5 ms·

The longest I've ridden is from Long Beach, CA to San Diego, which is about 170 km. Started at 5am and arrived at 5pm. I remember the first half of the trip to

The longest I've ridden is from Long Beach, CA to San Diego, which is about 170 km. Started at 5am and arrived at 5pm. I remember the first half of the trip to have nice scenery. I don't remember the second half at all, as I zoned out and contemplated the mistake I had made as I kept pedaling.

vishnugupta 5y ago
Sounds painfully familiar. Did something similar long ago. Bangalore to Bidadi (on Mysore highway). The onward ride of 50KM or so was very pleasant. I later realized it was because of a gentle down gradient. As a consequence, the return leg was a terrible misery. So much so that I hauled myself and my bike in a tuk-tuk for the last 10KM or so. For me the sweet spot was 80KM. To be able to fully enjoy the ride and not feel miserable for next few days.
- Arainach 5y ago
  Agreed. I've done Seattle to Portland in 2 days a few times (200 miles total, which I split as 120/80) and while I'm glad I did it, I've realized that I like 30-60 mile rides far more than 80+. It wears you down.
- matsemann 5y ago
  As a teenager I did something similar. Lived up in the mountains in Norway. Started the ride with ~10kms downhill. Decided that day would be the day I broke 100km for the first time. After biking a further 80kms on the flats, I had the steep hills back home left. I got about halfway up before I had to get my mom to pick me up. Then I did small laps in the village afterwards to still reach 100k, heh.
ppradhan 5y ago
“I remember the first half of the trip to have nice scenery. I don't remember the second half at all, as I zoned out and contemplated the mistake I had made as I kept pedaling.” Time on earth kind of quote right there, my friend.
imperialdrive 5y ago
Did that same ride (starting from DTLA IHOP) and had a similar experience. Thanks for the reminder.
jacquesm 5y ago
Ah yes, the 'what was I thinking' feeling... That's uncomfortably familiar. I don't remember any scenery from anything past Hindeloopen (on the Frysian side of the trip) either, but it had become dark by then, though I don't think it would have mattered much. Retrospectively, I was woefully unprepared for that trip, not physically, but gearwise (food, drink, spares). I had planned to stay over in Friesland somewhere and then figured I would rather sleep in my own bed. That was probably a miscalculation, but that first half went pretty smoothly so I totally underestimated how bad the second half would be. Going onto Afsluitdijk that was pretty clear but by then the way back was long enough that I decided to go on. The lack of spares in the end was probably and advantage because the bike held up perfectly (an old Peugeot 10 speed) and it would have just added more weight. But the lack of food & drink was really bad. I Ended up in an all-night gas station at some point to get some water, they were quite surprised to get a customer on a bicylce.
mikepurvis 5y ago
About 12 years ago I rode from Kanata (west end of Ottawa) down to Kingston— about 145km, I think. As training for it, I had done a few 80km days and one 105km, but the final ride was still a major step up and similarly wiped me out. The funniest memory I have of the whole experience was how delicious the dinner was that I had at a little greasy spoon in Westport, about 2/3rds of the way there. Similar to camping or being on a canoe trip, it's just nuts how good food tastes when you're physically exhausted and starving. I went back to that diner later with my then-fiancee, and the food was considerably less appealing without the benefit of having cycled 100km to get to it.
- abathur 5y ago
  My mother's family has an (apocryphal?) story about an ancestor whose unit during the civil war caved and slaughtered some of their horses for food while starving. It was the best meal of his life. After returning home from the war, he determined to raise horses for meat. The first taste-testing, as the story goes, was underwhelming.
  - jacquesm 5y ago
    There was a huge scandal about a Dutch meat processing company replacing beef with horse meat without mentioning this on the label or in fact anywhere else. The CEO went to prison for that (and the company went bankrupt). It's funny that if the taste is that different that nobody noticed this earlier on. (Dutch): https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/twintig-maanden-cel-voor-paardenvleesschandaal~ac09b7b9/ https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/twintig-maanden-cel-voor-paarde...
    - abathur 5y ago
      As a kid I interpreted the story to mean it wasn't very good, but in retrospect I suppose it could've been ~indistinguishable from beef and it still would've been a big disappointment for someone who expected it to be the second-best cut of meat they'd ever eaten...
      - 5y ago
m0zg 5y ago
> and contemplated the mistake I had made Reminds me of my own "contemplation" on the way back out of the Grand Canyon. Getting down there is hard. Getting back up is way harder. And the only "food" I took with me was a six pack of beer, so somewhere halfway back up my body ran out of glycogen and I couldn't even maintain my body temperature. Thought I was gonna die, and realistically I could have died, actually. I was there alone, and had I sat down to "rest" that could have been it. Moral of the story: if you're going to attempt something physically demanding like this, at a minimum have plenty of energy dense food, water, and a thermal blanket with you. That's how I pack for longer hikes nowadays.
- gen220 5y ago
  When we were kids, one of the adults in our Boy Scout troop would read stories from this book [1] each week, to encourage us to follow the motto, “Be Prepared”, when it comes to hikes and such. Unfortunately, as you suggest, your story is commonplace and doesn’t always end well :/. The takeaways I remember: (1) never hike the Grand Canyon, or any place with high exposure, in the summer, unless you’re extremely prepared for extreme weather (2) always pack the ten essentials [2] (3) when attempting a long or arduous hike, always inform an accountable third party of when and where you’re going. Hopefully this helps somebody avoid a similar situation in the future! [1]: https://www.amazon.com/Over-Edge-Death-Grand-Canyon/dp/097009731X https://www.amazon.com/Over-Edge-Death-Grand-Canyon/dp/09700... [2]: https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/ten-essentials.html https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/ten-essentials.html
- C19is20 5y ago
  'Energy dense food' = sugar.
  - m0zg 5y ago
    More like bread and bread-like things. Sugar has to pass through your liver first, so it's not instantly available. Nuts, which are often recommended, are also energy dense, but harder to fully digest, unless you chew them really freakin' well, which nobody does.
hellbannedguy 5y ago
When I was 10, I did the Centurian race (100 miles) with Peter Stewart. I had my dad's old Raleigh 10 speed. Peter had this hulking Schwinn. I was older than Peter, and probally had 30 lbs on him. On our first accent, Peter broke down, and wasen't sure about going on. Peter was the smartest guy I have ever been around, and valued his imput. We decided to go on. We both got into a rhythm. We would drink out if garden hoses. We forgot about carrying water. We actually actually it. We looked at each other and said, "We are the first ones?". No---the real bike riders finished, got drunk at the picnic, and went home. We both looked at each other, and said never again. We will ride, but not a 100 miles in one day.

vishnugupta 5y ago

Sounds painfully familiar. Did something similar long ago. Bangalore to Bidadi (on Mysore highway). The onward ride of 50KM or so was very pleasant. I later realized it was because of a gentle down gradient. As a consequence, the return leg was a terrible misery. So much so that I hauled myself and my bike in a tuk-tuk for the last 10KM or so. For me the sweet spot was 80KM. To be able to fully enjoy the ride and not feel miserable for next few days.

Arainach 5y ago
Agreed. I've done Seattle to Portland in 2 days a few times (200 miles total, which I split as 120/80) and while I'm glad I did it, I've realized that I like 30-60 mile rides far more than 80+. It wears you down.
matsemann 5y ago
As a teenager I did something similar. Lived up in the mountains in Norway. Started the ride with ~10kms downhill. Decided that day would be the day I broke 100km for the first time. After biking a further 80kms on the flats, I had the steep hills back home left. I got about halfway up before I had to get my mom to pick me up. Then I did small laps in the village afterwards to still reach 100k, heh.

ppradhan 5y ago

“I remember the first half of the trip to have nice scenery. I don't remember the second half at all, as I zoned out and contemplated the mistake I had made as I kept pedaling.” Time on earth kind of quote right there, my friend.

imperialdrive 5y ago

Did that same ride (starting from DTLA IHOP) and had a similar experience. Thanks for the reminder.

jacquesm 5y ago

Ah yes, the 'what was I thinking' feeling... That's uncomfortably familiar. I don't remember any scenery from anything past Hindeloopen (on the Frysian side of the trip) either, but it had become dark by then, though I don't think it would have mattered much. Retrospectively, I was woefully unprepared for that trip, not physically, but gearwise (food, drink, spares). I had planned to stay over in Friesland somewhere and then figured I would rather sleep in my own bed. That was probably a miscalculation, but that first half went pretty smoothly so I totally underestimated how bad the second half would be. Going onto Afsluitdijk that was pretty clear but by then the way back was long enough that I decided to go on. The lack of spares in the end was probably and advantage because the bike held up perfectly (an old Peugeot 10 speed) and it would have just added more weight. But the lack of food & drink was really bad. I Ended up in an all-night gas station at some point to get some water, they were quite surprised to get a customer on a bicylce.

mikepurvis 5y ago

About 12 years ago I rode from Kanata (west end of Ottawa) down to Kingston— about 145km, I think. As training for it, I had done a few 80km days and one 105km, but the final ride was still a major step up and similarly wiped me out. The funniest memory I have of the whole experience was how delicious the dinner was that I had at a little greasy spoon in Westport, about 2/3rds of the way there. Similar to camping or being on a canoe trip, it's just nuts how good food tastes when you're physically exhausted and starving. I went back to that diner later with my then-fiancee, and the food was considerably less appealing without the benefit of having cycled 100km to get to it.

abathur 5y ago
My mother's family has an (apocryphal?) story about an ancestor whose unit during the civil war caved and slaughtered some of their horses for food while starving. It was the best meal of his life. After returning home from the war, he determined to raise horses for meat. The first taste-testing, as the story goes, was underwhelming.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  There was a huge scandal about a Dutch meat processing company replacing beef with horse meat without mentioning this on the label or in fact anywhere else. The CEO went to prison for that (and the company went bankrupt). It's funny that if the taste is that different that nobody noticed this earlier on. (Dutch): https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/twintig-maanden-cel-voor-paardenvleesschandaal~ac09b7b9/ https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/twintig-maanden-cel-voor-paarde...
  - abathur 5y ago
    As a kid I interpreted the story to mean it wasn't very good, but in retrospect I suppose it could've been ~indistinguishable from beef and it still would've been a big disappointment for someone who expected it to be the second-best cut of meat they'd ever eaten...
    - 5y ago

m0zg 5y ago

> and contemplated the mistake I had made Reminds me of my own "contemplation" on the way back out of the Grand Canyon. Getting down there is hard. Getting back up is way harder. And the only "food" I took with me was a six pack of beer, so somewhere halfway back up my body ran out of glycogen and I couldn't even maintain my body temperature. Thought I was gonna die, and realistically I could have died, actually. I was there alone, and had I sat down to "rest" that could have been it. Moral of the story: if you're going to attempt something physically demanding like this, at a minimum have plenty of energy dense food, water, and a thermal blanket with you. That's how I pack for longer hikes nowadays.

gen220 5y ago
When we were kids, one of the adults in our Boy Scout troop would read stories from this book [1] each week, to encourage us to follow the motto, “Be Prepared”, when it comes to hikes and such. Unfortunately, as you suggest, your story is commonplace and doesn’t always end well :/. The takeaways I remember: (1) never hike the Grand Canyon, or any place with high exposure, in the summer, unless you’re extremely prepared for extreme weather (2) always pack the ten essentials [2] (3) when attempting a long or arduous hike, always inform an accountable third party of when and where you’re going. Hopefully this helps somebody avoid a similar situation in the future! [1]: https://www.amazon.com/Over-Edge-Death-Grand-Canyon/dp/097009731X https://www.amazon.com/Over-Edge-Death-Grand-Canyon/dp/09700... [2]: https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/ten-essentials.html https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/ten-essentials.html
C19is20 5y ago
'Energy dense food' = sugar.
- m0zg 5y ago
  More like bread and bread-like things. Sugar has to pass through your liver first, so it's not instantly available. Nuts, which are often recommended, are also energy dense, but harder to fully digest, unless you chew them really freakin' well, which nobody does.

hellbannedguy 5y ago

When I was 10, I did the Centurian race (100 miles) with Peter Stewart. I had my dad's old Raleigh 10 speed. Peter had this hulking Schwinn. I was older than Peter, and probally had 30 lbs on him. On our first accent, Peter broke down, and wasen't sure about going on. Peter was the smartest guy I have ever been around, and valued his imput. We decided to go on. We both got into a rhythm. We would drink out if garden hoses. We forgot about carrying water. We actually actually it. We looked at each other and said, "We are the first ones?". No---the real bike riders finished, got drunk at the picnic, and went home. We both looked at each other, and said never again. We will ride, but not a 100 miles in one day.