Long Distance Cycling - New to long distances - Need advice! :-)

Howdy!

Myself and 3 good friends have decided to bike from Atlanta to New York (roughly 1000 miles, give or take 25 miles) this Summer. That being said, we're all very experienced in shorter rides; 50-150 mile, 1 day bike trips are regular events for us, even though as a collective, mountain biking is what we have the most experience with.

Either way, we all ride mountain/road bikes, and I was wondering what the actual feasibility of taking a bike like that on such a long trip would be. And pardon my naivety, but what are the major differences between a touring, road, and mountain bikes? I know that my mountain bike can take a lot more turbulent terrain than a touring bike, but beyond that, I'm not really all that knowledgeable, haha. Also, how much gear can I expect to have to carry for a 1000 mile, 10-12 day trip?

Again, I'm quite the neophyte when it comes to very long distance trips, so I feel like I don't even know what questions to ask exactly. Any help in this field, or even any fingers in the right direction would be absolutely priceless to my group and I.

Thanks!
-A.J.

This would be more germane to the touring (http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=47)forum.

"Long distance" as it's meant here refers to marathon cycling, brevets, centuries, etc.

Check out the touring pages (http://www.veloweb.ca/biketour.html)at VeloWeb

...And pardon my naivety, but what are the major differences between a touring, road, and mountain bikes? ... Also, how much gear can I expect to have to carry for a 1000 mile, 10-12 day trip?...Any help in this field, or even any fingers in the right direction would be absolutely priceless to my group and I...

O.k. I guess I can give you the finger...:rolleyes:. You could find a lot from doing searches on the touring forum, and reading old posts.

How much gear? As much as you can carry, and/or a fully loaded credit card.

A mountain bike is made for dirt and gravel, obviously. It should have a sturdier frame, more spokes, beefy rims, wide tires, knobby tread, perhaps shocks front or rear, flat high handle bars for better control over obstacles. All those things could slow you down on the road.

Road bikes generally lean toward racing: skinny tires and not a lot of extras, light and fast.

Touring bikes are similar to road bikes, but ready to haul loads. The frames are stretched out a bit, to allow room for big bags front and back, without interference with pedalling. They generally have lots of braze-ons, fittings to allow attatchment of racks, bottle holders, lights and such. They tend to have beefier rims, more spokes, and medium width slick tires. This would be deal for the trip you describe.

Good luck if you go, and you'll definitely get more info at the touring forum.

...a fully loaded credit card....

:roflmao2::love::roflmao2:

Again, I'm quite the neophyte when it comes to very long distance trips, so I feel like I don't even know what questions to ask exactly.Lucky for you -you can read.

Get a book about touring, read it, then come back and post specific questions, including details.

By the way, it might be a good idea to ride to the next town, get a hotel, stay over and ride back. Some how I don't think your "bike trip" will be as attractive after you actually experience bike touring.

A.J,

Those who advised the touring forum were correct. Post over there for some great advice.

The last thing I would do is get a book.. That's the whole idea and purpose behind these discussion forums. Save your money.. I too advise you disregard your post here and re-post the same request for advice on the Touring forum. You will without a doubt be assisted by many with great advice. There has been an invaluable amount of information shared from the touring guy's.