sandwiches

We all know that, on longer rides, the ability to coast is a beautiful thing. However, some of us don't really think that far ahead before we saddle up and hit the road. What is the longest time you've spent or longest distance you've gone without the luxury of coasting?

For me, I'd say it was last October when some friends and I rode out to a town about 35 miles out (braving one heck of a headwind, and most of it was uphill), and then back. Walking felt so different afterwards.

Pfutz

the longest I have ridden fixed was 75miles. I have done longer on my other bikes though.

mander

7 1/4"

Jk, lots of forum members including me have gone as far as a century + change, some have done doubles, and one sick **** Fixedwheelnut has done PBP and London Edinburgh London.

tzwsp4

31 miles yesterday

sandwiches

Alright. Well, may I ask what you were thinking? Was it a sort of 'I'm going to ride a century on a fixed gear and it's going to be grueling as all hell but I'm still going to do it' thing, or more of a 'I'm going to ride a century on a fixed gear because it can't be much different than doing one on a regular bike, right'?

peugotpigeon

between 30 and 40 miles
idn due to all the misc detours that were taken

K_phomma

longest I did was 12mi on the springwater trail.

bigbadwimp

Annie Londonderry has y'all whooped.

NitroPye

40ish miles fixed.

mander

It really isn't too much harder than on a geared bike. It's tougher yes but not by the orders of magnitude you might think.

Distance riding is doable, even pleasant if you train properly and work up to it. 55 year old randonneurs do 1200 km in 72 hours, so there's no reason why a young **** like you or me can't do 160, fixed or not. Start by training for a metric. That's just what you did plus 40 km/ 25 miles more. You'll be really surprised how fast your "range" increases even under haphazard training. Regular rides on weekends with gently increasing distances and or speeds will prepare you, no sweat.

The long distance forum has lots of great advice on century training.

metaljim

same here.

NitroPye

we have a lot in common.

let's date.

4doorhoor

Portland to Seattle. 3 days.

DataJunkie

75 miles after the snow melted. The other 25 miles of that century was one my MTB while the snow melted. Barely topped freezing that day. That century took two bikes, two sets of clothing, and 10 hours to finish.

roadfix

200 miles, LA Wheelmen Grand Tour highland double.

This year I'm doing that same ride on my single speed. I really need to coast.

cheeva

to the moon

Sixty Fiver

My long tour / century bike - 1955 Raleigh Lenton "Reg Harris" 46 tooth ring with a 16/18 cog - weight 32 pounds. Loaded weight - 45 pounds with paniers.



Did a number of metrics and a full century on the Lenton last year with no problems... was averaging nearly 30 miles a day, every day at the time riding my 22 pound Peugeot fixed gear with a 52:18 (77 gear inches).

On the Peugeot I put in countless metrics and on many occasions even managed to ride close to 100 miles a day without ever leaving the city. Have also ridden from 10 pm to 7 am with very few stops.

I plan on randoneurring with my 1987 Kuwahara mtb / tourer which runs a 40:16 gearing and will plan to do some back to back centuries with it. It hits the curb at 26 pounds with front and rear fenders and racks and lights.

I find that when I ride fixed I have excellent stamina and less muscle soreness (if there is any) due to the constant motion...coasting is a bad habit for those who ride long or hard as stopping those legs for any period of time can lead to cramps.

I have never needed to take a day off prior to or after a long ride and keep a pretty steady riding schedule.

operator

45 pounds... lol

Sixty Fiver

3 litres of water (7.5 pounds), tools, squall gear, first aid kit, food... it adds up and folks half my age still have trouble keeping up with me.

I ride with a guy in his early sixties and he rides a fully loaded touring bike (probably a good 60-70 pounds) and I've seen him leave the kids gasping for breath trying to keep up with him over long distance rides.

okay

idk, like across town for my weed hookup

str8flexed

~30 miles. Plan to do a metric century when the chance presents itself though. It just annoys me that it takes hours and hours to ride long distances.

okay

if you're not enjoying your time riding why are you riding the long distances in the first place?

diff_lock2

How long did the double take?

windup capybara

40 miles, unusually strong headwind, in a very hilly area on a highway (no, not a four lane country highway, a real ****ing interstate highway). it was miserable, definitely the most challenging physical thing i've ever done. i never, ever want to do it again, but only because the route was suicide. i was riding behind my boyfriend and i was convinced so many times he was going to be destroyed by cars veering into the offramp at 60 mph as he tried to go across it. never. again.

that being said, 40 miles in a headwind in a hilly area on some quiet country roads would be doable and a lot more fun. the moral was it's all about the route taken, i guess.

Az B

Several centuries, and a 120 mile ride last year. It's not really that much different from riding distance on a geared bike... basically if you ride your bike a lot, whatever it is, you'll have no problem riding distance.

Az