kaisersling

My buddy and I have a 130ish mile ride to the Jersey Shore planned for this Friday. Initially, we planned on doing it over two days, but now we have gotten it in our heads to attempt it in one day. Weather looks like it may cooperate. I have no idea if I can handle that distance or not. The most I have done this summer is 55 miles in high winds. I am just going to ride as far as I can at a decent clip and if necessary, I can always have the sag-wagon pick us up ( my wife in her pickem' up truck). We are starting in Lake Hopatcong and will be staying somewhat west through Bedminster and Princeton before heading east to Forked River/Barnegat. So I will either be enjoying a beer at a tikibar at some point late in the day or I will be crumpled up and crying in the fetal position on the side of the road. Cant wait!

thump55

I'm going with fetal position unless your buddy is in better shape and you can suck his wheel, but good luck.

telebianchi

How did you feel after doing the 55 miler? How often have you ridden 55 miles this summer? What is your "normal" mileage per day & per week? Have you ever ridden 100+ miles?

I say since you've got a sag-wagon you should go for it. Don't ride at a "decent clip". Ride at a pace that you think will allow you to ride the farthest. Just bring enough cash to take your wife out to a nice dinner after she throws your crumpled up and crying sorry a$$ into the back of her pickem' up truck.

RollCNY

You will either succeed spectacularly or fail in a similar manner, and what you do in your head will matter much more than what you do on the bike.

kaisersling

He is a much stronger rider but I dont want to be a wheel moocher the whole time. I know i will have to rely on him a bit however.

tagaproject6

You'll never know until you try. Just ride and be safe.

Bry4n

Keep safe and enjoy the ride until your body gives up.

kaisersling

I had more in the tank cardio and muscularly, but my PT in my left knee acted up starting mile 40 (I will be fully taped/strapped up this ride) and thats the part I am worried about... We averaged 17.5mph in high winds. I know I wont be able to keep that pace but I also dont want to average 12. I did two 40 milers last week, but usually I do two to three 18 to 30 mile rides a week. I have done as much as 120 miles before, but it has been a VERY long time. I will probably fail miserably but whats the harm in trying. And yes I will need to reward the wife, of course my in-laws have been at my house all week so I have a bunch of credits built up.

dralways

You'd be surprised what you can do when you have no other choice. Forget you have a wife for a day and enjoy the finish and the feeling of reward.

thehammerdog

Dude, as a Lake Hopatcong fella myself I say pound as fast as you can. You have a buddy and a support vehicle no matter what happens your having drinks on the beach .....remember to drink and eat and you are good. Use Strava so we can check it out when your all done

stilltooslow

I have ridden a 139 mile route from Bmore to OC, MD. several times, always in one day. It's quite flat once you get over the Bay Bridge (we always hitch rides with pickup drivers at the McDonalds right before the bridge....we pick up the toll fee), the only issues being the weather and the headwinds that always seem to be present as you get closer to the ocean. Took us about 9 1/2 hours, and we didn't train particularly hard in preparation. Neither of us were even remotely physically tired when we reached the beach.....although we were a bit tired of being on the bike so long.

IP Freely

Luckily the second half of the ride will be mighty flat. If you have a west wind you could end up flying to the beach.

kaisersling

Will do.

Looigi

Kind of a strange coincidence, but I rode from Lake Hopatcong to Seaside Heights ~43 years ago.

Agree that it's time not distance that wears on you. The faster you go, the less time and weight in the saddle.

carpediemracing 

I've jumped into 100-120 mile rides without much training or preparation. The key things that I found:

- bring stuff to fix things. Flat tire, multi tool for loose things, etc. In a committed ride like yours (aka one way, not a loop or out and back) it's tough if you have to stop because of a fixable mechanical.
- eat and drink. After doing a few of these "not-much-training-before" long rides I found that I ride best if I eat/drink every 90 minutes or so. 60 minutes is too frequent, 2 hours is just a touch too long. You need to keep some sugars in your blood but also you need protein/fat. I'll eat various things - peanuts is one odd thing. Pop Tarts are good, as well as regular gels and bars. I prefer protein bars for long rides, like the Builder Bar, etc, because of the protein in them. That keeps you from feeling totally empty 5-6 hours in.
- your biggest issue will be cramps. You can ride through sore legs, sore butt, bonking, whatever, but you can't ride through if you have cramped up legs. I mean, okay, you can sort of recover, but it becomes a survival thing. The last long ride I did I started cramping 45 minutes into the ride yet I made it 4.5 hours while judiciously favoring various parts of my legs. The best defense against cramps is being super fit. The next best thing is to be hydrated and fueled.
- don't worry about your initial pace. If you have reserves you can finish strong. On my super long rides (over 5 hours) I usually averaged my fastest speed in the last hour - there were a bunch of factors, including failing daylight, dropping temperatures, and the lure of being back at home base.
- finally, start as early as you can. Don't think "Oh we'll have time to eat with the family first" or whatever. Get up, eat something quick, go to the bathroom, and go. You can always hang out after the ride but if it's 8 PM and the sun is setting and you're 20 miles from your goal and feeling good you'll be bummed. I've finished 100+ mile rides in pitch black (in sunglasses no less - prescription so I couldn't remove them and ride safely). I resorted to riding on sidewalks when cars showed up. If I'd left an hour or two earlier I'd have been fine. You'll be really happy if you leave at 7 AM and after doing about 90 miles at a not-too-bad pace you see that it's only noon or 1 PM. This gives you a lot of time to work through any issues, cramps or whatever.

To put my long rides in perspective in terms of pace I might average 16-17 mph solo on a moderately hard ride hour long ride on flat terrain. I'll do 13-15 mph on an easy hour long ride, same roads. In races I'll average 25-27 mph okay for an hour to 90 minutes (drafting, flat terrain, Cat 3s mainly). On my long rides I'll average 14-15 mph, and I've done as high as 21 mph for the last hour at the end of a 120 mile all-solo ride. My longest ride is about 125-130 miles so I have no experience beyond that distance.

In the last 10 years or so I've only done two long rides with other riders, one ride with one teammate/friend (106 miles), the other with about 7 others whom I'd never met before (125+ miles). Don't be afraid to sit in. You'll go through some up and down periods. Remember that taking longer pulls is more beneficial to your riding companion than pulling faster so if you're feeling spectacular pull a bit longer. If you don't then don't pull and if you're struggling on wheels then ask to ease up. Don't overdo it on the hills at the beginning. Those "easy" efforts to jump up little hills really takes the sap out of your legs later. It's only as you get into the 80-90 mile mark where you can start picking up your effort safely, at least for a 130 mile ride.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

hls811

sounds like an awesome ride... I'd love to see the route when you are done. I'm in Bridgewater so I'll wave if I see you ride past on 202/206

kaisersling

I will post the route after completion..... and I will be avoid 202/206 at all costs (nothing personal

kaisersling

Great advice. And I will do a follow up as soon as I am shoveled off the ground. thanks!

RoadMike

Having done a 151 miler on the 4th of July, I would recommend bringing more to eat and drink than you think you will need and keep your pace/effort low until at least mile 80 or 90. I destroyed a cat 3 climb showing off at the beginning of my ride and by mile 100 or so I was really hurting and we were only holding around 19 mph pace. My nutrition was off too and I nearly bonked around mile 130. Be careful with coca cola as fuel. It's like rocket fuel till it wears off then you will be hurting if you don't fuel with something a little longer lasting as well. I dipped into mine a little early at mile 110 and I think that's why I nearly bonked.

kaisersling

Mission accomplished. We completed the entire ride on Friday. The total distance was 122 miles, though the tracker only shows 118 due to the fact that we did not turn the garmin back on for 4 miles. My Iphone crapped out (GPS drains quickly) only about 50 miles in so I was not able to record the whole ride, but My buddy was able to capture the whole thing. We were very fortunate with the weather. It was incredibly hot in the days leading up to the ride and the few days after the ride. There was cloud cover the whole day and the temps were around 80 to 85. We got tons of rain starting at mile 80 or so, but it had little impact on us and actually served to cool us down. I consumed massive amounts of food. My PT only got aggravated in the last 10 miles...which is also when we got a stiff headwind heading towards the water.... and I never assumed the fetal position.





Distance= 117.9mi
Elevation 4,193ft
Moving Time 07:17:22
Calories 4,175
Avg. Speed: 16.2
Avg. Power: 143w
Max Speed 40.9mi/h
Cadence 86
Suffer score: 226 (extreme)
https://www.strava.com/activities/66758677

carpediemracing 

Nice job!

kaisersling

Thanks. It was a lot of fun. I had just enough left in the tank but the knee pain would have prevented me from going much further. The guy I road with is a beast and I am always amazed at his ability and he hasn't even been riding that long. He definitely kept me working through the whole ride. If he didn't have me slowing him down, he would have really smashed this ride.

thump55

I knew you could do 122...it was only the 130 I was doubting

kaisersling

Honestly if it was 130, I would have been limping in and maybe then I would have been crumpled up.

musicman1

Congrats on making the trip...How did u actually go route wise as I live in Morris County and might want to try that ride.