Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - 4000 mile trip

does anyone think it is possible to bike 4000 miles in 30 days?

just want to see what people have to say...

Of course ... why not? That's only 133 miles a day ... just a bit over a 200K a day. If you're a reasonably fast rider, you could comfortably knock that off in 9-ish hours much the same as if you were working a normal 9 hour workday.

I know someone who rode 8000 kms (about 5000 miles) in 5 weeks in 2002. He landed in Vancouver, cycled to Kamloops to start the RM1200, cycled the RM1200, cycled across North America to Boston, and then cycled the BMB. Just to add to the fun ... he did both 1200K events on a fixed gear and flipped the hub so that the rest of the trip was on single speed.

Why do you ask?

well, i plan on a trip of that length; have been training for it for some time and feel that i can do it, but a lot of people tell me i can't. thank you

More details please. :)

What is the route? Is it supported or un-supported ? ie - do u have to carry all of your own gear?

How much training have you been doing?

To make that sort of trip you will have to ride every day without days off, including riding in bad weather.

Bob

RAAM does 3,000+ miles in about 10 days. Of course, a lot of people don't finish that race. ;)

If you are genuinely interested in a trip of that nature, take a look at PACTOUR. Even if you don't do one of their tours, it should give you an idea of the kind of training and fitness you need.

Duda:

I think that ride is doable. I have ridden across the USA twice and will be attempting my third time this June. The hardest thing for me on multi day tours, is that after about 2 weeks, my legs could use a rest day. If you are not going to take any rest days, then you will need to learn how to recover on the bike.

Also, it will be key for you to work out your nutrition. One bad nutrition day could effect the next 2-3 days of cycling.

If it is in your budget, I would look at the Pac Tour trip in August, which goes from Everett, Wa to Williamsburg, Va., 3,380 miles in 26 days. The ride that you are contempating will be difficult and doing a supported tour will give you a tremendous amount of knowledge.

www.pactour.com

i bike vigorously for a couple hours a day, do some extra running and lift every day. Nutrition i'm still working out, because i have a super fast metabolism. I was looking into maltodextrin and of course plenty of protein. Right now i eat about 10,000 calories a day of mainly healthy food and plan to up that amount for the trip. I am planning for the trip to be in june or july, so i know i will need lots of water; i'm prepared for that plus the extra sets of clothes (good and bad weather). I will stay in motels every couple days and camp out the other days. I can easily handle 100 miles a day for several days in a row and i am increasing my speed each week.

i will give more info later... i'm still sorting out the map, i've looked at a couple, but i plan on making my own map, and avoiding big cities and major roads when possible

Are you going alone?

The hardest thing for me on multi day tours, is that after about 2 weeks, my legs could use a rest day. If you are not going to take any rest days, then you will need to learn how to recover on the bike.
Mind if I ask why you would go for 2 weeks without a rest day, other than some type of racing / timed event?

i bike vigorously for a couple hours a day, do some extra running and lift every day. Nutrition i'm still working out, because i have a super fast metabolism. I was looking into maltodextrin and of course plenty of protein. Right now i eat about 10,000 calories a day of mainly healthy food and plan to up that amount for the trip. I am planning for the trip to be in june or july, so i know i will need lots of water; i'm prepared for that plus the extra sets of clothes (good and bad weather). I will stay in motels every couple days and camp out the other days. I can easily handle 100 miles a day for several days in a row and i am increasing my speed each week.

i will give more info later... i'm still sorting out the map, i've looked at a couple, but i plan on making my own map, and avoiding big cities and major roads when possible

You might consider how you plan to resupply your maltodextrin stock when you are on the road. Better to plan to eat locally available foods (restaurant or grocery stores) to ensure a ready supply of food. I expect you will have a hard time finding maltodextrin outside of large cities.

Mind if I ask why you would go for 2 weeks without a rest day, other than some type of racing / timed event?

The PacTour trips do not have rest days.

For example, this June, I am signed up for the Elite Pac Tour which crosses the US in 17 days. Hence a mini RAAM.

Mind if I ask why you would go for 2 weeks without a rest day, other than some type of racing / timed event?

Because you can?

It's a personal challenge!! :D

It's possible but I couldn't do it nor would I want to do it. I like to stop and smell the roses, say hi to folks, stop at libraries, and sleep 10-12 hours a night.

It's more likely if you have complete sag support, in really good shape, and most important, the MENTALITY to do it.

But if you are capable of doing it, why not???

EXACTLY!!! i am going to do this because i CAN! ... in response to supcom, i have planned on eating at local groceries, and no way in any shape or form will i even think about restaurants or fast food. The maltodextrin is not totally important, but i do plan on stopping in a few cities to find some.

Because you can?

It's a personal challenge!! :D

Exactly! :)

Myself and a buddy rode unsupported from San Diego to Ft Lauderdale (3030 miles) in 25 days.

And that was with 60 pound touring bikes!

Makai - tibike --- The pac tour can pick you up and carry you because they are fully supported... Matter of fact they will pluck you from the road if you don't make it to the end point for a given day before the sun sets.

I planned my crossing to be 23 days but had 2 days of "buffer" of which one I used due to bad weather (heavy rain going through Phoenix (desert floods when it rains)) and the second was I simply had to stop doing 140 mile days or my calf was going to fall off so I slowed down and did two 90+ mile days as recovery rides.

dudea.... I found that hotdogs eaten at the only place open early in the morning at the 7-11 going out of town are actually good :) You just have to pretend they are breakfast biscuits...

I think that you get a different view of riding if you go unsupported... I actually started to get very good a spotting water towers when riding out west... If you see a sign for a town but you don't see a water tower... Well your going to keep going because there is nothing there but an intersection and possibly a farm building or materials building.

Plasterville in Arizona I thought was going to be a real place but it was a CITY SIZED center that made sheet rock As far as I could see was buildings after buildings of sheet rock and trains and truck loading the stuff... But not a house or gas station in site. Well I did find one 20 miles later and then it was 60 miles to the next one!!! And it was 103 degrees!

Put together 4 consecutive 150 miles rides and you will be at the fitness level you need.

[QUOTE=prestonjb]Myself and a buddy rode unsupported from San Diego to Ft Lauderdale (3030 miles) in 25 days.QUOTE]

Preston: That is quite a ride.

You are correct that Pac Tour will shuttle you from one stop to the next. The biggest problem with Pac Tour is that if you do not maintain a certain pace, then you will be sagged. Hoever, this has to be balanced against that Pac Tour can be supporting up to 60 riders.

You'd be pretty lucky to pull off 4000 miles in 40 days, let alone 30.

The fact that you haven't described a sophisticated support and route plan in your posts is evidence that you hardly realize how difficult it is to maintain fitness and ride readiness for that period of time.

The physical demands of averaging a 100 or miles per day in conjunction with the necessities of bicycle maintenance, laundry and nutritional care can become difficult to anticipate. Add in some less than optimal weather or route difficulties, and significant riding, day after day becomes rather tedious.

Often, resting in unfamiliar surroundings becomes an issue as well.

Can 4000 miles in 30 days be done? Of course, but not without significant motivation.

You'd be pretty lucky to pull off 4000 miles in 40 days, let alone 30.

The fact that you haven't described a sophisticated support and route plan in your posts is evidence that you hardly realize how difficult it is to maintain fitness and ride readiness for that period of time.

The physical demands of averaging a 100 or miles per day in conjunction with the necessities of bicycle maintenance, laundry and nutritional care can become difficult to anticipate. Add in some less than optimal weather or route difficulties, and significant riding, day after day becomes rather tedious.

Often, resting in unfamiliar surroundings becomes an issue as well.

Can 4000 miles in 30 days be done? Of course, but not without significant motivation.
Actually, won't that depend on a number of factors? As mentioned above, look at RAAM as mentioned earlier in this thread. Granted, the riders in RAAM have a support van and crews so that basically, they are nothing more or less than racehorses because anything they do other than ride, eat or sleep is burning energy they need to pedal 280+ miles a day.

I think richard's point is still a good one... The RAAM guys have a plan... And that includes the time it takes to stock up that SAG, decide on a SAG team and so on...

For my trip I started planning the route 4 months prior... I had to use several mapping tools (Delorme, Garmin, google-maps, and also google to search for hotels and gas stations... I even talked to the information center of New MExico to find out of certain cities were "alive" so I knew I would find water and hotels... And even with all of that planning I still had one section of 150 miles all in the mountains that I had to basically ask the locals as I got closer and closer to that segment to where I would stay and I found someone who use to live in the area that told me of a hunting lodge and a small restaurant and store...

When I got there... The guy who owned the store and the lady who owned the restaurant remembered the lady I talked to... They all use to go to high-school together! Whew... I'm glad I met her or we woulda been camping in 30F temps in the middle of no where!

i will give more info later... i'm still sorting out the map, i've looked at a couple, but i plan on making my own map, and avoiding big cities and major roads when possible
If you are doing your trip in the US, check out Adventure Cycling's maps. They include lots of info like campgrounds, bike shops, restaurants etc.

I partially disagree with Cranium, in that this will be extremely difficult and you will need lots of motivation. But it's hardly impossible, especially as you've done extended 100+ days.

However, I still say that you should plan on some rest days and some type of support.

Rest is a very important part of building strength, so including a few rest days may not only make your trip more pleasant, but will make you stronger. And since you aren't going for a record, extending your trip by 3-5 days isn't an imposition.

Also if you're going solo (which sounds likely), you may want some friends to occasionally meet up with you, to drop off supplies & provide moral support.


Does anyone think that setting up a spare bike in advance would be advisable? E.g., if the OP has a frame failure or major mechanical, he could get the spare shipped overnight and not have to worry about setup.

Does anyone think that setting up a spare bike in advance would be advisable? E.g., if the OP has a frame failure or major mechanical, he could get the spare shipped overnight and not have to worry about setup.

That is an interesting idea and a very good one.

I also think that if you could build in a rest day or two would be beneficial. You should also learn some do-it-yourself massage techniques.

I also think that you need to build a utrition plan. You are probably going to burn 4,000-6,000 calories per day. Given that a normal body can effciently absorb 300 calories per hour and 20-24 ounces of water per hour, you will need to plan how to eat consistently and take in the right vitamins, minerals and electrolytes. One bad day of not getting this balance correct will effect you for 2-3 days. Just speaking on my own experiences.

Would love to see your route, when you finish it.