Newbie wanting to go on a cross canada trip...

[kidflash]

so it's like this... (did i mention i'm new here?)

i just started riding my bike to work in april. 18k (9 km each way) a day, 5 days a week, the 9k ride takes me just over 20 minutes. i'm riding a regular giant rincon bike, with reasonably efficient tires. i enjoy it.

my friend moved to japan today for a year, i'm having a really early mid life crisis (not quite 23 years old yet) and wanting to do something adventurous.

basically - i'm toying with the idea of riding from Winnipeg (middle of canada, give or take) to Victoria, BC sometime in 2007. it's 2300km. i'm thinking 100k a day with rest days, over the period of a month. i have no idea if that's sane or not - but i don't really have two months to take off for it.

what type of training does a kid have to do to be able to accomplish this without dying? (falling off the rockies not counting)

i know i'll need a proper road bike, and lots of mileage. i'm guessing an early fall ride would best, as i wouldn't be ready for spring, and the middle of summer is probably hotter then it needs to be.

i'm open to all suggestions and pointers and stories of anything from what supplies i should take, safety tips, camping vs. hotel vs. rooming with anyone that will let me stay with them, how to still be able to have children after all that riding, etc.

look forward to hearing it. thanks in advance, nice to meet yah.

 

[davef]

I have just finished 1000KM around the Interior of BC, at an average of 100KM per day. Usually done in 4-5 hours in the morning. If you are going to do this in summer think about buying lotsa sunscreen!

Also, the trip would be easier west to east, but if you haven't got that option . . .

You have to get that mileage up and remember you will be carrying stuff with you. I was using a cheap MTB with road slicks at 100psi carrying an extra 11kKgs. The hills will be slower than on a roadbike with no buggage!!

I'd aim to build up your distance and time in the saddle over a longish period, ie maybe 6 months for a young guy like you. I have been biking, club racing for 3 years and doing fairly long training rides (130-160Km) and I am 61. And I felt comfortable doing 100Km days for 3-4 days in a row, then a day or two off. Even at that I have ended up with a swollen lower shin area just above the ankle, which caused me to back off the effort a bit. Average for the whole trip 23KMH.

> i'm guessing an early fall ride would best

sounds better to me.

Camping is certainly cheaper,but you have to carry more gear. I was using motels on this trip. Next week I am off to Vancouver Island loaded with camping gear. For that length of time I think you will need to do a lot of camping unless you have a BIG piggybank.

> how to still be able to have children after all that riding, etc.

I don't think that should be a problem, although in my case it doesn't matter anymore

Build up your trip length at a slow rate, like 10% increase a week. If you want to be comfortable and injury-free you need to do quite a bit of training. If you don't mind hurting and/or spending days in some hick-town recovering then less training might be an option. IMHO, you are doing quite short rides at the moment.

Good luck and go for it.

 

[padawan]

Don't forget to buy a compact crank and a 12-25 or even 12-27 cassette. You'll want nice low gears for going over the Rockies!

Great goal man! Go for it!

 

[kidflash]

ok - so i'm working around timing and that. i'm thinking i'm more inclined to get a calgary trip done (1300km), without having to worry about the mountains and still feel a pretty good sense of accomplishment.

i tried out a road bike today and was finding out the difference between a road/racing bike and a tour bike.

definately making progress there. we're going to see what the budget affords me and i'll likely pick up a bike in the next month or two.

thanks for the pointer (10% a week) - that's a pretty good rule similar to running and that.

 

[imagesinthewind]

My husband and I are going to do a tour around Lake Erie (ohio, US) in 2008.
We're training now to get in shape and will be training through the winter and next summer for 70-100 miles per day. We only have 18 days to do our ride.
The ride is 700 miles or so (2250 km or so) and we'll be doing 70-100 miles (224 to 300km) per day during the ride. Twp planned rest days. One in Niagra Falls.

We'll be doing a lot of hill training, sprints to get our bodies in shape and next summer we'll be doing weekend tours with full gear to get ourselves ready for riding with panniers and the added weight on the bikes. We'll be camping for our long trip.

There is a section here in the forums for Touring and Recreational riding, you should check that out, too.

Good Luck!
Ginny in Denver