Newbie distant questions

[J-hawk biker]

I have only been riding for a few months so I would appreciate some advice from all of you veterans.
When you ride long distances, do you take breaks and get off the bike? If so, how often? Can you do a metric or regular century ride without being in an organized event? Small town smack in the middle of Kansas here and not much in the way of cycling events, so I don't have any idea what to do.

[Grog]

Yes to all your questions!

I am a break-taker. I love to stop to walk around and eat about once an hour. If I ride a scenic route, it may be more often. If I am riding with others, it may (or may not) be more often, and if it's cold and/or wet, it's definitely less, because every time I stop I get cold and it takes me a while to re-warm up again.

I ride metric centuries by myself or friends or my club once in a while. I don't do anything special for these rides (except have more food, two bottles of water/energy drink, etc.) except if I'm going to be riding in deserted areas for a while (in which case I will take an extra tube and even more food). If riding by myself, I will make sure someone knows where I am going and when I'm going to be back.

I very rarely ride 150 km by myself, but the same as above (deserted areas) applies when I do.

welcome to TE! Enjoy the sport!

[Nanci]

Hi, yes, I like to take breaks, _especially_ when I am riding on my own and don't have a clock to watch- then it is about every hour or so. At the halfway point, I like to sit down, eat a snack or lunch, take off my helmet and shoes and gloves, and relax. Oh, but on organized rides, I used to be all worried aobut making the cut-offs, so I wouldn't stop at the sag stops, but then I got a little faster and now like to stop and get some snacks and refill Gatorade and visit the Portapotty. It's more fun than not stopping.

I ride long distances on my own quite a bit- up to 140 miles, but usually more in the 60-100 mile range. I like to be out in the country more, so I have a trunk bag that I can take snacks and drinks in, and often I ride from one tiny town to the next, so I can stop at convenience stores. On those rides, the convenience stores are a good place to stop and rest, every hour or two.

Are there state parks or rails-to-trails anywhere near you?

Nanci

[Dogmama]

Yes, I stop briefly every hour or so. I find if I stop for a long time, I get stiff & it is hard to get going again (could be age, I'm 51). I'll eat half of a power bar & stretch my back and get moving again. Never longer than a couple of minutes.

I prefer to ride alone. I get amazing "aha's" about life -- or like the other day -- I remembered the password to my checking account on line. It's all relative.

[J-hawk biker]

Thanks for all the help!
Nanci - There are no state parks or rails-to-trails within biking distance, but there are lots of low traffic paved county roads which are great!

[Nanci]

I'm so excited- I just made a copy, on our color copier (how cool- it just works, and stuff looks exactly like the original!!) of the two map pages out of the giant all-Florida map book which cover just about anything I can reach riding from home, in extreme detail- all the country roads, what the terrain is like, etc. _Much_ better than Mapquest or the cycling club maps. Now I can just go out and do an ad lib ride and never get lost!! I think I am going to ride over to the Suwannee River on a road I haven't ridden out there before, then come back on my road. That's one good thing from the brevet series- I've ridden _tons_ of the country roads around here, so I know all the cool little connectors.

Nanci