#ScotTourTrain

No, it's not a train.

It's -- oh my god, I can't believe I'm saying this --

A Training Plan.

For our Scotland Trip.

But... I don't train. I just ride my bike.

Maybe it'd help if I call it 'conditioning', not 'training'. In any case, somehow I've got to transition from the type of cycling I do now -- indeed the type of cyclist I am now -- to riding 60 hilly miles a day, day after day, on often narrow, bumpy tracks with... er... intermittent tarmac.

So I've got to do something new. No, not new, just different. No, not even different, just.... more of it, more often. With experimentations and variations.

Here's the plan.

• Cycle 5 days out of 7. It doesn't have to be a long ride, or a hilly one. I don't have to put a computer on my bike every time. I just need to get out there and pedal away for a little while, every day. Ideally for at least an hour, but trade offs are possible.
• Get in a long ride -- by which I mean 70+ miles -- every weekend I can. These aren't practice for touring -- it's to raise my game and keep it raised, to build on the 50-70 "butt on saddle" miles put in on those 5-out-of-7 rides.

Then at the beginning of May -- with just over 5 weeks til departure -- Adam and I will load up the bikes for a practice run. (I'll have to experiment with carrying a pannier or two on my new rack at some point before this.) Assuming it's not a disaster requiring a drastic re-think, we'll do two back-to-back rides over a weekend, maybe 30 miles each.

Then (job -- if I get one by then -- permitting), I'll start riding 3-4 days straight each week with at least partially-loaded panniers, with distances/effort varying but aiming to average 30 miles each ride. Then after a few days' rest, have a long stripped-down (relatively) blast at the weekend as before.

And keep doing the Pilates. Get better at planks!

And try not to injure myself! I'm sick to death of successive bouts with tendonitis in various parts of my body.

So that's it. It's a plan. A Plan, even. Whether it's a Training Plan or not... depends. On what?

Maybe on whether or not I end up wishing we were doing this whole tour by train.

P.S. Future posts on how my training is going and any tips I've found will be tagged #ScotTourTrain. :)