cycling

[TheKrikkitWars]

Pardon me, I am new here.

Anyone goes for night-riding?

Not on MTB, it's great fun but you need decent headlights, which tend to come in around £100 each.

I do ride home from work in the dark sometimes (15 miles on the A5, stressful) and it's ok, I have a reflective cover on my hydration pack, but tend not to use lights because I can see farther with acclimatiseation to the dark and being able to see into the distance is an important safety consideration for that particular road.

[dubsola]

I recently got into cycling. I'm currently studying abroad in Perth, Australia which is an amazing city for cycling paths.

It sure is! I've spent many hours cycling around the various parts of the river - one particular ride goes around the river from the city to Fremantle and back again, I'm not sure if they've laid cycle paths around the stretch through Mosman Park, when I lived there it was necessary to ride on the roads a bit. But that was not a problem, it was a good excuse to ogle the enormous houses.

If you have a mountain bike and a friend with a car, I highly recommend going up to the hills - there's some great trails up there. (For example, the walk trail heading south from here.) No bike? Go up for a walk.

[fizzgig]

Pardon me, I am new here.

Anyone goes for night-riding?

Yes. I'd recommend having lots of lights. (For me, I have a steady-beam headlight, flashing white helmet light, flashing rear red light and steady rear red light.) Anything specific that you wanted to know?

Why the flashing lights? Surely they can't help you see, and they're pretty annoying for anyone riding towards/behind you. Is it to improve your visibility to cars?

[jendral_hxr]

Acctually, I do it with less light. not even a single reflector pad exists on my bike.
It feels just better that you could pull "faster" sprint in night, no?

I hope you're joking.

I am not, no helmet and I've been happily pulling 40s kph in traffic. Dangerous, no?

[TheKrikkitWars]

Acctually, I do it with less light. not even a single reflector pad exists on my bike.
It feels just better that you could pull "faster" sprint in night, no?

I hope you're joking.

I am not, no helmet and I've been happily pulling 40s kph in traffic. Dangerous, no?

Not that dangerous, but certainly you'll be seriously injured if you do happen have an accident. Edit: 40kph is only about 24mph, which isn't anywhere near as fast as I first thought, not that it makes it any more sensible to ride without a helmet.

I don't use lights myself because on my ride back from work (the only time I cycle in the dark) I'm coming down the pass from Llyn Ogwen and need to see far into the distance... but no avaiable lights can illuminate far enough, so letting my eyes acclimatise is more useful. I do have reflective cycling gear on though.

Also if you love going fast, you might consider going to a velodrome, it's by far the fastest of the cycle-sports... (unless gravity assist events like Dowhilling or the descent stages of road races are counted.)

[TheSkyMovesSideways]

Why the flashing lights? Surely they can't help you see, and they're pretty annoying for anyone riding towards/behind you. Is it to improve your visibility to cars?

I use the weaker lights on flashing, as I think it then makes them a useful addition, rather than being completely drowned out by the main lights and useful only as a backup in case of failure. Flashing lights also drain batteries at half the rate of what they would if on steady mode.

I am not, no helmet and I've been happily pulling 40s kph in traffic. Dangerous, no?

I think you're very likely to be killed by an oncoming car turning right across the front of you because they haven't seen you.

I don't use lights myself because on my ride back from work (the only time I cycle in the dark) I'm coming down the pass from Llyn Ogwen and need to see far into the distance... but no avaiable lights can illuminate far enough, so letting my eyes acclimatise is more useful. I do have reflective cycling gear on though.

A slight improvement.

[TheKrikkitWars]

Why the flashing lights? Surely they can't help you see, and they're pretty annoying for anyone riding towards/behind you. Is it to improve your visibility to cars?

I use the weaker lights on flashing, as I think it then makes them a useful addition, rather than being completely drowned out by the main lights and useful only as a backup in case of failure. Flashing lights also drain batteries at half the rate of what they would if on steady mode.

North Wales Constabulary are of the opinion that flashing and pulsing bike lights are inappropriately distracting, and that fit's my experience on the roads...

I don't use lights myself because on my ride back from work (the only time I cycle in the dark) I'm coming down the pass from Llyn Ogwen and need to see far into the distance... but no avaiable lights can illuminate far enough, so letting my eyes acclimatise is more useful. I do have reflective cycling gear on though.

A slight improvement.

I wouldn't dream of riding somewhere with more traffic or where I could be less sure of the road being clear without lights, as I'm quite certain that I'd end up getting hit by a bus (or perhaps a repeat of being t-boned by a learner driver).

[kernelpanic]

I have a question for those of you who ride in streets: are you supposed to go against traffic or not? I've been told (by people who know this kind of thing, and in magazines) that you should go against, like I do (because you go much slower than cars, you can see them coming and get out of the way), but most people I've seen go on the right side.

[shocklocks]

If you're riding through streets you're part of traffic and therefore should follow it. If you were on the road and going the opposite way you'd make turning, corners, intersections, roundabouts etc a pain in the ass for everyone involved.

[the_stabbage]

Go on the right side. Cars will avoid you.

Plus it's fun going faster than them!

[kernelpanic]

Go on the right side. Cars will avoid you.

Yes, maybe that's a valid argument in places where drivers, you know, do that kind of stuff. Not here, so I'd rather avoid them than have them not avoid me.

Plus it's fun going faster than them!

Very fun, but on the rare occasions I do that I do go on the right side.

[TheSkyMovesSideways]

I have a question for those of you who ride in streets: are you supposed to go against traffic or not? I've been told (by people who know this kind of thing, and in magazines) that you should go against, like I do (because you go much slower than cars, you can see them coming and get out of the way), but most people I've seen go on the right side.

For people in right-hand rive countries: When cars turn right into a street, they normally only look to their left, the direction that the traffic on that side of the road comes from.

For people in left-hand rive countries: When cars turn left into a street, they normally only look to their right, the direction that the traffic on that side of the road comes from.

If you're travelling on the wrong side of the road in either case, you'll be hit head-on by people turning into the street you're on. Never travel on the wrong side of the road in any capacity, ever!

Yes, maybe that's a valid argument in places where drivers, you know, do that kind of stuff. Not here, so I'd rather avoid them than have them not avoid me.

I suspect you're just being paranoid, but if not, then perhaps carry a SIG Sauer P232 in a shoulder holster.

[TheKrikkitWars]

I have a question for those of you who ride in streets: are you supposed to go against traffic or not? I've been told (by people who know this kind of thing, and in magazines) that you should go against, like I do (because you go much slower than cars, you can see them coming and get out of the way), but most people I've seen go on the right side.

The highway code says unequvically that you are part of traffic, and that you should obey the same rules and conventions as a motorist whilst cycling on the road failing to do so can constitute a road traffic offence, and it's just as illegal (£150 fine) to ride on the pavement.

As an aside:-

Whilst "go against" is fine for walkers when there's no footway, it doesn't show any consideration of the physics of being struck whilst on a 2 wheeled vehicle: If your bike gets' clipped by a vehicle coming from behind, you'll be thrown forward and outwards landing in a heap by the road. get clipped by oncoming traffic, you'll pitch forwards (which is now also straight at the vehicle) rather harder, and you'll also naturally get pitched inward by the impact, putting you in a horrifcally dangerous position.

[jendral_hxr]

Not that dangerous, but certainly you'll be seriously injured if you do happen have an accident. Edit: 40kph is only about 24mph, which isn't anywhere near as fast as I first thyoought, not that it makes it any more sensible to ride without a helmet.

So you are with me, I suppose nothing special about 40s kph at night, but with modest traffic (2-3 cars and 5-6 motorcycles @ 50 kph / sec) it's quite challenging.
I can pull a over 50 kph sprint for several seconds there--the real "dangerous" thing is. (even done 60++ kph downhill without lightning in pouring rain)
I hate wearing helmet, really--I can't feel the wind blowing my hair

I have a question for those of you who ride in streets: are you supposed to go against traffic or not? I've been told (by people who know this kind of thing, and in magazines) that you should go against, like I do (because you go much slower than cars, you can see them coming and get out of the way), but most people I've seen go on the right side.

Go in the slow lane and pull some more speed to match the traffic's pace, move to fast(er) lane if needed!

[nfine]

If you have a mountain bike and a friend with a car, I highly recommend going up to the hills - there's some great trails up there. (For example, the walk trail heading south from here.) No bike? Go up for a walk.

Thanks for the advice good sir, I actually just signed up for a mountain biking course and will be going on several weekend trips to the hills in the North. Where would you recommend road cycling if I wanted to go out of Perth and back (a full day ride) instead of just around to the different suburbs?

[dubsola]

Where would you recommend road cycling if I wanted to go out of Perth and back (a full day ride) instead of just around to the different suburbs?

Don't know, I'm afraid. I've never done that. I'd wager the people in your course might have some suggestions, though.

Go on the right side. Cars will avoid you.

Yes, maybe that's a valid argument in places where drivers, you know, do that kind of stuff. Not here, so I'd rather avoid them than have them not avoid me.

Of course they will avoid you!

[TheKrikkitWars]

I can pull a over 50 kph sprint for several seconds there--the real "dangerous" thing is. (even done 60++ kph downhill without lightning in pouring rain)
I hate wearing helmet, really--I can't feel the wind blowing my hair

I'm with you there, whilst i generally wear a skid lid, the wind is requred for cooling if you're working hard.
Cycling uphill in the sun even the nicest helmet is too much, hell when it's sunny I'll only wear bib-shorts, camelback and put my skidlid on the back of the pack till I need it.

[clumsy_culhane]

Hey Cycling thread

I was wondering if you could give me some advice in training up for a ride I'm doing in about 5-6 months. First, some background stuff. I'm 18, about 6 foot 2, 77kg, and I run heaps, as well as ride here and there (longest ride recently was 80km to a friends place on the other side of Melbourne). I recently got a new bike for my birthday, A Scott Speedster S30 (See spoiler for pic). First time owning a road bike, my previous bike was 8 year old hybrid. First ride was very scary, as it was my first experience of cleats and drop handlebars. Now I just love it, its so much faster than the old bike, about 5kg's lighter, etc Anyway, on to the trip.

So two friends from school have a friend who is really into doing big bike trips, he's pretty experienced. He has invited me to come on a trip, along with about 7 others, plus a girl driving a car up, from Melbourne to Sydney. We are planning to get up there in 7 days, spend a few days there, then head home in about 10 days. The route we would be taking is about 1100 kms (approx 683.5 miles for the Yanks). Some quick math tells me that we'll be riding about 157km (98 miles) a day. Thats an awful lot, to be doing day in , day out for 7 days. So I'm wondering, what kind of training should I do for this trip? Am I nuts? I'm pretty fit already, I run a sub 18min 5k, and often run approx 20k's as training for running. However, I know this does not translate well onto the bike, and that I need heaps more endurance. My plans were to begin with bi-weekly 100k+ rides (I live right next to a bike path), then once year 12 finishes in a few months, start doing quite a few 2 or 3 day trips, doing 150 k's a day. Then maybe a 5 day trip closer to the date, to check out fitness levels. Any multi day trips I would do those two friends from school, and maybe the rest of the team.

Pic of the new bike, its so pretty

Spoiler:

[the_stabbage]

How will you support yourself on the trips? Living out of a backpack? Carrying panniers?

From what I've read (I've never toured myself), people usually average 100km a day for long trips, if they're loaded with camping gear plus food.

[clumsy_culhane]

Ahh I should have made it clearer in the post, we have at least one, maybe two people willling to drive up and back with us, so they will carry the camping gear, majority of food, medical kit, etc. Panniers shouldn't be required, just lots of places for water storage (one of those camel back things maybe?).

[TheSkyMovesSideways]

My plans were to begin with bi-weekly 100k+ rides (I live right next to a bike path), then once year 12 finishes in a few months, start doing quite a few 2 or 3 day trips, doing 150 k's a day. Then maybe a 5 day trip closer to the date, to check out fitness levels. Any multi day trips I would do those two friends from school, and maybe the rest of the team.

Sounds like a very good plan if you can already ride 80km.

Ahh I should have made it clearer in the post, we have at least one, maybe two people willling to drive up and back with us, so they will carry the camping gear, majority of food, medical kit, etc. Panniers shouldn't be required, just lots of places for water storage (one of those camel back things maybe?).

Good to hear, because those wheels you've got are racing wheels, not touring wheels and probably aren't built even to take your weight, let alone your weight plus panniers. You seem to have 20 spokes on the front and 24 on the rear, whereas touring wheelsets would have absolute minimum 32 front and 36 rear. My advise would be to buy some spare spokes, a spoke key and learn how to true a wheel. (Or if you're happy to part with a few hundred $$$, buy some new wheels with a higher spoke count, possibly selling your current ones to finance this.) You don't want to get stuck half way with a busted wheel that could be fixed in 10 minutes if only there was a bike shop within 100km.

Those wheels will likely have spokes of 3 different lengths - the front, rear drive-side and rear non-drive-side. Of those, the rear non-drive-side are the most likely to break, as they are by necessity the loosest.

[jendral_hxr]

How about using your hybrid's rim as it's more suitable for touring, and don't forget to carry some spare parts in the caravane!

Going on (amateur) tour involves riding for 4-6 hours a day at 30-40kph pace (unless it's banzai downhill you could go as crazy as you like). Better bring your ATM (or cash if it's safe) rather than packs of food.

Also, going on group is (mostly) faster than you could imagine while training daily, the reasons:
- your friends block the wind,
- ego not to lose to your friend,
- they support you "mentally"--for real, riding a bike isn't only matter of pedalling, it's how you FEEL it!

Grabbing cars or trucks is somewhat dangerous, but it could safe you lots of energy (my brother used to hitch beside trucks for hours in his tours), of course if the driver won't mind.

Eh, and don't forget to bring cameras! (batteries, memory cards )
I personally hit over 100 KM ride when I was 15, by the time Italy wins WC.

[the_stabbage]

Those wheels will likely have spokes of 3 different lengths - the front, rear drive-side and rear non-drive-side. Of those, the rear non-drive-side are the most likely to break, as they are by necessity the loosest.

It looks like you know a lot about this kind of stuff, so would you mind helping me out?

On my bike, the rear wheel's spokes are very loose. Like, I can pinch them with two fingers and they bend. I think they're also making a popping sound as they go in and out of position in the hub or something. The wheel is still true, but how bad is this?

I have spare wheel I can throw on, but it's a bit heavier than the current one.

[TheSkyMovesSideways]

Short answer: If you've got loose spokes, you'll very likely soon have broken spokes. It's a little counter-intuitive, but the tighter spokes are, the stronger they are. Take it to a shop that build wheels and get it properly tensioned. (Or if you're keen, buy a spoke wrench and learn to tension and true a wheel yourself.) I wouldn't even ride it until you've got it fixed.

Longer answer: The way spokes hold the bike up is that the spokes pull on the hub of the wheel in all directions, but the spokes at the bottom of the wheel become looser, meaning there's more pulling overall in an upwards direction, and that holds the weight of the bike and rider. As the wheel rotates, spokes become looser as they pass through the bottom of their rotation, and tighter during the rest of it. If a spoke is too loose, it will become completely slack when at the bottom of the wheel, and while steel wire is very strong in tension, it is extremely weak in compression. The spoke will then be able to bend and move, rapidly fatiguing it until it fails. Furthermore, the nipple (fasterner with a threaded hole, like a nut) holding the spoke to the rim is prevented from unscrewing itself by the tension the spoke exerts on it, so when spokes get loose, their nipples will be able to rotate, and the spoke will only become looser. Also, if you've got a lot of loose spokes, I'd be worried that their movement under load could damage the hub as well, at which point there won't be much of the wheel left salvagable.

[the_stabbage]

Thanks for the help. Considering I can see movement at the part where the spokes are bent right at the hub, I guess I'm sitting on a broken spoke waiting to happen.

I'm riding an old 70's road bike. There's an old 80's road bike I've been raiding for parts (rear derailleur, and front wheel when that got folded in half), so I'll put on the rear wheel from that one. It has the same gearing on the cassette.

[TheSkyMovesSideways]

Sounds like a good plan. Just make sure you check the rear derailer and rear brake adjustment, because the positioning of the gear and the width of the rim's brake surface may not be identical between the two wheels.

[clumsy_culhane]

Thanks for the responses guys. Re: spokes and wheels, I would of thought 20/24 spokes would be enough for my 77kg bodyweight. I'll have a look at maybe finding another set of wheels for the trip, but I think the hybrid ones would be unsuitable as they are really quite wide, and very heavy. Pic of old bike here:

Spoiler:

. Either way, I will definitely get spoke key and some spokes and learn how to straighten a wheel, its a skill I've wanted to learn for a while now.

@Jendral_hxr

Haha I would never grab onto other vehicles, sounds a recipe for disaster

EDIT: Did some more reading, it seems that 20/24 spokes are really only for racing. For anything else people are recommending more spokes

[TheKrikkitWars]

This is a good article on learning to do wheels.

He's a bit set in his ways, so don't take all of his opinions as gosple, but the techincal advice he gives is good.

You may also want to get a second hand copy of the parktool big blue book, no cyclist on a budget should be without one.

Also, skitching (holding motorvehicles) is only worth doing if you know the driver, there's no wind to speak of and you are very sure of the road surface's quality, otherwise it's a recipe for road rash and broken bones.

[Paranoid__Android]

On the endurance side of things I find that on long cycle rides its the first day or two that are the hardest. After that it gets alot easier as you get used to the routine.
If you are able to do an 80k ride on your old bike and you're generally pretty fit than you could probably do the extra 80 without too much trouble on the new one. give it a shot doing the 160 in a day... if it doesnt work out than er sorry.

Going on (amateur) tour involves riding for 4-6 hours a day at 30-40kph pace (unless it's banzai downhill you could go as crazy as you like). Better bring your ATM (or cash if it's safe) rather than packs of food.

I don't know if this is the way things are done on racing bikes (I have a hybrid-with panniers) but there's no way you'd be able to keep up that kind of speed for 4-6 hours. saying that I've never even been on a proper racer so take that with a pinch of salt.
Cash or card is fine if there are shops, if not then make sure you have some cerial/energy bars or something. cycling on an empty stomach is very hard.

I know I've said this earlier in the thread but it's important- its almost ended two of my trips- You need to make sure that your seat is at the right height. if it's too high the back of your knee will start to hurt. If it's too low then the front will start to hurt. If you ignore it it'll just get much worse- to the point where you cant even walk without agonizing pain. if it does start to hurt than adjust your seat to the right height and carry on cycling.
Although again, I was on a loaded bike that weighed total about 28-30Kg so there would be much more stress on the knees compared to a light racer.

[jendral_hxr]

I don't know if this is the way things are done on racing bikes (I have a hybrid-with panniers) but there's no way you'd be able to keep up that kind of speed for 4-6 hours.

I know I've said this earlier in the thread but it's important- its almost ended two of my trips- You need to make sure that your seat is at the right height. if it's too high the back of your knee will start to hurt. If it's too low then the front will start to hurt. If you ignore it it'll just get much worse- to the point where you cant even walk without agonizing pain. if it does start to hurt than adjust your seat to the right height and carry on cycling.

Although again, I was on a loaded bike that weighed total about 28-30Kg so there would be much more stress on the knees compared to a light racer.

Hey, going 30++kph for 6 hours isn't that hard (assuming the road is flat and you are riding in group). I am with you that fitting is so important, but minimizing your luggage is important as well. 30 kgs on your backpack (+ cat 3 or 2 hill) is surely painful. (I've been riding just bringing a set of clothing, spare inner tubes, hand pump, cards)

[Nimblefinger]

You will need to be quite fit, and have lots of time on the bike previous to accustom to the position, to be able to maintain that speed 6 hours a day for 7 days, plus be able to draft well and know how to ride in a group. Not entirely unattainable I'd imagine, but training for a 5k is seriously different from training for that sort of endurance. I'm pretty sure I couldn't cope at the moment with being in the drops that long without serious back pain, but then if you have a really good bike fit and have it set up properly and are flexible, you may be different. Then again, my racer is probably heavier than yours, and a really sweet lighter bike might make it much easier to sustain.

I'd imagine your best bet would be to get the bike setup, either at a shop, or by yourself (do a bit of research, there are some good places online for a rule of thumb fit), then get out riding long rides in the position you will be riding your tour in (most likely hands on the brake hoods). If you start to get pains whilst riding, which is likely if the bike isn't quite right, you can then try to pin down which bit of the bike setup is contributing most, and adjust it slightly, until you have the bike fitted quite well - eg at first I was getting lower back pain a lot after an hour or so's hard riding, now I do have a bad back from rowing and I'm aware my back and hamstrings were quite tight - have been stretching a lot for it - but I did a bit of investigating and it appeared I could be overreaching slightly to the bars...moved my saddle forwards a little and the pain is significantly better. Little things like these will add up and make your ride much nicer if you twerk it all to perfection.

Also, especially if you are going for a fast pace, bear in mind you will need to be consuming carbs DURING the ride, not just before and after. Anything over an hour hard, and I find I need to be eating calories to prevent myself bonking/"hitting the wall". Make sure you don't get caught out - bonking and being stuck somewhere with an hour or more ride to the nearest place to get food is utterly horrible, it will be the longest hour of your life.

Related, doing lots of long, low intensity rides will help you adapt towards burning fat as a fuel more efficiently, which will help a lot with sustaining the long days. I remember reading a study that suggested hard training when already in a glycogen depleted state significantly sped up this adaptation over just doing lower speed endurance training, like go out for an hour a long time after your meal, and when already pretty depleted, start doing medium intensity intervals (something like 5mins at a time or something along those lines, not short sprints, slightly longer concerted efforts) for a bit. I can't find it at the moment though...which is annoying, so perhaps take this with a pinch of salt, and I'm not sure it was a particularly big study. Anyway, what you are suggesting seems good, ultimately you just need to do the miles and get used to being on a bike for that long.

Otherwise, just make sure you carry spares and tools with you, it sounds like it'll be a really enjoyable ride, have fun both on the ride and training for it

[TheKrikkitWars]

Also, especially if you are going for a fast pace, bear in mind you will need to be consuming carbs DURING the ride, not just before and after. Anything over an hour hard, and I find I need to be eating calories to prevent myself bonking/"hitting the wall". Make sure you don't get caught out - bonking and being stuck somewhere with an hour or more ride to the nearest place to get food is utterly horrible, it will be the longest hour of your life.

Related, doing lots of long, low intensity rides will help you adapt towards burning fat as a fuel more efficiently, which will help a lot with sustaining the long days.

For on ride carb consumption I'd reccomend finding a powdered sports drink with carbs which is pallatable to you (If it doesn't taste nice, you won't drink enough, if you dont drink enough, you'll have poor hydration: short term result-the worst hangover you've ever had, long term result-kidney stones) and my personal choice would be hydration pack, but double bottle cage is lower maintance and cheaper, both if you don't want to stop often.

Finding a good powdered recovery drink will pay dividends too.

As for training, if you have the terrain available then doing a long duration at your maximum intensity will both destroy you, and allow you to quickly gear up... That may well leave you pushing past your physical comfort zone, but it's very effective.

30 kgs on your backpack (+ cat 3 or 2 hill) is surely painful. (I've been riding just bringing a set of clothing, spare inner tubes, hand pump, cards)

Panniers!
Backpacks are for epicly long trips where front and rear racks still aren't enough space, or for a carrying a hydration pack and light essentials like a windproof, map+chinograph pencil+compass, spares, kendal mint cake, and tools.

[EvilDuckie]

Moment of pride today!

I started cycling about 2 months ago, got a 21-speed hybrid bike and some gear, trying to do 60-90 minutes cycling 4 times a week (along with 2 evenings a week of badminton and a busy work schedule). My average speed is around 15-16 mph (that's overall, so including stopping for traffic lights). Usually the more professional/serious cyclists, on actual race bikes, pass me with quite a speed difference. This morning I was passed by a group of 6 and they didn't seem to be going that fast, so I decided to try and keep up, at least for as long as they were going my way. Of course they weren't going at full speed, but I still feel quite pleased about being able to easily keep up with them. So yeah!

[jendral_hxr]

Hybrid on 16 mph? You could go faster, for sure!
I think 33 isn't old enough to slow you down.

[EvilDuckie]

I know I should be able to go faster, but I only started cycling about 2 months ago, after not having done so on a regular basis for about 10 years (and that was just "getting from A to B" cycling). I'm not exactly in good shape, but getting there, though I'm still carrying some 'ballast' around. My average speeds are improving though.

I did notice that when I was following them it was easier to speed up but I invariably ended up losing ground on the curves. I tend to take those a bit slower than I could... Maybe it's a good idea to start looking out for a club to ride with.

[clumsy_culhane]

Hello cycling thread again

Just a quick update, i've commenced training for the ride to Sydney, and so far so good. Me and a mate went for a nice 130km ride , avg speed was ~28km/h, and I felt not too bad afterwards New bike is an absolute dream to ride, I never would of expected the change from hybrid to racer to make this much of a difference. Next big ride planned is ~180 km, with a nice long 7km climb at 6.3% gradient chucked in there a third of the way in. (route here for those interested : http://beta.mapmyride.com/routes/detail/22871204/) . It's going to hopefully wreck me, and let me know how I'm going fitness wise, because I need to be able to do those kind of rides for 7 days straight by the time I get to early Feb.

Also, had my first near-death experience whilst riding along a road near the city, a guy turning left didnt notice I was going straight ahead, and it took him until he was close enough for me to feel the heat from his engine to realise he was about to run me down, he then promptly swerved, and seemed to blame me? Who knows, but it was a scary experience, I really hope I never end up as roadkilll in a similar manner in the near future...

[Paranoid__Android]

I was hunting around for possible future bike trips when I came across this-

Kashgar - Lhasa (or Katmandu), 2,500km, max altitude 5,400m, mostly dirt track.
The "Everest" of bike rides. An extremely tough ride along very poor, very remote, very high roads (several passes over 5,000m). Altitude sickness is a real hazard, as are the extremes of weather. Hauntingly wild scenery

I know the Himalayas tend to be quite tough for cycling , but I think I really want to do this. I like the idea of being in a real wild wilderness. It'll probably not happen this summer as other plans have been made, but maybe the one after... Now I just have to find someone insane enough to come with me .

Question: does anyone know if a multi fuel stove will work over 5000 meters?

[fizzgig]

This weekend I rode in the World Solo 24 Hour Mountain Biking Championships. And it was more fun than you could possibly imagine. Unless you've done solo 24 hour racing before, in which case you can probably imagine exactly how fun it was.

[TheKrikkitWars]

Question: does anyone know if a multi fuel stove will work over 5000 meters?

Answer: A good one will, a bad one might on good days.
The top end Coleman stove (used to be called Exponent, I had a high altitude tent under that name some time back), or any of the MSR range of stoves will work at any point physically accesable to man.

[akashra]

This weekend I rode in the World Solo 24 Hour Mountain Biking Championships. And it was more fun than you could possibly imagine. Unless you've done solo 24 hour racing before, in which case you can probably imagine exactly how fun it was.

The crazy thing is that after coming 4th at Stromlo (in Elite men), Scott's going to smash out a 12hr effort tomorrow at the SurfCoast.

If only I had more core strength and my back was in better condition I'd be out there trying to stay within 2 laps of him, so instead it's the 6 hour for me, where instead I'll just get smashed by Phil Orr