42 miles...Should I?

[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.

[marni]

in addition to all of the good advice you have had so far, and regardless of whichever ride you decide to do, bear in mind that once you have the right shorts, the right fit a way to carry adequate hydration and nutrition, it's all about TITS time. Build up the time that you can spend in the saddle between breaks. This should also, obviously, lengthen the distance between stops. Depending on the speed you can achieve, this can mean the ability to ride 20-30 miles at a shot between stops. Sometimes the saddle time is almost as important as speed.

[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.

[kamikazejane]

Go for it girl!!!!!!!! Just keep the pace you feel most comfortable doing, remember to hydrate and fuel. You will do great.