Once you go through all preparation and training, you may still wonder what happens on a long-distance trip day after day. It all depends on individuals. I know riders who ride only a half day each day and take a rest or local tour/sightseeing in the afternoon. They are true cycling tourists. They may stop a lot to take pictures and read information on the roadsides. I also know riders who ride (not in a race) more than 100 miles each day, and all they do is riding, eating, and sleeping. Their goal is to complete the trip, period. They do not stop unless for rest and refueling. Everything in between these two extremes is possible.
This is what I did on my coast-to-coast trip:
Before the ride in the morning: pack and breakfast – more work if camping.
On the ride: It is a commonly recommended practice to drink before thirsty (small sip each time), eat before hungry (nuts, power bars, other snacks), and rest before tired (I tried every 20 miles or so) so you don’t get bonked (a condition under which you over-drained your energy and can’t quickly recover by eating and short rest). Serious bikers calculate the calories they burned on the ride and use that to guide what to eat. I just eat as I’m pleased. I did stop to take pictures, which is less frequent toward the end of each day when I was anxious about finishing that day. I didn’t pass opportunities to chat with people I met, which was some of the best experiences on the trip.
After the ride: As an inexperienced long-distance rider, I spent time every day at the end of each ride to figure out what I would do the next day. I reviewed the route, marked the town I’d pass that may have water and food, paid attention to special segments (highways, unpaved roads), and my alternative stops for the night if I couldn’t make it to the original destination or if I had more energy to go further. I also estimated the optimal choices for a long stop for lunch or skipping it by eating snacks all the way. I needed to know where I could get food for dinner, either in a restaurant, food store, and gas station, and whether I wanted to cook If camping that night. Also, breakfast was the most important meal for me on the road. I needed to know whether I should cook it at the campsite. I made sure my cell phone, bike computer, camera, and bike lights were charged using my power bank, and my power bank was charged when it’s possible. If I have more time, I would write my journal and download photos from my camera. The last thing I would do before falling into sleep was to read a book I brought with me: Darwin’s On the Origin of Species.
Chidong Zhang's WA2MA Bike Trip 