My wife and I are signed up for a charity bike tour coming up on May 12. It's for the Briggs Animal Adoption Center in Charlestown West Virginia. It's about an hour away. We'll load the bikes in the back of the truck and off we go.

It's a big loop that starts and ends at the adoption center and the rides are 9, 16, 21, 30 or 35 miles in length.
Of course I'm gonna go for the 35 mile ride.
It's been a while since I've been more than 20 miles by bicycle so I decided to start training for it.
We have a stationary bike that I've been riding. I've adjusted the seat and handlebars to be a lot like my bicycle. When it's nice out we hit the C&O Canal Towpath.

I know there's a lot of people that'll say that 35 miles is just an easy ride and back in the day, for me it was. In fact I used to ride my bicycle to work twice a week and that was a 50 mile round trip.
I remember one time, I rode my bicycle 40 miles to a trail head to meet up for a 70 mile bike tour before.
That was many years ago.
I'm planning on bringing a camera and getting it on video.

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Keep on Chooglin'

I have gotten to where 35 mi. is a long ride in my truck.

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Old Age Ain't For Sissies

Wayne you never cease to amaze me. I have no doubt that you'll finish it in fine style and I hope you enjoy the ride. I expect it will be bring for you with no mountain trails and such but I do wish you luck.

And as a fellow animal lover I salute you for your efforts in their behalf.

Really looking forward to the video...

perryhd, your response made me smile and nod my head as I can relate.

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Real men love cats!

Please tell us a little about the bike you will be riding on this tour.
Best,
Gary

I'm sure you'll do well and have fun. Share some pics of it when your done.

If you need endurance help, I'll share what a Double-Century (200mi/day) rider told us that worked well.
I hit the energy wall at about 30 miles out on the first day of a ride from Greece to Spain. A long distance rider we met, helped fix our dietary mistakes.

His diet allowed us to keep a steady pace of 125mi days:
Start with a big breakfast of Ham, Eggs, Bread, and a quart of fruit juice (he recommended apricot nectar).
Every 10K, have a couple of butter cookies and a swallow of fruit juice.
Every 30K, add a bite of hard salami and chocolate to the butter cookies consumed.
Have large dinner at the end of the days ride.

He also suggested adding the puncture-proof strips between our tubes and tires. We did and never suffered a flat.

Have fun, Wayne....

I’ll have the popcorn ready for when you post the video.

Great you are doing this for an animal charity.

Not a charity ride but in case you've never heard of this, take time to read a little.

RAGBRAI 7 days across the entire state of Iowa. Has become the largest and longest recreational cycling tour in the world.
(and lots of beer involved) The route changes every year so most Iowans have a story to tell of "when Ragbrai came to town"


2018 Route Maps – RAGBRAI

I've been riding for a couple of summers. Our area is very flat and a usual day trip is 30 +/- miles. I ride with a buddy thay has no idea of distance, and appearently can't read a map. He takes complete New-bee riders on trips, saying it's maybe 15 miles and the meter out to 30-35 miles! We no longer let him do the planning for us old farts! ( He even told his wife it would be a 7 or 8 mile ride round trip, knowing it was 15 each way!) I and 2 others had strokes and a couple have diabeties; We can brag all we want, but are truly limited in what we can do.

I enjoy reading about you fighting back against your nuropethy, and try to push my envelope and encourage others to do so. But I don't enjoy hurting people.

Ivan

It's a Gary Fisher Paragon but the only part that's factory stock's the frame. It started out as a nice light weight trail bike but that didn't match my riding style. The front fork had too much flex and while the factory wheelsets were nice, they damaged way too easily.
I decided to completely rebuild my bike the way I wanted it and started saving up and ordering components.
I liked the frame geometry. I have a longish torso and shortish legs. The frame has a longish top tube and shortish chain stays.
After I collected all the stuff I needed, I stripped it down to frame and completely rebuit it. The idea was to have a bike that I could ride up one side of a mountain and fall down the other. I wanted to be able to get scary air and not worry about the wheels folding up. The front fork was replaced with a sturdy 4" travel double crown, triple clamp fork with oil and coil suspension. All the components were upgraded and a front hydraulic disc and rear hydraulic rim brake were installed.
I named it Frankenbike. He's an overbuilt monster. People kept telling me that I'm doing it all wrong, who puts a long travel double crown fork on a hardtail?
Shotly after I built him, the major bike companies started coming out with hardtails with disc front brakes and long travel double crown forks and called them "freeride hardtails."
From a coupla decades ago:


Recently I replaced his knobbies with a set of tires that roll a bit better.


How he looks now:

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Keep on Chooglin'

Yup, I've got a 600 calorie breakfast of carbs and protein planned and energy bars for along the way. I've got a large water bottle plus I'm gonna carry more fluid in the trunk. After the ride we're gonna have protein drinks sitting in an ice filled cooler in the truck.
Haven't planned supper yet but it'll have lotsa protein.
Puncture proof strips, I may havta look into that. Actually the last time I had a flat was because the tubes were so old, they dry rotted and split.

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Keep on Chooglin'

The tubes that the bike shops and stores like Dick's sell are paper thin. I kept pushing the spoke ends into the tubes (right through the thin protector that came with the bike!) this was due to my weighing about 100 pounds more than most teenage football players!

I replaced the protective strip with a heavy canvas strip, and put in "Thorn Proof" tubes, the weigh and cost about 3 times as much as the thin ones. Haven't had a single tube issue after that! I'll say this, the thin tubes aren't worth repairing so you just carry a new tube! The Thorn Proof have enough meat to them that they are repairable. A patch kit is good for 6 to 8 flats and weighs less than a thin tube! (about 1/3 the space too!) The CO2 fill cartridges work fine but you'll need a pump also so why mess with 2 systems.

Ivan

I picked up some new tubes from Performance Bike.
I make sure that I have a patch kit and an extra tube in both my bike and my wife's bike. Along with a frame mounted tire pump that's both presta and schrader valve compatable.
In the tool kit mounted under the seat, I carry enough tools to completely disassemble a bike except a bottom bracket wrench and crank puller. I have extra chain links and a chain breaker just in case.
The wheels are custom made and I've used heavy duty rim tape to prevent problems with the spoke ends.
Yesterday at the Y, I weighed myself. I'm 155 pounds so I'm not too worried about being too heavy for my wheels.

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Keep on Chooglin'

At Mondays weigh in I'm down to 261, and hoping for 2 or 3 less this week. I don't wonder off of paved trails or roads, So I don't have the suspension for woods biking. They call my bike a "Hybrid", I call it "Inbred!"

Ivan

I toyed with the idea of getting one of those. When I went and looked at them they seems delicate if not spindly. I built Frankenbike to be tough and since his frame's double butted 6061 T6 aluminum he's really not that heavy and I can take him everywhere.

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Keep on Chooglin'

I think mine was $349 on sale. I've had to do a few things to make it work for me, but it keeps me off the couch in the summertime! Defiantly not a heavy duty on/off road bike. It will likely become the wife's bike if I buy a better one this or next summer. She now has an all steel Schwinn neighborhood cruiser that will get up to 8 MPH downhill.

If we lived closer, the fund raiser sounds fun (as long as there isn't a time limit!) 35 miles is about a 3 to 4 mile ride for me. But about 2 hours for my friends that don't have fat to burn! I hope you have a good time at the outing.

Ivan

There's a 5 hour time limit. You can pick the route you wanna take. 9, 16, 21, 30 or 35 miles. It's up to the individual. My sister's going and wants to do the 35 miler. She's has 3 bikes, a mountain, cross and road bike. She's gonna bring her road bike. She's light and her bikes light. It should be no problem for her. She has a coupla friends that are going also but they probably won't be taking the long route. My wife's talking 'bout just doing the 21 miler. I figure my wife and the other girls can sit and jibber jabber while my sister and I take the long route.

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Keep on Chooglin'

RAGBRAI was a goal, or more of a fantasy, in the distant past. A 40 mile ride used to be no big deal 10 years ago. Now, with low back pain, 20 is about all I can manage.

Snubbyfan, I'm impressed with all you can do.

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Common sense isn't so common.

Mine really is a case of use it or lose it.

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Keep on Chooglin'

That's what the padded bike shorts are for.

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Keep on Chooglin'

Good on ya' snubbyfan!

I started riding when I was stationed in Germany in the early '90s.

I like charity rides and have done a couple Multiple Sclerosis 150s (Arizona and Wyo). Always terrific folks doing those.

My big adventure was Tour de Wyoming: 465 miles in six days. Always uphill and with a headwind.

I don't think my riding days are over, but I haven't been on the saddle for some years. You've motivated me to pull out my old Diamondback and give it a go. Thanks.

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Wrangler of stray Chiefs
Bob

The I've found is a Brooks leather saddle. The break-in period is a bit rough but worth it.

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Common sense isn't so common.

Wayne.....go for it!! Good Luck...i know you will make it all the way.....

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There's nowt so queer as folk

Now if you were using an Argon18, it would be a piece of cake. Enjoy your ride.

Attached Images

Argon-18.jpg (123.8 KB, 11 views)

Always wanted to do RAGBRAI but then would lay down & take a nap & the urge would go away

Frankenbikes saddle has a kevlar cover and titanium rails. It's narrow so I can get behind it on when I take it down a fall line. It's tough so it can take a shot if I crash.

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Keep on Chooglin'

I used to fix people's bike for beer money and I'd take for a test ride (before drinking the beer) to check for function. Road bike are light and quick. 35 miles would be a lot easier on one. They just seem fragile. Like they'd fold up if I rode one down a flight of stairs. Forget about getting air, kick outs and look backs.

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Keep on Chooglin'

I've honestly always wanted to participate in a 24 hour mountain bike race. I'd build a light weight bike and take a year to train for it. I'd need a support crew for the race.
Thing is, I now have the time, I just can't even begin to afford it.

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Keep on Chooglin'

I've been riding our home stationary bike. Working on keeping a steady cadence with varying resistance. I'm up to an hour at a time. I'm really looking forward to some warmer weather so we can take our bikes out to the C&O Canal Towpath and see how far we can stretch it out.

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Keep on Chooglin'

Take a look at some high pressure slicks. I used to run Specialized Fat Boys or Armadillos. Less tread plus higher pressure, equals less rolling resistance. Also, every additional ounce on the tires/wheels, is like a pound on the bike.
Best,
Gary

The new tires are noticeable lighter than the old knobbies and that does make a difference. They roll a lot better and they're not as "squirmy". I've been running them at 55 pounds.
I was thinking of getting some slicker street skins but decided that they just wouldn't look right on Frankenbike.

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Keep on Chooglin'

Once you tried them on the road, I don’t think you would really give a rip about the look.
Efficiency, efficiency. Trust an old fat guy on this one.
Best,
Gary

What I'd really like would be a light weight wheel set for just an occasion.
Actually, a nice light, fast second bike'd be even better.
All I can afford though it just the one bike for everything.

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Keep on Chooglin'

My wife and I started out on a training ride today but we had to end it way shorter than intended.
Her rear tire developed a bulge. Her bike has had the same tires since she got it nearly 2 decades ago. We're gonna pick up a new set tomorrow and go for a nice ride.

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Keep on Chooglin'

Probobly time for the brake pads (if they are rubber) to be replaced, as well as any rubber or plastic components that are subject to stress.
Best,
Gary

Good idea, that's the kinda stuff that'd fail on a bike tour.
A couple of years ago, I got a flat tire because my inner tube failed. I always keep an inner tube just in case and it was dry rotted.
When we got the bikes home, I replaced all the inner tubes.
I should've replaced the tires on my wife's bike when I replaced mine. My tires were old, cracking and coming apart in chunks. Her's still looked okay but I couldn't see what was happening inside.
I put a new Avid front brake on her bike last year. The old ones wouldn't hold adjustment. I did make sure to put new brake pads on the rear.

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Keep on Chooglin'

On todays bike ride I discovered that it's uncomfortable to ride with sore triceps. I'll havta back off working those at the gym until after the bike tour.

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Keep on Chooglin'

Nice day today. My wife and I did a 20 miler. Took 'bout 2 and a half hours. Felt pretty good.
We're planning to do that at least a coupla more times before the bike tour.
I'm trying different bike shorts to see which ones are the most comfortable.

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Keep on Chooglin'

I have a bike helmet but I don't usually wear it. They require one for the bike tour.
The foam bits were all dry rotted. I picked up a hunk of foam rubber from a fabric store, cuts some bits out and contact cemented them to the inside of the helmet.
Worked and on today's bike ride I wore my bike helmet and it was actually pretty comfortable. I need to do the same thing for my wife's bike helmet.
Today's bike ride was just 15 miles or so but it was just to see how the bike helmet felt. Also my wife wanted to try her hydration pack. She usually wears it hiking and got the idea to wear it for the bike tour. It holds lotsa fluid and has enough room to carry all the junk women seem to want to carry.
Tomorrow we're planning on a longer ride.

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Keep on Chooglin'

Helmets save brain matter just ask me. There is nothing worse than dehydration so more water is better. Keep up the good work.

....COLD, don't you think??? The protein drinks are fine but as for sitting in an ice filled cooler...?!?!

But seriously folks, it's great to hear about your taking this on by the horns. Getting you and your bike in shape for this sounds like a great goal to have. It's an inspiration.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Everybody, NEVER allow yourself to get dehydrated. Due to an illness. I was in kidney failure, but escaped serious damage by the skin of my teeth. Had it gone any longer, I'd be in deep kimchee.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

That's what we do when we go to the Y. We mix a coupla protein drinks and put 'em in a cooler with lotsa ice before heading out. After our workout, we shake 'em up. It's like drinking cold chocolate milk.

The idea's to have both ourselves and our bikes in good enough shape to enjoy the tour and not just suffer through it.

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We went on a 21.58 mile bike ride today. Went well.
We weren't tired but we could tell that we did something.
After we got home I fired up the grill, a cigar, opened a cold beer and grilled some chicken.

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Had the bike tour today. Perfect weather and lotsa fun.
Our little group consisted of my sister, her friend, her friends significant other, another fellow and of course my wife and myself.
The group wanted to do the 21 miler and I just stayed with them. My wife did the 16 miler and we met her when we got back.
The video's edited. I'll upload it tonight and post it tomorrow.

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That is great. I remember when I was a loooot younger I did a couple of Century rides also a few metric centuries. Right now 20 miles is a good ride for me. Glad you had a good time and I am looking forward to the video.

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RudyN
NRA Patron Life Member