Author Topic: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)  (Read 3549 times)

GuitarStv

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 23129
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« on: September 25, 2016, 03:08:44 PM »

^ Three preparatory cups of coffee and an astoundingly large breakfast (EAT ALL THE CARBS!) were only enough to coax a partial smile this morning.  This was my first time attempting back to back 100+ km rides.


Saturday morning was 6 degrees (42 F) when I left.  I failed to notice that the last half of my route involved about 430 m (1400 ft) of climbing, and the headwind was 35 kph (22 mph) with higher gusts.  The weather network said that temperatures would warm up to 18 degrees (64 F) over my ride.  It actually warmed up to 12 degrees (53 F).  Some rather significant time was spent in the last quarter of the ride questioning the reason for my apparent inability to pace myself properly.  I was shockingly exhausted, cold, and hungry by the time I rolled in to my mom's house four and a ja;f hours after leaving mine.  Still had a nice visit, and got to see some cool sights on the way . . . but the last half of the trip was rough.

Morale was only salvaged by loudly belting out the lyrics I knew to the Future Islands 'Singles' album that I had playing over my earbud on repeat for pretty much the whole trip up . . . so apologies to anyone who saw the insane man with the glassy eyes and crazed out of tune singing on the bike yesterday.  In my defense - fuck wind.

The ride home today in comparison, was pretty awesome.  Again it was chilly in the morning at 8 degrees (46 F) but there was almost no wind and the route definitely went more down hill than up.  I got back in three and a half hours, and this time I'm not hypothermic!  :P

Currently eating my way through a large pan of brownies and downing copious amounts of hot chocolate.


Vital Ride Stats Over the Two Days:

Total bananas eaten on bike: 6
Total liquid consumed on bike: 3.7 L
Total wrong turns made: 2
Pee breaks: 1
Poorly chosen location for pee break that became painfully obvious as a mostly female peloton decided to ride by on a road I couldn't see when starting: 1
Times 'In my defense, it's really cold out ladies' was attempted: 2
Total crazy singing time to ward off tears at the unfair wind gods: 65 minutes
Sanity checks: 0

Mr. Green

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4494
  • Age: 40
  • Location: Wilmington, NC
Re: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« Reply #1 on: September 25, 2016, 03:42:52 PM »
Hilarious!

GuitarStv

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 23129
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Re: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« Reply #2 on: September 25, 2016, 05:32:15 PM »
There was also a period of mild hallucination on the way down where I saw a man in a parachute land in a field next to where I was cycling.  I avoided making eye contact and continued singing, refusing to acknowledge the apparition.  Then it happened again, and again - finally totaling six parachutists squirming about out of the corner of my eye.  In retrospect I now suspect that I may have been cycling next to some sort of parachuting school.

okits

  • CMTO 2023 Attendees
  • Senior Mustachian
  • *
  • Posts: 13017
  • Location: Canada
Re: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2016, 06:51:34 PM »
Very impressive!  For something like this do you take an Advil/similar at any point for inflammation/pain/anticipated soreness?  (Medicinal value of brownies is questionable but you'd better eat them all, just in case.  ;-)

LOLs:
the insane man with the glassy eyes and crazed out of tune singing on the bike

Poorly chosen location for pee break that became painfully obvious as a mostly female peloton decided to ride by on a road I couldn't see when starting: 1

Times 'In my defense, it's really cold out ladies' was attempted: 2

Stachey

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1020
Re: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« Reply #4 on: September 25, 2016, 07:12:45 PM »
Perhaps there is medical marijuana in the brownies...;-)
But seriously GuitarStv...that ride was epic!

kendallf

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1068
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Jacksonville, FL
Re: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« Reply #5 on: September 25, 2016, 09:02:50 PM »
Sounds like a good ride!  I envisioned you as less preppy-color-matched and with more facial hair.  :-)

Stop and eat on these sort of trips, or at least head out on a full breakfast (not a banana/sports "nutrition" or the like).  It'll make a difference. 

I am considering making a rule for myself that I will ride the bike whenever I visit my mother as well.  I've done the trip a couple of times by bike; 300-350 miles, depending on route.

Bicycle_B

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1809
  • Mustachian-ish in Live Music Capital of the World
Re: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« Reply #6 on: September 25, 2016, 09:38:29 PM »

^ Three preparatory cups of coffee and an astoundingly large breakfast (EAT ALL THE CARBS!) were only enough to coax a partial smile this morning.  This was my first time attempting back to back 100+ km rides.


Saturday morning was 6 degrees (42 F) when I left.  I failed to notice that the last half of my route involved about 430 m (1400 ft) of climbing, and the headwind was 35 kph (22 mph) with higher gusts.  The weather network said that temperatures would warm up to 18 degrees (64 F) over my ride.  It actually warmed up to 12 degrees (53 F).  Some rather significant time was spent in the last quarter of the ride questioning the reason for my apparent inability to pace myself properly.  I was shockingly exhausted, cold, and hungry by the time I rolled in to my mom's house four and a ja;f hours after leaving mine.  Still had a nice visit, and got to see some cool sights on the way . . . but the last half of the trip was rough.

Morale was only salvaged by loudly belting out the lyrics I knew to the Future Islands 'Singles' album that I had playing over my earbud on repeat for pretty much the whole trip up . . . so apologies to anyone who saw the insane man with the glassy eyes and crazed out of tune singing on the bike yesterday.  In my defense - fuck wind.

The ride home today in comparison, was pretty awesome.  Again it was chilly in the morning at 8 degrees (46 F) but there was almost no wind and the route definitely went more down hill than up.  I got back in three and a half hours, and this time I'm not hypothermic!  :P

Currently eating my way through a large pan of brownies and downing copious amounts of hot chocolate.


Vital Ride Stats Over the Two Days:

Total bananas eaten on bike: 6
Total liquid consumed on bike: 3.7 L
Total wrong turns made: 2
Pee breaks: 1
Poorly chosen location for pee break that became painfully obvious as a mostly female peloton decided to ride by on a road I couldn't see when starting: 1
Times 'In my defense, it's really cold out ladies' was attempted: 2
Total crazy singing time to ward off tears at the unfair wind gods: 65 minutes
Sanity checks: 0

Your photo is... oddly more human than your avatar.

Congrats on a challenging ride.

GuitarStv

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 23129
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Re: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« Reply #7 on: September 26, 2016, 05:38:01 AM »
Very impressive!  For something like this do you take an Advil/similar at any point for inflammation/pain/anticipated soreness?  (Medicinal value of brownies is questionable but you'd better eat them all, just in case.  ;-)

No, no drugs other than caffeine (which I only drink on long bike rides).  The caffeine really does make a difference though.  Eating enough food and getting a long night of sleep really has remarkable recuperating powers (although my ass and I are just getting back to speaking terms today, I'm feeling about 90%).



Sounds like a good ride!  I envisioned you as less preppy-color-matched and with more facial hair.  :-)

For whatever reason, black and red stuff seems to go on sale the most often when I'm looking.  If you look closely though, my panniers and saddlebag are both annoyingly blue and out of place.

The average daily temperature for the week previous was in the high 20s (82 - 84 F).  Facial hair is always shaved until it's very chilly out . . . free air conditioning!  :P

Stop and eat on these sort of trips, or at least head out on a full breakfast (not a banana/sports "nutrition" or the like).  It'll make a difference. 

We did a very large pancake breakfast before heading out.  My issue is that at about 205 lbs with a fair amount of muscle I seem to burn calories much faster than all of the skinny cyclists.  It seems like I'm pretty much always eating while on the bike.

I am considering making a rule for myself that I will ride the bike whenever I visit my mother as well.  I've done the trip a couple of times by bike; 300-350 miles, depending on route.

How many days would you break up that sort of distance into?  Do you tent in between, or stay at a hotel/someone's place?



Your photo is... oddly more human than your avatar.

Congrats on a challenging ride.

Photo taken during gestation period.
« Last Edit: September 26, 2016, 05:40:46 AM by GuitarStv »

meghan88

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 834
  • Location: Montreal
Re: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2016, 08:38:12 AM »
Epic!  What a great ride.  Do you really ride with an earbud?  I'd never dare, even if it's just one.  Hope your mom fed you ... a lot!

GuitarStv

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 23129
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Re: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« Reply #9 on: September 26, 2016, 05:36:54 PM »
Epic!  What a great ride.  Do you really ride with an earbud?  I'd never dare, even if it's just one.  Hope your mom fed you ... a lot!

Never in the city with an earbud, and it's not really worth the bother on shorter rides.  Music seems to help my concentration on really long rides though.  I set it pretty quietly so that I can hear my gear changes, cars behind me, and can carry on a conversation with another cyclist without problems.

PtboEliz

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 146
  • Age: 47
  • Location: East of Toronto
Re: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« Reply #10 on: September 26, 2016, 05:54:37 PM »
Nice job GS. One pee break over two long rides.. now that's something :)

ender

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7402
Re: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« Reply #11 on: September 26, 2016, 06:31:38 PM »
Awesome :)

kendallf

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1068
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Jacksonville, FL
Re: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« Reply #12 on: September 26, 2016, 08:20:24 PM »
Stop and eat on these sort of trips, or at least head out on a full breakfast (not a banana/sports "nutrition" or the like).  It'll make a difference. 

We did a very large pancake breakfast before heading out.  My issue is that at about 205 lbs with a fair amount of muscle I seem to burn calories much faster than all of the skinny cyclists.  It seems like I'm pretty much always eating while on the bike.
I'm ~210 lbs right now so my caloric needs are probably similar to yours.  Studies show that well trained endurance athletes usually have glycogen reserves for somewhere around 2 hours of sub-threshold effort; past that you'd better be taking in calories.  People vary of course, but I've found that I tolerate long days better if I just stop (even briefly) and eat real food after 4-5 hours.  It might help you as well. 

I am considering making a rule for myself that I will ride the bike whenever I visit my mother as well.  I've done the trip a couple of times by bike; 300-350 miles, depending on route.
Quote
How many days would you break up that sort of distance into?  Do you tent in between, or stay at a hotel/someone's place?
Lightly loaded and staying with family/hotels, I've done it in 3 days; something like 120, 140, and 80 miles.  In January, fully loaded and camping, it took more like 3 1/2 days.  Camping actually makes these trips more fun in many ways. 

Best way to try it out is to plan an overnighter somewhere nearby; we're planning some fall off-road camping excursions on the fat bikes and I'm really looking forward to it!

GuitarStv

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 23129
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Re: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« Reply #13 on: September 27, 2016, 05:33:31 AM »
Lightly loaded and staying with family/hotels, I've done it in 3 days; something like 120, 140, and 80 miles.  In January, fully loaded and camping, it took more like 3 1/2 days.  Camping actually makes these trips more fun in many ways. 

Best way to try it out is to plan an overnighter somewhere nearby; we're planning some fall off-road camping excursions on the fat bikes and I'm really looking forward to it!

I'm really interested in doing some multi-day tours, and will probably give it a try some time next year.  One question for you though, uh . . . regarding crotch cleanliness and camping.  I shower immediately after every ride (and launder my cycling stuff), because I've found that this is the best preventative for saddle sores.  What do you find works best to stay clean when you're setting up camp in the middle of nowhere when there are no showers and there's little water?

Paul der Krake

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5854
  • Age: 16
  • Location: UTC-10:00
Re: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« Reply #14 on: September 27, 2016, 06:04:58 AM »
I'm really interested in doing some multi-day tours, and will probably give it a try some time next year.  One question for you though, uh . . . regarding crotch cleanliness and camping.  I shower immediately after every ride (and launder my cycling stuff), because I've found that this is the best preventative for saddle sores.  What do you find works best to stay clean when you're setting up camp in the middle of nowhere when there are no showers and there's little water?
Baby wipes are an okay temporary measure, but you want to get an actual rinse going every now and then.

Good job on the ride. Long solo headwinds are a soul breaker.

kendallf

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1068
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Jacksonville, FL
Re: Biked down to my mom's for a visit (210 km round trip)
« Reply #15 on: September 28, 2016, 10:24:41 AM »
What do you find works best to stay clean when you're setting up camp in the middle of nowhere when there are no showers and there's little water?
Baby wipes are an okay temporary measure, but you want to get an actual rinse going every now and then.

Good job on the ride. Long solo headwinds are a soul breaker.

I usually bring a second set of bike clothes; I wash my bibs at night if I can, or jump into a lake or river if that's available, then let them dry overnight.  Alternate, repeat.  If you're camping in remote dry areas, you'd have to plan a bit.  The nice thing about even off-road riding vs. hiking is that you're covering enough ground so usually there will be some facilities and water within the day's ride.  I've managed to clean up at the dreaded convenience store restroom a time or two..   :-D