Originally Posted by
O-Town
When I was 14 or 15 (can't remember exactly) I rode from Brea to Huntington Beach on the Santa Ana river trail. It was about 6 0miles. By the end of it I was totally spent. So...my take is...
Make sure you can do shorter distances before you bite off more than you can chew. This will also prove to Mom that you know what your doing. Then go for it.
+1
My concern for the teen stems mostly from his admission that he is a relatively new cyclist. I know as a teen there were some times where I got far afield and ran into some problems that required calling the parental units to bail me out with their car. I think your advice is solid. Not just for experience, but also for conditioning. Its simple stuff, like knowing how much water and food to take, and how to pace himself and how to fix a flat. There are no stores on the stretch through Pendleton.
What he might do is figure out a route that gives him equal mileage in a circle around his home would give him the mileage, with the advantage of never being too far from help. For example, with a hypothetical example, if he rode about 11 miles from home, and then did a circular route with his home as the center and maintaining that distance from home, and then rode the 11 miles back home, he'd do about a 90 mile ride, yet never be more than 11 miles from home.
Another thing might be to have him join some organized Century rides. But once he has some experience and knows he can make it. Go for it.