am I mad??

[uk elephant]

I am just wondering if anybody else thinks I'm mad. BF and my dad seem to think so. They are off to Duxford (near Cambridge) for the 70th anniversary Spitfire Air Show this week-end and have hotel rooms booked near there. I figured this would be a good oportunity for me to go for a long bike ride. I have estimated that the ride from here (near Colchester) to there is about 60 miles.

BF is pointing out that the longest I have done before is just over 40 miles and that was quite a while ago and that I haven't done anything over 15miles for the past couple of months. So he thinks I'm mad for even atempting this. And of course he is pointing out the risks of being stranded far from home with a broken bike and no way to get home.

My thinking is: when I did 40miles the first time it was double what I had ever done before in one trip and it was at the end of a full day at work. I did it in just over three hours with no breaks (except to drink a bit of water at one point and eat a banana a bit later). I generally keep up a 12mph average, but assuming I'm slower over such a long distance it still shouldn't take me more than 6 hours to do the 60 miles. Add in lots of breaks along the way and be generous about times, I should be able to get there in 8 hours. I haven't been on a bike ride that long, but don't think it will be a problem. This past week-end I just did a three day mountain hiking trip where the first day was 9 hours of hiking over a big mountain with heavy backpack. I haven't done any hiking of that magnitude for years and for months the only walking I've done is strolling into town (an hour each way along the river). Both BF and my dad seemed to have no doubts that such a hike was possible. Why would a long bike ride be any different? Am I just mad or are they just being overly protective?

[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!

[Trek420]

what Bad JuJu sez "definitely do-able. Be prepared with tools, patches, pump, plenty of food and water, and (editors note-cell phone)... Have fun!"

Uh, I know these people to whom you refer, well BF less so but Dad a little bit.

I think he's jealous Note to TE UK's Dad rides and even planned a tour of China a while back (It got canceled at the last minute due to SARS).

Go, have a good time, post the ride report and are there any TE gals in the area you'll ride?

Do this and a short ride the next day...and whatever you are doing keep going 'cause you can do ALC.

[uk elephant]

Thank you all for your votes of confidence! I will make sure to be well prepared. I have patch kit and tool kit and two spare tubes. I have two bottle cages for water (and will be passing at least a dozen pubs for refills.....does wine work as a sports drink? or perhaps cider?). As for contingency plans, it's a bit tricky. I won't be able to follow along the railway for easy access to trains home. But I will have my phone and there are busses around so I'm sure I won't be too stuck.

Did have a good talk with BF last night too. He is just worried about me, but definitely thinks I can do it. I promised I'd send him regular updates along the way so he doesn't worry too much.

I'm getting excited about it now, despite the weather forecast. On the news last night the weather map for Saturday shows a big raincloud covering pretty much all of England. But I've got raingear and can handle any weather. Just hope the headwinds aren't too bad (although that can be considered training for the AIDS ride hills).

[DirtDiva]

I think you should do a 62.5mile ride and make it your first metric century.

[Duck on Wheels]

I think you should do a 62.5mile ride and make it your first metric century.

Or ride home again the next day making it back-to-back centuries, as Auntie Trek has suggested for ALC preparation.

I'm a leeettle worried because of the ankle swelling you had after your 3-day hike, but that resolved itself and you didn't seem more sore or tired than usual otherwise. Besides the 2 cages, remember that you also have a 3-liter hydration pack. You could have water in the pack and sports drink in the bottles. The pack gets lighter as you get more tired, so that works out pretty well. I'm SURE you can do this. I think even I could possibly do it, since the terrain's pretty flat and you have no minimum speed or max arrival time. Let's just hope you don't get headwinds all the way. HAVE FUN and send SMS's to me too along the way.

X X ( ) ( ) Mom