UK 150 mile intercity... in one day???

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Hey dudes. I'm not sure where to post this but this forum section mentions touring so I guess its right.
Using MultiMap and MapMyRide.com I've devised a route from York to Birmingham. If you're not sure where those cities are, then here's a map:

http://img2.putfile.com/main/11/32604490877.jpg

This is about the best I can come up with:

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/york/238493030

Its 145 miles long, and I've tried many alternative routes at certain places and it all comes up within one or two miles of the same distance. According to route planners for car journeys, the best road route (with motorways etc) is 138 miles so 7 miles more while avoiding major roads isn't too bad, I guess.

I'd appreciate it if anyone is interested to zoom in (to about 10 miles being visable on the screen) and just scroll down (you can drag the map around) and check the route and give any feedback.

>Start and finish points aren't door-to-door, but just in the local area, but that's fine.
>The first 45 miles are on the National Cycle Network. After that, it goes off in a sub-optimal direction so I decided to plot it myself from then on.
>The final 7 miles or so are along canals, but if that point comes at night (and it will) then I'll use one of the many other routes into Birmingham, all pretty similar in distance.

The original plan, before I knew how far it was, was to ride it all in one epic December day. I'd be extremely happy if I could still do that and tbh I think I'm going to try it and just do it, however long it takes. If I got a good early start then I could ride for 14 hours or so and arrive in time for bed.
This ride would take place amidst total rest, or more specifically - I won't have to be riding on the days before or after it. Its not part of a tour, its just A-to-B.

My situation is described in this thread:

http://www.cyclingforums.com/t440310.html (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=363031)

And I still need a new bike anyway. So this ride would be done on some kind of touring/city/hybrid-type bike, not a racer or anything.

I cycle every day but have never been over 35 miles in a day before. I am in good shape generally and take lots of exercise, but nothing specific to long-distance cycling. However, I would not be trying to ride the route quickly and would hope to keep it at a level of exertion not much more than walking, which is reasonable, I think.

I will time myself along a known distance today to find what kind of speed seems normal to me, and report that here.

I'd appreciate any advice, suggests, or dissuasion..

Thanks a lot dudes

--Joe

OK : i cannot comment on the specifics of the route because I don't know the route well enough to suggest shortcuts.

However, i note that you ride every day but you've never cycled more than 35 miles per day.
And that you want to cycle a route which is ..........140-odd miles.
In December.

I have two immediate concerns.
Daylight in our part of the world (Britain and Ireland) is at best 8 hours in December.
More often than not, if the weather is cloudy, daylight can be down to as little as six hours.
So unless you can hold a speed of 20 mphs per hour - for seven hours, i think that to try to ride this route, at this time of the year is foolhardy (I don't mean to be disrespectful, by the way).

The other concern I have is that 140 miles in one day is a big step up from 35 miles per day.
I'm sure that you're fit but there is a big difference between cycling 35 miles and cycling 140 miles.
At this stage, you don't know how your body may react after, say, 80 miles
for example.
And I think you need to acclimatise your body to doing those sort of distances before attempting to increase a ride from 35 miles to 140 miles in one go.

I don't mean to be defeatist but when intending to cycle those type of distances, especially at this time of year, you need to be sure that if you set out to do this distance that you have the endurance and the daylight to complete the distance.
It would be folly if you started to tire (or run out of daylight) after say 50 miles - and have to turn back home doing another 50 miles just to get back home.

Daylight in our part of the world (Britain and Ireland) is at best 8 hours in December.
More often than not, if the weather is cloudy, daylight can be down to as little as six hours.
So unless you can hold a speed of 20 mphs per hour - for seven hours, i think that to try to ride this route, at this time of the year is foolhardy (I don't mean to be disrespectful, by the way).Indeed.. well I had planned to ride a lot of it in darkness. If I left nice and early, say 4am, then I'd have about 3 or 4 hours of darkness. The first 45 miles of the ride are on the National Cycle Network and so would require minimal navigation on my part. And then the final ride into Birmingham would be in darkness too, and would be a bit more difficult. But I have the advantage of knowing the area, having grown up there, and so would have a decent idea of where I was and where I was going.

The other concern I have is that 140 miles in one day is a big step up from 35 miles per day.
I'm sure that you're fit but there is a big difference between cycling 35 miles and cycling 140 miles.
At this stage, you don't know how your body may react after, say, 80 miles
for example.
And I think you need to acclimatise your body to doing those sort of distances before attempting to increase a ride from 35 miles to 140 miles in one go.Yes, indeed :(
My abilities lie naturally to the endurance side of the spectrum (I'm a good distance runner, for example) although I dislike such activities generally and am much more interested in the other side of things. However, I know I can bring myself up to a decent standard fairly quickly. But, that doesn't neccessarily relate to a long distance bike ride at all - something I've never done and like you say I have no idea what's going to happen after however-many miles....
I keep thinking that if I just go at a leisurely pace then it can't be much more exhausting than just walking or something. But that's probably not right at all.


I don't mean to be defeatist but when intending to cycle those type of distances, especially at this time of year, you need to be sure that if you set out to do this distance that you have the endurance and the daylight to complete the distance.
It would be folly if you started to tire (or run out of daylight) after say 50 miles - and have to turn back home doing another 50 miles just to get back home.
The route is such that I can shoot over to several cities on the way and get a train if I have to. I wouldn't turn back. I also have a place to stay in Loughborough (110 miles still).

Thanks for the reply, dude! I'll post more later, have to rush off now

-Joe

Indeed.. well I had planned to ride a lot of it in darkness. If I left nice and early, say 4am, then I'd have about 3 or 4 hours of darkness. The first 45 miles of the ride are on the National Cycle Network and so would require minimal navigation on my part. And then the final ride into Birmingham would be in darkness too, and would be a bit more difficult. But I have the advantage of knowing the area, having grown up there, and so would have a decent idea of where I was and where I was going.



Ok - so long as you've resigned yourself to the fact that you will be riding in darkness, then that issue is solved.





Yes, indeed :(
My abilities lie naturally to the endurance side of the spectrum (I'm a good distance runner, for example) although I dislike such activities generally and am much more interested in the other side of things. However, I know I can bring myself up to a decent standard fairly quickly. But, that doesn't neccessarily relate to a long distance bike ride at all - something I've never done and like you say I have no idea what's going to happen after however-many miles....
I keep thinking that if I just go at a leisurely pace then it can't be much more exhausting than just walking or something. But that's probably not right at all.



OK : a couple of issues : if you can get in some longer distance cycles between now and the time of your journey, you should do so.
The more chance that you get your body acclimatised to cycling longer distances, between now and your trip, the better.
Cycling endurance is different to running endurance : different muscles come in to play when doing either activity.

Also, make sure that you eat correctly.
For any long cycle it is a good idea to carbo-load before you commence : for me that entails pastas, pizzas ie anything that is full of carb's.
Also fluid intake is essential : make sure that you intake fluid - even if you'r not thirsty.
if you get thirsty this signals that rehydration is too late.
So drink little but often - even if you're not thirsty!

Also given the time of year, make sure that you have the appropriate clothing/apparel as well.
It's cold this time of year - so make sure that you wear layers of clothing as opposed to wear one heavy (protective) item.

Also make sure that you have spare tubes, puncture repair kits, and that you have a light on your bike and perhaps a torch as well (just in case you have to change a tyre and you're in the dark).

best of luck.

Also, make sure that you eat correctly.
For any long cycle it is a good idea to carbo-load before you commence : for me that entails pastas, pizzas ie anything that is full of carb's.And also eat as much carbos as you can during the ride. It is much easier to avoid nausea from eating on a bike than eating while you run. Your stomach is relatively steady on a bike. Gels are good cause they're easy to carry, but sandwiches are also good fuel. If you can stop at an eatery, then it saves you having to carry the food. Don't wait until you're hungry. You have about 2-3 hours of steady energy output in your legs, without eating anything after you start. Add to this what you eat just before. So unless you eat every couple of hours, you are going to start bonking from 80-100 miles - that's my guess.

Also the less you go anaerobic the better. Try to avoid this as it tends to build-up lactic acid and makes glucogen replacement more difficult as well.

And as Lim said, drink, and drink and drink. At least one water bottle per hour for winter. Carbo drinks are good for getting more calories ingested that are also easily digestible.

Lim is right about using the long rides as trial. As well as trialling your eating/drinking regime, you are also finding out if your saddle starts killing you after 60 miles, or your knee starts hurting from bad alignment.

Other than that, you should be fine IMO. Just do it. Good Luck.