Thanks for the info Dennis.
With regards to your comments:
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:4. Is 150-250 miles pushing it (under the right
conditions) if no travel gear is being carried? A
supply car would take care of that.
even the pros in the tour de france rarely ride more than
200 miles in a day. unless you're at their level of
fitness, you have no chance of doing that for more than a
day or two.
The Pros ride hard and fast while competing against other
ultra talented riders. I would be starting in the morning
and simply riding all day until it would be time to setup
camp. I can do 100 miles in about 4.5 hours, there's at
least 12 hours of riding time in a day that puts me at 200
miles in 12-14 hours. This assumes minimum assents and head
winds less then 10 mph. With a tailwind a double should not
be a major problem on flat dessert terrain. 250 is
unrealistic as people have pointed out.
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Current training consist of daily 20 miles stretches at a
quick pace - approaching max heart rate as often as
possible.
you're training for the wrong thing. you want endurance,
not speed. speed uses fast twitch muscles, endurance uses
slow twitch muscles, where you gear down and spin up. you
can ride at 90-100 rpm all day if you use lower gears.
Endurance is something I inherited and naturally comes easy
to me. Those who know my style of riding often refer to me
as the Forest Gump of cycling. However, I do become fatigued
easy when sprinting. Gulping air and watching my heart rate
soar. I'm a hearty rider 6.0 at 175lbs with thick legs not
the small 90lbs rider you might be thinking of. This is why
I train hard over short distances during the week. Racing
other riders often leaves me in the back of the group since
I am easily out matched over short 20 mile circuit races.
However, the longer the ride the strong advantage I have. I
hope to strengthen this area although as you mentioned its
slow twitch muscles that need the most attention.
As for riding gears I typically try to maintain speeds of
16-19 mph with a head wind, 20-24 mph in calm weather, and
23-31 with a tailwind. Strong tailwinds server only to load
me with endorphins so heaven only know how's fast I'm going.
Quoted message said:you also need to give yourself some rest days. why are you
punishing yourself like this? the goal should be to enjoy
the ride, not to move as fast as possible.
Rest days is something I've not really taken into
consideration at this point. I figure I'll do what I can
until I cant go anymore. Then just ride slow until I recover
since I have no other alternative. Its either ride or site
on the side of the road and count cars and get bitten bye
ants. Pushing myself. No that would be incorrect. I love to
ride. Its that's simple. I ride a beautiful route where many
of the other locals know me and give me a friendly wave and
toot of the horn as they pass. Being cooped up in an office
all day servers to build up my eagerness to get into the
fresh air and ride. I consider my century ride to be purely
enjoyment. Their is nothing stressing about them. The
century rides are much easer then the weekly rides from
where I'm sitting.
As for the scenery out west, I've spent over 14 months
living on the road over the last 12 years while doing a 6
months sprint as a HooBo with nothing more then a car.
I'm not all that intrested in the "scenery" been their
done that.
Thanks again!
"Dennis P. Harris" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:On Tue, 22 Jun 2004 00:15:57 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc,
Grayfox said:3. How far can a person ride each day starting from
northern CA, then through NV, AZ and NM each day?
it depends on what kind of shape you're in, but in that
heat, most normal people would consider anything over 60
miles a day a very long day. any longer, and your body
will need longer recovery time and rest days.
Quoted message said:4. Is 150-250 miles pushing it (under the right
conditions) if no travel gear is being carried? A
supply car would take care of that.
even the pros in the tour de france rarely ride more than
200 miles in a day. unless you're at their level of
fitness, you have no chance of doing that for more than a
day or two.
Quoted message said:Current training consist of daily 20 miles stretches at a
quick pace - approaching max heart rate as often as
possible.
you're training for the wrong thing. you want endurance,
not speed. speed uses fast twitch muscles, endurance uses
slow twitch muscles, where you gear down and spin up. you
can ride at 90-100 rpm all day if you use lower gears.
Quoted message said:During the weekends its 100 miles on Saturday and then
again on Sunday trying to maintain a quick pace.
you also need to give yourself some rest days. why are you
punishing yourself like this? the goal should be to enjoy
the ride, not to move as fast as possible.
