kq2dc7

A guy I ride with two to three times a week with has asked me if I wanted to try it later this summer. Currently I'm averaging 14 mph on a trek verve hybrid and ride 80 to 90 miles a week. I do twenty miles pretty easily but have never tried to go further. Now the question. Is a verve up to doing something like that or will I need more bike?

downtube42

Ten random tidbits:

1) You can ride in a day what you train in a week.
2) Don't increase your longest ride by more than 50%.
3) Learn to finish your training rides fueled and hydrated.
4) During the event, don't think past the next checkpoint.
5) Being quick off the bike is easier to attain and has just as much impact as being quick on the bike. Practice quick stops.
5a) Don't faff around off the bike: Park the bike, stuff your water bottles in jersey pockets, go get food and water, bathroom, return to bike, replace bottles, go.
5a1) Think about the stop as you approach. Do you need a bathroom, to add/remove a layer, take an ibuprofen, etc.
5a2) Size up the checkpoint. If there's a food line, hit the bathroom first. If there's a bathroom line, hit the food first.
5a3) Although you only focus on the next stop, the stop itself is not for resting. That's what the finish is for.
5b) Learn to drink and eat while riding, to minimize stop time.
5c) Avoid socializing at stops.
6) Don't try anything new on the big ride. Not food, drink, equipment, technique.
7) Make sure your seat height is right. At a bike shop, with bike enthusiast friends, a web search.
8) Throw some sprints in your training. Keep it fun - sprint from one telephone pole to the next, rest a while, repeat.
9) Practice fixing a flat on the road. Get quick at it.
10) Use sunscreen and/or sun sleeves. A full day in the sun, even on a cloudy day, will cause an energy-zapping burn.

Good luck and have fun.

hillyman

The Verve is very capable as long as your comfortable on it. Just try to build up rides until your able to ride 50 milers quite well. And 100 miles will be a challenge but doable. Cheap upgrade for headwinds on a hybrid is a pair Origin8 drop barends.

hillyman

The Verve is very capable as long as your comfortable on it. Just try to build up rides until your able to ride 50 milers quite well. And 100 miles will be a challenge but doable. Cheap upgrade for headwinds on a hybrid is a pair Origin8 drop barends.

rumrunn6

I like having a computer on board. even a cheap one does the trick for me. this lets me know how many miles I have remaining & helps me gauge my effort. the worst is thinking the end is just around the next corner, but it isn't, then you think it's around the next corner, but it isn't, etc. etc. So, for example, knowing I have say ... 10 miles left lets me know I'm not close, but the end is in sight. I can relax & just work the machine at a pace I can maintain for that distance. Knowing the speed helps me calculate how much more time in the saddle I'm looking at.

livedarklions

I've ridden up to 168 miles in a day on a FX3, a somewhat different style hybrid. My opinion is almost any bike is up to it as long as it's mechanically sound, the question is whether you can ride it comfortably for distance. Your position on the Verve is a bit more upright than on the FX, and the handlebars are a little less flat. I've done centuries on an upright bike, and find it's a little tiring on the shoulders. Flat bars are a bit rough on the hands over distance, and I've had to put bar ends on my FX. I don't know if you'd have to do with the slightly more "moustachy" style of the Verve handlebars.

I think the best way for you to answer your question is increase your distances on the bike in increments---next time try 25, then 30 and so on. It's really the only way to figure out what works for you.

livedarklions

Gotta tell you--I did a century last year and another one this year where I used Swedish fish as my bonk preventer. Way better than Twizzlers because the excessive chewing gives you something to do, and they're shaped like a protein so they must be healthier, right?

ThermionicScott 

You absolutely CAN ride long distances on a hybrid-style bike:



But a road bike, when set up correctly, will make it easier.

wphamilton

10 hours is a long time to sit on a bike. I'd work on it from that angle, especially on weekends. If I couldn't stand being on the bike for 10 hours, I'd never be able to do a century at 10 mph, no matter what.

So my plan would be going out all day on the bike, plenty of rests, meal breaks and so on, even multiple rides throughout the day, but trying for 8-10 hours total on the bike. Once I had that nailed, then I'd worry about working up longer rides, different terrain and if I had time, maybe improving the speed a little.

wphamilton

I'd advise don't increase it more than 15% on a weekly basis.

Very important. Whatever you've got when the day approaches, go with that.

RidingMatthew

i think they say to not increase more than 10-15% or you risk injury. I know that back in 2009 I did my longest ride ever it was a metric century that ended up being 73 miles it took much longer than i expected. I think riding at 10 mph for a century could a bit much. I would look to increase your speed on some shorter rides. 20-40miles at a time until your average is quicker. I think you can do it but it would be torture to ride that long and slow. the event might be all cleaned up by the time you get back. that is a dangerous situation. just my initial thoughts