Everyday on the tour may not feel like this, but if you ride enough, chances are you will experience this. For the most part, a long day riding can be broken up into 4 pretty distinct phases. For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to assume the ride is 100 miles long
Phase 1: Excitement (Mile 0-15)
Rides always start out with a mix of excitement and a little anxiety. Your body is loosening up and still trying to figure itself out. Your noticing all the little sensations like the wind direction, temperature and scenery. You tend to keep checking your odometer and countdown how much longer it’s going to take. Maybe you start to plan ahead like, “at this pace, I should get there by 4pm”. All in All you feel good though.
Phase 2: Cruise Control (Mile 15-65)
Think of this as the Meditative state. This is the long, steady middle where the ride settles into rhythm. You stop counting miles and they just manage to melt away. Everytime you look down at the odometer, 5 miles has just flown by. The body warms fully, the mind drifts, and pedaling becomes automatic. Nutrition and hydration happen almost on autopilot, and time stretches out in a comfortable, predictable way. There’s less excitement now, but also less effort; just a calm, focused forward motion. If pacing has been smart, this phase feels sustainable and almost meditative, as if the ride could continue indefinitely.
Phase 3: The Dreaded WALL (Mile 65-80)
Perhaps you were feeling good in the Cruising portion and you decided to take a nice break. Shortly after that break, a small physical pain starts to form. What was supposed to be an easily predictable end point all of a sudden seems infeasible. Your mind starts to question your body and whether you have what it takes to reach the end. Pace slows down considerably. Negative thoughts start creeping in. Now you really start fixating on that odometer and whatever you do, the miles just never seem to add up.
Tips on how to deal with The Wall
Phase 4: Light at the End (80-100)
Everyone has this Light at the End of the Tunnel. This is the point at which you know, no matter how your body/mind feels, you’re gonna make it. The pain starts easing, the mind stops racing and pedaling gets steady again. Fatigue is still there, but it’s framed by purpose: every mile now has an endpoint. Small victories, passing a landmark, ticking off another mile, provide momentum. The body finds a deeper reserve, and the mind shifts from survival to completion. By the final miles, exhaustion and pride coexist, and the ride ends not with speed or grace, but with the deep satisfaction of having endured the full journey. You can actually feel that tasty meal or amazing Beer just waiting for you at the end.
What changes after more experience
As you get more experience in bike touring; The cruise phase starts taking up a bigger portion of the ride. Your body + mind knows when those walls can hit and you develop tactics to deal with them.
