First Century ride

mtbnewbie said:

Well sort of anyway, 50 km bike-a-thon and 50 km round trip from home to the bike-a-thon and back.

100k is 100k. Be careful, these things are habit forming.

good for you.if this is about double or so what you've ever done before, a little muscle ache is par for the course. some sports drink while riding and walking around for a while afterward instead of sitting will usually help.

maybe touring in the future?

keep it up

philso said:

good for you.if this is about double or so what you've ever done before, a little muscle ache is par for the course. some sports drink while riding and walking around for a while afterward instead of sitting will usually help.

maybe touring in the future?

keep it up

Thanks for the tip, I figured it might be a bit to do with dehydration, I think I needed to drink a bit more. I weighed myself when got home and i was 4lbs lighter than the night before, and I packed away a pretty good lunch after the 50 K ride, before heading home.

It's great getting all this positive feedback, there was quite a mixed bag of people at the ride and lots of encouragment.

I am really enjoying this sport.

Thanks again to everyone.

Congratulations!

And the pace looks good for a mountain bike too!

I'm doing exactly the same thing in two weeks: 20 km ride to the city, 50 km organised ride, then hopefully 30 km home. I can bail out straight after the ride though at 70 km and catch a train straight home. My biggest ride to date (yesterday) is 65 km.

rdk said:

I'm doing exactly the same thing in two weeks: 20 km ride to the city, 50 km organised ride, then hopefully 30 km home. I can bail out straight after the ride though at 70 km and catch a train straight home. My biggest ride to date (yesterday) is 65 km.

If you pace yourself you should be fine. Right now my biggest deterrent from doing 100 km in one stretch is the saddle and my shoes (just wearing runners), get too many sore spots and numbness over the long haul. The other bit of advice I would give is drink, a lot. The day started out at around 10C – 12C and went up to about 20C, even though I drank about 1.75 L of water a 750 ml sport drink, had apples, orange slices, cookies, breakfast bar, small candy bar and more water when I got home (about another 500 ml), I still lost about 2 kg (aprox. 4lbs).

I suspect the pain I got in my legs at the end of the 50k was mostly due to dehydration, my 750 ml bottle from the morning ride only had about 500ml left in it and I only finished that near the end. The rest of my fluid replacement came after the 50 km ride. Bring lots of water or sport drink on the ride and use it.

mtbnewbie said:

If you pace yourself you should be fine. Right now my biggest deterrent from doing 100 km in one stretch is the saddle and my shoes (just wearing runners), get too many sore spots and numbness over the long haul. The other bit of advice I would give is drink, a lot. The day started out at around 10C – 12C and went up to about 20C, even though I drank about 1.75 L of water a 750 ml sport drink, had apples, orange slices, cookies, breakfast bar, small candy bar and more water when I got home (about another 500 ml), I still lost about 2 kg (aprox. 4lbs).

I suspect the pain I got in my legs at the end of the 50k was mostly due to dehydration, my 750 ml bottle from the morning ride only had about 500ml left in it and I only finished that near the end. The rest of my fluid replacement came after the 50 km ride. Bring lots of water or sport drink on the ride and use it.

Hello newbie.
Where was your ride? I friend of mine was in a bike-a-thon yesterday that started in Floradale. Is that the ride you were in?

congrats! feels good doesn't it

wife and i did 2 100 klikers this summer a few weeks apart on our tandem

Congratulations!

Next time remember to buy powder Gatorade. Mix with water and presto!
It is very brave of you to do 100kilometers in a MTB ....

What tires are you running?
Is there any way you can fit skinnier tires.
Swap fork for one without suspension? - lighter?
What kind of shifters? Saddle?
Get some clipless pedals and shoes too ... I just got mine for my birthday and I can not go back to the straps.
There is a lot of stuff you can do to your bike to make it more comfortable - capable for long rides.
Get some shop scale and weight your monster, and then start doing some math on how to make the bike lighter!
I am telling you ... you are a roadie on the making.

mtbnewbie said:

If you pace yourself you should be fine. Right now my biggest deterrent from doing 100 km in one stretch is the saddle and my shoes (just wearing runners), get too many sore spots and numbness over the long haul. The other bit of advice I would give is drink, a lot. The day started out at around 10C – 12C and went up to about 20C, even though I drank about 1.75 L of water a 750 ml sport drink, had apples, orange slices, cookies, breakfast bar, small candy bar and more water when I got home (about another 500 ml), I still lost about 2 kg (aprox. 4lbs).

I suspect the pain I got in my legs at the end of the 50k was mostly due to dehydration, my 750 ml bottle from the morning ride only had about 500ml left in it and I only finished that near the end. The rest of my fluid replacement came after the 50 km ride. Bring lots of water or sport drink on the ride and use it.

finding a comfortable saddle can be a real pain in the you-know-what. most saddles will be heaven for some and hell for others. but i've never heard anyone complain about the comfort of all leather saddles, such as brooks or similar ones. they need some mink oil once in a while and you shouldn't get them wet over and over or they can dry out and crack( put a plastic bag over them on rainy days).

sports drink will help replace the electrolytes you need to remove whatever mineral it is(can't recall the culpret) that builds up in your muscles and causes muscle ache.

running shoes are usually ok painwise if the soles aren't too thin and squishy. otherwise, there are mountain bike or touring specific cycling shoes which you can convert to clipless or leave the plugs in and still walk around fine.

huhenio said:

Congratulations!

Next time remember to buy powder Gatorade. Mix with water and presto!
It is very brave of you to do 100kilometers in a MTB ....

What tires are you running?
Is there any way you can fit skinnier tires.
Swap fork for one without suspension? - lighter?
What kind of shifters? Saddle?
Get some clipless pedals and shoes too ... I just got mine for my birthday and I can not go back to the straps.
There is a lot of stuff you can do to your bike to make it more comfortable - capable for long rides.
Get some shop scale and weight your monster, and then start doing some math on how to make the bike lighter!
I am telling you ... you are a roadie on the making.

huhenio - off topic, but was that you who put drops on your mtn bike? if so, how are you liking it? did you switch brakes too?

Read all about it on my thread ...
http://www.cyclingforums.com/t273172-drop-bars-and-aero-on-a-hybrid---done.html

Look at the pictures. They are pretty self explanatory.

Now I have clipless pedals and shoes too!

Alpha said:

Hello newbie.
Where was your ride? I friend of mine was in a bike-a-thon yesterday that started in Floradale. Is that the ride you were in?

The bik-a-thon was in St. Jacobs Ontario, Canada.

huhenio said:

Congratulations!

Next time remember to buy powder Gatorade. Mix with water and presto!
It is very brave of you to do 100kilometers in a MTB ....

Good idea, I was thinking I might try that next summer. Biking season here will be ending soon, except for those hardy souls who ride in the snow

huhenio said:

Congratulations!
What tires are you running?
Is there any way you can fit skinnier tires.
Swap fork for one without suspension? - lighter?
What kind of shifters? Saddle?
Get some clipless pedals and shoes too ... I just got mine for my birthday and I can not go back to the straps.
There is a lot of stuff you can do to your bike to make it more comfortable - capable for long rides.
Get some shop scale and weight your monster, and then start doing some math on how to make the bike lighter!
I am telling you ... you are a roadie on the making.

I had posted this in a previous thread,
Bought it at Canadian Tire for under $200.00
Since the bike was under $200.00 (CAN) I suspect some the components might not be that well known.

Its a 23" frame (I think?) Super Cycle XTI-18DS
Front Shocks Mercalli Downhill
Duro Raider knobby tires 26 X 2.00 (54-559)
Jaco Alco rims
Shimano Revo-Shift Indexed Shifters (SLR531)
Front Shifter has more than 3 positions to allow triming.
Front crankset (?) probably Shimano (3 Rings)
Rear Casset Shimano MF-TZ06 (6 Rings)
Front and Rear Derailers Shimano (don't know the models)
Frame Shock (?)

Peddals are bare, not clipless and no straps either.
I think I will be putting the parts into the road frame though and keep the MTB as is, I also use it to tow the kids around in their bike trailer. Now there is a leg workout, towing them uphill 🙂.

Go for 28 mm tires with road thread.
Get some toe clips pedals (25 bucks) or clipless and shoes (120bucks)
Try to set up your stem and bar to achieve a lower profile position. That will help A LOT~~