how far can I ride?

Ian Smith email hidden in said:

Is it totally barmy to be contemplating riding 130 miles in one go? Flattish terrain (well, not
mountainous - just south of London to north Norfolk).

All I do regularly is my commute (10 or 12 miles per day), utility rides of similar magnitude,
occasional 20 to 30 miles off-road in teh

I'm sure you can do it but you *will* feel like [censored] the next day!
--
If ingnorance is bliss then I am the erm er luckiest thingy in the whatchamacallit. To mail me,
change the obvious bit to richard

"Ian Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is it totally barmy to be contemplating riding 130 miles in one go? Flattish terrain (well, not
mountainous - just south of London to north Norfolk).

Beware the surprisingly nasty little climbs here in Naarf*ck. Anyone who says this area is flat
hasn't cycled round here. Not total leg-benders, but if it's at the end of your (long) ride, bear
'em in mind. The above applies to Norwich especially - some horribly hilly bits, remnants from when
the Wensum & Yare were enormous glaciers, I guess. If you're feeling frisky, try the 1 in 6 (?) near
the Wood's End pub, Kirby Beedon, just off NCN1. The coastal road round the north coast has some
lively old hills too - saw a middle-aged couple trying to do a big hilly bit near Holt on 'bent
trikes last year.

Been real hot round here lately also - did 50miles round South Norfolk & (just) into Suffolk on
Saturday & got nuked. Watch heatstroke / sunburn, etc. Consume lager & (optionally) water.

Also remember that in Norfolk, CAGERS *DO NOT* SIGNAL WHEN TURNING RIGHT AT ROUNDABOUTS. Seriously -
there is some West Midlands-style bad driving round here. Also, due to lack of motorways round here,
stick to minor routes to avoid monster bow-wave trucks missing you by inches.

Enjoy your ride. When are you doing it?

Ian Smith said:

Is it totally barmy to be contemplating riding 130 miles in one go? Flattish terrain (well, not
mountainous - just south of London to north Norfolk).

All I do regularly is my commute (10 or 12 miles per day), utility rides of similar magnitude,
occasional 20 to 30 miles off-road in teh summer (say, every other week or so), and very occasional
(err, twice this year) longer rides on-road (one of low 50s, and one of about 60 miles this year).
I think the longest I've done is about 90 miles in a day.

It would be on my trice, so hand/arm/bum comfort is not much of an issue. Will my legs stand (sit)
for it though? After the 60 miles I felt fine (though my legs were physically tired), and had no
aches or pains the next day (that I recall).

My fall-back position is to cycle as far as I get then sleep in a B&B or a hedge - whichever has
vacancies and falls most readily to hand - before carrying on teh next day.

The other fall-back position is to go with the rest of the family in teh car, but I'm musing about
riding it.

regards, Ian SMith

If you cycle distances on a regular basis then 130 isn't overlong - but be prepared for anything.
Just in case...

Take fluids/high energy stuff and carry a fully charged mobile in case of emergencies. It's bloody
hot so keep your head and arms covered and use factor 50,000 sunblock - once you get through to the
fen areas you're gonna get roasted if you're not careful.

Make sure you have your routeplan is known - and then stick to it, whether you go on main roads
(dodgy when heat is up and tempers fray with car drivers stuck in jams, racing up the hard
shoulders) or up the back ways.

If you aren't sure after planning - don't. We'd rather read about a successfull journey than
read an obit.

Good luck 🙂

Gary

--------------------------------------------------
Reply to gary <at> data <dot> mildenhall <dot> com
--------------------------------------------------

Chris Bardell said:

"Ian Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is it totally barmy to be contemplating riding 130 miles in one go? Flattish terrain (well, not
mountainous - just south of London to north Norfolk).

ah yes, Gas Hill - Norwich, know it well! <gasp>

--
Succorso

"Gary Sinnott" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

If you aren't sure after planning - don't. We'd rather read about a successfull journey than read
an obit.

Don't shrink in the sun .. you did say 'obbit?

It's a big distance, carry as little as you can, post stuff ahead if you need (a presenter from Blue
Peter used to do this [1]), enjoy the day, plenty of liquids, don't get too carried away the night
before, give our regards to your hosts.

A GPS would be really useful too .... and planning the journey properly.

🙂

[1] (someone told me)

Quoted message said:

Is it totally barmy to be contemplating riding 130 miles in one go? Flattish terrain (well, not
mountainous - just south of London to north Norfolk).

Nah. Just take it nice and steady, with lots of liquid to drink and lots of food to keep the energy
levels up.

Of course, there is a friendly little place I know of, err... indeed, I live here, where
refreshments can be provided if needed :-)

Give me an email if you want details of where Chateau Simmons is located - it's a bit nicer than
a hedge :-)

Note - this email is not my real one - see sig line for the real one.

Cheers, helen s

~~~~~~~~~~
This is sent from a redundant email Mail sent to it is dumped My correct one can be gleaned from
h$**$*$el$**e$n$**$d$**$o$*$t**$$s$**$im$mo$ns*@a$**o$l.c$$*o$*m*$ by getting rid of the
overdependence on money and fame
~~~~~~~~~~

"Ian Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is it totally barmy to be contemplating riding 130 miles in one go? Flattish terrain (well, not
mountainous - just south of London to north Norfolk).

All I do regularly is my commute (10 or 12 miles per day), utility rides of similar magnitude,
occasional 20 to 30 miles off-road in teh summer (say, every other week or so), and very
occasional (err, twice this year) longer rides on-road (one of low 50s, and one of about 60 miles
this year). I think the longest I've done is about 90 miles in a day.

It would be on my trice, so hand/arm/bum comfort is not much of an issue. Will my legs stand (sit)
for it though? After the 60 miles I felt fine (though my legs were physically tired), and had no
aches or pains the next day (that I recall).

My fall-back position is to cycle as far as I get then sleep in a B&B or a hedge - whichever has
vacancies and falls most readily to hand - before carrying on teh next day.

The other fall-back position is to go with the rest of the family in teh car, but I'm musing about
riding it.

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

Go for it!...it's the middle of summer so lot of daylight hours. Start nice n early. Go for
averaging 10-12 miles an hour, should be easily achievable. Make sure you are Highly Visible(tm) -
high-viz stuff, fluoro vest type things. Watch out for the heat, especially if you're going this
week. Take fluid and prepare to pop into pubs / petrol stations / whatever to top up en-route. Take
supply of mixed dried fruit and unsalted peanuts for food / energy, stop for a scone cream tea or
some such fun treat for lunch. Stop every couple of hours for a 15-20 min. break / snack. Start the
day with a full english breakfast for that initial energy source. Include cereal. fruit juice, toast
n marmalade. (Food advice presumes not vegetarian or allergic to peanuts. If so, revise
accordingly). Have a puncture repair kit, a couple of spare innertubes and a bloody good pump ;-).
Get those going in the car to take your luggage....

HTH, have fun and let us know how it goes,

Cheers,

Dave.

Quoted message said:

to peanuts. If so, revise accordingly). Have a puncture repair kit, a couple of spare innertubes
and a bloody good pump ;-). Cheers, Dave.

... and a crank socket tool !

Ian Smith said:

Is it totally barmy to be contemplating riding 130 miles in one go?

Not IMO. On last month's Dunwich Dynamo, the weather on the Sunday was nice, so I rode back to
London. The 375 km round trip was at least 150 more than I'd ever done in one hit before, and three
times the distance this year's previous longest ride had been, but no physical problems apart from a
sunburned nose. And cycling to work the next day wasn't a problem. Go for it, say I.

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

Ian Smith said:

Is it totally barmy to be contemplating riding 130 miles in one go? Flattish terrain (well, not
mountainous - just south of London to north Norfolk).

I did Coventry to London, around 120 miles odd after commuting 18 miles a day for about 4-5 months.
That was with totally barmy gears on the bike, 12-18 back and 42-52 front which meant I had to walk
some of the steeper hills. Took me 9 hrs riding time and 11 hrs total. I walked like John Wayne for
a couple of days after that experience though. If the gearing had been more sensible at the time I
reckon it would have been more like 7hrs riding.

It does seem to break you in though and now anything less than that does'nt seem particularly
daunting in terms of the mental approach to it.

[email hidden] (wafflyDIRTYcatLITTERhcsBOX) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Is it totally barmy to be contemplating riding 130 miles in one go? Flattish terrain (well, not
mountainous - just south of London to north Norfolk).

Oooppss..... de-lurking here!!

Its something I've been considering for a while. Having completed a Cuba charity ride and London to
Brighton, I'm after another project to encourage me out on the bike/into the gym. I need a kick out
of my current low-motivation phase.

I've not thoroughly investigated, but planning the route is especially important. I was working on
the basis of avoiding the A11 as there are a too many lorries/sliproads. I was also thinking along
the lines of meeting the family at a designated over-halfway point to top up any depleted supplies.

Good luck. I'd be interested to know how you got on and any problems you may have enountered. If I
was fitter, I'd join you!!

Steve.

"Ian Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is it totally barmy to be contemplating riding 130 miles in one go? Flattish terrain (well, not
mountainous - just south of London to north Norfolk).

You can certainly do it, but allow 12 hours for your ride, make sure your saddle is comfortable
enough, wear sunscreen, a hat , summer gloves and take lots of water.. Simon

Simon Mason said:

You can certainly do it, but allow 12 hours for your ride, make sure your saddle is comfortable
enough, wear sunscreen, a hat , summer gloves and take lots of water..

On a Trice I think we have the "comfortable saddle" angle pretty well nailed, and not really any
point in wearing the gloves either.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email hidden]
dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

Simon Mason said:

"Ian Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is it totally barmy to be contemplating riding 130 miles in one go? Flattish terrain (well, not
mountainous - just south of London to north Norfolk).

You can certainly do it, but allow 12 hours for your ride, make sure your saddle is comfortable
enough, wear sunscreen, a hat , summer gloves and take lots of water.. Simon

I imagine there will be plenty of shops on route so I would'nt bother taking a load of
water or food.

Lots of response, thanks to all, but I'm picking Helen's to tack my reply to because 1: I once
fancied a girl called Helen, 2: she's offered free food (always welcome) and 3: I want my trip to be
paving-slab free (not that I've ever worn _them_).

wafflyDIRTYcatLITTERhcsBOX said:

Quoted message said:

Is it totally barmy to be contemplating riding 130 miles in one go? Flattish terrain (well, not
mountainous - just south of London to north Norfolk).

Nah. Just take it nice and steady, with lots of liquid to drink and lots of food to keep the
energy levels up.

Those were my thoughts, along with send the bulk of my luggage with the car.

Route-wise I normally tend to the planning each leg as I get to it approach, but in this case was
thinking up the A24 to London (I'm familiar with it as fas as Wimbledonish and am assuming it
doesn't get much worse beyond that. I'm hazy in North London, but Hackney - Walthamstow - Chingford
looks like a straight line to Epping Forest. Then B-roads or smaller to Epping - skirt Harlow (not
sure how though)
- Bishops Stortford - Saffron Waldon (first date I went on with my wife was to Saffron Waldon so
thought I'd pass through) - Newmarket - Mildenhall. Here the choice of roads thins out somewhat
and I'm inclined to chug up the A1065 to Fakenham (my destination). I'm slightly aware of North
Norfolk driving habits - don't you have teh most 'accident'ous stretch of road in teh country? -
but my maps don't show much in teh way of minor roads heading where I want, without quite a bit of
zag-zigging.

Does that scare anyone that knows the roads? What's the A11 like between Newmarket and Mildenhall -
dual carriageways don't particularly scare me but I don't like the sort with motorway-style (ie
grade separated) junctions - is that what this has?

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

Daniel Wilcox <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Simon Mason said:

"Ian Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is it totally barmy to be contemplating riding 130 miles in one go? Flattish terrain (well, not
mountainous - just south of London to north Norfolk).

You can certainly do it, but allow 12 hours for your ride, make sure your saddle is comfortable
enough, wear sunscreen, a hat , summer gloves and take lots of water.. Simon

I imagine there will be plenty of shops on route so I would'nt bother taking a load of water
or food.

I assumed that once on a century ride and they were all shut and I ended up getting badly
dehydrated. Mind you, it wasn't exactly London
- Norfolk. Didn't clock what a trice was on first read. Simon

Be warned that there is a Bloody Great Hill in the middle of Chingford, so you may find it less
stressful to skirt the 'stow by using the Lea Bridge Road up to Whipps Cross and then heading up
through Woodford towards Epping.

Dave Larrington Inhabitant of Walthamstow

"Dave Larrington" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Be warned that there is a Bloody Great Hill in the middle of Chingford, so you may find it less
stressful to skirt the 'stow by using the Lea Bridge Road up to Whipps Cross and then heading up
through Woodford towards

Epping.

An alternative would be to cycle up the Lea through the Lea Valley Park from Tottenham Hale all the
way up to Hertford. From there he could pick up the London to Cambridge charity ride route (Much
Hadham, Little Haddam & all points north.

The Lea route is off road but ridable on a tourer and might be more pleasant than the Lea Bridge
Road and Woodford New Road -- which are well known race tracks.

T

Tony W said:

An alternative would be to cycle up the Lea through the Lea Valley Park from Tottenham Hale all
the way up to Hertford. From there he could pick up the London to Cambridge charity ride route
(Much Hadham, Little Haddam & all points north.

The Lea route is off road but ridable on a tourer and might be more pleasant than the Lea Bridge
Road and Woodford New Road -- which are well known race tracks.

True, but tricky on a recumbent trike...

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================