planning my longest ride so far.

[Big boy]

Well like the title says im planning to push my boundary by quite a bit.
My longest ride so far is 25 miles, some of that i was pushing myself quite hard.
Here are all the details of me bike kit i normally take etc etc.
Im 49 overweight and a smoker, im also a little athsmatic.
My bike is a cycle king hybrid 7 speed, all mudguards removed rack and anything else that i could remove.
It has a gelly saddle on it and thats about it for the bike, to be honest its pretty naff.
Oh sorry i have changed the tires to 28x700 swallabe, and have a halfords bike computer.
I will have with me 2 water bottles helmet his vis waistcoat thingy, mobile phone and of course lights front and back.
I will be wearing some sort of eye protection either sunglasses or clear, depending on what time of day this takes place.
The journey will be from my village 3 miles north of bedford, to Luton and with any luck back home.
Back up will be the other half, my bike fits in the back of the car just fine.
I reckon its gonna be a real challenge for me, the inhaler is also coming with me, no pump or tools.
This is gonna be light as possible and hope for the best.
Normally when i go out on the bike i dont stop, no matter how puffed out i am .
I know this time i will have to stop at least once both on the way and on the way home, how long should i stop???
Its going to be at a leisurly pace, if it will roll its gonna roll
Some of the roads are going to be longer than im used to, most of my cycling involves looping circuits.
You know the sorta thing each part of the circuit are quite small segments rather than lookin up a long road that looks like a never ending stretch of a motorway.
How do you guys cope with long stretches of road, as im going to be riding alone.
The bike will be checked over by me, tires fully inflated new batteries in lights.
I reckon this journey may well be at or around 50 miles.
So main question how long to stop for, what to eat both before and during my ride.
I will be taking 2 smokes with me but hoping not to smoke any till im nearly home.
I may take some sweets as i get a really dry throat from all the deap breathing.

 

[DiddlyDodds]

An inner tube , tire levers and a pump don't really weigh anything, and knowing you have a car on hand to get in is not a good idea if your out to push your distance limit.
I have Porridge for breakfast and take a cpl of flap jack bars & Jaffa Cakes (take whatever you like to eat, everyone is different)


If you want to stop then stop ,have a rest for 10 mins then set off again , there are no rules to having an enjoyable ride, some people would not stop at all for a 50 mile ride others will stop two or three times, its all about what you want, that way you will enjoy it more.

 

[raindog]

Don't get so stressed up about it - it's just a bike ride - enjoy it. Good luck!

 

[ColinJ]

You really need to knock that smoking on the head! (I have two mates who swore that they couldn't give up after smoking for over 30 years but they have now been smoke-free for over 10 years and are loving it.)

I agree about tools and spares. If you want to save weight, leave the phone behind! Cyclists should be self-sufficient and that means dealing with problems themselves.

Anyway ... good luck with your ride!

 

[Fifelad]

First of all good on you and good luck ! I think you will be surprised how much ground you can cover although 50 miles is a fair old distance if you havnt done it before. AS for stopping I would say cup of tea and a cake and not let yourself get too cooled down and stiffen up IMO

 

[SurlyNomad]

Big Boy, Take the pump and tools, Strap them to the bike somehow so the bike is carrying them (no weight really) and if you do get visited by the (PF) theres your excuse to stop. Cut out the smokes take gum as this will stop dry mouth. Most of all, its not a race! just enjoy. It dosnt matter if it takes you 3-4 hours or all day. Enjoy the scerery around you. Take what food you like to eat or if you prefere stop of at a maccy d's!

 

[Big boy]

Thanks all i went out tonight after re adjusting the handlebars,i had lowered them about an inch.
Not only did it get my back to play up, i suffered from more numbing of the fingers.
My rear wheel is in the shop monday to se if it can be put str8 again, is is in a bit of a mess at the moment.
I often knock this bike of mine but to be honest for a cycle king budget hybrid its done me proud.
I had the choice of 2 when i bought it that was in my price bracket.
Mine 7 spd and onother that was a triple at the front, like an idiot i thaught i wouldnt need all them gears.
Im always having to coast as i run out of high gears, and have to work harder than i would like on the hills around here.
I was supposed to be getting a viking road bike this week, but i gotta think of my back so maybe some mods on this bike.
Or bite the bullet and get a flat bar road bike.
Thanks for the tips guys quiting the fags is on the cards but ive gotta lose another 2 stone first.

 

[Cyclist33]

Hi

Maybe you should try like a 35 miler first... if you've done 25 that's ace but 50 is twice that, er... ahum!

Re the smokes, I'm a smoker too but once you've done a couple of 40/50 milers you might find like me, you don't want to smoke on the trip. I am very close to quitting as the bike fun has gained its stranglehold on me. As it is, I puffed a couple of cigs on my trip today when I had to stop all shagged out, but I am well aware that those smokes made it even harder! I normally don't smoke on route.

Better to leave them at home, relish sweet chocolatey snacks along the way, and have a celebratory fag when you get home

Good luck with it all anyway. Smooth tyres will help too if you're not off-road.

Stu

 

[vickster]

Well done on getting out and about. A badly fitting flat bar will hurt your back as much as a road bike - get the bike you want, there is no reason why a road bike should be worse. Just maybe look at getting one with a more relaxed geometry rather than a road bike - go and sit on/ride as many as you can before buying, If you are a bigger chap, you'll not be wanting to / be able to comfortably bend to the drops anyway to begin with. I'd keep with the current bike while you get fit and lose weight, be more effort on that bike so you'll feel it more. Save up for a better upgrade, buy it as a reward once the weight has come off. A nice treat for spring, use the hack over the winter

Try to give up the cigarettes now before you lose the weight as you'll inevitably put on more when you quit - putting on weight again after lost will just p*** you off more and make it hard to stay off the cancer sticks for good - I speak from experience Go see your GP if you think you may need help and get on their stop smoking programme

Good luck

 

[Big boy]

Ok i had better explain in a little more depth the back thing, and the smoking ..
The back problem will always be there, even if i lose 3 stone.
Years ago i raced cars on dirt , a bit like banger racinbg but with no contact. alledged no contact that is.
I rolled the car (again) and it was sat on its roof, normally theres plent of people to help get the cars off the track for the next race.
Being young and stupid and impatient , this time i had a go myself.
As i rocked the car i thaught i had it but it came back at me, i caught it and felt my back going.
Another shove and over it went back onto its wheels, people in the crowd were cheering.
Since then i do suffer now and again, coincidently my other half hurt her back and had a disc removed.
Im her fulltime carer as the op had complicatioons, i need to a keep fit and b be able to help her when needed.
My bike fits fine but im gonna have to limit myself to a sit up and beg riding position.
Being a porker doesent help of course
Now the smokin thing ive yet to take a cig with me on my rides, but im gonna be gone ages on this longer ride, and may well visit frinds when i get to Luton.
Luton is my home town.
Ive had a bad chest since i was a kid (athsma)
Its going to sound like im justifying being a smoker , but if i stop for anything longer than 3 months my chest goes nuts.
Ive done this about 6 times every time i get the same reaction.
Now im 49 years old and know smoking is not good (it killed my dad)
My plan is get the weight off (now) and cut down on the fags (im already doing that as i dont take fags on my rides).
Physically this is gonna be hard i know that, but i have always liked that sort of challenge (even as a smoker)
I will go to the doc for the packin up the fags.
Im hoping this will take place next weekend, at the end of the day if its too far i can turn back.
I will let you all know what happens, i may try to upload a pic of me setting out on my bike.
Be safe folks and thanks for all comments.

 

[lulubel]

Ive had a bad chest since i was a kid (athsma)
Its going to sound like im justifying being a smoker , but if i stop for anything longer than 3 months my chest goes nuts.
Ive done this about 6 times every time i get the same reaction.

Smoking doesn't help asthma, it makes it worse - far, far worse. Having your lungs clogged up with tar doesn't make it easier to breathe, and when your airways are already inflamed and possibly permanently damaged by the asthma, you will suffer far more than people who breathe foul smoke into their otherwise healthy lungs.

The problems you get at 3 months or so are caused by the accumulated tar in your lungs starting to break away and needing to be coughed up. (An ex-smoker friend tells me it takes 1 year to clear every 10 years' worth of smoking damage from your lungs.) I'd recommend talking to your doctor and being prepared to go on asthma medication during the difficult period while your lungs are clearing. You haven't mentioned if you're on preventer inhalers for the asthma, but even if you are and have to go on oral steroids to get over the difficult period, dealing with the associated weight gain would be worth it for the huge health benefits giving up smoking would give you.

If your asthma's fairly mild, you would likely find it cleared up completely once the smoking damage was gone from your lungs.

Sorry if this sounds blunt and harsh (and not what you wanted to hear), but I'm a lifetime chronic asthma sufferer who has to take daily medication and has been hospitalised 4 times with life threatening attacks, and I find it so sad when people who could have a perfectly "normal" life go out of their way to make their own breathing a struggle.

 

[Big boy]

Smoking kills ive seen it with my own eyes, watched my dad die from lung cancer.
Im well aware of what it does, no one knows my body like i do though.
Strangely i was never given an inhaler, but was on tablets for it (never did work)
My asthma was with me as a kid and stupidly i started to smoke in my late teens.
I never had attacks as such but if i overdid things like riding my bike or running, i would suffer for it for about a fortnight.
Wheezing tight chest, frightened to go to sleep in case i stopped breathing etc.
Once i started smoking it went away, i thaught i must have simply grown out of it.
That was till i quit after about 6 months of starting, back it came same as before.
I never connected the 2 things till i STUPIDLY started again.
Smoking is bad not only for the lungs but for arteries etc.
Now using your logic i could say hey buy some smokes you will feel better, but i wouldnt do that of course.
Everyone is different.
I and any other smoker on here doesent need telling they have tar in our lungs, ask any smoker here what they feel like going up hill nowdays.
Smokin is a nightmare and anyone who is honest about it will tell you its an adiction.
Before you tell me what to do with my life again, ad 37 pounds to your back and wear it 24/7 including on your bike.

I have been active in life done weight training kickboxing etc, im 49 now and through exersize and cycling dieting etc lost nearly a stone.
Once im at my target weight i will be able to enjoy my cycling more, then fingers crossed kick the smoking habit.
To be honest judging cycling and smoking i would honestly say cycling is the more dangerous of the two.
Thanks for your concern though, i hope your lungs are ok today