42 miles...Should I?

[lovelygamer]

Terrain is flat, like I am used to. I think it may be a small ride though and I am super slow. I'd be alone in the back, for sure. I really would like to support the effort though. It's a great cause.

The more I think about it, the more I think I would be better off to try for one this fall...like the Seagull Century in October. That's in my home town and has a 62 mile option. I hear those SAG stops are the bomb. I would have a few months to prepare for that one.

Some of my concerns besides physically being able to last the tour are that I don't have all the necessary gear yet for longer rides, such as padded shorts and/or a cambelback. My bike only carries one drink. I shoved one in the back of my jersey yesterday.

You can register up until the night before the event. I think I'll amp up my riding and see if I can get some more gear and wait until that last night before the ride to commit.

[PamNY]

Perhaps you could ask how fast the group is likely to travel? I'm a (happily) slow cyclist, which keeps me away from some group rides.

As far as shorts with a chamois, are you comfortable without it? Some people don't need padding.

Regardless of what you decide, it's nice that you have choices.

[Cynedra]

If you really don't think you can ride which you probably could, maybe you can volunteer to work at one of the SAG stops instead. You would still be helping and supporting the cause without overdoing it on your bike. Maybe you could ride your bike to the SAG stop they put you at.

[7rider]

The more I think about it, the more I think I would be better off to try for one this fall...like the Seagull Century in October. That's in my home town and has a 62 mile option. I hear those SAG stops are the bomb. I would have a few months to prepare for that one.

This 42 mile event would be excellent training for the Seagull.

Not sure how large this ride would be (the Seagull is ridiculously huge), but chances are you may have folks to ride with. If you could do 20-25 miles solo, you could certainly do 42 with support and others around you. And, if you feel totally zonked and you feel you bit off more than you can chew - the ride is supported right? (confirm the SAG support, as Withm recommended) Flag down a SAG vehicle (or wait for one at a rest stop) and grab a ride to the end. That's what they're there for - and it's not like no other cyclist has ever taken a SAG to the end before (cough, cough...been there, done that).

Good luck. Have fun.

[emily_in_nc]

I think it's time to get some real bike shorts, too.

[Kathi]

This 42 mile event would be excellent training for the Seagull.

Not sure how large this ride would be (the Seagull is ridiculously huge), but chances are you may have folks to ride with. If you could do 20-25 miles solo, you could certainly do 42 with support and others around you. And, if you feel totally zonked and you feel you bit off more than you can chew - the ride is supported right? (confirm the SAG support, as Withm recommended) Flag down a SAG vehicle (or wait for one at a rest stop) and grab a ride to the end. That's what they're there for - and it's not like no other cyclist has ever taken a SAG to the end before (cough, cough...been there, done that).

Good luck. Have fun.

It depends on the ride. Most rides and tours discourage sagging unless you have a major break down or health issue. If you cannot physically do the route you shouldn't be there. Small rides have limited funds and can't afford to have sag drivers picking up people and running them to the end of the route. Sometimes volunteers will pick you up but often they don't have any way transporting your bike.

Since the ride is in your area you could have a personal sag who would pick you up if you feel you can't make it. If you chose to do this please have the personal sag use an alternate route.

And, yes, I have sagged but only in cases of emergency, like an asthma attack.

[indysteel]

It depends on the ride. Most rides and tours discourage sagging unless you have a major break down or health issue. If you cannot physically do the route you shouldn't be there. Small rides have limited funds and can't afford to have sag drivers picking up people and running them to the end of the route. Sometimes volunteers will pick you up but often they don't have any way transporting your bike.

Since the ride is in your area you could have a personal sag who would pick you up if you feel you can't make it. If you chose to do this please have the personal sag use an alternate route.

And, yes, I have sagged but only in cases of emergency, like an asthma attack.

As someone who has driven a SAG vehicle, I totally agree with this. I've had to drive people in who arguably shouldn't have done the ride in the first place or who made some bad choices along the way (like not stopping for food at any of the stops and then bonking). Yes, the SAG drivers are there to help, but it should be limited to mechanicals and medical issues. When a SAG driver is busy driving somebody in who was simply undertrained, then they are unable, oftentimes, to deal with other distress calls.

[murielalex]

Get out there next weekend and see if you can do 30 miles without too much struggle. If that's fine, I say go for it.

[lovelygamer]

Thank you everyone, for your knowledgeable feedback. I can't say what is going to happen with the ride in two weeks but I'm pretty sure I want to do the metric at the Seagull Century this year. I hope some of the others here in Maryland will come down and do it as well.

[goldfinch]

I did my first long ride as a charity ride with a group after riding about five/six months. It was 48 miles. I also used a hybrid bike but put slick tires on it. I worked up to it, my longest ride was about three weeks before the charity ride, at 37 miles. It was a tough ride for me and I ended up riding alone most of the time because I am slow. Having the rest stops with food and water helped tremendously. The ride was flat and there was almost no wind, which also helped a lot. I also was helped by the fact that there was a 25 mile group that started after my group so there were plenty of people around and it wasn't like I was the last person to the rest area, coming in late and discovering that all the food was gone. My ride had a recommendation that you be able to average at least 12mph, otherwise you might not finish before the rest areas closed. I wasn't quite averaging that speed before I did the ride. But riding a group ride does make you faster so I averaged above 12mph, actually close to 13mph.

My rear end got a bit sore and I certainly was glad to have bike shorts.

I am much older than you and totally lacked any fitness when I started biking . So, for me I seriously doubt that I could have ridden 40 plus miles without having ramped up slowly over several months. I think a younger person who is more fit might be able to bully there way through such a ride. Or not. You might end up being just too uncomfortable on the bike with that length of time in the saddle. I agree with those who suggest trying out a 30 mile asap and see how it goes. It is simply too hard for us to guess whether the ride makes sense for you. I remember that you had problems with the fit of your bike only a few weeks ago and your bike isn't quite the right size. That might also be a limiting factor for you that could show up on a longer ride.

Training for the metric is a great goal! I did my first metric this June and was in good shape for it. It made the ride a lot more fun than my ride last fall.

[withm]

Thank you everyone, for your knowledgeable feedback. I can't say what is going to happen with the ride in two weeks but I'm pretty sure I want to do the metric at the Seagull Century this year. I hope some of the others here in Maryland will come down and do it as well.

I've done the Sea Gull a few times and it can be a great ride.

You can count on WIND, and since it's held at the tail end of hurricane season, there is a very good likelihood of severe weather. Which is not so much fun.

That said, there will be 6,000-8,000 of your closest friends riding with you.

At a minimum you need to be comfortable with group riding, and be able to check behind you before ever passing someone. The speeds at which some of the long pacelines pass you can be intimidating. (Imagine yourself in the middle of the peloton at the Tour de France).

There are always some people on heavy hybrids, and they seem to be perfectly happy with the situation. I would suggest that you'll be happer if you have done some 50 mile rides by then, and are able to carry 2 water bottles (or a camelback). Bike shorts for sure, and by Oct you may need a jacket, or arm warmers.

Get some friends to sign up with you, it's a fun event for a group of similarly paced cyclists to do together.