Rest Days vs "half" days

[Serx]

What do experienced cyclists  think about 2 short (morning or afternoon) days as opposed to full, non-biking rest days?  Keith

[Peaks]

it depends somewhat on why type of biker you are, and what your goals are.  Frankly, myself, I'd get bored with a whole day off.  I'd much prefer to take a shorter day than a day off. 

[staehpj1]

I think half days once in a while are great!  I much prefer them to full days off.  I am a big fan of not taking full days off unless I am sick, injured, or want to do something that requires a full day.

On the Trans America we never slept the same place twice although we did take almost a full day off to go white water rafting.  We also had one negative mileage day when one of us was injured and needed treatment.  I wound up riding 40 miles that day any way (I went for a ride without panniers), but after all was said and done we were farther away from our goal than when we started.  I think the three of us wound up riding 12, 20, and 40 miles.

I actually find it a better recovery to ride 20, 30, or even 40 miles than to sit around all day.  Worse yet would be to sit in a motel room watching TV all day.  That is the last thing I want to be doing on a tour.   One of the keys to making this work is to not push so hard that you are ever wiped out enough to need a full day off.

All that said, I think I am in a smallish minority in this opinion.

[FredHiltz]

Half days for me, too. On my longest tour (80 days on the PC and NT routes), I never wanted or took a full day off. Illness might demand some, though.

Fred

[raybo]

I plan to take one whole rest day for every 4 on the bike. 

I do this for two reasons.  First, I want to make sure there is extra time in my schedule in case something goes wrong and I need a bit more time.  Second, I find that a day off the bike lets me rest all parts of my body, which I find valuable.

While watching TV isn't very interesting, reading books, working on-line, or visiting local sites is not usually a problem for me. 

I usually stop at towns/areas that have something of interest to do for a day so spending the time there isn't a problem.  In fact, I don't know that I would want to tour in a place where every 4 or 5 days I couldn't find a place worth spending a day in!

I often spend a day being hosted by someone I found at a hospitality site, as well.

Ray