And even then, budget extra time for fixing the bike. 

- have the right gear and setup. Part of Matt's troubles came from not getting a bike fit. I have no idea how much harder the trip would be on me if I hadn't gotten a very good fitting. On top of that, my bike shoes helped me overcome some early minor pains by limiting the wobbling and excess motion in my legs.

- don't go alone. Unless you really want that solitary experience, it's safer and more practical to split trip duties across multiple folks. There's all sorts of strength in numbers to be had. Three is a good number -- you can take votes and stay in one motel room. 

- be ready physically. I can't stress this enough. You have to know you can handle the riding. Out here, averaging 11mph over 5-6 hours is good. But when you train, you have to go faster and climb harder just to know if you can do it.
- be ready mentally. You'll have to live and work as a team. Yes, everyone can get cranky and moody, but things need to stay under control for the duration.

- don't be afraid of detours and delays. That's part of doing this kind of trip. Expect to get a few flats. 

- don't be afraid of traffic or dogs. You'll see plenty of both, and if you are irrationally afraid of either, it won't be safe to ride this much.

- you gotta be able to deal with pissing on the side of the road. Or holding it a lot, I guess.