Your longest ever solo ride?

[jjlynn27]

18km

[williredale]

Evanivitch said:

Next time i would suggest cycling up to Chepstow via the old Severn Crossing and then following the A48 all the way to Swansea. It's nota bad ride and as long as you avoid rush hour around Cardiff it's quiet elsewhere.

I did a bit of the A48 near the end when I'd had enough of the cycle route. I'd wanted to take my time and explore some of the countryside as I'd never done anything longer than 100KM and that was in a supported charity ride and with a mate. Saw a bit too much of the countryside though..
I'm planning on doing it again but will cut out some of the crap bits and use a few more roads.

[smifffymoto]

Today Mrs S and I did 128km on Daisy,our Thorn Tandem.Bordeaux to Lacanau Ocean,spot of lunch and home.Nearley bloody killed us but no doubt in the morning we will feel the pain of our effort.

[jjlynn27]

smifffymoto said:

Today Mrs S and I did 128km on Daisy,our Thorn Tandem.Bordeaux to Lacanau Ocean,spot of lunch and home.Nearley bloody killed us but no doubt in the morning we will feel the pain of our effort.

How?

[smifffymoto]

I don't follow,how?
If you mean which route,just take the cycle path.

[jjlynn27]

smifffymoto said:

I don't follow,how?
If you mean which route,just take the cycle path.

I meant, not just you, but people doing over 100km, it just doesn't compute.

[smifffymoto]

I'll be honest,it was hard.Previously we have done 70km without to much difficulty but yesterdays extra kms pushed us that bit too far.I took 2 Ibufrofen for my knee at 4 this morning but so far I don't feel to stiff.

[Some Gump]

jjlynn27 said:

I meant, not just you, but people doing over 100km, it just doesn't compute.

At first, long rides don't. You see where your window is, see what others do, and are like WTF?
If you take up cycling, the rides you do in month 6 would seem utterly impossible when you first set out.

[ALawson]

You also need to reduce you effort levels based on the distance to be covered, my ride on Friday I purposefully didn't got out at my normal pace. I made sure HR levels and power levels were sensible and for once made sure I remained hydrated and fueled.

You can muck about with both on circa 60-100km rides but double that distance and things need to be kept on top off. This thread only inspires me to crack the double metric hundred which I think will be far enough to consider cycling in one stint.

The right clothing and weather go without saying need to be considered fully.

[yellowjack]

Some Gump said:

jjlynn27 said:

I meant, not just you, but people doing over 100km, it just doesn't compute.

At first, long rides don't. You see where your window is, see what others do, and are like WTF?
If you take up cycling, the rides you do in month 6 would seem utterly impossible when you first set out.

jjlynn27 - As others are saying, you don't just buy a bike and crack on with a fifty miler to start with.

I did 70km on a MTB yesterday, 90% or more was off sealed surfaces, and a good chunk on 'challenging' single track stuff. Fasted, and with only one bottle of fluid. It was silly really. I was completely done in at the end of it.

I've always been a cyclist, and did what I considered to be "long rides" as a teenager. But they were two hours at most, so 25 to 30 miles in reality. FFWD to me joining the army, and bikes weren't an option during training in those days. Then I found beer and girls, and lost interest in bikes. Strangely. After I was posted back from Germany, I ended up in Tidworth. Without a car, I bought a MTB to commute all of three miles per day. Needed the MTB though, as some of the route was a tank road.

The MTB commute led to some goofing about on short local rides around Salisbury Plain. Then I moved again and hurt myself crashing the MTB on a night-time commute. Two more years pass and I'm back on a road bike, again with a short 3 to 4 mile commute. This then morphed into 30 miles per day, as I extended my evening ride via various loops, culminating in a tidy 26 mile detour to get home some nights. Then a posting to North Yorkshire had me disappearing onto the moors, up hill, down dale, a couple of times a week. Discouraged by management because it wasn't seen as being "proper phys", I managed to persuade the boss that I was doing more than riding to the nearest pub, and I was hitting three to four hour rides most Wednesdays, with shorter loops in the evenings.

Another move put me in the heart of the Essex/Cambridgeshire borders, very quiet, very rural, and as I was getting older I needed to work harder to keep "fit to fight". This was only a decade or so ago, and I'd been riding bikes all my life. I'm 45 now. This was the 'perfect storm' that encouraged me to push my limits mileage-wise. Still on a heavy steel commuter-type road bike, I built a 10 mile route, and a 15 mile route, and rode them a lot. Then I found a riding partner, and she was part of the army women's race scene. She had a few routes that shared a 'spine' with mine. We combined them to make longer loops, and when I had time I'd push off into unknown territory.

Eventually I got to the point where I had a Wednesday afternoon assigned to sport, and the Hockey team wasn't training for some reason. I rode from Saffron Walden to Ely and back again, just for the craic. I found that I really enjoyed the longer distance rides, and started regularly hitting 40 to 45 miles in an evening. I even bought myself a decent road bike for my fortieth birthday. 120 miles or more in four nights was a 'normal' week for me. I'm not fast though, not by any stretch of the imagination. I just find the solitude of turning the pedals for hours to be a good place for me. I've done ten 100+ milers so far this year, and my longest ride was 130 miles, but at my pace such rides take most of the day.

It suits me to ride for hours. It doesn't suit some cyclists. Guys I 'follow' on Strava will go for a 6 mile MTB blast, or call 10 miles a 'good road ride'. I'd see those sorts of distances as "not worth the bother of getting the bike out". But those guys will be considerably quicker than I am, so neither one is better or worse. It's just horses for courses, really. Don't get wrapped up in worrying how you compare for pace or distance with someone else (unless you decide to race... ). Just ride your bike for your own reasons, whether that's for fitness or just because you enjoy it. It's nobody's ride but yours, in the end. I ride for the joy of riding, and for the love of the countryside I ride through, mainly. And because I tried being fat once, and didn't really enjoy it. Cycling helps me lose weight, and more importantly it helps me to keep it off, and I don't need to bother with going onto a "diet". For me, that equates to a "win/win situation".

Just step up your pace and/or distance gradually, to see if you enjoy it. And happy cycling!

[smifffymoto]

I think the ability to ride with a completely empty head makes the mileage easier.Mrs S always has to think of something where as I can think of nothing.

[tuffer]

smifffymoto said:

I think the ability to ride with a completely empty head makes the mileage easier.Mrs S always has to think of something where as I can think of nothing.

Agreed, It is one of the few times I am able to completely switch off and think of little else apart from admiring the view and crying with the pain in my legs, arse and back.

[Big Rod]

jjlynn27 said:

I meant, not just you, but people doing over 100km, it just doesn't compute.

A year ago 10 miles would exhaust me.

In fact, my Daughter printed me off a certificate the first time I cracked 20 miles. Cute but I do remember I was wrecked.

I bought a road bike, (well two actually), and just gradually upped the distance, (and climbing).

40 - check
50 - check
60 & 70 - check
80 - check
100 - TBD this weekend weather permitting.

I've found my needs change the more distance I go. I started cycling to lose weight so used to go out with nothing to eat. Now I've lost weight, I take food with me or stop for snacks on long rides. Need to be careful from that aspect.

[funkyrobot]

24.5 miles a few weeks ago (1hr 35 mins). Only been back on the bike three months, and have realised I could go further, just don't have the time.

This doesn't sound a lot, but all of my riding since the end of June has been on one of these laden with mudguards, accessories and not so skinny tyres:



It weighs a lot (like me).

The saddle gets a bit annoying after an hour or so. Before I press on further, I need to get it upgraded. Shorts are a bit naff too.

[funkyrobot]

adamwri said:

Went out on Friday and put 285km / 185m onto the odometer for my Cannondale. Annoyingly, my Garmin hasn't recorded Spalding - Louth so I've had to drop in a 75km top-up to track mileage within Strava. Followed the route to the letter, with the idea of moving out of London and heading out via Loughton to emulate the LEL2017 route. Overall I'm estimating around 13:00h moving time, with 1:30h of stationary for breaks I had throughout.

Activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/698589334

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/5383907

You rode past my house.

[tuffer]

jjlynn27 said:

I meant, not just you, but people doing over 100km, it just doesn't compute.

My Wife is 47 and managed 112 Miles after only a year on a road bike, the first time she did 35 miles she thought it was tough. You soon get used to it.

[NorthDave]

My longest ever was a couple of weeks ago at 225km or 140 miles. I did Morzine to Hook in Holland over 5 days and averaged 200Km a day. It was good but hillier than I imagined!

Before that I did round lake Geneva at 180Km. Before this summer I dont think I had been above 100 miles before.

Hardest thing for me is food. I need to eat a bit to keep on trucking.

[Gruffy]

Some Gump said:

jjlynn27 said:

I meant, not just you, but people doing over 100km, it just doesn't compute.

At first, long rides don't. You see where your window is, see what others do, and are like WTF?
If you take up cycling, the rides you do in month 6 would seem utterly impossible when you first set out.

Same story for me too. Started with 20km and was blown away when I saw friends doing 80km. Gradually upped my distances and after each new threshold the old distance suddenly becomes quite approachable. In 18 months I went from 20km rides to a point where I could do a spontaneous 200km without any prep. It's just a gradual progression. It helped me to think of the audax crowd (mostly beer swilling old men). If they could do the crazy distances then it's obviously not impossible for me.

[jjlynn27]

Thanks for all replies.

I used to cycle when i was kid, then other things got in the way, now looking back to something with low impact on my back (snowboard injury), hence mtb and gentle short rides. But yes, stories here do inspire to get more. Still some figures are reading like science fiction to me (for clarity, don't doubting them, they just seem bonkers).

[tuffer]

To be fair, 10 miles on a MTN bike will feel like 20 on a road bike. Just keep plugging away and enjoy it, once you have 3 or 4 bikes in your garage you will wonder what all the fuss was about.