Road Cycling - 650 miles in 6 days, any advice?

I am doing a ride in August from the Canadian border to the border of Illinois and Wisconsin. It is about 650 miles over 6 days. The longest day is 127 miles, the shortest in the last day of 68. Just looking for any advice from anybody who has done anything similar. Not worried so much about riding 120 miles in a day, that won't be too bad. What should I be doing for recovery though, so I can do it six days in a row? We stay at local churches and families homes, I know we have a pasta meal planned every night, what else should be on the menu? I have a great bike set-up (LeMond Tourmalet - stock components, Brooks B17, Shimano R353 pedals, Shimano R212 shoes) so comfort on the bike is not an issue, but it might become one after 6 days on the bike. Any preventive measures you might recommend?

By the way, the ride is for the American Heart Association, check out www.team242.com if you are interested for more details.

Stay hydrated and fed and you'll be fine.

That's my favorite way to tour, credit carding and staying in hotels, carrying no more than a rain jacket, t-shirt, and shorts with maybe an extra jersey. Although I usually cover more like 150 a day (in the summer). By the way, I highly recommend the Shimano SPD sandals for that type touring--no need to take any off the bike footwear.

Dave

a Cell phone!!!!
(make sure it works in the area you'll be riding)

i did an aidsride a few years back - 330 miles in 3.5 days. really wasn't too bad - here's my recommendations - definitely use 'butt-butter" or something similar to avoid chafing; break each day into 15-20 mile 'segments' and have something to eat / drink at each stop; fruit, cliff bars / goo work great to keep the energy levels up all day and alternate between water and sports drinks; bring a camera - you never know what you'll see; have fun!!!

How about strapping on a motor?

Seriously - manage your nutritional needs well and you should have a great time. Screw it up and you'll be hurting. Have fun.

55/Rad

I have found the golden rule that proper nutrition - carbs & protein, within 20 min of exercise is wonderful for quick recovery

I'd suggest:

- As much protein and carb intake as you can get the first 30 minutes after your daily ride.

- A good amount of stretching before and after riding.

- A good nights sleep each night

- Drink as much water as you can handle when you are off the bike.

- Butt butter for sure

- Clean your cycling shorts everyday, or rotate thru several pairs so that you are always putting on clean shorts everyday

Good luck and have a good time.

a Cell phone!!!!
(make sure it works in the area you'll be riding)

My goodness what for? For the weight of a cell phone you could carry an extra spare tube and folding tire. In the event of trouble, those would be far more useful.

I don't mean any offense, it just amazes me that people these days can't take personal responsibility for embarking on such a tour. The bicycle is one of the simplest, most reliable, easiliy repaired mechines that exists. If you are not confident to go and be able to deal with most mechanicals, without having to call someone to bail you out from hundreds of miles away, then you're not competent to be making these type trips, at least not solo.

Now some may take a cell phone to "keep in touch." But then it's a "luzury item" and not a piece of equipment required for the tour. But to take one in case you break a spoke and want to call someone to drive 300 miles to come sag you in is irresponsible.

This is analagous to those that want to sail their boat to the Islands, but would NOT dream of doing so without $10,000 of emergency radio and satellite navigation and rescue beacons--so someone else can get their bacon out of the fire--because in reality they really aren't competent to be doing it.

I did a tour last year - 1000 miles in 9 days. I've also done numerous other tours ranging from 4 to 14 days. For me, the toughest day comfort-wise is usually day 4 so I often plan for a shorter ride on that day. For some reason, my seat becomes super sensitive to the presssure by then and I have a hard time sitting in the saddle for extended periods. But I'm always back to normal and good to go the next day.

It's also pretty tough to be fully recovered and ready to go every day. You'll probably feel pretty fatigued at least one of those 6 days. Don't worry about it. Just take it easy that day and you will feel better the next day.

My goodness what for? For the weight of a cell phone you could carry an extra spare tube and folding tire. In the event of trouble, those would be far more useful.

I don't mean any offense, it just amazes me that people these days can't take personal responsibility for embarking on such a tour. The bicycle is one of the simplest, most reliable, easiliy repaired mechines that exists. If you are not confident to go and be able to deal with most mechanicals, without having to call someone to bail you out from hundreds of miles away, then you're not competent to be making these type trips, at least not solo.

Now some may take a cell phone to "keep in touch." But then it's a "luzury item" and not a piece of equipment required for the tour. But to take one in case you break a spoke and want to call someone to drive 300 miles to come sag you in is irresponsible.

This is analagous to those that want to sail their boat to the Islands, but would NOT dream of doing so without $10,000 of emergency radio and satellite navigation and rescue beacons--so someone else can get their bacon out of the fire--because in reality they really aren't competent to be doing it.

I have to disagree with you here. have you ever been more then 20 miles from your house and ever had a flat? have you ever wondered what would happen if it wasn't just a flat? like if you had your rear derailleur overshift into your spokes and have your bike not even walkable? man, those 20 miles would suck, carrying your bike on your shoulders for 20 miles in bike shoes? next time you ride, seriously think about taking one.

some kind of recovery drink, endurox r4 or the like

This is analagous to those that want to sail their boat to the Islands, but would NOT dream of doing so without $10,000 of emergency radio and satellite navigation and rescue beacons--so someone else can get their bacon out of the fire--because in reality they really aren't competent to be doing it.

You know... you're right! Next time before I board a plane, I'm going to insist that the airline have the mechanics go in and strip all the radios, navs, autopilot, transponders, radar, emergency life vests, emergency oxygen masks... and while I'm at it, I'm going to have them haul off the lavatory modules too. Afterall, those barfbags in the seat pockets should be good enough! Who needs the blue water?

I am doing a ride in August from the Canadian border to the border of Illinois and Wisconsin. It is about 650 miles over 6 days. The longest day is 127 miles, the shortest in the last day of 68. Just looking for any advice from anybody who has done anything similar. Not worried so much about riding 120 miles in a day, that won't be too bad. What should I be doing for recovery though, so I can do it six days in a row? We stay at local churches and families homes, I know we have a pasta meal planned every night, what else should be on the menu? I have a great bike set-up (LeMond Tourmalet - stock components, Brooks B17, Shimano R353 pedals, Shimano R212 shoes) so comfort on the bike is not an issue, but it might become one after 6 days on the bike. Any preventive measures you might recommend?

By the way, the ride is for the American Heart Association, check out www.team242.com if you are interested for more details.

Well, my experience with long rides jammed together is you want to be careful.

During the ride, back off a bit. The body has about 2000 calories of glycogen stored and this is what you burn when you are working hard. The problem is if you ride really hard you will deplete your glycogen in about 60 miles and then bonk which is no fun especially if you are doing 120 miles. If you slow down a bit, you will be able to burn a combination of glycogen and fat and not bonk.

However, after any long ride, you will have seriously depleted you glycogen. So once you get off of the bike eat a pile of carbohydrates ASAP. I mean a pile too. A medium baked potato (sans butter, sour cream and all those other "goodies" we all love to throw on them) has about 100 calories of carbohydrates in it so to replace 2000, you need 20 baked potatos which is quite a bit to put it mildly.

Also, don't hammer. That is for short rides. You don't want to get into a situation where your muscles are deteriorating from one day to the next. I have seen people do that on events like this and it isn't pretty.

So my advice is three fold. Pace yourself on the ride. Replace your glycogen when off the bike. And don't overstress your muscles by hammering that big steep hill to impress your friends.

Advil

"The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1579541992/shastasoftwar-20)", by Edmund Burke, is an excellent resource for training and riding tips for this kind of endeavor.

I have to disagree with you here. have you ever been more then 20 miles from your house and ever had a flat?

Yes, many times. Sometimes thousands of miles from home. I learned how to fix flats a long time ago.



have you ever wondered what would happen if it wasn't just a flat? like if you had your rear derailleur overshift into your spokes and have your bike not even walkable?.

Been there, done that. Some of the things I've dealt with on the road include: broken spokes, broken cables, crank arm falling off, cassette coming loose, rear derailler jamming and being dragged over the cassette (had to convert to a single speed that day), broken seat post (sat on rear bag), tacoed wheel (bent back to usable form between fence railing); I could go on. I don't recall a single time when I was unable to get back on the road and continue, at least to the next town or place where a shop could be found for more permanent repairs.

By the way, if your rear derailler is properly adjusted, it can't be shifted into the rear spokes.



man, those 20 miles would suck, carrying your bike on your shoulders for 20 miles in bike shoes?

Most touring riders and ultra marathon distance riders like myself wear footwear that is quite walkable (partial to the SPD Sandals myself).

Look, there is nothing wrong with carrying a cell phone. I often do when on tour to call the wife in the evenings without having to hassle finding a phone/dealing with phone cards. But it's not there to bail me out. Of course I wouldn't hesitate to use it if I thought I needed to.

My point is, anyone touring as suggested in the original post should be prepared to deal with most likely mechanicals--there really isn't that many things that can go wrong, and most are easily dealt with, for at least a temporary fix to get you to the next town/shop. Plus, the bike should be up to the job--i.e. heading off on such a ride using low spoke-count boutique wheels would be foolish. Taking a bike suitable to the job, carrying tools/spares to deal with most likely problems (flats, blowouts, spokes, chain and cable problems cover all the usual suspects) and knowing how to use them is just assuming good personal responsibility for your tour.

Dave

Sure, we all toured without cellphones in the past and seemed to get along fine. But, I've got a cellphone now, so I do carry it on the bike, just like I carry it in my car when traveling. I'm paying for the service, so don't see why I'd leave it at home.

Of course, the problem is that cell phones don't work out in the country around here. Once you leave cities and interstates, and get on the real biking roads, the service drops away quickly. It still works great as a clock, but that's about it.

You can throw a couple of practice weekends in before the trip. Ex: Ride 50 miles after work on Friday, then 100-120 on Sat, and 100-120 on Sun and 50 on Monday after work, then rest on Tues and Wed. I don't know how much daylight/or time you have, but another schedule might be: 30-40 on M-Th, F-50, S, SS 100-120. Make sure after these training weeks, you rest.

My point is, anyone touring as suggested in the original post should be prepared to deal with most likely mechanicals--there really isn't that many things that can go wrong, and most are easily dealt with, for at


You said it, "Be prepared". Which in my case means carrying a cell as the last line of defense.

meh, I don't have a cell phone.
As far as the ride, eat before you're hungry and drink tons of water. I'd take some e-caps and ride. Don't hammer, though. Have fun.

a Cell phone!!!!
(make sure it works in the area you'll be riding)

What about your laptop ? :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:

When I do long days, and especially multiple days away from home, I automatically enter some kind of "touring" mode. I don't try to be as aero (not that I'm aero to begin with), and don't care too much about my speed. Since most of my touring is loosely planned some days are 10-20km longer than expected, and this (and the riding to do tomorrow) must always be taken into consideration when deciding how hard to push it today.

I have begun to carry a cellphone when I ride, mostly because my mother wants me to :). I don't know anyone with a car within 100km from where I live so I didn't have anyone to call a couple of weeks ago when I broke a screw that was kind of vital for the handlebar to be connected to the rest of the bike..

Since I generally eat whatever I can find when touring, I will not give any nutritional advice. But pasta and pizza are always good choices ;).

On a tour like this I would definitely take a camera, and if possible keep it in a place that are fairly easily accessible while riding. That way pictures can be taken without feeling that it takes too much time. This is a picture I took on a recent tour in Latvia without my friend even knowing I was photographing:

http://cykelsemester.eurotourism.net/bilder2004_easter/2004_069_roadfarm_leftside_es_ctc.jpg

/Csson

On a tour like this I would definitely take a camera, and if possible keep it in a place that are fairly easily accessible while riding. That way pictures can be taken without feeling that it takes too much time. This is a picture I took on a recent tour in Latvia without my friend even knowing I was photographing:

http://cykelsemester.eurotourism.net/bilder2004_easter/2004_069_roadfarm_leftside_es_ctc.jpg

/Csson[/QUOTE]

You're riding on the wrong side of the road :)