novicenyer

So I am considering riding to Mystic, CT from Astoria, NY (138 miles)

The longest I have done is 83 miles from my friends in Massapequa, LI to Shelter Island. On Komoot that ride is considered intermediate and for someone in good fitness. I did the trip in the time Komoot "quoted"

Highest elevation was 160ft

For the ride to Mystic it's 138 miles with the highest elevation at 450 and is considered expert and some one in very good shape.

Am I biting off more than I can chew? Ask any questions that may help me get a better answer.

rubiksoval

If you can ride 83 miles, you can ride 138.

Eat lots, drink lots, take the early miles easy.

Iride01 

Shouldn't be an issue. Just keep pedaling and don't run out of water or carbs. You might just look at the route profile and make certain there isn't a killer climb in there somewhere that might sap your energy if you go too hard at it or don't have the gearing for it.

Bah Humbug

Not used to seeing Mystic called out! My favorite running store is there.

mattcalifornia

How do you figure that? It's an extra 55 miles. That's not nothing.

What route do you take to get from Astoria to Mystic? are you riding the length of LI and then taking a ferry? Or are you taking the Throgs Neck or Whitestone bridge? Seems like a difficult route either way.

Seattle Forrest

I used to go to the Mystic Seaquarium as a kid. Don't know if it's still there.

rubiksoval

Same reason why you can ride 100 miles if you can ride 50.

At that point it's just a matter of fueling and suffering through the discomfort. Cycling's cool like that.

KenCT

It is still there and a great place to visit https://www.mysticaquarium.org/

bruce19

It was last I looked.

bruce19

Is this a solo ride? Is there a support vehicle involved?

datlas 

My favorite Pizza movie too!

blacknbluebikes 

This logic doesn't really work. .... if you can ride 2 miles, you can ride 4, and so you can ride 8, and so you can ride ....(twelve raises gives me 2^12=4096) ... and so, sure, you can ride from NY to Los Angeles. Well, yeah, I guess you can, but...
Most people do have to train for a century, not everyone. But jumping from 50 to 100 is not easy to most, and putting another 40 on top of a century is not an "intermediate" effort, pain or no pain. People bonk. Muscles fail. Brains say "enough, jackass" and stop the system. a 140 mile ride requires most riders to do many weeks of conditioning. And it's not a smart thing to solo without proving it out with some support. do-able? absolutely. but plan for it.

rubiksoval

That's because it's neither logic nor a linear equation.

I mean, if you want to get right down to it, anyone that has a bike and has ridden it a bit (or even hasn't) is "capable" of riding 100 miles. Just like they're "capable" of completing a marathon or any other arbitrary athletic achievement you want to throw out there (perhaps not swimming...yikes).

There's a girl that rode her bike across India to get her dad during the Covid 19 lockdown. ACROSS India. 700 miles. On a $20 dollar bike. With her DAD on the back of it!

People bonk because they don't eat enough, so eat enough. Muscles fail because you're going too hard. Go easier.

It's honestly not that difficult. I'm not saying it'd necessarily be comfortable to do 100 miles if you've never done more than 50, or that you'd do it any sort of decent speed or whatever, but you're 100% capable of doing it if you're considerate of your effort and nutrition needs. The human body is capable of quite a bit.


Link to aforementioned story:
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsan...-sparks-debate

Seattle Forrest

For the record, a fit person who doesn't run isn't capable of going out and running a marathon, and bonking isn't the limiting factor.

Iride01 

If the OP did 83 miles and they didn't have any complaints about that to share with us, then they are very likely to be able to do another 55 miles or even more.

Once you get to 50 or 60 miles and learn to do the things you need to get you further with no complaints, then you just repeat what you've been doing for hydration and nutrients and keep pedaling.

I was a little overly worried about doing my first 100 miler. But since I had the rudimentary ideas of hydration, nutrition and not using all my energy to climb a hill stupidly fast with 90 miles to go, I did well. And it turned out not the be the big deal some make it out to be.

MinnMan

eh, when did you ride 83 miles? Last week? Last year? The question isn't really whether you once did 83 and therefore can now do 138, but more about how much training and conditioning you've been doing prior to this ride. So, let's put it this way, how many miles/week do you expect to average in the 4 weeks prior to your 138 mile ride?

rubiksoval

You can go out tomorrow and finish a marathon.

The amount of running may vary significantly, but a good chunk of people I see at marathons aren't running the whole thing, either.

Bah Humbug

Hell a lot of people can finish an Ironman if they can possibly handle the swim. Watch at midnight sometime.

MinnMan

He didn't say "finish a marathon". He said "running a marathon"

rubiksoval

And I said completing a marathon first, and he quoted me. He changed what I said, and I corrected him.

The OP can't go out and ride a sub 6 hour 138 miles, either, but he can complete it.

That's the context of this thread...

MinnMan

Fair enough.

Seattle Forrest

Running is a high impact sport. You have to build up your connective tissue. It involves form and economy in ways that don't exist in cycling. Take somebody with a lot of cardiovascular fitness from cycling or swimming or skiing and make them run a marathon, they're going to get sidelined by an injury before they get to 26.2.

If "finish a marathon" involves significant walking, sure, and reasonably fit person can do that.

This is a digression though, cycling is different. Microfractures? What's that?

Bah Humbug

They still give you the medal. Anyone of reasonably able body can finish one, yes.

rubiksoval

Right, cycling is even easier. You can coast your way through significant percentages of a ride if you were so inclined. As I said above, it's cool like that. Makes 100+ miles really not that big a deal.

Iride01 

Why are we doing a marathon. The OP was asking about a bike ride.

If the OP is fit, they can do it based on the little info given. If the OP isn't fit, they'll just have an incomplete ride. Why should all of us assume that the OP can't do it? Or provide an over abundance of caution when they have not asked for more particulars.

The only info they gave the might cast some reservation is that they mentioned elevation. And that isn't a factor for a trip from Astoria NY to Mystic CT.

My vote is that the OP visit the Mystic Seaport Museum first.