Fifty Plus (50+) - Longest ride ever

Hi All, been too busy to get on and read or post much lately. Got a lot going on, I'm getting a divorce and have bought a new house closer to work that I get to move into the week of Aug. 4th and I'm going on a week of vacation tomorrow. I did manage to do my longest ride ever last weekend. I rode in a charity ride that originated in Wheeling, WV. came up into PA. and back down to Wheeling. I have done several 50 mi. rides before, but never anything more. I befriended a man who I'm guessing is in his late 60's and we were both by ourselves so we ended up riding together and we both felt good after 20 mi. so we decided to opt for the 66 mi. route, I figured if he could do it then so could I, but we ended up cutting a couple of miles off to avoid a hill. I kinda wish now that I hadn't done that so I could of gotten in a real metric century. I know I could have gone the 2 more miles.
Can anyone suggest good padded bike shorts that I can get at Nashbar or Performance that don't cost an arm and a leg. I have a nice pair of Pearl Izumi that I bought at a shop in Pittsburgh for about $80. and they are very comfy. I have several other pairs but they're all the $30. variety and definately don't have the padding that the Pearl's do. I need a couple more pairs of good shorts before I go on "The Illinois Great River Ride" in Sept.

Sounds like a fine ride!

Almost all my miles lately are on recumbents, so I'm no big help on the shorts question. My only remaining pair are old Pearl Izumi's. Rather than going online you might want to visit a LBS to see exactly what you may be getting. Many shorts seem to have less of the nice imitation chamois effect and more something like a big padded diaper.

I have nothing to add, but I always feel sorry for threads that gather few comments.

I too am searching for shorts and have been to 4 local bike stores. all have the pearl izumi line in the tight fitting shorts and two had some trek but that was it. tried rei also and they had pearl plus novara. found nothing that didn't feel too weird when trying on.

check out the thread further down on shorts.
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Well done on the ride- pity about not quite making the milestone but thanks to computers not being that accurate- count it as done.

On the shorts. We all go the same route and start cheap. Then discover that the more panels the shorts are made with- the better they are. Then the BIG discovery- Bib Shorts. They really work for comfort. Then it is down to the insert. Does this one offer more comfort than that one? I have no idea but the object of the "Chamois" is to wick away moisture and not to offer comfort- That comes with a compromise of a saddle that fits and a Butt that hardens up.


But then the final accolade of Shorts- or Bibs- are the ones that really work. Never tried Assos- but nearly bought a pair until my LBS suggested Giordana Tenax Bibs. They are the DGS BLX. They work and are comfortable to boot.

Of course you could always skip the learning process and go straight to Assos- but that is a step that not many of us have done yet. And at the price of them- doubt that many of us will.

I buy Nashbar's bib shorts with gel chamois. I believe that they run $29 or $39 per pair. Nashbar always has a 10 to 20% sale going on. I have never had any issue with their bibs. I always use chamois cream or butt butter with the bibs. You can use vasoline instead of the cream. Helps with any rubbing.

You will get enough comments about riding shorts that you don't need to hear another from me.
I just want to say hang in there.
A divorce is a very emotional and unpleasant thing to go through to say the least.
Ride the bike as much as you can. It will help you to keep your head clear and let you sleep at night.

Metric Century = 62 miles

Thanks Dnvrfox, I know your right, I just figured the 66 miler was the metric. Duhhh, now I feel better.
Thank the others for your kind words, your right about riding the bike, it does help to maintain some sanity. Well it's off to Vermont in the AM. and I still haven't packed a suitcase, but I do have 2 of my bikes hanging on the back of my car and ready to go. Thanks again all.

Yep! Congrats on the metric!

:D



...thanks to computers not being that accurate- count it as done.

That too. When I first started using one of these newfangled bike 'pooters I had the thing set to the scheduled settings for my bike and soon found out it wasn't accurate in comparison to surveyed distances. Then I soon found out most folk (experienced riders) I was in the company of in group rides didn't have theirs accurate either, because I'd already got mine reading pretty much spot-on with surveyed distances.

See, thing is those bike 'pooters count revolutions, and have a multiplication factor working to get a distance reading. Diameters and wheel circumference and such. And it was all worked out real accurate.

Except for one small problem. When you sit on the bike and ride it the tyre shape deforms because you squash it down a bit, so you're actually riding a smaller wheel circle. Gotta factor that in to get it as accurate as it can be :)

Read your own post again and you will find the answer to your question about shorts. Nothing I've bought that's Performance brand was ever as comfy as my Pearl Izumi shorts. I'm on a recumbent now, so the Performance bibs work well, because they have less padding.
Welcome back to riding and the enjoyment the miles bring.

The best way to set a computer is to do a "roll out". Supporting your self along a wall while on the bike, mark the tire and pavement beneath it, and roll yourself forward three or four revolutions of the tire. Mark the pavement where your tire mark stopped, and measure between the pavement marks. Divide by the number of tire revoutions and convert to centimeters or millimeters, whichever your computer uses. This is your setpoint.

If you want to do 100 miles, pay $100 for your shorts (unless you find some on sale). Stapfam and I like Giordana Tenax (try indiebike.com), but I have some Louis Garneau's and Hincapies that are good, too. Don't skimp on shorts if you are going to ride a long distance.

I use the Giordana Tenax shorts as well (non-bib). Really nice quality, just ordered another pair.

As far as puter distance - you don't need to weight the wheel to do the roll out, all you need is to have the tire fully inflated and mark off the distance of a revolution. Measure over several revolutions and doing it several times and taking the average will minimize measurement error if you are really anal. Although the tire deforms when you ride it, it is the distance around the tread and that does not change if the inflation is right. I set my computer after several careful measurements and it is extremely accurate, it matches my GPS readings perfectly - down to 0.1 of a mile over rides as long as 62 miles (which is all I ever checked it on). The average speed matches perfectly as well.

I like Performance Century shorts. They seem to fit me well and are often on sale for around $30. I tried many - I have a drawer full of shorts I don't use - and these just seemed to feel right. I'm guessing that others might have totally different preferences.

BTW, they seem to have shrunk over the years (no, I haven't inflated.) I used to wear XL, but now XXL feels right. They're a little loose on the bottom - the grippers can't really grip - but up in the nether regioins where fit is important and chafing a concern, they fit well.

Congrats on the metric. :thumb:

I have always been pleased with Performance Elite shorts. I've bought several over the last 12 years. I try to catch them on sale for $35-$40. The designs change every couple of years, but they have been consistently good for me. I wore my Elite bibs on the century I rode in June with no complaints.

Can anyone suggest good padded bike shorts that I can get at Nashbar or Performance that don't cost an arm and a leg. I have a nice pair of Pearl Izumi that I bought at a shop in Pittsburgh for about $80. and they are very comfy. I have several other pairs but they're all the $30. variety and definately don't have the padding that the Pearl's do. I need a couple more pairs of good shorts before I go on "The Illinois Great River Ride" in Sept.

I donno... I found the PIs so comfortable they are now my only shorts... I'd stick to the PIs.