What's the longest you've ever bicycled?

[Pastafarian]

Well I am curious because I am really really interested in biking to my friends house about 80 miles away.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=6957+SW+Moore+St,+Palm+City,+FL+34990&daddr=1180+Catfish+Creek+Rd,+Lake+Placid,+FL+33852&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.273162,82.265625&ie=UTF8&z=10&om=1

I am kinda nervous about it because that road isn't the safest of roads and I would be on a mountain bike and not one of those touring road bikes. If anyone has does this before could you provide me with some information that could help me?

Thanks!

[JeepCreeper]

You should be asking that question to yourself. 80 miles on a mountain bike is going to be tougher than 80 miles on a road bike. Neither one is easy. I definitely wouldn't try that without training for that distance, and I wouldn't do it alone. That length ride on a mountain bike will probably take you 7-8+ hours, if you don't stop. And you better hope there are plenty of food and water stops along the way.

[KRANE]

The longest I've ever ridden my bike in one continuous trip was just over 40 mi. Now I know that's not seem far for someone to bicycle,(especially road cyclist) until you realize it was on an old cruiser that weighed a ton and only had 3 speeds. For some reason, I was feeling especially energized that day. In additoin, I had not practiced or planned for this trip. It was just a spur of the moment thing, and I got carried away and kept extending the destination.

In your case, 80 miles is a long way to bike on a mountain bike. I'd say the limit for a mountain bike is about a quarter that distance. However, before you attemp such a thing, I'd practice first. You need to be able to do at least half the trip with not much effort. And of course, always have a back up plan just in case you "bite off more than you can chew"

By the way, it's always more enjoyable if you can get a friend to take the trip with you. That way the time passes much more quickly

[foggydays]

i've gone a little over 80 km on a rail trail on my mountain bike. 80 miles is quite a bit, i must warn you if you are not use to those distances, and you take a break say 1/3 of the way through, when you get back on the bike your ass may hurt like hell, making the rest of the ride unbearable. being uncomfortable stops me way before fatigue ever does.

[guest89]

4-5 miles max. On a BMX, terrain was mountain bike styled but all I had was BMX. Yes it kicked my ass, on a downhill my front peg caught a Cyprus stump. (looks like one of these)

http://www.chippingaway.com/WoodCarving/BarkCarving/CypressKnees.jpg


And I did a frontflip and ended up with the bike on top of me. (I got jacked up but it was funny as hell for my friends).

Lesson of this little story? Use the right equipment for the terrain you will be on.

[PhazenFFect]

I was a junior pro road cyclist back when I was 17 years old. Longest distance in one go was 150 miles, but this was with a support vehicle that was providing us with water and food. We were about 10 guys in the group as well, so we worked together. It took us about 6.5 hours to complete the distance.

If you are fit, and used to doing some distance on a bike, just take enough water and some sugary snacks and you could do it. Although on a mountain bike I would not want to do it. However, if you are not cycling fit and haven't done some distance training before, you could end up with severe muscle cramps in your legs and shoulders and dehydration. If this happens and you still got some distance to cover, you are in trouble. I had to quit numurous races of 100 miles or so because of muscle cramps and a sub-par level of fitness, and on one occasion even ended up in hospital with severe dehydration.

So do not try it if you are not cycling fit.

[avarice]

My wife did this http://www.ragbrai.org/ on a mountain bike. This years course is 477 miles.

[slackdaddy]

I've done 136 on a road bike and it took almost 8 hours including refill stops. My average speed was around 18 mph. My average speed on a mountain bike would probably have been around 10. I don't know how much training you have done but that will be a long ass 80 miles. You will have to stop a few times to refill.

[FaceThePain]

In one day?
Probably 40 miles?
It was when I was 16, on a Diamond back freestyle bike.
I was trying to "run away" lol

[Jordan300]

I've done 25 miles tops on a mountain bike. I would not recommend 80 miles in a day.

[aznxdgnz]

11 miles going to work and 11 miles back. from queens to manhattan.

[Fuelish]

Depends on your conditioning and the quality/lightness of your mountainbike. A nice light xc bike, set up properly with some high pressure road slicks, 80 miles would be doable, if you're used to long distance cycling. If you're going to do this on a whim on a cheap heavy bike, forget about it.
Longest I've ridden my mtb was about 25 miles off road, 4o miles on road (seperate rides ;) ). Longest I've ever ridden was 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Philly to Atlantic City for the American Cancer Society fundraising ride - took us about 4 1/2 hours on roadbikes...lately, just been commuting to work by slick tired mtb, 11 miles roundtrip

[KRANE]

...lately, just been commuting to work by slick tired mtb, 11 miles roundtripSame here man. Though sometimes I take the long route just to get a little more of a workout.

I love the ride, but wish the traffic wasn't so congested. You can't get distracted for a minute or someone (in a car), will do something stupid.

[97LT1]

I have a Trek Y5 pig that i had since 98. Last summer i rode 16.8 miles trying to reach a friends house 23 miles away.....in 85 degree weather.

I stopped due to heat exhaustion....but probably would not have made the distance anyway.

My norm is 20 miles a day. Ten miles straight...then a resting period of a few hours, then back.

With a road bike you can keep a higher avg speed with less pedal effort.

[KRANE]

I have a Trek Y5 pig that i had since 98. Last summer i rode 16.8 miles trying to reach a friends house 23 miles away.....in 85 degree weather.

I stopped due to heat exhaustion....but probably would not have made the distance anyway.

My norm is 20 miles a day. Ten miles straight...then a resting period of a few hours, then back.

With a road bike you can keep a higher avg speed with less pedal effort.The weight and type of the bike means a lot. But in the distance you mentioned, your conditioning and preperation should have been paramount. Covering that distance on such a bike would not have been impossible, but it would have been inefficient.

For the record, the Y5 is a full suspention mountain bike. Revolutionary...at the time.

[97LT1]

The weight and type of the bike means a lot. But in the distance you mentioned, your conditioning and preperation should have been paramount. Covering that distance on such a bike would not have been impossible, but it would have been inefficient.

For the record, the Y5 is a full suspention mountain bike. Revolutionary...at the time.

The guys at the local bike shop always make fun of me because i won't break down and get a roadie for the type of riding i do. But i spent alot of money on parts(XT all over, niter rider, rims).

So i'm gonna keep riding to the wheels fall off. :D

[AKR]

get some tires with thin tread. when i first got my mountain bike, it was a total pain to ride pavement with heavy tread, and i really noticed a difference when i got thinner tread tires.

[foggydays]

get some tires with thin tread. when i first got my mountain bike, it was a total pain to ride pavement with heavy tread, and i really noticed a difference when i got thinner tread tires.

yup, the right tires make a huge difference, preferably with a solid (or almost solid) middle ridge, and remember to blow them up to max pressure

[97LT1]

I had some skinnies on my bike before. I recieved ALOT of flats...because i like jump off and on curbs and things. So i went back to Bontrager AC's.

Sure there is more pedal effort, but i like catching air every now and then.

[ducttape16]

I think the farthest I've gone in one day is about 40 miles.

Usually I stick to about 10 miles when using it as just cardio.

[resurrected]

Well I am curious because I am really really interested in biking to my friends house about 80 miles away.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=6957+SW+Moore+St,+Palm+City,+FL+34990&daddr=1180+Catfish+Creek+Rd,+Lake+Placid,+FL+33852&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.273162,82.265625&ie=UTF8&z=10&om=1

I am kinda nervous about it because that road isn't the safest of roads and I would be on a mountain bike and not one of those touring road bikes. If anyone has does this before could you provide me with some information that could help me?

Thanks!

when I was younger I had biked roughly 80 miles, but my bike broke down on the return trip. Be sure it is up to the trip before you do this. I rode on highways to get there. I would say be sure you do maintenance onyour bike prior to this and carry some extra tubes and stuff before going.

[ratmonkey]

i put 90 miles on one day and 48 the next on a ride. old cannondale f series rolling on good ole smokes.

[GREENFEATHER]

I had some skinnies on my bike before. I recieved ALOT of flats...because i like jump off and on curbs and things. So i went back to Bontrager AC's.

Sure there is more pedal effort, but i like catching air every now and then.

You don't need skinnys, just get yourself a set of SERFAS Python tyres. They have a low roll resistance for road use and decent traction on wet pavement.

I ride the hell out of my bike, 1-300 miles a week during the season and I've never had a puncture at 250-275 lbs. I ride on a few trails, but they're all hard pack like the Ma and Pa trail as well as the B&A trail here in The People's Republic.