sula

Ok, strictly in the name of bragging, go on what has been you biggest day. Put this on the tandem page as well as it falls between two stools

This was a tandem tour so dont feel bad you lonley single riders.

For us it was during a three month tour so the bike was loaded with tent panniers etc etc. Set off from Dalat in Vietnam before first light and got to Ho Chi Minh City that evening. The ride was 187 miles. Supposedly because I wanted to meet a mate I had not seen for a few years in Saigon actually because by then we were hooked on the miles thing. I seam to remember it took under twelve hours but I would need to check with my stokes as she does the writing things down bit.

axolotl

It's quality, not quantity.

marmotte

Yes, quality!
Our biggest day:
My wife and me, we passed col du télégraphe, took a rest in Valloire and reached col du galibier in the afternoon. We could see Mont Blanc far away. When we startet descending it began to snow a bit and it was very cold. We trembled down to Monêtier les bains and found a small hotel with a little bath tub. One hour later we were back to life again and had an outstanding french dinner (the wine tasted very good, although it wasn't necessary for a deep sleep).
marmotte

sula

Sorry guys didnt realise it was all quite such a serious buisness.

Marmotte, um we ate them in Mongolia. Huge amount of fat on them but ok.

Machka 

Sept 2004 to Dec 2004 --- three months in Australia.

And as for the "biggest day" on that tour: 489 kms in 26.5 hours, with no sleep.

About 1/3 of the way through that tour, my cycling partner and I rode the Great Southern Randonnee. That 489 kms was the first 489 kms of the total 1200 kms of that event. The time limit for the 1200 kms was 90 hours (as it is for all 1200K Randonneuring events) so we only got three hours of sleep at the 489 km point before we were on our bicycles and continuing the route.

https://www.machka.net/australia/oct26.htm


While I enjoy the Randonneuring events which involve covering long distances in short periods of time ... when I am just touring, I prefer to cover somewhat shorter distances at a more leisurely pace.

paul2

I've done a few 135 km days, but I generally do even less, so that I can actually stop and see some of the places I'm cycling through.

jharte

I've done some 120 mile days fully loaded. These past few years I've slowed some, piddled more, stopped to talk to people, stay for lunch, grab a nap in the grass, and other pleasurable things.

I used to find challenge in long distance touring. Now I find peace.

marmotte

Sula, we did so, too: look at this .




right you are

marmotte

sula

Machka,

Blimey that’s kind of impressive, never done any of these Randonneuring events. Well that not quite true did one unofficially when the road club I was in sort of gate crashed one. But they sound interesting. Funny thing is way back when I was into doing big days. Would get on my single and not really get off it until I was in Poland head down arse up stare at your tire. You know the kind of young man folly we have all pursued at some time.

Now I like to wander lonely as a cloud through hill and dale smelling the flowers. I have introduced my previously not cycling girlfriend to the joys of touring. Now she is hooked on the miles thing. Soon as I built the bike she was itching for her first century. It seams I have created some sort of monster you have to prize her off the handle bars each night. On our big day I described earlier she got all shirty with me because I wanted to stop for lunch!!! Should not complain there are plenty of folk who have the opposite problem. I think I must have done something very bad in my past.

On a different tack. What’s the max people on one bike doing proper touring you have heard off? A mate of mine has a triplet, he is at the front, wife behind, oldest kid on the third set of peddles, middle kid on a bike seat, youngest kid and their gear in a trailer. And off they go touring Scotland. It’s a great example for those who say the “I would love to do what you do if I didn’t have kids” thing.

Keep um spinning.

sula

Machka,
Was that on a single? Big milage for a half bike if it is.

Robbykills

well I've only done one day trip that could be considered a "tour" (actually 2 I rode down to my grandparents beachhouse and stayed there for a week then rode back). I wasn't fully loaded but I had maybe 10lbs of crap on my bike. It was 104 miles and the ride back was one of the hottest days of last summer, it was pretty intense, my friend had to bow out and get someone to pick him up due to heat exhaustion which sucked.

Machka 

Yes, of course!! I've done all my brevets (many, many 200Ks, 300Ks, 400Ks, and 600Ks) and randonnees (one 1000K, and four 1200Ks) on a single bicycle. The most I've ever done on a tandem is 100 miles ... I don't do well on tandems.

Machka 

I can't say that I've ever pursued "young man folly"!!

And actually, Randonneuring tends not to be a young person's sport. The average age of the cyclists on the PBP (Paris-Brest-Paris) the year I did it (2003) was 49.




My English friend, who accompanied me on my Australia tour (and also a tour of England and Wales) has been known to cover centuries and double centuries on his tours. In 2002, he landed in Vancouver, cycled to Kamloops, BC ... rode the Rocky Mountain 1200 (with me) ... then cycled across the country to Boston (in 3 weeks) ... then rode the Boston-Monteal-Boston 1200K ... and then flew back to England. But here's the thing ... he did that on a fixed gear.

After I came home from the Australia tour, he kept going and rode from Adalaide to Darwin, across the middle of Australia ... covering some pretty lengthy distances during that time.

When he toured with me, he kind of slowed the pace a touch ... we were doing 60-100 miles a day.


But personally ... if I want to cover large distances, I'll do my Randonneuring. If I want to tour, I would rather do shorter distances ... relax ... take it easy!

Chris L

The longest days I've ever had while riding fully loaded were 168km -- twice. The first was between Glen Innes and just outside Grafton in Northern NSW, Australia on my first ever tour (with a headwind all the way). The other was in the victorian Alps in 2004, which included about 30km on dirt roads and close to 1,800 metres of climbing.

I don't like to do things the easy way.

becnal

100k a day, once did 160k and it was darn easy. Must have been the giant pasta dinner I had the night before.

sula

Machka.
Moocho respect all round. May be I should try this stuff out. Trouble is I’m in Kuwait at the moment without even an exercise bike. That’s how I found this site am starting to think of ridding home at the end of the contact. If I do will probably use a recumbent. Just fancy one. Would love to do the Paris – Brest - Paris. More I think about that the better it sounds. Got some really cycling culture behind it. That for me is one of the pleasures of ridding in Mainland Europe. Right think you may have tickled my fancy with that one. Oh didn’t mean to imply you were pursuing a young mans folly more that I was a foolish young man at the time and now I’m well still foolish just less young.

The mate of your ridding the fixed, was there a reason to ride a fixed. Or just a personal preference. I couried a few years back and some of those guys like them for urban riding just good work horses. There is the whole tradition of using them as a winter trainer but touring? Interesting choice. I can understand him just keep riding though. When you get into doing miles you kind of just get used to it. Remember one stage ridding over to Prague and going to do some tourist stuff. Found my self going for a ride just kind of got twitchy without a few miles on my legs.

I’ll look a bit closer at the links you sent. Didney ken how I would train here though. The drivers really are insane here. I know people say that about a lot of places but this is in its own league. Honest I have seen some stuff on all the continents (excluding Antarctic) but for sheer loony tune driving Kuwait takes some beating.

Take it easy

hoogie

2 stick out in my mind ...

140km over a very hot hilly route towing a fully laden trailer on my mountain bike through the maniototo in new zealand ... that would be my longest touring daily distance ... i tend to stop often and enjoy the ride and the scenery ...

66km grinding into a very strong headwind from penshurst to port fairy in victoria australia ... the road was largely straight and it went straight into the teeth of the wind so you got absolutley no rest, and the land was devoid of trees so there was no shelter .. it was a six hour or so grind in granny gears into the wind, fighting for every metre of ground gained ... not long in terms of distance, but long in terms of effort and my "longest day"

Machka 

It's not even just the training part you'd have to think about ... it's the qualifications too. You've got to ride the Super Randonneur series (200K, 300K, 400K, and 600K) in the year of the next PBP (2007) in order to qualify. If you can go somewhere in Europe, there'd be lots of qualifying events, but I'm not sure about where you are. Here are some more Randonneuring/Audax links:

https://www.ultracycling.com/

https://www.randonneurs.bc.ca/links/links.html

https://www.rusa.org/

https://www.audax.org.au/index.asp

https://www.audax.uk.net/index2.htm



Personal preference. He is British ... if you know British cyclists, that should explain everything to you ... they were the ones who showed up at the PBP with triplettes, tandems, tricycles, fixed gears, and just about everything out of the ordinary you can think of. I've come to the conclusion that's just the British way. It adds an extra element of challenge ... as if a 1200K weren't challenging enough!


I suspected that was what you meant ... but at the same time I wasn't sure if you knew I was a woman ... so I wouldn't be pursuing a young MAN's folly.

sula

Machka I am British, so yer that explins everything? I'm in Kuwait; not the best place for cycling life.

Hoogie, that exactely what I ment. Big days dont always mean big milage. In 04 I crossed the Gobi desert on a tandem on that crosssing we had a BIG day and did 30km of wading in sand.

Train for pain as rodies say

silversmith

I can take the cold, heat, rain, flat tires and ticked off farm dogs but, spare me please, that stinking wind sucks!

<<Off topic>>> I remember what the wind did to me while on a fishing trip to a remote lake North of Red Lake Ontario. It was too windy to go out on the lake so I went picking blueberries in a burn area while dad napped at the cabin.

It was such a relief to be insulated from the brutal winds by the thick bush. I found myself in a large patch of blueberries that was dotted with lumps of blue bear dung. Me being an Iowa farm boy, this made me nervous.

Then I heard a branch cracking. I thought it was the wind. Then another noise -- oh crap. I knew it was a bear. I reached down and grabbed a stick and some small stones and flung it at the "bear." To my suprise and relief a voice called back, Hey! Stop throwing things at me."

I yelled back an apology and a few minutes later the 5'2" red haired "bear" stepped into sight. I was so embarrassed at my cowardice.

Turns out my bruin was on vacation with her father, and was escaping the wind just like me. We ended up picking berries and talking all day and into the evening. When I got back and introduced her to my dad he asked her if she also likes to fish. She said "yes." Dad,out of the blue, turned to me and said, "She likes to fish and likes the outdoors? You've got to marry this one."

22 years later my dad still brags that this was the only time I ever listened to him in my life.

Erick L

Nice story Mr. Smith.

My longest day has been 185km, with a rear load + handlebar bag, from dawn to dusk. I wasn't much of a cyclist then and it was atrocious. I was planning on camping but ended in a warm bathtub in a motel. I was burned by the sun with my a$s on fire because of the saddle.

Second longest was 175km with a similar load. It went pretty easy as I had a strong tailwind except for the last 15km. I was in better cycling shape too. It was cool and cloudy, with bits of rain.

Both were almost all on railtrails.

Belugadave

To each his own. Sometimes, Quantity IS Quality, like one day for me in New Mexico, fully loaded we went 145 miles because it was mostly downhill and with the wind. Only 8 hours ride time because of the wonderful conditions, 11 hours total time. I hit 47 mph going down one of the hills, it was a blast.