How far is plausible in one day?

[Annoying Twit]

What sort of distance is plausible to cycle in one day? I've just done 200km for the first time. I can see that 300km may be plausible. Surely it gets to the point where diminishing returns will make increased distances harder and harder. Does anyone here ride 400km in a day with ease?

[PDQ Mobile]

20 kph for 20 hours? No breaks, tea or much food?

Ah the pleasure of gently cycling along unspoiled fragrant country lanes!

[Annoying Twit]

Or, 33kph for 12 hours. Some people whizz past me at high speed, but I don't know how far they will be going.

[meic]

with ease?

With ease might be pushing it, there were a few hills.
I have done it and I am not a fast cyclist but it did mean postponing sleep until it was finished, that wasnt easy.
Four sit down meals were not forgone though.

I think some of my friends do knock out a 400k Audax in under 24 hours with ease, even in Wales.

[Cunobelin]

Unfortunately age, and an increasingly arthritic hip have seen me fail the last two years, but....

My "test" was the Isle of Wight Randonnee

100 KM for the Randoneee itself and with a diversion on the way home 100 miles for the day

What is important is what is feasible for you and you are comfortable with

[tatanab]

How far? Carrying camping kit or with just a tube in your pocket? The furthest I've ridden with camping kit is 95 miles, pretty hilly and about 9 hours riding time. The furthest I've ridden travelling light is 180 miles in a riding time of 12 hours on a heavy machine by today's standards. A day is of course 24 hours, and as we know the record is well over 500 miles in a 24 hour time trial.

[Mick F]

Furthest I've ever done was from Cheddar to home.
106miles fully loaded, towing my trailer.
Took me from 06:15 to 16:50 = 10.5hrs

I could have gone further, but what the heck?
I arrived at the pub down the road and had a few beers.

Dunno if anyone has looked in on my thread about Eddington Numbers (cycling) recently, but I'm an E80. I've been lazy over the last couple of years, I could "easily" be an E82 if I pulled my finger out.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18612

[Phil_Chadwick]

400 k in a day - many, many times.

I reckoned under 20 hours for the Brevet Cymru, and that goes right across Wales, both ways. Not flat. A flattish 400 k might be 18 hours or less.

I've done 500 k in 24 hours a couple of times, but I get sleepy.

if you want to see some big distances,. look at something ,like the Mersey Roads 24. People do about 500 miles on that. Way out of my league.

[Phil_Chadwick]

. Surely it gets to the point where diminishing returns will make increased distances harder and harder.

300k, 400k - feels much the same. 600 k is a step up as it require you to ride through the whole night, or stop for a sleep and get back on the bike after a few hours off (my preference)

After that you're in the realms of 1000s, 1200s, 1400s - which obviously have to be multi-day events..

[pete75]

The British record for a 24 hour time trial is 541 miles. That has to be about the maximum plausible distance.

[PH]

Congratulations on your 200km. For me it was the distance that made me realise you could go anywhere by bike. Despite it being a couple of decades sine my first 200, it's still the longest day ride I can do with ease. Enough ease to be able to do it without preparation, to not have weather, a few hills or camping load impede too much, minimum recovery needed and able to do the same or similar on consecutive days. My favorite rides are around this distance.
To ride 300km I need to be a bit better prepared and the wouldn't want to repeat it the next day. 400km is my limit, I need good preparation and would plan to take it easy afterwards.
I'd like to ride some longer Audax, but that goes back to your other thread about average speed. For me it would involve riding faster to have time for sleep or sleep deprivation, I'm working on the former but the latter doesn't suite me at all.

[Vorpal]

It depends... I don't think that I would enjoy cycling as far as possible in a day. That's not why I ride my bike.

I can imagine that 400 k would be within reason, though likely not easy.

If you like that sort of challenge, you could just arrange for pick-up at a phone call, then set off and start riding and see how far you get?

[Phil_Chadwick]

Riding that distance is at least as much a mental challenge as a physical one, certainly once you've done 300 a few times. Many people find the concept of setting off with 400 k in front of you really quite a scary thing. The canonical advice - and this really works - is always to ride to the next control. So the ride you're on is 50, 80 k. 2-3 hours. That's human sized. You get a rest and a bit of food. Then the next leg. Break it down into bite sized chunks and your head and body can cope.

I have done a couple of 600k permanent events on my own, and I found it very, very difficult to stay motivated without the support and the framework that a calendar event provides.

There's also an ethos of being self-contained, so you set off in the morning, ride right across Wales to the seaside, then turn round and ride back.

There are linear events - such as the Easter Arrows, which are 24 hour team events that end in York, but the logistics of getting home (last one I rode was from Bristol) are often almost as hard as the ride.

[PhilWhitehurst]

Velomobile world record is just over 1200km in 24 hours. Upright bike is 896km in 24 hours set in last couple of days. Most audaxers who ride 400km events will complete them in less than 24 hours. Time trials many will target 600km in 24 hours. Amanda Coker's year record attempt she's averaging about 367km every single day in 11 to 12 hours of riding. She's just passed 40,000 miles in 175 days. So there's what's plausible depending on context of ride.

[100%JR]

I've got a 217.6mile(350km) ride next June I'm currently training for.It's a Charity run with one of the CCs I ride with.The 2015 run took 11hrs 45mins(moving time) but just over15 hours including food stops.I'm sure there'll be riders who could do it much faster or even ride much further but I'm not sure I would want to!