Less talk, more action! Just signed up to do a 65-mile (metric century) bike tour of Chico’s wildflower wilderness this April, with +Chris Tweney and whoever else wants to join. Could be up to 4,000 riders on the run.
http://www.chicovelo.org/main/century-series/26-wildflower
Though I bicycle commute daily, have never done a ride this long before. Time to start training, but my commuter bike is too heavy, and wrong riding position. Hit up a friend for advice, scoured the craigslist boards, and ended up with a 2005 LeMond Tourmalet – tightly tuned and ready to go! Got what I consider a very good deal.
Next weekend will probably see what I can do on a 20-miler.
Looks good! I hope I can make it out for the ride too, though I guess I'll be camping since my plans are so contingent…
That's right by where +Tania Bettis grew up! It can be quite beautiful that time o' year…
Look forward to meeting you Tom, if it works out.
Sam, we're just hoping the lack of rain doesn't result in a lack of wildflowers.
Looks like a good choice for your first longish ride — 20 miles will seem like nothing :-)
Hassan – you've done some distance riding? Am I nuts for taking this on?
@Scot- if you've been riding regularly at all, 60 miles is cake. Just remember to eat and drink (a Camelbak or equiv highly recommended).
Five years ago, for my 60th birthday, my son talked me into signing up for STP (Seattle-to-Portland) — 206 miles, but they give you 2 days, so I figured "how hard could it be?" :-)
I hadn't been on a bike at all for like 10 years so I bought an old mountain bike off Craigslist for $25 — heavy, fat knobbies, good for training! — and rode it intermittently for a couple of months (max ride ~45 miles), then bought a low-end Trek road bike the weekend before STP. (Working on my procrastination is still on my to-do list.)
Short tuneup ride Saturday, 50 miles Sunday. Tuesday dismantled and boxed the bike to fly to Seattle. Assembled at my son's house, rode to the start line Saturday morning with our bags (including tent and sleeping bags). We had a great ride, no problems at all.
Anyway, stay hydrated — I was draining a full-size Camelbak of water + a bottle of Gatorade between each rest stop — and just keep turning the cranks. And enjoy!
Hassan, that's totally inspirational. After reading your story, I'm a lot less worried about this. I've got plenty of time to do practice rides, and don't need to train on a $25 mountain bike :)
Sounds like a great experience. Yep, hydration will be gospel!
Thanks.