jwc3

A neighbor and I did our first big ride this weekend. We rode from our street in Raleigh, NC, to his beach house at Ocean Isle Beach, NC. We did the trip in two days, riding 74 miles the first day and 100 the second day. (The second day was actually about 95 miles, but we rode around on the island until we hit 100.) Both days were the longest rides we've ever done. (My previous longest ride was about 45 miles.)
We decided to do this ride at the beginning of the summer, so we've been training for about 3 months. Before that, I hadn't ridden over 5 miles a day in several years.

Our route followed small back roads. The first day we had 4 or 5 moderate climbs, but the second day (as we got closer to the coast) it was mostly flat. The first day was a bit cool, 50 degrees and cloudy, but the second day was sunny and 65 -- perfect. Along the way we met a taekwondo expert in Spivey's Corner, heard a ghost story in Salemburg, dodged roadkill raccoons in Bladen Lakes State Park, held our breath as hog trucks passed, bought boiled peanuts in Hallsboro, got chased by dogs, ate homemade sweet potato pie, and even slept at B&B that was a former crime scene.

We both rode mountain bikes with road tires. I rode my 10 year-old Kona, and my neighbor rode a new $200 Schwinn. We each had a rack and bag to carry tools, clothing, food, etc. We never had any flats or other mechanical issues.

Trip Statistics:
Total Distance: 174.4 miles
Ride Time: 10:59:52 (excluding rest stops)
Average Speed: 15.8 mph
Flat tires: 0
Chasing Dogs: 4
Chasing dogs sprayed with Gatorade or water: 2 (it really works!)
Gel packs consumed: 6 (all on second day)
Sore butts: 2

Thanks to everyone at BF, I learned a lot by lurking at this forum. We're already plotting our next big ride.

Havs

Congrats on your ride! Just out of curiosity, how'd you feel physically/mentally the 2nd day? I have signed up for a 250 mile ride over 3 days next May, and I'm thinking the 2nd day is going to be the hardest.

jwc3

Thanks, Havs. I feel like I really accomplished something.

As for your question, on the second day I felt pretty good, but not as good as the first day. For one thing, I didn't get a good night's sleep at the B&B we stayed in (traffic noise and we found out it was the scene of a double murder!). Also, it was about 40 degrees when we started out, so I was cold for the first hour or so. About 40 miles into the second day I felt my legs getting a little bit tired. I stoppped to stretch and ate a Carb Boom gel pack. That seemed to kick-in pretty quickly and I felt much better. I wound-up eating two more during the day. I didn't really need them again, but I was trying to prevent any problems since it was my first century, and I wanted to see what the other flavors were like. (The Apple Cinamon flavor is my favorite.)

The next day (the day after 100 miles) I rode about 4 miles with my kids, and I felt pretty stiff for the rest of the day. Not sure if I could have done another big ride on that day. And my legs were even more stiff the day after that. Based on my experience, your third day might be more uncomfortable than the second. I recommend Alieve for the muscle pain. I took 2 each morning.

Good luck!