Fifty Plus (50+) - Just Did My Longest Ride!

Well, after doing some errands with my wife this morning, I thought I'd jump on my bike for a ride. Normally I will go 15 or 20 miles and consider that pretty good for a day. Today I decided to keep going to the next town south of the city and then I decided to head east to the small town on the other side of the city which left me with having to cross the whole city to get home. 45 miles!

I read the posts here of many of you doing this kind of mileage frequently but thought it would take me much longer to get ready for that kind of jump in mileage. It really felt great. No speed record set though.It took me 3 1/2 hours with two stops for gatorade and energy bars. And it was hot! 98 degrees by the time I got home. This should really be done earlier. I'm sure the heat affected my performance.

A couple of things learned were the saddle got a little uncomfortable (I am going back to Brooks soon) and I could really use some road tires on my Surly Cross Check. I am riding Ritchey Speedmax Cross tires in 35mm.
Anyhow, I just wanted to share my accomplishment and look forward to building on it. It gave me a lot of confidence to really expand my riding.

Thanks for reading :D
Rick

Thanks for writing about your ride.

45 miles on 35mm is indeed a great ride. Good job.

Congrats Rick, that's how I did my long ride, a last minute decision to do it! Physically its easy, mentally tough. I use a B17 on my LHT, very very comfy (after its broken in).

Thanks Dnvr and rvdv. I know what you mean about the mental part of riding. If I sit long enough I can talk myself out of any kind of ride.
+1 on the Brooks. That is all I rode in the '70's and '80's. Just have to decide which one to get. I am leaning toward the B17N with laces just to try something different.

Way to go! Keep it fun and you'll be surprised how quickly your longest ride will get longer and longer.

A long ride without a Brooks is something I don't even want to think about.

Bicycles are neat.

Great job!

Any new milestone is great to keep the motivation level up, and yours is a considerable distance!

Does the 54 in your user name indicate year of birth? And ironically if so, it would also be about the same as your age :D If so, then your next "Longest Ride" just might be your age!

Thanks for the report, and keep up the good work!

Yes dgregory57 it sure is my birthyear but my birthday was on Valentines so I missed the actual date. Maybe in the near future I'll give it a go. But early early in the day! I fried today!

Way to go turtleguy! That's quite a leep in distance and with only two stops.

Job well done, Rick! Congrats! There are days like that where a person just doesn't want to get off the bike.

Take care,

Steve

I love it. That's one of the cool things about bicycles... they encourage the meandering spirit in all of us. Good ride!

good stuff...you'll notice that the longer rides seem to get shorter the more you do them (it's truly an odd phenomenon)

I'll be doing my annual birthday ride (56!) from Toronto to Collingwood, Ontario shortly...the route i have to take is about 100 miles, last year ( and probably TY) on a 21" Schwinn hybrid with 700 X 38's and paniers...took about 6.5 hours LY into a NW wind, +40C (+100F), and its all uphill towards Georgian Bay.

A great start to summer:)

Well done. You're gonna love those road tires!

good job.....I commute 20 miles a day and have been for a few years now. Would like to complete a century some time this year.