Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - new to the road/distance scene

Hi all, as the title states, I'm new to the road/distance scene. I'm a mountain biker who hasn't ridden in a few months :( I'm thinking about getting some people together to ride the Pan Mass Challenge next year. My question is this: Would I be able to do it on my Specialized Hardrock or would I be better off finding an actual road bike? Also, I plan on starting training in the next couple of weeks. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Matt

I'm not familiar with the ride but you could put some road tyres on your Hardrock and give it a go. If the ride is of any significant distance though, you'll be better off on a road bike.

Would I be able to do it on my Specialized Hardrock or would I be better off finding an actual road bike?

Does your bike have a front suspension fork, or is it fully rigid? Do you have bar-ends? What year was it made?

Ideally, you'd have no suspension and bar-ends, and as has already been mentioned, slick tires.

www.pmc.org (http://www.pmc.org)

Sounds like a 111 mile route with a mess of hills on the first half?
I've ridden a couple of (flattish) centuries on a fat-tire cruiser. What I've found is that it's not so much a question of "Can it be done?" but rather "How long will it take you?"

My suggestion: Get out and start riding the bike you have now. Try some rides that are 30-40 miles long, see what your average speed is on them, and that should give you an idea of what you want to do in terms of switching bikes. For actually training for the hills, just go ride the hills in question.

I've read where some people thought a mountain bike just really bogged them down, read where other people made pretty decent time on them. I guess part of that depends on style of tires and tire pressure, part on suspension, part on the overall bike characteristis.

if your doing the PMC i sure hope that you either have some good donations lined up or have already collected a good amount of donations. last year i opted instead for one of the ms rides from quincy to p town.

but in any case. some of the people i have seen are riding bikes less efficient than a "typical" mountain bike. i would keep in mind how long i want to be on my steed and for that distance. i met people that has ridden centuries on both MTB and road bikes. i have as well. its not a big deal. well unless your dragging my 42 pound norco over the mountains:roflmao2:

Hi all, as the title states, I'm new to the road/distance scene. I'm a mountain biker who hasn't ridden in a few months :( I'm thinking about getting some people together to ride the Pan Mass Challenge next year. My question is this: Would I be able to do it on my Specialized Hardrock or would I be better off finding an actual road bike? Also, I plan on starting training in the next couple of weeks. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Matt

i wish i had your friends. i couldnt even round up any of my friends to do the ms ride. in the end i ended up doing it by myself. when pmc holds you responsible for what you didnt raise from that $4k my friends stop pretending that they were interested :lol:

a road bike will make thingas a lot easier (and quicker) however it all depends on what your goals are (i.e. a quick time vrsus getting to the end) and available budget!

what is more important is to get a well structured training schedule and stick to it. your training should take differen phases, first comes base miles at low intensity, later on sart some more specific workouts to get you up those hills faster and get your average speed up. good luck.

i wish i had your friends. i couldnt even round up any of my friends to do the ms ride. in the end i ended up doing it by myself. when pmc holds you responsible for what you didnt raise from that $4k my friends stop pretending that they were interested :lol:

Well I haven't proposed it to them yet. It was an idea I had a couple months ago. I know that they hold you responsible for any portion that you haven't raised. I think its a great event and would be a fun way to spend a weekend helping out a great cause.

As far as my equipment, its a Specialized Hardrock with a Rockshox J2 front fork. I have flat bars with barends. I would definitely look into picking up a road bike if it would help my time out. I may look into the ms rides if fundraising is an issue.

it is no question your times would be faster on a road bike. you would most likely have more energy for the next day as well. last year i needed it. the second day was scorching hot especially when we got to the lower cape. the MS ride is fun and there is alot of people on the side of the road cheering you on and stuff, but in the PMC there is a immeasurable amount of people out there cheering making you feel like a hero:beer: very fun. oh and for the PMC sign up early because the long route from sturbridge will sell out quickly.