Cycling to the planets - How long?

Wrath Rob
Wrath Rob Posts: 2,918
edited September 2013 in Commuting chat
Using this it looks like it would take me 2,482 years to get to Jupiter, 5,035 years to get to Saturn and 70,853 years to get to where Voyager is now.

Pretty humbling. Or I could just MTFU and ride faster. Increasing my speed from 18 to 24mph would knock around 15,000 years off of that ;)
FCN3: Titanium Qoroz.

Comments

  • rubertoe
    rubertoe Posts: 3,994
    How come you didn't mention Uranus? :wink:

    That is actually pretty humbling - we really are so insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
    "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

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  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    I'm sure it wouldn't take Wrath Rob long to cycle up Uranus but I'm not sure how far he'd get. Would you like him to?
    Faster than a tent.......
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,824
    Another reason to post a link to this excellent page

    http://scaleofuniverse.com/

    In short, it is bigger (and smaller) than you think.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
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    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • BigLights
    BigLights Posts: 464
    yeah but bear in mind you've not got gravity, friction or air resistance problems so presumably once you're out of the Earth's field you would be able to slot into a veeeeeery high gear and cane it at a couple of hundred mph at least, if not more. And if your route planning was good enough you'd be using other planets' gravity fields to slingshot yourself. So your figures are probably way conservative.
  • tetley10
    tetley10 Posts: 693
    Plus you wouldn't have to worry about cornering so you could take your TT bike and skin suit.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    Tetley10 wrote:
    Plus you wouldn't have to worry about cornering so you could take your TT bike and skin suit.

    Why would you need to be aero in space? You haven't thought this through at all! :lol:
    Faster than a tent.......
  • Gallywomack
    Gallywomack Posts: 823
    Erm, there's no roads in space.

    So you'd need at least a CXer, probably a cross-country MTB.
    Pompino
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    Takes about 30 mins from start to end

    http://www.york.ac.uk/solar/
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • prawny
    prawny Posts: 5,440
    Rolf F wrote:
    I'm sure it wouldn't take Wrath Rob long to cycle up Uranus but I'm not sure how far he'd get. Would you like him to?

    I'm looking forward to the first annual 'Ride Uranus' event.
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  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 61,837
    rjsterry wrote:
    Another reason to post a link to this excellent page

    http://scaleofuniverse.com/

    In short, it is bigger (and smaller) than you think.
    I've seen that a while ago (on this forum I think) but yep it is truly excellent and thought provoking. I showed it to my kid and she was into 'Wow!' mode.
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • DavidBelcher
    DavidBelcher Posts: 2,684
    Wrath Rob wrote:
    Using this it looks like it would take me 2,482 years to get to Jupiter, 5,035 years to get to Saturn and 70,853 years to get to where Voyager is now.

    Pretty humbling. Or I could just MTFU and ride faster. Increasing my speed from 18 to 24mph would knock around 15,000 years off of that ;)

    You could do it the scaled-down way:

    http://www.york.ac.uk/solar/html/model_map.html

    Edit: Oops. I see I've already been beaten to this. Still, not many bike paths can claim to have been on the route of the Flying Scotsman and (possibly) featured in the opening credits of Get Carter....

    David
    "It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal
  • monkimark
    monkimark Posts: 1,953
    Constant (solar) tailwind all the way, easy....
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Every commuter knows the tailwind (solar or otherwise) is a myth!
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • dilemna
    dilemna Posts: 2,187
    No need to leave Earth there is already a dealer here. It would take me about 8 hours though to reach Planet X.

    http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/contact
    Life is like a roll of toilet paper; long and useful, but always ends at the wrong moment. Anon.
    Think how stupid the average person is.......
    half of them are even more stupid than you first thought.
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    Need to take CO2 cylinders in case of p*ncture; a normal pump won't work in a vacuum. And drop your tyre pressure by ~14psi before leaving, or they may blow off the rims...
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • tetley10
    tetley10 Posts: 693
    Would you be able to get full power through the pedals though?
  • MonkeyMonster
    MonkeyMonster Posts: 4,629
    constant acceleration so how would the gearing work?, you'd need an ever expanding front chainset or a ever decreasing rear sproket...
    Le Cannon [98 Cannondale M400] [FCN: 8]
    The Mad Monkey [2013 Hoy 003] [FCN: 4]
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    MonkeyMonster wrote:
    constant acceleration so how would the gearing work?, you'd need an ever expanding front chainset or a ever decreasing rear sproket...
    I've just figured that out, no need for any pedalling at all. You'll need to take a laptop (or possibly smart phone) connected to the Internet via something like this: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg2 ... -moon.html
    Using the laptop go to the Pro Race section of this forum, find a thread on doping, and you have access to a limitless source of hot air that you can then use for propulsion.
    Pannier, 120rpm.

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