SoCal'ers consider Urselves Long Distance Riders?

[Mr. Beanz]

I had a couple of years, maybe 04 and 05 where most my rides were 60-100 milers. I guess that would be the year I considered myself an LD rider. Lately, just a rider!:o

H'bout Yourself?:rolleyes:

[WhiteCarbonDude]

Yes, I consider myself a long distance rider. I have done 59 rides with a total 4321.52 miles. That averages to 73.24 miles per ride. Also with 269,542 feet of climbing that averages out to 4568.51 feet per ride. Not too bad.

[Chaco]

I don't know if I am or not. I typically do around 65 to 75 miles on one of the weekend days, and around 33 miles every other day during the week. I guess that makes me a medium distance rider.

[maximan1]

I was gonna burn you for that title, but now I'm just gonna say "casual rider"

[dddave]

i only ride 24 miles a day, mostly flat. but i can still do long rides without a problem.

[ovoleg]

Any ride thats over 40 miles is long distance for me

I think 100+ is overrated

[Drew12]

I'm in the gray area between just sitting on the bike,
and doing ME distance rides......

[Pigtire]

I used to do 40-60 miles(mostly offroad) 3 times a week and now I consider myself a cyclocommuter.

[merider1]

No, I do not consider myself a long distance rider. I consider myself someone who loves to ride and often does so to excess. I also consider myself a receational cyclist with a high pain threshold and addiction to endorphines - so, really, I'm an addict.

[Happytime]

I consider myself Sacha's b****.

Whatever she wants to do, I just go along for the ride. Ask her, not me. :p

EDIT: Distance is misleading, if you throw in elevation gain (although many of you BF peeps are just insane in both categories). My mileage is going down significantly the more climbing I do (Avg 175/week down to about 125/week), although I am trying to combine both. Some of those other high-mileage groups on BJ live in pancake-flat areas...

[alicestrong]

Somebody hit me with their truck and my Celica was deemed a total loss by their insurance company about a year ago this month. When that happened I decided to "take a little break" from car driving and use the bike instead. So lately my focus has been more on everyday urban cycling. Fifty miles in one day is a long ride for me. I guess if you add up all my short trips I ride pretty far...:D

There are two cars in our family but one sits in the driveway...I still don't have the heart to sell the 66 VW Bus I've had for 30 years.

When I consider distance riding it's more along the lines of "bike touring through Europe someday"...

[jschen]

I like rides of all distances. Well, under three miles is a bit short, and I'm still not sure I ever want to ride a double century.

[roadfix]

No, I don't consider myself a long distance rider. Never did. I would say 99% of my rides are under 40 miles, in which a good majority of them are under 25 miles. The remaining 1% would be rides over 40 miles with an occassional century and double century rides thrown in here and there...:D

[alicestrong]

I'd like to ride a century just to say I've done it...:)

[DaveSANYYZ]

To me I consider regular, multi-day touring cyclists to be long distance riders, so I'm not.

I would want to try a trip like that some day, but I have a bad habit of coming up with bad, hypothetical/logistics scenarios that prevented me from doing it... that plus I'm just lazy. :lol:

[herbm]

I'd like to ride a century just to say I've done it...:)

Well Palm Springs is a good for a first time century....and there will be a BF group there!!

[Indolent58]

I'd like to ride a century just to say I've done it...:)

Tour de Poway - Oct 7th?

[umd]

yes

[merider1]

Well Palm Springs is a good for a first time century....and there will be a BF group there!!

+1 - or come join me, Alice, on an ad hoc century. I'll be doing that this month with another one of my favorite riders, Happytime. We'd love to have you join and we'd go easy on you (i.e. it won't be a climb 24Kft over 108 miles kind of ride). :)

[alicestrong]

+1 - or come join me, Alice, on an ad hoc century. I'll be doing that this month with another one of my favorite riders, Happytime. We'd love to have you join and we'd go easy on you (i.e. it won't be a climb 24Kft over 108 miles kind of ride). :)

Whats an "ad hoc" century?

You and Happytime? I'm scared already. :D

[Happytime]

yes

Wrong thread, Steve. You were supposed to respond to the thread that asks:

"Are you an insane cyclist who keeps getting smashed up by cars, yet never misses a ride even if it's snowing, and still continues to do centuries when you can't even walk without a severe limp?"

;)

[merider1]

Whats an "ad hoc" century?

You and Happytime? I'm scared already. :D

I PMd you. ;) Oh, and Jshen is coming too (yippee!) Ad Hoc simply means that I'm designing the route. You won't know where you'll end up but it would be an adventure.

[merider1]

"Are you an insane cyclist who keeps getting smashed up by cars, yet never misses a ride even if it's snowing, and still continues to do centuries when you can't even walk without a severe limp?"


And you forgot...he smiles and raises his eyebrows like, "see, see...I am insane and I love it...." whenever you mention that he shouldn't be walking with that limp, let alone riding. :rolleyes::p

[Happytime]

"see, see...I am insane and I love it...."

http://starwarsloser.info/smile/evilgrin/evilgrin0045.gif (http://www.squidoo.com/seonorwich)

[merider1]

http://starwarsloser.info/smile/evilgrin/evilgrin0045.gif (http://www.squidoo.com/seonorwich)

Exactly. He also looks at you and smiles when he says things like, "I ride every day, before work, at lunch and after work." Then he raises his eyebrows ("see?"). :D

[umd]

Wrong thread, Steve. You were supposed to respond to the thread that asks:

"Are you an insane cyclist who keeps getting smashed up by cars, yet never misses a ride even if it's snowing, and still continues to do centuries when you can't even walk without a severe limp?"

;)

Was my limp that severe?

[Happytime]

Was my limp that severe?

I'm just kidding you, Steve. Although of all the things to respond to, your question is like asking, "So... other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?" :p

Your limp wasn't that bad, but you were walking very slow. It astonishes (awes) me that you can ride at all.

[Rick@OCRR]

I'm really working at being a long distance rider. Well, except that it isn't work really, but rather a kind of fun-adventure. Actually, I gave up "Long Distance" riding (once) after PBP in '91.

Then in 2002 I married Jackie (with, I think, 15 CA doubles to her credit by that time), and she talked me into trying "Just one!" CA double. I rode Davis and loved it! So here I am, with four doubles so far this year, and the Solang Fall Double on the schedule for Oct. 20th, 2007.

I rode seven CA doubles in 2006, Seven in 2005, Five in 2004, Three in 2003. So that's what . . . 26 so far.

And I'm still going . . . so we'll see for how long!

Rick / OCRR

[TrevorInSoCal]

I occasionally do rides that some would consider "long distance".

I think it's all a matter of perspective though. Someone that does two or three 30 mi. rides/week and rarely ever spends more than 4 hrs. on the bike, might consider me a long-distance rider.

Mike Curiak, John Stamstaad, or any number of other endurance specialists, would consider me a dilettante. ;)

I'm working up to longer ones though. Haven't solo'd a 24hr race yet. That's next on my list of endurance-riding goals...

That and figuring out how to do endurance races *fast*. I'm beyond the "just finishing" stage, having proved to myself that I can "just finish" an epic ride/race. Next up is figuring out how to be competitive in the longer events.

Strangely enough, I'm still not sure I'm all that interested in a double-century. That just seems like a special kind of hell, that I'm not sure I want to put myself through. It's mentally easier for me to stay focused on the task of riding when there's some challenge apart from the simple physical effort required to keep going. Riding a mtn. bike, especially a singlespeed, on the longer rides offers enough variety to keep me interested in the ride, and somewhat distracted from my suffering.

Some double-centuries, on the road, would probably be good training for the longer MTB events though, so maybe I should give it a go.

[merider1]

Strangely enough, I'm still not sure I'm all that interested in a double-century. That just seems like a special kind of hell, that I'm not sure I want to put myself through. It's mentally easier for me to stay focused on the task of riding when there's some challenge apart from the simple physical effort required to keep going. Riding a mtn. bike, especially a singlespeed, on the longer rides offers enough variety to keep me interested in the ride, and somewhat distracted from my suffering.

Some double-centuries, on the road, would probably be good training for the longer MTB events though, so maybe I should give it a go.

Double centuries are hell at times, but I recommend that any rider who enjoys centuries (as in, rides them often and looks for ones that are more challenging than say, Cool Breeze or Palm Springs) should try a double...just once. That's how I started riding them. I just tried one with the thought that if I didn't finish it, oh well, it would be a challenge and new experience. Honestly, DNFing is no big frickin' deal. I don't know about others on here, but I never remember if anyone DNFed a ride or not. Now, I've done a total of five since June '06. I may continue or I may not, but I'm glad I did them...even the truly hellish ones (like Hemet...:eek:).

[Rick@OCRR]

Yes M.E. Hemet was bad (this year),

But Butterflood (Butterfield 2005) was worse!

My worst ever was Death Valley 2003, my only DNF so far.

Rick / OCRR

[VanceMac]

My worst ever was Death Valley 2003, my only DNF so far.


Why? Weather, course, or individual reasons?

[Rick@OCRR]

Hi Vance,

Weather (heat), and not enough water available on the course. It was 106 - 108 deg.F for most of the day, and I was too dehydrated to continue after 150 miles. A 70 oz. Camelback and two large bottles were not enough! I ran out of fluids about eight miles before Badwater on the way back.

Rick / OCRR

[jsigone]

most of my long rides are under 70 miles, GMR loops and Palomar Pie rides. I havn't done much over that this yr.

[bentstrider]

Back when I was pulling flashlight-cop duties, I was putting in about 20 miles a day.
So, with 120 odd miles a week, I would say regular distance.
But, I tend to adapt to longer distances depending on the area.
If I actually lived in a cool area like the IE, or somewhere in the LA Basin, the ride would seem pretty normal regardless of the distance. This is due to all the civilization in the area making the ride comfy.
However, when riding through an area with a whole lot of nothing, a 30 mile ride seems like forever.

[spingineer]

IMHO, long distance rides are those that you have to really concentrate on the small things ... like making sure you have enough lighting, making sure you have enough food, etc ... I don't consider a century long distance, because I do it, without even second guessing it. A double century for me causes me to train up for it, and based on that, doubles are long distance to me. But if you really want to talk long distance, then try a brevet or Furnace Creek 508. Now that's nuts!!!!

[spingineer]

No, I don't consider myself a long distance rider. Never did. I would say 99% of my rides are under 40 miles, in which a good majority of them are under 25 miles. The remaining 1% would be rides over 40 miles with an occassional century and double century rides thrown in here and there...:D

... and hilly double centuries are done on a fixie :eek:

[JustMe]

I did 52 miles today, does that count?

[yogi13]

Nope, not even close. I have carpal tunnel syndrome, so somewhere around mile 20-30 my hand starts going numb. I'll stay in the saddle up to around 50 shaking my hand out periodically, but I really don't want to force the issue by going significantly longer than that.

[Vireo]

Why? Weather, course, or individual reasons?

results http://www.adventurecorps.com/deathvalley/2003/2003dvfallshow/index.htm 169 starters 76 finishers (93 DNFs)

[Rick@OCRR]

Hi Vireo,
Thanks for the link. I didn't remember the DNF rate being that high!

Rick / OCRR