[mtbcyclist]

Gotta two buddiesy who want to go on this crazy long road ride. Raleigh NC back to his home town in PA in three days. 168 miles first day, 167 second day, and 100 the last day. We all have performance/racing style bikes. (not touring bikes) He has set it up so we stay at friends houses on the two nights were on the road. We carry money, sandles, T-shirt and shorts on a rack type thing that clamps on to your seat post. Also would would have the normal road food, power bars, hammer gel etc. Obviouisly we wash our riding cloths at each stop.

Anybody ever done this? Got any advice. My longest ride has been 115 miles in one day.

Are my riding pals crazy in the head or what?

 

[Kerry Irons]

Eat, drink, and go the distance

General rules are to eat as much as possible, drink as much as possible, take very short breaks, pace yourself (you've got all day), rinse off with water during the day when possible, and hope for a hot tub at the end of the day! Most people who have trouble with distance are either bonking or dehydrating or both. Get LOTS of salt during the day, and eat a couple of bananas to be sure you're getting enough potassium (salt substitute works well here too). Recovery is the biggest issue, so you want to do some stuff for your body in the evenings. One great trick is to lie on your back with your legs propped up against the wall - this really drains the blood out of your muscles and speeds recovery. Better to be getting up a couple of times to pee than risk dehydration. Obviously, you'll want to wash/dry your shorts every night, and pay close attention to any minor aches or rubbing of clothes. What might be only a mnor irritation on a one day ride can turn into hideous pain by the second day's end. I would guess that there will be a big challenge in matching pace among the three riders, and this can lead to problems as well - tired people get irritable REAL fast.

 

[Roundabout]

Clean clothes and a massage

The week before you leave, ship clean bike and off-bike (cotton) clothes to each stop and have your hosts ship your old stuff back home for you. This is a minor luxury but one you look forward to each day, particularly if you get stuck in bad weather. Also, if you can spend the cash, arrange for a masseuse for the group at the end of the 1st day.

 

[bimini]

Less is best

Take along only what you have to have. I would not cart along any food other than maybe a couple of film canisters of gatoraid for emergencies.

Stop for a good breakfast and lunch with real food. Unless your headed through some VERY remote areas there are always Quicky marts along the way. Stop and eat junk food, fruit, gatoraid every 20-30 miles. . Fill up your water bottles with water and buy a couple of sports drinks for the road. Eat before you are hungry and drink before you are thirsty. It is easy for a major BONK to sneak up to you on such a ride.

When you start agree with your buds that if one of you bonks, you will stop at the next quicky mart and recover. Eat and drink and wait at least a half hour for the sugars to get into your bloodstream. Then let the person that bonked control the pace until they feel good again.