Not sure how many cyclists we have here ( @Bare Lee @happysongbird @Longboard others? ) but I thought I'd make a thread we could share our cycling trips, workouts, weekly mileage, gear, etc. I know we had a good discussion going on the barefoot bike pedal thread, but I wanted to post more non-pedal and non-triathlon related stuff. And I'd love to include all cyclists, regardless of recreational or racing, cycling shoes or barefoot, since I don't believe on a bike that going minimal really makes things any more natural since it's already an unnatural machine.
I'll start by talking about my century ride this week... first time ever hitting the 100 mile mark! And I did it barefoot without any issues there. I also did it loaded with touring gear... as a test run of my new racks and panniers. I simulated a few days worth of travel gear, probably 20-30 lbs more. On my 1988 Schwinn Voyageur that I got a couple months ago. I was however still breaking in a leather saddle and I knew it would probably get uncomfortable by the end so I brought a slip on memory foam cover. That was a life saver around the 80 mile mark, but the real problem was I discovered the saddle was slightly uneven... it tilted up on the right hand side and it was my right side of my rear that started to get sore. So still debating what to do about the saddle but for now I swapped the original back on.
I did a few side trips, visited a waterfall, also stopped in a couple towns for lunch and ice cream. Had a blast. Even brought along my dSLR and tripod and snapped a few pics along the way. Had a great time and felt pretty strong throughout, even at the end I could still keep a pretty good pace. Though after 80 miles I did feel I was straining my system. It didn't help mentally either that I was doubling back, and the last 20 miles was all on part of the trail I am always on so rather mundane at that point. Furthest I've ever rode in a day was a little over 50 and that was a year ago. This year I haven't rode much at all yet, this trip almost doubled my outside mileage for the year! I did get back home before 100, think I was at 88, and decided to grab a bite then go back out on another loop just to officially hit 100.
I did this since I am planning a possible tour in another week, and wanted to see if I could pull off doing 100 miles loaded, and maybe back to back. Well, I don't think I could do two back to back in my current shape. But now with the defective saddle I'm debating what to do. Without hardly any miles on the original saddle I'm not sure if I want to chance it being uncomfortable on a 4-6 day trip. And I don't think my other road saddles would be great choices either. So not sure yet what to do.
I'll start by talking about my century ride this week... first time ever hitting the 100 mile mark! And I did it barefoot without any issues there. I also did it loaded with touring gear... as a test run of my new racks and panniers. I simulated a few days worth of travel gear, probably 20-30 lbs more. On my 1988 Schwinn Voyageur that I got a couple months ago. I was however still breaking in a leather saddle and I knew it would probably get uncomfortable by the end so I brought a slip on memory foam cover. That was a life saver around the 80 mile mark, but the real problem was I discovered the saddle was slightly uneven... it tilted up on the right hand side and it was my right side of my rear that started to get sore. So still debating what to do about the saddle but for now I swapped the original back on.
I did a few side trips, visited a waterfall, also stopped in a couple towns for lunch and ice cream. Had a blast. Even brought along my dSLR and tripod and snapped a few pics along the way. Had a great time and felt pretty strong throughout, even at the end I could still keep a pretty good pace. Though after 80 miles I did feel I was straining my system. It didn't help mentally either that I was doubling back, and the last 20 miles was all on part of the trail I am always on so rather mundane at that point. Furthest I've ever rode in a day was a little over 50 and that was a year ago. This year I haven't rode much at all yet, this trip almost doubled my outside mileage for the year! I did get back home before 100, think I was at 88, and decided to grab a bite then go back out on another loop just to officially hit 100.
I did this since I am planning a possible tour in another week, and wanted to see if I could pull off doing 100 miles loaded, and maybe back to back. Well, I don't think I could do two back to back in my current shape. But now with the defective saddle I'm debating what to do. Without hardly any miles on the original saddle I'm not sure if I want to chance it being uncomfortable on a 4-6 day trip. And I don't think my other road saddles would be great choices either. So not sure yet what to do.