Cycling Longer Distances

[Carlton green]

Earlier today I read on here of someone who cycled over 150 miles in one day, in my book that’s a jolly long way but I realise that there is a very broad spread of skills and experiences on this forum. My current riding is limited by available time and limited endurance, but for the years to come I have three questions:
# what ways do you use to reduce muscle fatigue and to maintain energy?
# how do you route and navigate your ride to avoid hazardous traffic and sapping detours?
# for a Spring or Autumn ride, by an average non-racing club cyclist, what would be a comfortable but long ride that could be sustainably repeated the next day?
The hazard of cars and lorries is usually ever present. Today, whilst stood waiting at a junction, turbulence from a passing lorry sucked my hat off, that’s no big deal but such turbulence could do far worse things to an overtaken cyclist ... In normal times I will pretty much only cycle on minor roads, I find that the vast bulk of drivers respect cyclists, but I also want to minimise contact with and live past any encounters with the small minority of drivers that don’t. Hence my routes use minor roads.

[reohn2]

Earlier today I read on here of someone who cycled over 150 miles in one day, in my book that’s a jolly long way but I realise that there is a very broad spread of skills and experiences on this forum. My riding is limited by available time and limited endurance but for years to come I have three questions:
# what ways do you use to reduce muscle fatigue and to maintain energy?

I only ever eat ordinary food even for rides upto 100miles I don't ride that far anymore but the same applies for rides upto 50miles some of which can be quite hilly eg; yesterday I rode 37miles with 800m of accent some of it on gravelly hardback tracks,breakfast was a 1/4 of a bowl of muesli with four prunes,two dried apricots,two dates and half a dozen black grapes followed by to Brazil nuts and to mugs of freshly brewed strong black coffee.
Set off at 10.30 am stopped for lunch at 1.0pm ste a bread roll filled with tuna and an apple small bottle of orange juice, half way home stopped and had a muesli bar,500ml of water throughout the ride,home for 3.30pm,cup of tea and a biscuit,tea at 6pm.

# how do you route and navigate your ride to avoid hazardous traffic and sapping detours?

Not always easy but either L&L canal towpath and or tracks and trails i know to avoid the busier fast roads.

# for a Spring or Autumn ride, by an average non-racing club cyclist, what would be a comfortable but long ride that could be sustainably repeated the next day?

For me at 67 and a little over weight 40miles would be enough,when fit a few years ago 80 miles was easily repeatable

The hazard of cars and lorries is usually ever present. Today, whilst stood waiting at a junction, turbulence from a passing lorry sucked my hat off, that’s no big deal but such turbulence could do far worse things to an overtaken cyclist ... In normal times I will pretty much only cycle on minor roads, I find that the vast bulk of drivers respect cyclists but I also want to minimise contact with and live past an encounters with the small minority of drivers that don’t.

I try to get away from traffic as much as possible,sometimes it's unavoidable though and the level of traffic on busier roads can be diabolical.
I agree most drivers are conscious of me when I'm on the bike a small minority I convince either just don't care or know the effect they are having on unprotected vunerable road users,with a part of that minority out to deliberately bully and frighten cyclists,that small minority IME is growing.

[Marcus Aurelius]

This is a ride I do a few times a year (when not in lockdown).

Big dog ride.

The trick is to pace it correctly, so as you don’t have to spend ages recovering, and so on.

I use Power meters on my bikes that I use for this sort of ride. I do FTP tests regularly, then use the meters and my Garmin to try and keep in my Power zone 2, and occasionally 3, for the majority of the ride. There are a couple of short hilly sections where it’s hard to keep the power down below zones 4 and above, but that’s part of the fun of it. Eat before you feel hungry, drink before you feel thirsty, and don’t get sucked into any silly races with people who try to be the hero, that you encounter en route ( that happens a lot, especially in the longer, warmer, summer days) and recovery is easier after the ride. With the Garmin HU and power meters, it will actually work out the time you need to recover, quite accurately, from your data, and give you lots of nice graphs and numbers. When I finish a ride like that, I spend the last 10 or so miles in power zone 1, which I find helps recovery. I eat something easy to digest, with loads of protein, and carbs ( 12 Oz steak with fried eggs and potatoes works well) or chicken and rice, depending on how I feel. A couple of beers helps numb any aches and pains too. This ride’s route actually took about 3 years to perfect, to avoid as many main roads, and nasty terrain as practicable. The practice runs were motivation to keep doing them as well.

[whoof]

Earlier today I read on here of someone who cycled over 150 miles in one day, in my book that’s a jolly long way but I realise that there is a very broad spread of skills and experiences on this forum. My current riding is limited by available time and limited endurance, but for the years to come I have three questions:
# what ways do you use to reduce muscle fatigue and to maintain energy?
# how do you route and navigate your ride to avoid hazardous traffic and sapping detours?
# for a Spring or Autumn ride, by an average non-racing club cyclist, what would be a comfortable but long ride that could be sustainably repeated the next day?
The hazard of cars and lorries is usually ever present. Today, whilst stood waiting at a junction, turbulence from a passing lorry sucked my hat off, that’s no big deal but such turbulence could do far worse things to an overtaken cyclist ... In normal times I will pretty much only cycle on minor roads, I find that the vast bulk of drivers respect cyclists, but I also want to minimise contact with and live past any encounters with the small minority of drivers that don’t. Hence my routes use minor roads.

1 gear down on hills, eat and drink regularly and build up to it. Make it as easy as possible.Baggy clothes, excess weight and high resistance tyres all make out a bit tougher and over long distance this makes a difference.
Planning:Cycletravel is a good start but cross checking this an OS map and local knowledge is a good idea.
How long is a piece of string there is no average cyclist. In addition just because someone is capable of cycle a distance doesn't mean that they would enjoy it. Some people are willing to get around on their knees whilst others want to enjoy the experience. I would suggest you try various distances and see how you get on.

[ANTONISH]

It's difficult to say - it very much depends on the individual.
Using minor roads will be slower than main roads - but more pleasant.
Bidlake said many years ago that the secret to long distance cycling was to stay on the bike - I think that is still valid - any time not pedalling should be kept to a minimum.

[PH]

We're all different so there won't be a definitive answer, I've figured out some of what works for me, but it doesn't always and some stuff I still have to rethink. If cycling longer distances is your goal, the book "The Long Distance Cyclist's Handbook" if full of information and ideas and is available for peanuts from the usual sources.
# what ways do you use to reduce muscle fatigue and to maintain energy?
Being comfortable on the bike is IMO the most important factor, those little niggles that are irritating at 30 miles become unbearable at 60 and all you can think about at 100. I've seen more people (Including myself) pack a ride in due to discomfort than fitness. Also ride within your capabilities, i doubt anyone can ride 100 miles with the same effort as they can 20.

# how do you route and navigate your ride to avoid hazardous traffic and sapping detours?
I don't know what a detour is, I choose nice routes, that's the route.

# for a Spring or Autumn ride, by an average non-racing club cyclist, what would be a comfortable but long ride that could be sustainably repeated the next day?
I sometimes do quite high mileage multi day rides, the rule of thumb i work on is I can ride 70% of the maximum I can on a day ride for as many days as I like, though not tested beyond 18. What that comparable day ride is will depend on my fitness, the terrain and what I'm carrying. For me that's somewhere around.... no I'm not going to say!

When I started riding with my CTC group, I was proudly telling someone (ie boasting) about the 60 mile ride I'd done the weekend before. I learnt some time later that they'd ridden the 1,400 km PBP the week before, plus an extra 1,000 km there and back.

[Marcus Aurelius]

As for how long a ride I’d say the average ‘bike fit enthusiast’ would find easily repeatable, between 60 and 80 miles, if solo, and between 60 and 100 in a group, shouldn’t be too taxing, for that sort of rider. It’s horses for courses though, and everyone is different.

[Marcus Aurelius]

Also ride within your capabilities,

Yes, very true.

i doubt anyone can ride 100 miles with the same effort as they can 20.

Oh ye of little faith.

[PH]

i doubt anyone can ride 100 miles with the same effort as they can 20.

Oh ye of little faith.

Should have gone harder on the 20

[mjr]

# what ways do you use to reduce muscle fatigue and to maintain energy?
# how do you route and navigate your ride to avoid hazardous traffic and sapping detours?
# for a Spring or Autumn ride, by an average non-racing club cyclist, what would be a comfortable but long ride that could be sustainably repeated the next day?

1. eat more, stop every few hours and relax in the evenings;
2. use online tools;
3. 50 miles / 80km.

Rambles about 2 and 3:

I generally route by looking at cycle routes and surface quality - the latter because while cycle routes are often signed and well-ridden routes, they sometimes prioritise avoiding motor traffic at the expense of all else. The tools for this keep getting better. cycle.travel's planner is great and all else being equal, I'll usually choose between similar-length routes between two points by looking at the major-road and unpaved percentages it shows, plus looking at which puts me near a reasonable choice of accommodation at more likely stopping points.

I sometimes make myself a second opinion by looking at cyclosm.org on zoom 11 or higher, which shows cycleways as solid blue and railways (often a useful bailout option) as grey as well as its usual de-emphasising of motorways/quasimotorways. Sometimes I then nudge cycle.travel with a "via" point into trying something with more cycleways or fewer turns, both of which can make progress through towns easier or faster. An example from a couple of years ago: c.t's default routing between Mechelen and Gent is alongside live railways clipping the outskirts of Lokeren but, at a "cost" of about 2 miles more, we used the fantastic Leirekensroute to Aalst and enjoyed lunch in its town centre listening to the carillon.

I don't know if I'm an average non-racer. I can ride 100 miles one autumn day and then a short ride the next, then be back to normal, but I wouldn't want to do 100s back-to-back (so I admire those who do the Lap of Anglia which is 4 back-to-back 100s), or probably at all with significant luggage, and I'd hesitate to do it in spring because I probably haven't done many long rides during winter. So I regard 60 miles / 100km as a ceiling for touring and would rather be doing 40mi/70km - if I feel good, I can always ride further or go for a ride looking around after checking in, but it's often difficult to find shorter routes. "Comfortable but long" is probably somewhere between 40 and 60.

[Mick F]

Distance.

Strangely unconsidered concept, I reckon.
Try a distance in somewhere that's hilly or very hilly, and compare that to a distance somewhere flat-ish.

Done loads of rides up and down this fair country of ours, and one thing I learnt fairly quickly, is that the terrain that dictates the hardness of the ride, not the distance.

Most of my rides are over 100ft per mile.
Last ride, yesterday, was 20.37miles with 2,500ft of ascent = 123ft per mile.
Previous ride a few days ago was 28.56miles with 3,343ft of ascent = 117ft per mile.

Total ascent makes a huge difference.
Distance is only a minor part of it.

[mjr]

It's difficult to say - it very much depends on the individual.
Using minor roads will be slower than main roads - but more pleasant.
Bidlake said many years ago that the secret to long distance cycling was to stay on the bike - I think that is still valid - any time not pedalling should be kept to a minimum.

Using minor roads need not be slower, if you pick old trunk roads, turnpikes and railways as much as possible.

I think non-pedalling time on the bike should be kept to a minimum, but I think it's important not to do more than 3 hours or so in a block if you can avoid it. Drink stops and lunch stops are important if you want to sustain it. Also, what's the point of constantly touring but never stopping to look at interesting things?

But I agree it very much depends on the individual!

[Mick F]

My longest ever ride was 113.55 miles on 23 June 2010.
Westward Ho!
North Devon and back again.

It was (only) 10,093ft of climbing.
Makes it 88.9ft of ascent per mile ............... a walk in the park!

[Marcus Aurelius]

Oh ye of little faith.

Should have gone harder on the 20

There were Donkeys in the road, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

[mjr]

Should have gone harder on the 20

There were Donkeys in the road, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

We know. Someone posted the Strava log for a ride on one earlier