Long Distance Cycling

Yacoby

I am primarily a mountain biker, but would like to set myself the aim of cycling home some point this summer which isn't too much of a problem except that it is about 250 miles (Edinburgh -> Manchester) and I would prefer to do it in 24 hours.

I would assume that the basic idea would be to get an insane amount of road riding in and build up to being able to the point where I can do 120mile - 150miles rides on a road bike without too much difficulty?

Is this an achievable aim?



[This may be in the wrong place, if it is, I apologise]

g00se

Yup - 100 miles isn't too difficult (think equivalent of a 10k run) but a lot will depend on hills etc. The key is to get the miles in your legs. Doable in 6-9 hours depending on fitness and terrain. 120-150 is a jump from that - but not a huge one.

250 miles in 24 hours is a task though... Have a chat on the Sportives/Audax/Training forum as you may need some advice on training and pacing.

Yacoby

g00se wrote:

Yup - 100 miles isn't too difficult (think equivalent of a 10k run) but a lot will depend on hills etc. The key is to get the miles in your legs. Doable in 6-9 hours depending on fitness and terrain. 120-150 is a jump from that - but not a huge one.

250 miles in 24 hours is a task though... Have a chat on the Sportives/Audax/Training forum as you may need some advice on training and pacing.

Ok, cheers for the advice. I understand that the big issues become getting the food in fast enough.

I have made a thread on the forum you suggested.

Pross

It's do-able, top riders can clock up 250 miles in a 12 hour time trial. However, it is a long time sitting on a bike and you would need decent lights as you will almost certainly have to ride through the night by time you factor in stops for food and calls of nature. Training forum is likely to be the best bet, it's going to be a tough call getting to that sort of mileage by the summer.

Anonymous

I definitely reckon its do able. I had a fairly cack level of fitness when I started riding and did my 1st 100 fairly soon after. I did a 190 (or so) ride last september, so adding another 50 wouldn't have been impossible, but that was fairly flat (although also very headwindy).

Seriously, it is doable by the summer (depending on base fitness) but be 100% sure you are comfy in the saddle for a long time.

If you look at it as 10mph average, its not too scary.

skelkelly

It's definitely do-able, simply put you bike on the train in Manchester and take it out again in Edinburgh. The guard might let you in the goods cage so you can sit on it all the way home and look out of the window.

Should be easy enough to get the food intake right if you can stay close to the buffet car.

nochekmate

g00se wrote:

Yup - 100 miles isn't too difficult (think equivalent of a 10k run)

I don't think that this is anything like a fair comparison. Most people with just a modicum of fitness could run/jog 10K but 100 miles on the bike is a fair way to ride even with some cycling legs. The runs should be easily achieved in less than 1 hour by all but 100 miles on the bike would take at least 6 hours or more for most riders.

Three years ago I attempted my first 100 miler after just 2 months of cycling and I have to say that my initial thoughts after 30-40 mile training rides was that it was going to be as tough as running a marathon. Ultimately I didn't think that this was the case but whichever way you look at it, it's a damn sight tougher than running a 10K IMO.

250 miles will be a major undertaking although as others have said - clearly not impossible.

amaferanga

Cycling a long way at a moderate pace is easier than you'd think. You just have to look at audaxers - many look like couch potatoes and not athletes ;-)

The key is just to build up the miles, longer and longer rides. That'll let you sort out any comfort issues and let you get the feeding strategy that works for you. Worth doing some night rides as well to get used to riding and navigating in the dark.

nevman

400K (248 miles) in 20-23 hours is standard stuff for Audax couch potatoes-even with decent breaks for food+ chat.Dont underestimate the wear and tear on contact points,ankles,wrists etc will ache like fook hence the need to build up a steady mileage.Good luck and enjoy.

Yacoby

skelkelly wrote:

It's definitely do-able, simply put you bike on the train in Manchester and take it out again in Edinburgh. The guard might let you in the goods cage so you can sit on it all the way home and look out of the window.

Should be easy enough to get the food intake right if you can stay close to the buffet car.

amaferanga wrote:

Cycling a long way at a moderate pace is easier than you'd think. You just have to look at audaxers - many look like couch potatoes and not athletes ;-)

The key is just to build up the miles, longer and longer rides. That'll let you sort out any comfort issues and let you get the feeding strategy that works for you. Worth doing some night rides as well to get used to riding and navigating in the dark.

nevman wrote:

400K (248 miles) in 20-23 hours is standard stuff for Audax couch potatoes-even with decent breaks for food+ chat.Dont underestimate the wear and tear on contact points,ankles,wrists etc will ache like fook hence the need to build up a steady mileage.Good luck and enjoy.

Cheers for the advice. (I didn't even know what Audax was before starting this). I have tried googling and also found some good advice (e.g. While building up miles to 150km is good, the quality of those miles is more important than the quantity etc)