Cycling 90 miles on Sunday, what do I need?

boris113 · July 2012

So I stupidly agreed to a bet with a mate last weekend which I think I may regret.

I'm off on holiday to Norfolk on Sunday and this bet involves me cycling the 90 miles from Leicestershire to Norfolk...in one day :shock: Carrying my normal clothes isn't an issue because I have a friend driving in the same direction but I'm not too sure what I will need to carry with me.

I've not cycled more than a couple of miles in a day for about 2 years, yesterday I went for a 10 mile ride which wasn't too bad, I did the same circuit again this morning, then about 12 miles this evening. I've since changed the saddle for another in the shed but other than that I have done no preparation to myself or the bike.

So far the kit I have is:
A Scott mountain bike (in good condition and recently serviced but very basic)
3 litre camelback
Inner tubes
Puncture repair kits, tyre levers, allen keys, pliers etc
Bike pump
Helmet/glasses
Lighweight waterproof coat.

So far I have been cycling in rugby shorts, trainers and a T-shirt, but I have the option to borrow some SPDs (and the clippy shoes shoes that fit). I've not ridden clipped in for about 3 years, do I borrow these or stick to the flats? Would it be worth investing in a pair of shorts with padding in to make the pain slightly more bearable? If so does anyone have any suggestions as to which ones?

I also have the option to borrow a very smart carbon roadbike, would it be a good idea to borrow this instead of the MTB?

Any and all suggestions are welcome

Many thanks, Harry

Lowride · July 2012

You have GOT TO borrow the carbon road bike and buy some padded shorts dude. A mtb on the road is no fun, esp 90 miles. I've got a road bike and a full susp mtb, the road bike eats the miles effortlessly. I don't know if it's a good idea having spd's for a 90 mile road ride if you have'nt used them for a while. They are better than flats as you can pull up on the peddles and your feet don't slide off. If you're confident enough in them then yes. Any padded shorts will do, the more expensive the better. Good Luck

cooldad · July 2012

A train ticket.

compo · July 2012

Its doable on an mtb if you are fit and used to riding it. I only say this over the road bike because it is a bit different on a road bike. However, the roadie is probably the best option

Padded shorts are a must. I'd go one further and go for a short ride on Thursdayish, so your nether regions are used to it, sort of 'breaking them in' like you would with shoes

If you are finding the distance a bit daunting, try thinking of it as 30 miles, then a cake stop, then another 30 miles, cake stop etc. Then its sort of like 3 short road rides. Taking a scenic back route may be better than the main roads too. It'll be quieter and more enjoyable because of that, and there may be a better view to keep the interest

ste_t · July 2012

You'll need that road bike and lots of snacks.

Will probably kill you though.

And get some padded shorts, so at least you die in comfort.

boris113 · July 2012

Thanks for all of the advice guys

I found this jersey: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tenn-Mens-Breat ... 67&sr=8-15

and these shorts: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Viper-Professio ... 019&sr=8-1

Do they both look ok? My little brother has got amazon prime so I can order them today and have them tomorrow. The shoes are some smart specialized ones but they are the right size, once the shorts turn up, I will head out on the road bike and adjust the SPDs so they are easy to clip out of whilst I get used to them during the week. I'll have a few goes on it and make a decision from there.

Good idea about breaking the journey down, there is even a Macdonalds half way down to include an extra break at :roll: Other than that there are plenty of garages for chocolate and lucozade and I will stick some in my bag also.

Any other ideas as to how I can die in marginally more comfort?

Many thanks, Harry

Darkstalker420 · July 2012

:shock: Mc Donalds!! as if the ride won't be punishing enough! You risk gastric distress LMAO! good luck though buddy.

Thanks.

sigorman85 · July 2012

Might as well admit defeat now if ya going to try an do it on a Mtb (nutter)

VWsurfbum · July 2012

Luckily its pretty flat that way, get that Road bike, get spare tubes for it and try to only carry the weight on the bike not on your back.
if you got a mate going that way, get him to take all the unnessasarys.
90 miles is a bloody long way if your not used to doing it, work out in advance your route, planned stops (these act as goals) plenty of water and stay away from caffine!

Twelly · July 2012

I did 107 miles for charity dressed as Batman. For this reason I say the most important thing you need is a cape.

Capes look farking cool when you are riding a bike at 20mph

BoarderGreen · July 2012

Fair play.

If the road bike is the right size for you definatley use that! your cruising speed on a road bike, from my experience, is around the same as pushing it on a mountain bike.

on my cycle to work my mountain bike is about 12-14mph plugging away, similar effort when o took a road bike out this week saw me knocking on 20mph and that increased with even slight downhill stretches.

The distance is do-able on a mountain bike but seriously think of skinny tyres pumped up to silly pressures.

I rode the C2C in 2 days for charity in april, about 70-80 miles a day, that was a mix of cycle paths, country roads and some short off road and i used my Hardrock for that with 2.1 tyres. That involved some nasty censored climbs across the lake district, no uphills should be able to be measured in miles! (thats my personal opinion)

Which ever bike you use proper shorts and cycling top is the way forward, i wouldnt risk borrowing spd shoes or drastically changing from things you use when you normally ride, making sure your comfortable is going to be the crux of it.
A new saddle might work but have your old one handy in case you and the new saddle dont 'get along' after a few miles, get your riding position sorted, anything that seems like a slight uncomfort for a ten mile ride will really bug you at 70miles!

Jimx26 · July 2012

cooldad wrote:

A train ticket.

This.

oodboo · July 2012

I'm probably repeating advice from others bet here's my 2p:
Borrow the road bike and wear some decent padded cycling shorts, you can wear them under baggies if you want but make sure you get some that fit well. I cycling top would be a good idea as well. Plan your rest stops but don't stop for too long. Think of the remaining distance in number of stops rather than miles.

A few years ago I done the C2C in one day, it was one very long day but I got there. If your stamina and is good and you have a decent level of fitness you'll be fine. Just don't set off at a flying pace that you can't maintain, you'll wear youself out too fast and it's depressing when you do the rest of the ride at half that speed.

Twelly · July 2012

Going in a group makes a big difference also. If you are planning to go solo, try and rope a couple of mates in with you, even if they only do half distance then a few more join in for the second half. When I did Portsmouth - Brighton there was 12 of us and for the first 25 miles we were having a laugh and enjoying the sun, racing each other and swapping positions and before we knew it we were a quarter of the way through. The first 25/30 miles felt like nothing.

Gets a bit harder after that mind..

Also, don't stop for too long. If you are riding in a group and you have unfit/unprepared riders with you you may find the group stopping every 5 miles and the stops becoming longer and longer. This will only make the ride feel longer and your body will not appreciate the stop-starting. Do long, controlled speed, stints (15-20 miles) with 10-15 minute breaks to take on food/catch your breath/regroup.

VWsurfbum · July 2012

TwellySmat wrote:

I say the most important thing you need is a cape.

Capes look farking cool when you are riding a bike at 20mph

This is the most important post so far! Plus the road goers in their 4 wheeled machines will give you a wide berth as the fear of being beaten up by a super hero!

oodboo · July 2012

AMcK · July 2012

Q - what do you stand to win/lose from the bet?

And to echo others - road bike (if it fits), padded shorts (absolutely), cape.

boris113 · July 2012

Thanks guys, I only stand to lose about £20, it's more the fact that I want to prove I can do it! I will be doing the ride by myself (the rest of my friends have the common sense to use a car).

The new saddle on the MTB made a lot of difference. Cycling shorts arrived today so I took the road bike out for a spin (about 9 miles) -what a difference

I couldn't believe how quickly you can cover the same distance and with much less effort! No doubt the SPDs helped as well! I'm going on a longer ride (approx 25 miles) tomorrow, if all goes well then I will ride that instead of the MTB. I've got a 2nd water bottle holder on the road bike and a bag that hangs under the saddle for tools/innertubes so that takes some of the weight off my back.

I'm sure the cape will make the most difference, any suggestions as to which superhero I copy? 8) Mum said she has some old bed sheets, I'm thinking of going retro with some tie-dye :roll:

I'm going to break down the journey into about 4 or 5 stages (including a stop at Maccas), got a little computer thing on the road bike that tells me how quickly I'm going and I've cut the cigarette intake from 40 a day down to about 15 so that should help a little bit.

Keep the suggestions coming!

Harry

Twelly · July 2012

boris113 wrote:

I've cut the cigarette intake from 40 a day down to about 15 so that should help a little bit.

Lol.

We had one smoker with us on the charity ride. He was taken away by a district nurse after 30 miles.

I am an ex-smoker and I can tell you the difference quitting has made to my stamina and ability is massive. It has also helped my cycling

Stop smoking altogether. Use money from not buying fags to buy awesome cape.

oodboo · July 2012

There's nowt like doing something stupid to prove a point, best of luck fella and you'll have to let us know how you get on.

sigorman85 · July 2012

Post pic of u on bike with cape

karlbrewster · July 2012

Don't forget the high-energy power bars. Lots of 'em.

VWsurfbum · July 2012

TwellySmat wrote:

Use money from not buying fags to buy awesome cape.

Best advice EVARRRRRRRRRRRR

boris113 · July 2012

Thanks for all of the advice everyone, I managed to survive the journey!

It was 94 miles door to door, took me 6 hours for the whole thign with an average speed of 17.9 mph...not too bad with 4 days training I thought!

In hindsight, I'm very glad I took the road bike, my legs were pretty sore the following morning but i'm sure it would have been far worse on the MTB.

Cheers all, Harry

VWsurfbum · July 2012

boris113 wrote:

Thanks for all of the advice everyone, I managed to survive the journey!

It was 94 miles door to door, took me 6 hours for the whole thign with an average speed of 17.9 mph...not too bad with 4 days training I thought!

In hindsight, I'm very glad I took the road bike, my legs were pretty sore the following morning but i'm sure it would have been far worse on the MTB.

Cheers all, Harry

what we want to know is, did you wear a cape?

The Spiderman · August 2012

I did the Dunwich Dynamo a few weeks ago, which is a 120 mile night ride from Hackney to Dunwich.

My training was nothing more than being a typical weekend warrior and swimming a couple of times a week.

I did it on my road bike but one of our group did it on an hardtail with slicks. Definitely easier on the road bike but doable on an mtb.

On long distances its not so much fitness but comfort that makes the difference.Make sure your bike is set up right and your saddle is comfortable.

Twelly · August 2012

boris113 wrote:

Thanks for all of the advice everyone, I managed to survive the journey!

The Spiderman wrote:

On long distances its not so much fitness but comfort that makes the difference.Make sure your bike is set up right and your saddle is comfortable.

Keep up dear.

Did you wear a cape?

Cycling 90 miles on Sunday, what do I need?

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