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[QUOTE=bikenh;18437538]
Originally Posted by phytovictus
(Post 18435796)
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=496684 In northern Ohio as long as you stay up by the lake and go through Cleveland you are fins. That 2012 trip was a riot thanks to not sticking to Cleveland. Found a nice stretch of road OH303. 30 miles with 3000 feet of climbing. Even though I lived many years in Ohio I never knew there was that kind of climbing in northern Ohio. Down in southeast Ohio, sure, I would expect it but not up in northern Ohio. 2013 I went right through the heart of Cleveland without any trouble on a weekday. As long as you are comfortable with traffic it won't be an issue going through Cleveland. I would stick to the highways.
322 into town can be hilly in the east. busy in the burbs, and downhill into town once you get into the heights. also, consider using the return key. ;) |
Everyone one on here has being super rad. Thanks for all the tips/insights/ and recommendations. T-minus 141 days.
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I'm curious as why do you want to do this as fixed gear? I'ld think multi gear wound be easier and more comfortable. I like riding fixed, but different bicycles for different situations/places.
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[QUOTE=bmike;18437612]
Originally Posted by bikenh
(Post 18437538)
303 is rough. family lives right off it. 322 into town can be hilly in the east. busy in the burbs, and downhill into town once you get into the heights. also, consider using the return key. ;) |
Originally Posted by Rowan
(Post 18437516)
As a by-the-by, I know of several riders who have used fixed gear to participate in the Boston-Montreal-Boston 1200, including a really wonderful young woman whose enthusiasm for fixed riding is infectious. BMB went through many of the hills in the New England area, including the legendary Middlebury Gap. |
The OP should check out
https://www.warmshowers.org/ and download the app to their phone. Having some hospitality on a long trip is fantastic. The people I met through Warmshowers was one of the best things about my trip across N. America. |
Originally Posted by nun
(Post 18437892)
The BMB randonee blogs are great to read. I could never keep up the pace and doing it on a fixie is super-human IMHO. In fact going ultralight without a tent etc and trying to average over 100 miles per day turns touring into back to back randonees. For 5 days I averaged 90 miles a day from Ontario, along the Erie Canal and back to MA on a fully geared bike with about 20 lbs of gear and it started to get to me. But I'm over 50 so things begin to ache and I'm no where near the fitness level required for BMB, LEL or PBP.
As to age, forget it. The average age of randonneurs is quite high, and in fact could be regarded as a "mature age" sport. Maybe it's because the older riders have more time after taking care of family, and maybe they are better financially equipped. But 50 is about the average age for PBP, if I remember correctly. Stories abound, of course, about people who set out to do the PBP, LEL and other 1200s without having ridden much before. I think LWaB has talked about a woman who rode PBP by only doing the qualifying series, and then the 1200 itself. Like you have done with ultra-lightweight touring, much depends on your levels of organising ability, and experience (given what I have just stated above). I'm 60. My first PBP (or any 1200 for that matter) was in 2003. I had a DNF in PBP in 2007 when I was riding a fixie (but the fixie wasn't the cause of the retirement), and then life things got in the way. But Machka and I are gearing up to get back into LD again. If I can do it, you sure can! Sorry for the drift in topic, but the fixie was mentioned! :D |
Originally Posted by Rowan
(Post 18438032)
The woman I mentioned is amazing and one of my cycling heroes (outside Machka, of course). She is a highly accomplished symphony musician and apart from anything else, has a wonderful zest for life. Maybe their is a correlation factor with riding fixed gear :D
As to age, forget it. The average age of randonneurs is quite high, and in fact could be regarded as a "mature age" sport. Maybe it's because the older riders have more time after taking care of family, and maybe they are better financially equipped. But 50 is about the average age for PBP, if I remember correctly. Stories abound, of course, about people who set out to do the PBP, LEL and other 1200s without having ridden much before. I think LWaB has talked about a woman who rode PBP by only doing the qualifying series, and then the 1200 itself. Like you have done with ultra-lightweight touring, much depends on your levels of organising ability, and experience (given what I have just stated above). I'm 60. My first PBP (or any 1200 for that matter) was in 2003. I had a DNF in PBP in 2007 when I was riding a fixie (but the fixie wasn't the cause of the retirement), and then life things got in the way. But Machka and I are gearing up to get back into LD again. If I can do it, you sure can! Sorry for the drift in topic, but the fixie was mentioned! :D Dill Pickle Gear |
Originally Posted by phytovictus
(Post 18435796)
On just a two week trip from NH to VA, Google Cycling suggestions took me along a gravel "Meadow Road" in NH, over a steep jeep road "short cut" in VT, over a mountain in NY to avoid a short stretch of an easy shouldered highway and it dead ended me on a residential park bike path in MD. All good options if one was out to wander and explore but not if you are trying to knock off 100 miles a day. ACA has maps from NY to IA that wind around as much as as Google, but each twist and turn is well mapped out along with a written cue sheet. You may be better of with printed state highway maps to keep you on a straight line on shouldered highways and off the dirt to do that kind of mileage and to make sure you pass through towns big enough for re-supply. |
Looking forward to reading about the ride but I'm with posts 2 and 3; I like the idea of a flip flop with a freewheel for climbing on one side. This is how road racing was done way back in the day or with freewheel on both sides. In any case, I think those road racers way back in the day were on to something. There's some info on this in Hearts of Lions which you might enjoy reading
Robot Check Here's a blog post, Flip-flop fixed wheel gearing - Road Cycling UK |
BobG great advice!
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