first time long distance

[benracer]

Hello,
I am 15 and the longest i have ever biked non stop is 14 miles.

In the summer holiday fast aproaching i would like to do a fairly long route of around 200 miles over a period of days.

I have up to around £700 towards a new bike and i was wondering what you would recomend for the trip and what bike to purchase.

Many thanks,
Ben

[bradyy]

uhm, ha, since you've onlyyy done 14 miles, i'd def. get riding a lot more serious before you do those miles, first of all what kind of bike are you riding, and how long have you been riding. secondly start increasing your mileage before you do those big miles, do a few 40+miles til tht starts to get easy, then think about 100+miles.

[banerjek]

I would normally be the first to tell you to go for it -- I rode my first century when I was your age. However, you're likely to really be hurting if you go on a ride that long without putting in some saddle time. There is a huge difference between 15 and 100 miles. Don't forget, you won't have a chance to recover if you get sore on day 1.

How will this ride be supported? Will someone pick you up if you are too sore to continue? How will food and water be provided?

[cyclezealot]

I'd not give up and call 14 miles adequate training. Will you be doing any hills. Search for a good touring bike. Prepare yourself for road safety issues. There are books out there about long distance bike touring. And congratulations.

[benracer]

Thanks for the advice, at the moment i only have a saracen saracen rufftrax 4.

I would like to get into it more to build up my physical fitness, i do around 10 hours a week ice hockey training.

The route i will follow would be always near to a train station and my parents would always be on hand to collect me.

The food i would buy along route with water either on a rack or cammel pack.

The main thing is what bike to purchase, all the roads will be flat and smooth.

The 14 miles was just a trip that i did twice on a nice day to a relative so, yes so far i have no training =D

I bike to school every day around 3 mile there and back, up hill there and down on return.

Thanks,
Ben

[cyclezealot]

Other than fittness. Know how to handle yourself in traffic. That is probably priority number one.

[Spookykinkajou]

http://www.surlybikes.com/bikes.html

Either the Cross Check or the long haul trucker are great, complete bikes. They should be below your limit by a few hundred.

[FightingPanther]

the bike is your tool and the legs are your engine. You shouldn't lite a fire with rubbing sticks, and you shouldn't drag race with a chicken house fan.

[jadebai]

so young..My bike is 1000RMB ($130)~~And 470KM in 24hours.my extreme!!!!

[banerjek]

I would like to get into it more to build up my physical fitness, i do around 10 hours a week ice hockey training.
The food i would buy along route with water either on a rack or cammel pack.

The main thing is what bike to purchase, all the roads will be flat and smooth.

The 14 miles was just a trip that i did twice on a nice day to a relative so, yes so far i have no training =D

I bike to school every day around 3 mile there and back, up hill there and down on return.

So did your relative live 14 or 7 miles away. If you biked 14 miles twice in a day, that would be 28. If your legs were not sore at all (i.e. you could definitely do it again, the next day), there is an outside chance you could handle this.

Your ride to school is so short it won't really help at all except to get your butt slightly acclimated to the saddle. The 10 hrs of hockey will have relatively little effect.

I think just about any road or touring bike in your budget will be quite decent. Get professionally fitted -- this will either come with the bike, or there will be a small charge. I recommend against an MTB or hybrid.

Newer cyclists tend to use way too tall gears and ride with their bikes improperly adjusted. This can lead to inefficient pedaling and very sore knees. You don't want to find yourself in pain when you're far away from home and your endpoint.

You should go out one day and do a quick 40-50 miler just to assess your condition. If you feel OK and your legs aren't sore the next day, you can probably pull this off. Otherwise, you need more saddle time.

[jadebai]

Nice advice ↑

[envane]

Where are you going to sleep? You're not going to be able to check into any hotels alone at 15.

[benracer]

My relative lived 14 miles away so in total there was 28.

I do not think i could have done this again the next day but deffiantly the following.

This was nearly a year ago now and i belive that my physical fitness has improved since then.

I have been recomended to purchase a built to suit bike starting with an areon frame?

I will be carrying a two man thermal tent and bag, and pitching in local camp sites pre planned and listed on my map.

Thank you for all the great advice its really helping.

[envane]

Being fit in a general sense is meaningless. Distance riding is about getting used to being on a bike for long periods of time. The only way to get used to it is to ride your bike for longer and longer rides. No way to avoid it. You've got to ride a lot more before you attempt this.

If you are 15, I would not buy custom built anything. You're still growing, and the bike might not fit you next year. If you can keep the load under 40 pounds, you can get away with only a rear rack (a real rack, not a seatpost job). You can therefore use roadbikes that accept rear racks and not necessarily have to get touring model.