32 Mile round trip.. will it anhiliate me?!

NovaNath

Tryed a dummy run on sunday of the route to work, and the ride home was a killer (bad head-wind though). Rode 1hr15min there, 1hr40 home.

Plan on starting out with three times a week (Mon, Tues, Thur) and going from there,

Riding a mountain bike with knobblies that have a centre tread (was just knobblies on the dummy run though), I'm 28, not especially chubby, got back into mountain-biking in the last couple of years.
Legs were shot and i was really hungry after the dummy run (sandwhich lunch before + Elevenses bar 8mi from home).

Basically, do people think it will get easier and quicker? ..i'm after some encouragement.. didn't get any from the g/f

Also, do people have any good tips/ stuff to know?

Thanks
Nathan

prj45

It will get easier and quicker, but get rid of the knobblies, even if it's just to get rid of the humming noise!

And don't tell me it's full sus.... Might as well ride a mattress full of wasps to work if that's the case.

upsidedown

I do a similar trip, 40 mile round trip Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
I'm over 40, cycled on and off for the last five or six years but nothing serious. It will get easier very quickly, i was shatered at work to start with, and always hungry, now i'm fine at work and don't really eat much more than i did before.

Try to sip water all day and eat a banana or flapjack about an hour before you leave for home.

I try to treat the ride as an end in itself, enjoy the scenery and don't rush the ride home. Take 5 minutes to sit and rest halfway through if there's somewhere nice.

Take clothes in on the day you don't ride to save weight.

Have a look on bikely.com, you'll be surprised how much you can cut off your route, or make it easier/nicer.

Sorry, bit of a ramble, but they're the main things i've picked up over the last 5 months, enjoy and good luck !

NovaNath

Centre ridge to reduce rolling resistance, toit hardtail ali frame, locked out forks, spuds.. i can't think of anything else that might make life easier..

Will slicks make a massive diference compared to the centre ridge knobblies? Bearing in mind there are 40% loose stone fire-roads on route and a small single-track section.

tomfoolery

I started out doing a 4 mile each way commute a little over a year ago (to the nearest railway station). That involved going the wrong way at first so after a short while I started going to another railway station, which meant 7 miles each way. Now I'm skipping the train completely over summer, doing 14 miles each way. (And loving it!)

Basically, if it's a bit tough at first, keep at it - because it gets a lot easier. (Maybe get Shwalbe Marathon Pluses though to stop punctures).

gtvlusso

Hiya,

I am doing 50 mile + every day round trip. Sad thing is that I only live 6 miles from work, I am a glutton for punishment!
My 6 mile commute is on innercity, busy roads with lots of junctions and round-a-bouts. If I do the 50 mile trip I go straight out on country lanes around the city to work - much more relaxing. However, I still have to tool it as I am lazy and often get up late.
I guess you get used to the haul and the hills, My home-made flatbar commuter is excellent for it (old Ambrosio race frame + cheap Xero wheels and the groupset off my old mountain bike!). I must admit that I started from an advantage of sorts as I have been cycling to work and competitively rowing/playing football and squash for a few years now and am only 33..
I would love to know my exact stats (cycle computer purhcase required), but the 25 miler takes about 1 hour give or take - I can bolster it up to 36 miles some days (in fact every day this week!) - but 72 miles a day takes it's toll on family life - i.e it knackers me. I have to stop once for 5 mins before a big fecking hill to on the 36. Funny thing is that I cannot stop farting at the moment - does anyone know if this is down to mileage or bad onions?!?

I think you get used to it and will probably be very surprised by what you are capable of! Go for it, you will be fine, but make it easy on yourself for the first few weeks (low gears - slick tyres and try and find a less hilly route) - no point pulling a muscle and having to drive for a few weeks, puts you back to square one! Take lots of Water!!!!!

gtvlusso

Clipless pedals are a god send too! Getting up hills will never be so easy - I use SPD-SL's with Sidi shoes for summer and Diadora shoes for winter. Bit much in all reality, but putting on wet kit is the worst and I have done this for a few years now!!!

I would probably recommend normal SL's though as they seem to be easier to get in and out of if you are in town allot - will definitely help on the hills and keep you rolling along on the flat.

Some great advice on this - I am going with the banana and flapjack stuff from upsidedown! Toptip by the sound of it! I normally use coffee before I go and water en route!!

steve_pushbiker

The 32 mile ride you did is a lot different to 2 x16 miles with a big break (work) in between. I agree with upsidedown: you'll be fine and it'll get better.

spen666

prj45 wrote:

.... Might as well ride a mattress full of wasps to work if that's the case.

What an interesting analogy

prj45

NovaNath wrote:

Will slicks make a massive diference compared to the centre ridge knobblies? Bearing in mind there are 40% loose stone fire-roads on route and a small single-track section.

Ah, didn't realise it wasn't on road.

Respect Bro!

dirk_van_gently

I have a 8.5 mile each way journey, for some reason I did 30 yesterday :-)
It will get easier, you're a bit younger than me, :shock: well actually you are almost half my age, so the fitness should come quite quickly.

I have to agree with other comments, get rid of the knobblies, if you have some fire road sections, get some semi slicks (Continental Double Fighters are good).
There have been threads on this forum about using Cyclocross bikes for commuting, read the threads then make up your own mind.

Belv

Short term - semi-slicks pumped up hard in dry weather.
Long term - that commute was designed for a cyclocross bike!

Definitely do it, though. For a few weeks your legs will probably ache (constantly), then before you realise it you will be riding 5 days a week without a second thought. Can you make the split mon-wed-fri to start with though, so there is always a day off in between?

Big Red S

When I started riding to uni (~25 mile round trip, singlespeed), I couldn't do anything after getting home for about the first two months, but after that it really didn't take long to feel 'normal' again. Though I was 19 at the time.


I say 'normal', I'm not sure feeling that fit has felt or will ever feel normal to me...

gtvlusso

You'll definitely sleep at night afterwards!

NovaNath

Awsome. I'll be starting on tuesday then! I think tues and thurs to begin with.

I'll have to stock up on the Tesco stodge flapjack

Thanks for the encouragement and tips folks!