am I mad??

[Geonz]

Somewhere in between.

Yes, it is a stretch, if you haven't gone over 15 miles at once... here's my question: how often are you doing that? If you're doing that every day, you might be okay fitness wise.


What is your route going to be?

If you're riding with traffic, then what kind of attention will you be able to give your riding when you start getting fatigued? When I did my "long commute" - a 50 mile ride to a bike meeting last weekend, and back the next day - I did a lot of work finding a route (the direct route would have been 40 miles... but I'd be more likely to be squished by a car - and basically, it wouldn't have been fun). (And I've been riding 100+ miles per week.) I get stupid when I get tired, so I don't set myself up to have to do a "thinking ride" then.

[uk elephant]

My route will be mainly along country lanes so with very little traffic and there are no big hills around here. Only in a few places will I have to follow sligtly bigger roads, but I will avoid them whenever possible. I have good maps so I'm not worried about getting lost. And this is England so I'll never be more than a five minute walk from a pub if I need a rest.

I've been cycling pretty much every day doing 10-15 miles most days (except for this past week when I was in Norway doing a big hike through the mountains). I'm not so much worried about the pedalling really. More whether my butt will handle it.

[DebW]

I don't think you're mad. A 3 day backpack trip is a great fitness base and prepares you for climbing hills on the bike too. I would arrange some contingency plans so you have bail out options at a few points along the way just in case. But I'd go for it.

[mimitabby]

Sounds like a wonderful adventure. Can i come too?

[slinkedog]

If you can hike 9 hours in a day, you'll probably be fine... maybe just a sore bum!!

[mtbdarby]

UK,
I don't think you're mad (at least not about this ). My longest ride of this season had been 30 miles but I rode mostly 15 miles 2-3 times a week. I attempted GRABAAWR and lasted 3 days, each day around 60 miles. The first two days were fine, my legs were really sore the 3rd day so take it at your own pace and enjoy!

[Trekhawk]

Ooohhh that sounds like such fun. We all want to come.

[Bikingmomof3]

It sounds like fun, just have a back-up plan. Enjoy.

[DDH]

sounds like great fun to me. I would do as DebW said though and have a contingency plan in case you are unable to make it for some reason.

[Bad JuJu]

Well, you MIGHT be mad, but not because of this bike trip you're planning.

Sounds like a wonderful idea, and a little bit like when I rode my first metric century when my longest ride until then had been 35 miles, two years before the metric. But I'd been riding 15-20 pretty regularly, so it was something of a challenge, but definitely do-able. Be prepared with tools, patches, pump, plenty of food and water, and ... Have fun!