Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - 107 Miles on the Langster Today

So I decided to kill the question that has always been posed to me as a cyclist: "what's the furthest you've ever ridden in a day". Being a former junior racer and mountain biker, the distance was never that great, the emphasis always being on time and speed. As my cycling experience has progressed over the years, I've always been dogged by this question and somewhat ashamed of my answer: "I dunno, 40, maybe 50 miles" (this until recent 65 mile rides). With that in mind, I decided to pursue the right of pasage that is held dear to many cyclists, the Century.

And I decided to do it on my SS Langster, on the W&OD trail in Virginia, on a 93 degree sunny day. Nice one, Jpearl!

It was an incredible experience, from the outset of the first few miles knowing just what lay ahead, and then going into the unknown after the 65th mile. Having never ridden a century before, I paced myself as best as I thought possible, making the initial 52.76 mile run out to Purcelville, VA, in 3 hrs. at 17 mph. At that pace, things looked good for a five to five and a half hour century, but despite my best efforts to keep myself fed and hydrated, I started to suffer at mile 75, and the last 15 miles were some of the hardest of my cycling life, with the last ten miles spent in pure hell as my legs touched the edge of cramping in the heat and effort. The last five miles where the worst, they took seemingly forever and my legs were ticking time bombs ready to explode in horrifying cramps. It took pure concentration, grit, and very delicate riding to hold it together through the end and carrying me through the last miles to fight off the pain for the sole, rewarding pleasure of watching the odometer flip from 99.99 miles to those beautiful, hard-earned numbers: 100.00 miles.

Excrutiating as it was, it was a beautiful feeling; to know that I had reached a cycling milestone in my life, and to have done it in such purity, alone on a singlespeed roadbike. No gears, no aero-bling, just a basic bike and rider.

BTW, the Langster worked well for this ride. The W&OD trail is relatively flat, and the stock 42x17 gearing handled everything nicely. I rode with two bottles on the frame and a RoadMorph pump under the top tube. Along the way, I refueled at the 7-Elevens along the way and chomped down three Cliff Bars and one Zone Bar.

Here are the number for the day:
100 Mile Time: 5 hrs. 56 mins. 13 secs.
Average Speed: 16.9 mph
Maximum Speed: 33 mph
Gearing: 42x17 singlespeed
Overall Distance: 107 miles.

Wow.. that is great.. This is the second distance thread on this forum today! You guys are motivating me to do more than just ride around the city :)

did you eat anything else
?

Damn. I would've eaten a lot more!

I rode 50 miles almost everyday last week on my fixed gear 48/17. I even made 80 miles a day on it. With average speed of 17-19mph. That's not hard at all, I'm changing the gear for 48/16 tomorrow and I will ride much more.

To make training more effective I sometimes put a 5kg barbell in my backpack, it makes climbing hills more interesting. I made 50 miles with a 5kg in my backpack too.

Spinning 66.7 inches won't get you anywhere.

Yessss

I rode 50 miles almost everyday last week on my fixed gear 48/17. I even made 80 miles a day on it. With average speed of 17-19mph. That's not hard at all, I'm changing the gear for 48/16 tomorrow and I will ride much more.

To make training more effective I sometimes put a 5kg barbell in my backpack, it makes climbing hills more interesting. I made 50 miles with a 5kg in my backpack too.

Spinning 66.7 inches won't get you anywhere.

How's the trackstand practice going?

For the ride, I started out with a breakfast of whole wheat pancakes and and omlette. I based the breakfast on an article I read in a bike magazine about which different kinds of breakfasts are best for which rides, and this was the best one for long distance.

I ate an energy bar every 25 miles (Zone bar at the start of the ride, and Clif bars afterwards), and also had a banana at the 75 mile mark.

I can tell you from experience that eating chili before a ride is bad news. So you can rule that out. :D

Spinning 66.7 inches won't get you anywhere.


....looks like it got him at least a hundredmiles down the road. But he probably ended up where he started, so I guess you are right.

....looks like it got him at least a hundredmiles down the road. But he probably ended up where he started, so I guess you are right.
He won't develop any muscles this way, that's for sure. Spinning techniques and good cadence - yes, but no muscles.

He won't develop any muscles this way, that's for sure. Spinning techniques and good cadence - yes, but no muscles.

Yeah, and geez, good spin and good cadence and a fun ride and a feeling of accomplishment? Who the **** cares about that?

Not everyone has these stupid dreams of being the first foreign* keirin champion or whatever.

*Fixed because I was apparently being derogatory and had no idea.

He won't develop any muscles this way, that's for sure. Spinning techniques and good cadence - yes, but no muscles.
http://www.pediatric-orthopedics.com/Topics/Fitness/Muscles/Arm_MusclesSurface_0_102_204.jpg

Hmmmm....
Maybe a little bit of competition :)

Two of my prsonal bests:

23.06.07 Worcester-Swindon-Worcester, 131.2miles, 16.42AVR, 7.59.18
29.06.07 Worcester-Bristol-Lower Broadheath-Worcester, 140.5miles, 15.49AVR, 9.04.16

Going on my trusty Stratos 49x18

Maybe at the begining of fall I'll try to beat 200miles :)

Cheers!
Seb

Yeah, and geez, good spin and good cadence and a fun ride and a feeling of accomplishment? Who the **** cares about that?

Not everyone has these stupid dreams of being the first gaijin keirin champion or whatever.

You realize Gaijin is a derogatory term, right? I mean yes it is part of a phrase used to describe a foreigner, but typically by itself it is derogatory.

Is Tadashi the next RyanF?

"SPining 66.7 gere inches wont grow you any guads"

I know someone else posted this, but Tadashi can't be any older than 14 or 15, can he? I hope not, for his sake.

He won't develop any muscles this way, that's for sure. Spinning techniques and good cadence - yes, but no muscles.

He will build endurance, and then will run you into the ground.

for the real though

what is the longest distance that sprinters might ride as a part of a training regimen

Way to go Jpearl. Nice ride!

I might need to head to DC soon...I have done several imperial centuries on my geared bike but the longest ride on the fixie has only been 32 miles...my next distance goals are metric and imperial centuries on the fixie. Flat route sounds nice to me. :D

Good work...so this was SS and not fixed? I would think that might be a little tougher actually.

He will build endurance, and then will run you into the ground.
With what? He'll blow me away with his propeller cadence? I ride 50 miles a day easily. And not on a pansy SS, but on fixed gear, with a good gear.

The important thing here is that track cycling is mostly about muscles. (Well, leg speed too, but it's impossible to get to good cadence on a high gear if you don't have muscles).

You may say "hey I don't care about track cycling, I'm even riding an SS". Well, you may ride a fg or a ss, but in both cases you don't have multiple gears, so your only gear should be high and you should exercise to ride it fast. If you don't want to do this, then just buy a cruiser or smth, it suits you better.

With what? He'll blow me away with his propeller cadence? I ride 50 miles a day easily. And not on a pansy SS, but on fixed gear, with a good gear.

The important thing here is that track cycling is mostly about muscles. (Well, leg speed too, but it's impossible to get to good cadence on a high gear if you don't have muscles).

You may say "hey I don't care about track cycling, I'm even riding an SS". Well, you may ride a fg or a ss, but in both cases you don't have multiple gears, so your only gear should be high and you should exercise to ride it fast. If you don't want to do this, then just buy a cruiser or smth, it suits you better.

Wasn't it like a month ago that you pitched a fit and threatened to give up riding fixed because you couldn't trackstand?

Tadashi has all the bad qualities of dutret, but none of the actual knowledge. And in 5 years, he won't have usable knees like dutret, either.

Hooray!

Sorry OP, I haven't said congrats yet. That's an awesome ride. I've only ever done centuries on my geared road bike. Clearly I should buy a cruiser because everyone knows that 100 miles on a geared bike does not constitute exercise.

http://www.tvdsb.on.ca/nmeadows/YearBook/01-02/gradwebpages/henderson/Richard%20Simmons.jpg

I, like, totally have the biggest muscles ever and ride 150 miles a day with 110 gear inches. I will crush you weaklings who do this thing called "spinning."
And then my knees will explode.

I do warm ups for my knees. I'm very anal about my knees, so worry about something else, ok?

Congrats OP! Now you're ready for a double century. 100 miles in 100 degree heat.

Next time, load up on bananas in the days leading up to the ride (so the potassium will already be in your system to deal w/ cramps) and bring some coke mixed w/ water in one of your bottles.

With what? He'll blow me away with his propeller cadence? I ride 50 miles a day easily. And not on a pansy SS, but on fixed gear, with a good gear.

The important thing here is that track cycling is mostly about muscles. (Well, leg speed too, but it's impossible to get to good cadence on a high gear if you don't have muscles).

You may say "hey I don't care about track cycling, I'm even riding an SS". Well, you may ride a fg or a ss, but in both cases you don't have multiple gears, so your only gear should be high and you should exercise to ride it fast. If you don't want to do this, then just buy a cruiser or smth, it suits you better.

That is the old school way of thinking. If you watch road cycling, just about everyone has moved to high cadence. You can thank Mr. Lance Armstrong for that. Also, there are more than one type of track cycling. Not all track cycling is about short distances.

For the ride, I started out with a breakfast of whole wheat pancakes and and omlette. I based the breakfast on an article I read in a bike magazine about which different kinds of breakfasts are best for which rides, and this was the best one for long distance.

I ate an energy bar every 25 miles (Zone bar at the start of the ride, and Clif bars afterwards), and also had a banana at the 75 mile mark.

Dude. What did you eat/drink AFTER the ride?

33mph on a langster, my gear calculatior says your cadence was 171 , very impressive.

With what? He'll blow me away with his propeller cadence? I ride 50 miles a day easily. And not on a pansy SS, but on fixed gear, with a good gear.

The important thing here is that track cycling is mostly about muscles. (Well, leg speed too, but it's impossible to get to good cadence on a high gear if you don't have muscles).

You may say "hey I don't care about track cycling, I'm even riding an SS". Well, you may ride a fg or a ss, but in both cases you don't have multiple gears, so your only gear should be high and you should exercise to ride it fast. If you don't want to do this, then just buy a cruiser or smth, it suits you better.

Wow man. You are a fcking ******bag.

per Tadashi's request, I'm looking into getting a cruiser. any suggestions?

ive just reallised its ss not fw

Awesome ride to the OP too, that's extremely sweet.

I ride 50 miles a day easily
If you ride that much every day, your muscles are not getting bigger. In fact, they're getting more and more damaged. You will soon injure yourself. Sorry.

Due to Tadashi's comments, I sit here wondering, "WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING WITH MY BIKE?"

omg im such a lam0r 4 nt rydin 50+ milez/day what do i do im such such a dw33b 4 rydin onle 5mph an it takezz m3 lyk 50ft 2 stopzz lolz0rz~!~!!!!one keke!

Shut up. It's about the ride. I'm happy for the OP for doing so and sharing the accomplishments he's proud of.

With what? He'll blow me away with his propeller cadence? I ride 50 miles a day easily. And not on a pansy SS, but on fixed gear, with a good gear.

The important thing here is that track cycling is mostly about muscles. (Well, leg speed too, but it's impossible to get to good cadence on a high gear if you don't have muscles).

You may say "hey I don't care about track cycling, I'm even riding an SS". Well, you may ride a fg or a ss, but in both cases you don't have multiple gears, so your only gear should be high and you should exercise to ride it fast. If you don't want to do this, then just buy a cruiser or smth, it suits you better.

I just had a SNL flashback..................so which one are you, Hanz or Franz??

I rode 50 miles almost everyday last week on my fixed gear 48/17. I even made 80 miles a day on it. With average speed of 17-19mph. That's not hard at all, I'm changing the gear for 48/16 tomorrow and I will ride much more.

To make training more effective I sometimes put a 5kg barbell in my backpack, it makes climbing hills more interesting. I made 50 miles with a 5kg in my backpack too.

Spinning 66.7 inches won't get you anywhere.

you ride with a backpack. enough said.

If you ride that much every day, your muscles are not getting bigger. In fact, they're getting more and more damaged. You will soon injure yourself. Sorry.

I have to disagree there. If he worked his way into riding that much, I see no problems with it. But, it would take a while to get there.

I have to disagree there. If he worked his way into riding that much, I see no problems with it. But, it would take a while to get there.that's a good point, but given what he has said about going from riding road bikes for 6 months "almost everyday" -- to his first experience with an entry-level track bike -- to a nearly full-njs bomber pro pushing 90 gear inches -- to completely insane antiquated training (carrying weights...up mountains...with slotted cleats...in a high gear?!?) for the japanese keirin circuit in which he will unlikely ever be able to compete -- all in the span of literally six weeks -- well, it doesn't seem like patience or self-preservation are virtues tadashi (or mr. tadashi) prioritizes very highly.

but that said...

christ i love tadashi.

and: well done, OP.

White people are allowed to say gaijin, we're reclaiming it. Incidentally do the japanese have a nice word for foreigner?

White people are allowed to say gaijin, we're reclaiming it. Incidentally do the japanese have a nice word for foreigner?

lol mandy

lol

gai-koku gin

I just had a SNL flashback..................so which one are you, Hanz or Franz??

smashT. internet > tadashi

gaikokujin

Dude. What did you eat/drink AFTER the ride?

Congrats on joining the fixed century club, jpearl. Riding around feels different after you've gone that far.

After my first I ate a whole veggie pizza. And drank about 7 beers.

You guys are nuts. My longest ride is a century on a geared road bike and I -barely- finished that. Big big congrats.

but that said...

christ i love tadashi.

and: well done, OP.

Me: "What's the secret, Max? You seem to have it pretty figured out."

Fischer, Max: "The secret, I don't know. I guess you've just gotta find something you love to do and then do it for the rest of your life. For me, it's flaming Tadashi."

Sorry, I couldn't resist :D

Congratulations, jpearl. I can't say that I know if I have that distance in me on a single speed bike. 107 miles is a very impressive ride, but next time take better care of your food intake. It would have made that last 10 miles a little less painful, I would bet.