Long-distance bike rides: tips and experiences

In My Humble Opinion
1

This autumn I’d like to bike the Route Verte from Montreal to Quebec City, a distance of somewhat under 300 km along the Chemin du Roy route through the Lanaudière, Mauricie, and Capitale-Nationale regions, along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River.

I’ve been cycling longer and longer distances to prepare for it – the other day I did 55 km in about three hours. I figure I could go 50 km in the morning and 50 km in the afternoon at a fairly leisurely pace with a long lunch stop and make it without too much grief, then stay in Quebec City for a few days and take the train home.

I was planning to buy a touring bike for improved lightness and efficiency, though I’ve been doing all my training on an old mountain bike.

Any advice from people who’ve done such trips?

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A very good bike touring website is http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/
Heres the results on a seach for “Route Verte”
Search crazyguyonabike.com

For the 300km trip are you planning on staying in motels?
Even so, you’ll probably want to carry some stuff with you.

My touring bike (a Trek 520) is probably lighter than a mountain bike but its still heaver than a performance bike (its designed for “loaded touring” carrying all your stuff on the bike – the weight of the stuff and you makes more difference than the bike weight)
I haven’t done loaded touring yet - just support rides (someone carrys your luggage)

Brian

3

Carry a mini toolkit, a frame pump and at least two spare tubes. Service stations are far between as it is, and will only seem ten times further when you have to walk.

If you’re doing 100km/day for a 300km route, have you planned out where you’ll spend the night?

Make sure to get off your bike and walk around every once in a while. If you’re doing 300km in 50km blocks over three days, you should be ok, but extended rides can pinch off some of the nerves if your seat doesn’t fit just right (and how your seat fits after 10 hours is very different from how it fits after 2). After I did 270km in one day I ended up with a numb crotch for about three weeks.

I drove that route in early September several years back and I remember the weather being consistently cool and wet. Are you packing any rain gear?

On preview, I agree with N9IWP about the weight of your bike not making a huge difference. A less expensive option might be to put road tires on your mountain bike. You’ll have less rolling resistance and better handling on asphalt.

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If he doesn’t pop into this thread, you might want to hit up Quasimodem for tips. He did a 662 mile ride in April.

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If you’re buying a bike get double walled rims.

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Will you be doing a supported tour (somebody is dragging your stuff) or are you going self contained?
Where will you be staying, motel, or camping?
Meals, make your own, or buy?
The easiest way is contracting with a bike tour company, food is supplied, and staying in motels. The hardest way is fully self contained, camping and cooking all your own food.
There are various combos that range between these two extremes.

In general, buy a touring bike. An “old mountain bike” will be a PITA on a long ride.
When I am going to ride long distance, I carry a pump, a CO2 inflater, a new tube (at least 1) a patch kit, tire spoons and a folding tire. In addition, I carry a good multitool.

Carry water. Lots of water. You will sweat and you will need to replace that lost water. Heat exhaustion is not fun, and easy to catch. Ask me how I know this.

A small digital camera strapped to your bike, or to the harness of your camelback will allow you to get some great shots without having to stop and dig though your bags for a camera.

If rain is possible, you need to carry proper clothing. You can get hypothermia in 70 degree weather if you are wet and riding.

If you might be leaving your bike alone*, you might want to consider carrying a lock.

You also might want to look at the forums at adventure cycling for more info.

*going into a market, restaurant, or wherever.

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I’m really just here for the biking, so I figured I’d carry my stuff but stay in motels/eat in restaurants.

So some people say the weight of my bike makes little difference and others who say I should replace it. I’d obviously like to avoid a huge expense if I can, but if it’s going to be seriously nasty with this bike/seriously better with another one, I’d like to know about it ahead of time.

Who can recommend a good, really simple reference book about fixing common problems with bikes?

Also, maybe I’m just really naive (a distinct possibility), but is there a major difference between a multi-day trip and several standard-length bike hikes done one right after another?

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It’s not just the weight of the bike but the geometry and tires as well. going form a mountain bike to a road bike is like going from a dump truck to a Ferrari. I did a MS 150 ride (150K over 2 days), on my mountain bike. then I bought a road bike.
OMG! what a difference.
Go do some test rides on touring bikes at your local bike shop.

Yes there is a difference. I am not sure what, but there is a difference. Maybe it is not sleeping in your own bed, maybe it is the bugs, but it is different. If you over do it one day, you will[/u[ pay for it the next day.

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I don’t really have any good advice to give you, but I have ridden from Canada to Mexico down the Pacific Coast. I camped the entire way, and it was in 1983 which was not that long after the route was established (1976 for the bicentennial). The nice thing about it was that there were lots of people doing it, so in as much as it was insanely sketchy at times (wood pulp trucks passing you less than 12 inches away on the Olympic Peninsula), drivers were used to seeing bicyclists. RV’s were the my worst nemesis, driven by old farts without a real great read on dimensions.

I rode a fairly nice lightweight racing/road riding bike with super skinny tires. I was pretty light at the time. I carried full camping gear using front and rear panniers. Since the route is well established, there are bike campgrounds every 60 miles or so. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I ended up being in the best shape of my life. It was 1875 miles and it took 25 days. I started out in being less than fantastic physical condition

The one bit of advice I’d give you is to make sure that you are riding with the prevailing wind If you are riding against it, it will completely occupy your brain every friggin’ second of the day

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Rule #1 if bike touring:
The wind is always against you.
Rule #2 of bike touring:
It is uphill in both directions

:smiley:

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Good call. We have a goodly wind blowing downstream pretty much constantly (it’s very noticeable when biking westward vs. eastward along the Lachine Canal, for example), which is why I was planning to go Montreal to Quebec rather than vice versa.

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Oh, I should point out – all but a very small proportion of the route will be on bike trails or lanes.

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I’ve only done that distance as part of a supported ride or at least with other people. So, you’ll have to consider some things I wouldn’t.

Carry water. Carry food. On at least one of your shorter (50k) trips, find out whether you can eat while riding and what you can eat while riding. If you can’t eat while riding, take something like gatorade instead of food, but still take water.
Know how to take care of your bike (basic tools, how to change a flat or an entire tire.) Know some stops along the way. Call around or check on the internet so that you know where you can just rest if you need to.

If you like your bike and you’re comfortable with it, then keep it (changing the tires will help), but it’ll probably be better to go with the one you know than to try to change for a ride that long.

The next morning. Even resting along the way, there’s still a bit of soreness in the morning, and it takes a bit to convince yourself to get back on the bicycle and do it again.

I’m sure you’ll have a great time.

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Use the kind of bike that has an engine.

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While you can do it on a mountain bike, it will be noticeably easier and more comfortable on a touring bike. Mountain bikes are made for tackling rough terrain. They’re not built for comfort or speed. Touring bikes are made for covering significant distances. The frame geometry, gearing, steering geometry, handlebar design, tires, etc. are all designed with the intended use in mind, and it does make a difference.

A rear rack and panniers could probably carry what you need in terms of clothing and basic gear. A handlebar pack is incredibly helpful and convenient for stuff you want within easy reach. Unless you don’t see a need for maps, a handlebar pack with a built-in map case is what I’d recommend. To carry more stuff, front panniers are available, but probably not necessary if you’re not camping and pack things efficiently.

I found a bike computer really handy. Mine had readouts for current speed, average speed, mileage covered on total trip, mileage on this leg, etc. I also liked having a rear-view mirror.

Headwinds slow you down considerably. Sidewinds are a constant fight. Tailwinds are a blessing. Bear in mind that the wind can shift for any number of reasons, and you can’t depend on their always being favorable, so plan accordingly*.

If your saddle isn’t really right for you, you’ll know it. You may find your knees take quite a beating (mine creaked for a few days after one long trip). Having the bike properly adjusted can be critical. Seat height, seat angle, handlebar height, handlebar fore/aft placement, and handlebar angle can all make a difference. A good bike shop will be able to help you with these. Touring style handlebars offer five different hand placements, learn them all. Padded riding gloves (fingerless) can really help.

*Rode from Kansas City to the music festival in Winfield, KS, one September. First day, I realized that although I knew the prevailing winds would be from the southwest, I didn’t think about it. :smack: Fought headwinds and sidewinds for all but 10 miles of a 245 mile trip. Got smart (ha!) and the following year did the reverse instead - rode from Winfield to Kansas City. First day was glorious - tailwinds! First night a norther came in with a system that stuck around for a few days, and I rode the rest of the trip fighting headwinds and sidewinds. COLD headwinds and sidewinds. Had to buy deerskin full-finger gloves that next morning to keep my fingers from freezing off. Lesson learned.

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I want to second the numb crotch issue (I’m female, btw). I did about 200 km’s with a one night camp out a few years ago and lost all feeling down there for a few weeks. I really recommend padded cycling shorts.

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We have numerous shops here that rent out good road bikes - is this a possiblity where you are?

I’d also recommend using clip in’s for a long ride like this if you aren’t already using them.

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STP? I’ve done that one a few times.

matt, don’t use anything on the long ride that you haven’t used before. I bought a new pair of gloves for a ride a few years ago. The padding on the palms pinched my skin in just the wrong place and I wound up with a blister the size of a nickel.

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In general, I think the modern world is far too gearhead-oriented; people did amazing things with minimal gear

I second the idea that the point of switching bikes wouldn’t be so much about the weight, but mostly about having drop handlebars – because you can move your hands around and thereby shift your weight, this would be The reason to get a different bike isn’t really the total weight, so much as a more comfortable riding position, most importantly drop handlebars. With drop bars, you can ride with your hands in different positions, which allows you to shift your weight around during the day. This makes a big difference on a long ride, and think hard about whether you’d be comfortable in the same position for the whole riding day.

The pedaling position is a little more efficient on a road bike, but that’s not a huge deal for 300 km. If you do stick with the mountain bike, you can at least get some smooth, narrow tires for it to get the efficiency up. If the mountain bike has shocks/suspension, I think the efficiency issue might start becoming a reason to switch.

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This is great advice.
All the places that touch the bike are what will hurt. Good shorts, gloves and shoes are essential. Your feet can swell so slightly big shoes help. Bike fit is crucial and will help immensely with comfort. I wouldn’t do a tour with flat handle bars, they are harder on my wrists, and hands (frequently have to do just this).
Like someone else use panniers for your stuff.

With some training you could do it in 1 day which helps with the packing. :slight_smile: