that amazing feeling when you've made it back home
 

giant loop this afternoon into the evening and made it home before 9:30. finally got over 60 miles for the 1st time since last summer. previous longest ride was 57 miles. on the couch now before the hot soak, so gotta make this quick:

65.77 miles (Bolton; Hopkinton; Harvard Square Cambridge; Arlington; Lexington; Bedford; Concord then home)
33.4 max
13.4 avrg
4 hrs 54 min saddle time

... working my way up to the overnite century

Great ride. I live on the NH seacoast, so we're kinda close.

Hopefully I can enjoy that feeling with a group after a 60ish mile group ride tomorrow.

EDIT: it ended up being 73 miles, with two mountains at a bit over 18 miles an hour. i wasn't dropped, which was my goal

I felt it today too..

I rode 30 miles, 15.4 avg 25.3 max 1 hour 53 mins

First time I rode this route without something going wrong (rain, flats, etc.)

It was extremely hot today, almost 93 degrees, and after a cool shower, my body has been hot all day... its finally starting to cool back off after loads of water.

my ass is still sore this morning ... hahaha

I forgot to mention that I stopped often for food and drink and it was really annoying. I should have planned my nutrition better.

I don't want to seem too arrogant...but I had that same feeling yesterday after finishing my first 200K (a solo ride after having to bow out of the April 24 Berkshire Brevets 200K after a stupid knee injury). I left home at 8:25 a.m. and got back at 8:05 p.m., having covered 200K (124.5 miles) in 9 hours and 55 minutes of riding plus 1 hour and 45 minutes of resting/scarfing down sandwiches/taking pictures. Average speed on the bike was just over 12.5 mph; total vertical climb was 6300 feet. From mile 85 to 105 was the toughest stretch; after that, I felt pretty confident about making it home, especially after a soft-serve ice cream cone at mile 110.

My motto: stop as often as you need to. One one 10% climb (Stage Road/Route 8A in Halifax, Vt.), I stopped twice before reaching the crest...in less than 2 miles.

you don't sound arrogant to me. in fact I feel better cuz there was a monster hill I stopped at partway up too

Back when I started riding long distances, I planned things so that I'd go out and do a century (100 miles), double century (200 miles), or brevet (200 km, 300 km, 400 km, or 600 km) ....... then come home, have a long, hot shower, and eat a massive quantity of food ..... go to bed and sleep a deep, deep sleep for the next 12 to 15 hours without waking up at all in that time ..... get up and eat a large breakfast ..... have a long, hot shower ..... take a stroll to the local grocery store a km away to buy more food to eat, and maybe a short, casual spin around the block on my bicycle ..... then relax on the sofa in front of the TV with my legs up and snacks nearby ..... and maybe a hot bath .........

A hard ride followed by serious relaxation and comfort. Wonderful!! :)

It's been harder to arrange that in recent years. The start/finish points for many of my rides are often some distance away so there's travel time to factor in.


Rowan and I have a long ride coming up in mid-May, and I'm toying with ideas of how to incorporate this sort of relaxation into the day(s) after the ride.

my IT Band seems to not be bothering me - even after that long ride with some sick climbs. gonna get cocky and ride to work without the triple for the homeward hills. I think the foam roller worked!

I'm envious! I've only been doing long-distance cycling for a few months, but I've found that after riding for more than 70 miles or so, I sleep quite fitfully, regardless of what I eat or drink afterwards. I'm never awake for long periods, and I usually wake up feeling reasonably refreshed the next morning, but I don't get really deep sleep. That comes the next night.

I'm envious of anyone sleeping more than 5 hours ... :(

Me too (to both the OP and ^^^).

100 km today, longest ride so far this year and a repeat of my first 100+ km ride on a fixed-gear, in which I was underdressed and got caught in the rain halfway through.

Grateful for 10 speed in the headwinds on the way home, although compacts really suck on flat ground when going solo. I'm just so pleased to have finally found a saddle that doesn't make me stop every 25 km.

Maybe you need to ride further. 70 miles isn't enough to tire me out anymore than a day's work would tire me out. If I'm out of shape and I ride a century, I'll sleep a long and deep after, but if I'm in shape a century doesn't tire me out either. When I get up to the 400K distance, which has me on the bicycle 21+ hours (and thus awake for usually 24+ hours), then I'm definitely tired enough to sleep very long and deep.

Machka ~

the event you mentioned 400K that involves such long hours - what is it called so I can research them

I'm considering an overnite century. meaning riding 100 miles beginning late at night and ending in the morning. you have any suggestions?

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a piker compared with most folks on this forum. My longest ride so far is 200K. I did note, though, that on days when I've ridden up to 100K I have no problem sleeping soundly, but from 70 to 125 miles I've slept fitfully afterwards. I can come home, spend an hour making dinner, enjoy dinner, relax with a movie, and fall asleep quickly, but every 2 hours I wake up for 5-10 minutes and then fall back asleep. I do feel refreshed the next morning, but it's not as satisfying as those nights when I turn out the lights and wake up 8 hours later without having stirred (so far as I remember...).

I'm talking about Randonneuring/Audax, or 24-hour races. I've done both. Randonneuring requires a minimum speed of 15 km/h including all breaks. 24-hour races require you to ride as hard as you can for 24-hours and see what you end up with in terms of distance at the end ... and see how you stack up against the others you race with.

This is my Links page. It starts with a list of 24-hour events, then a list of Randonneuring/Audax organistions, and then a whole bunch of other ultra-distance events, etc.

http://www.machka.net/links.htm

As for the overnight century you're considering, I'd recommend doing a century in daylight hours first.


Rowan and I attempted a 400K this weekend, but wrapped it up after 230 km for several reasons including being out of shape and riding a new bicycle that doesn't fit quite right. Nevertheless, arriving back at the caravan park at the end was wonderful ... as was the 12 hours of sleep that followed!!

wow, you're an animal! (in a good way) :)

I've done a century so I'm not worried about the miles. I meant any suggestions about riding through the night

Make sure you're set up with good lights. Make sure you're wearing lots of reflective gear. See and be seen.

Choose quiet roads with very little traffic.

Nights can also get quite cool so make sure you've got enough clothing with you.

Most places where you might buy food and get water during the day will be closed at night, so be sure you've got enough food and water with you.

Make sure you're set up with good lights. Make sure you're wearing lots of reflective gear. See and be seen.

- got the lights but my commuter is the bike with reflective craziness - need to get the lighter joy ridebike up to reflective speed


Choose quiet roads with very little traffic.

- gonna do Martha's Vineyard and anything not including tourists will be fine. I'll avoid a weekend to avoid possible drunk locals. limited choice of roads cuz i want to circumnavigate the island twice through the night

Nights can also get quite cool so make sure you've got enough clothing with you.

- yeah I was thinking of investing in leg and or arm warmers or doing it on a summer night where the temps aren't expected to drop too much

Most places where you might buy food and get water during the day will be closed at night, so be sure you've got enough food and water with you.

- that crossed my mind. I'll be carrying more that's for sure. maybe I'll use the commuter - it has 3 bottle holders and I use one for my light's battery. that bike is fast enough; equipped to carry more and has a lower gear range for those long high grades out by the western end of the island