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Today October 2020!

trainer time recently; interior had a blowout so had the opportunity to apply a patch for the first time lol. used it again but found out that the patch failed (or was not seated properly? it was a lezyne smart kit tire patch) after a trainer session. bought a new tube and inspected the trainer tire and rim to see if there were any pointy things that could cause the blowout. noticed that the rim tape moved a bit in one of the spoke holes...possibly the cause of the blowout...placed some electrical tape as a temporary fix..hopefully no deflations moving forward.

and...happy that the sun is out today!
 
trainer time recently; interior had a blowout so had the opportunity to apply a patch for the first time lol. used it again but found out that the patch failed (or was not seated properly? it was a lezyne smart kit tire patch) after a trainer session. bought a new tube and inspected the trainer tire and rim to see if there were any pointy things that could cause the blowout. noticed that the rim tape moved a bit in one of the spoke holes...possibly the cause of the blowout...placed some electrical tape as a temporary fix..hopefully no deflations moving forward.

and...happy that the sun is out today!
I hope you got it sorted.
Last winter I had the same problem. After only three flats on road since I started cycling as a sport, I had three with in a week in the roller. I couldn't find out what the problem was, but a new tube fixed it. Now I'm guessing that wheel-on-trainers might don't go along well with patched tubes (due to the different thickness?!?).
 
In case anyone's interested....The new Panaracer Gravel King SS tires have been hard to find. Looks like Wiggle has them in stock right now. Wiggle seems to run out of stock on items much more frequently than they used to, so if you've been looking for these tires, now is your chance. I just bought a couple and look forward to seeing how they roll.
 
The Fleche Nihonbashi 2020 (フレッシュ日本橋2020) will remain my longest ride of the year, I am sure. I rode 403 km from the hotel in Aichi where we set off on Saturday at 06:30 to my home in Tokyo on Sunday. During that time I slept 3 1/2 hours and experienced 18 hours of rain.


In a Fleche, teams of 3-5 bicycles have 24 hours to ride a distance of at least 360 km towards a central meeting point. I had successfully participated in a Fleche in 2019. Two members of the 5 person team this year were different from last year. Like last year, only 4 of them actually rode.

Our event team name was "Maillot 24 Tokyo", a pun on the fact that we were going to ride 24 hours ("ni shi") to Tokyo in our new AJ NishiTokyo jerseys. The 2020 run was originally scheduled for April but due to Covid-19 it got pushed to October 17-18. Because virtually no randonneuring events have taken place from April to September, many randonneurs' fitness has suffered and DNS ("did not start") is more common than usual.

I had been watching the weather forecast closely. Our start was in Toyohashi, Aichi prefecture and the planned goal in Totsuka, Kanagawa. Normally, the prevailing wind conditions would give you something of a tailwind along this relatively flat course. We had only about 1000 m of elevation gain in the first 2/3 (240 km) of the ride. However, as the date of the ride came closer the forecast became rainier by the day. Ultimately it rained on Saturday from before the start to when we decided to officially DNF (did not finish) in Okitsu, Shizuoka after midnight. The north-easterly headwind that we had for most of Saturday more than made up for the relatively flat course. That and three punctures by one team member meant we could not finish within the time limit. We did finish the ride on Sunday after just a few hours of sleep at a Kenkoland hotel and public bath, riding back to Kanagawa and Tokyo together.

s800.jpg


I made my way to Toyohashi by car on Friday. Everybody else took the shinkansen. I drove to Lake Hamana (Hamanako) halfway between Hamamatsu and Toyohashi. There I unloaded the bike while my wife and daughter headed back in our car for a separate adventure. After 26 km I arrived at the hotel a little after noon. Since I couldn't get into my room until 15:00 I first had lunch at a conbini on us tax payers (1000 yen Go To Travel coupon) and then explored the city by bike. Toyohashi has a castle museum, which is free to visit, in what is now the city park (formerly the castle grounds). After I checked into my room the other participants arrived, minus one who chose to DNS due to the weather forecast. What a sensible person! :)

s800.jpg


While preparing the bike in the morning I decided that I was going to be too warm in my full rain gear, even with 11 C. I wore my rain jacket on top of my base layer and team jersey, but not the rain trousers -- just my regular uniqlo shorts (65% / 35% polyester / cotton). Only on the last conbini stop before sunset did I finally put on the rain trousers, as well as a windbreaker under the rain jacket. That was perfect temperature-wise.

s800.jpg


The weather was very gloomy all day, with a steady drizzle and wind. There were no other cyclists around as we headed out 45 km to Cape Irago, the westernmost point of our ride. 7 km later we did our first conbini stop for a 15 minute break. Then we headed east along the coastal road. After about 105 km we stopped for lunch (ramen and gyoza). It was only 11 C for most of the morning. I think the warmest we saw was 16 C around Shizuoka-shi.

These are two of the 5 bridges running side by side on the southern end of Lake Hamana, where it drains towards the Pacific.

s800.jpg


Hamamatsu in Shizuoka is home to both Kawai and Yamaha pianos. You can actually tour the factories by appointment (or at least you could before Covid, not that we would have had time for that). Both Aichi and Shizuoka have a lot of Japanese-Brazilian immigrant workers, so Portuguese tends to be a common second language on signage, like Russian in parts of Hokkaido and English in the rest of Japan:

s800.jpg


The Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station in Shizuoka is one of the most tsunami-exposed plants in Japan and mostly upwind from Tokyo. It sits directly above a fault line where two tectonic plates meet in a subduction zone (the most dangerous type of fault line - 9 of 10 of the biggest earthquakes in the last 100 years happened at subduction zones). All 5 units at Hamaoka were shut down in 2011 and a planned sixth unit was cancelled.

s800.jpg


After 166 km we passed Omaezaki, another cape. The Shizuoka coastline turns north there. From there we were heading up Suruga bay, with the west coast of Izu across the sea. You could have admired the west Izu coast and Mt Fuji if the weather had been good, which of course it wasn't. 2 km after we took checkpoint pictures at the cape we stopped at another conbini. I completed my rain wear and thermal layering as it would soon get dark.

At one point we lost two riders at the back and turned around to find them fixing a front wheel puncture in the dark. Later in the ride the same bike punctured at the rear wheel, twice. Eventually we used up all 700C spare tubes we had (two of us ride 650B and rely strictly on our own tubes).

s800.jpg


By then it was getting clear that we could not stick to the time plan and that we wouldn't make it in time. The headwind and rain were too much of an obstacle to that and the punctures didn't help. We stopped for dinner at a Cocos restaurant. Our ride leader suggested taking a break for the night at Kenkoland Suruga in Okitsu, where he had rested at brevets before. I was very reluctant to do that as it would effectively have cut my biggest ride of the year in two. For me, technically one ride ends once I sleep in a bed. Ultimately I am very glad though that I finally went along with the change of plan. I would have missed the best part, even if that 403 km ride sort of is two rides now.

Close to 1:00 we parked our bikes in the car park of the Kenkoland. Fortunately rooms were still available and Go To Travel discounted the room rate with breakfast. I set the alarm for 05:30 and was out like a match after my head touched the pillow. When I looked out of the window in the morning the rain had stopped. On the very left I could make out one side of Mt Fuji with fresh snow on top, then many smokestacks of chemical plants near Fuji City, with the Izu coastline to the right. I was very happy about the change in weather. Breakfast started at 06:00 and we were out and on the road again around 07:00.

s800.jpg


Within minutes we got great views of Mt Fuji. Our course joined the Old Tokaido road, on which people had travelled on foot between Kyoto and Edo back in the old days.

s800.jpg


About 260 km from the start we crossed the bridge over the Fuji river, which is a big turning point in the 300 and 400 km brevet courses of AJ NishiTokyo. Here the ride joined up with rides from Tokyo that I had done before. It's crazy when you feel like you're almost home but actually still have to cycle another 140 km! :) Somewhere on the way to Numazu we switched from the road to a bicycle path on top of the tsunami barrier at the beach, which continued for many km. The views from there were fantastic and we took time for pictures, now that we didn't have an arrival time to beat.

After Numazu and Mishima the road climbed into the mountains south of Hakone to Atami pass. I had crossed Izu only at Hakone or further south between Shuzenji and Ito. More Fuji views in the mountains. On about 10 km we did one fifth of the total climbing of the 400+ km ride. We passed the MOA, an art museum near Atami. The descent to Atami was very steep and treacherous (one minor crash but the rider could continue). I was glad I had disk brakes and wide tires for traction.

Once we got closer to Odawara,traffic got quite bad, as it usually does on a Sunday there, especially as this was a day with decent weather immediately after a rainy day.

s800.jpg


As we had officially called in our DNF already, we were all free to go any way that would work for us. The ride leader and another member headed to Odawara station to have a meal together before using their rinko bags for the train ride home. Another member and and I cycled back another 73 km to Tokyo via Rt135 and then Rt246 which again was very busy. But we got home safely about 36 hours after we had started.

A few things I took home from this ride:

Preparation for an event like that is really important. I had all the clothes I needed, all the cables and other electronic gear, no issues whatsoever and I also didn't really carry anything bulky or heavy that was unneeded on this ride. Recent rides in cooler and partially wet weather had helped me figure what clothes to bring.

Physically I was well prepared due to my recent long rides. It was my 10th ride of 150+ km since the beginning of August. One of them was another brevet (i.e. with time limits), others were rides with faster friends (Thanks, @microcord!).

I was very happy with the new GPS. The Wahoo Elemnt Bolt performed flawlessly. I rode the last 160 km without recharging, but on Saturday I could also charge it on the handlebar in the rain without issues. I loved the way it announced turns from the RWGPS cue sheet. The maps on the unit aren't great but workable until you zoom out too far.

Sleep planning also worked well. I got sufficient sleep the week before. The day before the ride I got up early, which made it easy to go to bed early and fall asleep easily the night before the ride. The short night at the Kenkoland worked out pretty well too.

Two major changes I would make:

I need mud flaps for the mudguards to keep spray off the shoes, especially going through puddles on the road. That would also prevent lubrication issues on the chain. I had to relube with donated chain lubricant on the second morning (I had some in the bottom of the bag but my friends saved me from having to search for it) as the splashing water had washed off too much oil.

And I want some shoe covers for the rain, to definitely make sure my socks will stay dry when it's wet out there. I had brought a second pair of dry socks which I used on day 2, but I could have done better with proper shoe covers.

I am glad I didn't stubbornly continue the ride on my own without a hotel stop in the early hours of Sunday. Day Two was much more enjoyable with my friends and safer too.

I would join another Fleche ride in a heart beat. With a good team it's one of the most enjoyable formats of randonneuring.

s800.jpg
 
Last edited:
apparently one cyclist (aged 66) died yesterday evening, after two cross bikes allegedly hit each other right grips going in opposite directions on a cycling course in Chiba. incidentally, I also yesterday removed a wider gravel bar I had been testing for about a month, with this exact scenario (minus deadly outcome perhaps) being a major aspect of the decision to return to the narrower bar. I've had so many close encounters on bridges, around gates, narrow passageways, stairs etc

自転車同士が衝突、1人死亡 千葉のサイクリングコース
10/19(月) 19:37配信
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事故現場の「花見川サイクリングコース」。警察官が目撃証言を集めるチラシを配っていた=2020年10月19日午後1時20分、千葉市花見川区犢橋町、石垣明真撮影

千葉市花見川区犢橋町の「花見川サイクリングコース」で18日午後1時45分ごろ、同市の会社員男性の自転車と習志野市津田沼1丁目の建設業兼行建一さん(66)の自転車がすれ違いざまに衝突した。兼行さんは頭を強く打って病院に運ばれたが、約7時間後に死亡した。

県警千葉北署によると、2人ともクロスバイクを運転しており、双方の右のグリップが接触して互いに転倒したらしい。男性にけがはなかった。署は詳しい原因を調べている。 事故現場は花見川に沿ったコースで、幅約3メートルの舗装道。自動車は入れず、ほぼ直線となっている。県警によると、自転車が絡んだ県内の事故は今年1~9月、2228件(前年同期比763件減)で死者は18人(同1人増)となっている。ただ、自動車が絡まない今回のようなケースでの死亡事故は珍しいとみられる。
 
apparently one cyclist (aged 66) died yesterday evening, after two cross bikes allegedly hit each other right grips going in opposite directions on a cycling course in Chiba. incidentally, I also yesterday removed a wider gravel bar I had been testing for about a month, with this exact scenario (minus deadly outcome perhaps) being a major aspect of the decision to return to the narrower bar. I've had so many close encounters on bridges, around gates, narrow passageways, stairs etc

自転車同士が衝突、1人死亡 千葉のサイクリングコース
10/19(月) 19:37配信
2154
  • この記事についてツイート
  • この記事についてシェア
朝日新聞デジタル

事故現場の「花見川サイクリングコース」。警察官が目撃証言を集めるチラシを配っていた=2020年10月19日午後1時20分、千葉市花見川区犢橋町、石垣明真撮影

千葉市花見川区犢橋町の「花見川サイクリングコース」で18日午後1時45分ごろ、同市の会社員男性の自転車と習志野市津田沼1丁目の建設業兼行建一さん(66)の自転車がすれ違いざまに衝突した。兼行さんは頭を強く打って病院に運ばれたが、約7時間後に死亡した。

県警千葉北署によると、2人ともクロスバイクを運転しており、双方の右のグリップが接触して互いに転倒したらしい。男性にけがはなかった。署は詳しい原因を調べている。 事故現場は花見川に沿ったコースで、幅約3メートルの舗装道。自動車は入れず、ほぼ直線となっている。県警によると、自転車が絡んだ県内の事故は今年1~9月、2228件(前年同期比763件減)で死者は18人(同1人増)となっている。ただ、自動車が絡まない今回のようなケースでの死亡事故は珍しいとみられる。
While a tragedy someone passed.... I fail to see where the bars are the issue. Most likely it is not paying attention.
I run 80cm bars on my mountain bike and do plenty of paths and play in traffic the same as my road bike with 44cm.
Being aware of what you have and what you are riding is important. It seems many in japan lack any kind of situational awareness.
 
There's plenty of that too, but I'm mostly taking about narrow paths and places just barely wide enough to let two bikes pass each other. And especially if one or both have wider bars. My son was knocked down like that once on a bridge, even tho both cyclists did their best to keep left. Put him off the bike for a good while that. There's heaps of such places near me, and in this one month or so of riding the wider bar (620mm I believe at the widest part) there were at least two occasions where I felt just too close for comfort for every one where the added stability was welcome.
 
I think we should not read too much into freak accidents like that. It is quite rare that bars entangle, especially on road bikes where your bars are typically not the widest bit that sticks out, that is usually your elbows. While I can't picture the accident, it seems to be that this was a frontal collision that was almost avoided — operative word being "almost".

Yes, some roads are super narrow and some other cyclists are inattentive or ganko and do not want to be the ones to stop. But even on my old school mountain bike, I rarely have problems. Quite the contrary, more times than not I am pulling a trailer and the width of the bars is actually larger than the width of the trailer. Which is nice, because I know for sure that if the bars fit, the trailer will fit as well. Especially with my daughter in tow, I am super defensive. I usually train in the morning, so I don't want to/need to push hard (and my "tired cheetah mode" is active).
 
The Fleche Nihonbashi 2020 (フレッシュ日本橋2020) will remain my longest ride of the year, I am sure. I rode 403 km from the hotel in Aichi where we set off on Saturday at 06:30 to my home in Tokyo on Sunday. During that time I slept 3 1/2 hours and experienced 18 hours of rain.


In a Fleche, teams of 3-5 bicycles have 24 hours to ride a distance of at least 360 km towards a central meeting point. I had successfully participated in a Fleche in 2019. Two members of the 5 person team this year were different from last year. Like last year, only 4 of them actually rode.

Our event team name was "Maillot 24 Tokyo", a pun on the fact that we were going to ride 24 hours ("ni shi") to Tokyo in our new AJ NishiTokyo jerseys. The 2020 run was originally scheduled for April but due to Covid-19 it got pushed to October 17-18. Because virtually no randonneuring events have taken place from April to September, many randonneurs' fitness has suffered and DNS ("did not start") is more common than usual.

I had been watching the weather forecast closely. Our start was in Toyohashi, Aichi prefecture and the planned goal in Totsuka, Kanagawa. Normally, the prevailing wind conditions would give you something of a tailwind along this relatively flat course. We had only about 1000 m of elevation gain in the first 2/3 (240 km) of the ride. However, as the date of the ride came closer the forecast became rainier by the day. Ultimately it rained on Saturday from before the start to when we decided to officially DNF (did not finish) in Okitsu, Shizuoka after midnight. The north-easterly headwind that we had for most of Saturday more than made up for the relatively flat course. That and three punctures by one team member meant we could not finish within the time limit. We did finish the ride on Sunday after just a few hours of sleep at a Kenkoland hotel and public bath, riding back to Kanagawa and Tokyo together.

s800.jpg


I made my way to Toyohashi by car on Friday. Everybody else took the shinkansen. I drove to Lake Hamana (Hamanako) halfway between Hamamatsu and Toyohashi. There I unloaded the bike while my wife and daughter headed back in our car for a separate adventure. After 26 km I arrived at the hotel a little after noon. Since I couldn't get into my room until 15:00 I first had lunch at a conbini on us tax payers (1000 yen Go To Travel coupon) and then explored the city by bike. Toyohashi has a castle museum, which is free to visit, in what is now the city park (formerly the castle grounds). After I checked into my room the other participants arrived, minus one who chose to DNS due to the weather forecast. What a sensible person! :)

s800.jpg


While preparing the bike in the morning I decided that I was going to be too warm in my full rain gear, even with 11 C. I wore my rain jacket on top of my base layer and team jersey, but not the rain trousers -- just my regular uniqlo shorts (65% / 35% polyester / cotton). Only on the last conbini stop before sunset did I finally put on the rain trousers, as well as a windbreaker under the rain jacket. That was perfect temperature-wise.

s800.jpg


The weather was very gloomy all day, with a steady drizzle and wind. There were no other cyclists around as we headed out 45 km to Cape Irago, the westernmost point of our ride. 7 km later we did our first conbini stop for a 15 minute break. Then we headed east along the coastal road. After about 105 km we stopped for lunch (ramen and gyoza). It was only 11 C for most of the morning. I think the warmest we saw was 16 C around Shizuoka-shi.

These are two of the 5 bridges running side by side on the southern end of Lake Hamana, where it drains towards the Pacific.

s800.jpg


Hamamatsu in Shizuoka is home to both Kawai and Yamaha pianos. You can actually tour the factories by appointment (or at least you could before Covid, not that we would have had time for that). Both Aichi and Shizuoka have a lot of Japanese-Brazilian immigrant workers, so Portuguese tends to be a common second language on signage, like Russian in parts of Hokkaido and English in the rest of Japan:

s800.jpg


The Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station in Shizuoka is one of the most tsunami-exposed plants in Japan and mostly upwind from Tokyo. It sits directly above a fault line where two tectonic plates meet in a subduction zone (the most dangerous type of fault line - 9 of 10 of the biggest earthquakes in the last 100 years happened at subduction zones). All 5 units at Hamaoka were shut down in 2011 and a planned sixth unit was cancelled.

s800.jpg


After 166 km we passed Omaezaki, another cape. The Shizuoka coastline turns north there. From there we were heading up Suruga bay, with the west coast of Izu across the sea. You could have admired the west Izu coast and Mt Fuji if the weather had been good, which of course it wasn't. 2 km after we took checkpoint pictures at the cape we stopped at another conbini. I completed my rain wear and thermal layering as it would soon get dark.

At one point we lost two riders at the back and turned around to find them fixing a front wheel puncture in the dark. Later in the ride the same bike punctured at the rear wheel, twice. Eventually we used up all 700C spare tubes we had (two of us ride 650B and rely strictly on our own tubes).

s800.jpg


By then it was getting clear that we could not stick to the time plan and that we wouldn't make it in time. The headwind and rain were too much of an obstacle to that and the punctures didn't help. We stopped for dinner at a Cocos restaurant. Our ride leader suggested taking a break for the night at Kenkoland Suruga in Okitsu, where he had rested at brevets before. I was very reluctant to do that as it would effectively have cut my biggest ride of the year in two. For me, technically one ride ends once I sleep in a bed. Ultimately I am very glad though that I finally went along with the change of plan. I would have missed the best part, even if that 403 km ride sort of is two rides now.

Close to 1:00 we parked our bikes in the car park of the Kenkoland. Fortunately rooms were still available and Go To Travel discounted the room rate with breakfast. I set the alarm for 05:30 and was out like a match after my head touched the pillow. When I looked out of the window in the morning the rain had stopped. On the very left I could make out one side of Mt Fuji with fresh snow on top, then many smokestacks of chemical plants near Fuji City, with the Izu coastline to the right. I was very happy about the change in weather. Breakfast started at 06:00 and we were out and on the road again around 07:00.

s800.jpg


Within minutes we got great views of Mt Fuji. Our course joined the Old Tokaido road, on which people had travelled on foot between Kyoto and Edo back in the old days.

s800.jpg


About 260 km from the start we crossed the bridge over the Fuji river, which is a big turning point in the 300 and 400 km brevet courses of AJ NishiTokyo. Here the ride joined up with rides from Tokyo that I had done before. It's crazy when you feel like you're almost home but actually still have to cycle another 140 km! :) Somewhere on the way to Numazu we switched from the road to a bicycle path on top of the tsunami barrier at the beach, which continued for many km. The views from there were fantastic and we took time for pictures, now that we didn't have an arrival time to beat.

After Numazu and Mishima the road climbed into the mountains south of Hakone to Atami pass. I had crossed Izu only at Hakone or further south between Shuzenji and Ito. More Fuji views in the mountains. On about 10 km we did one fifth of the total climbing of the 400+ km ride. We passed the MOA, an art museum near Atami. The descent to Atami was very steep and treacherous (one minor crash but the rider could continue). I was glad I had disk brakes and wide tires for traction.

Once we got closer to Odawara,traffic got quite bad, as it usually does on a Sunday there, especially as this was a day with decent weather immediately after a rainy day.

s800.jpg


As we had officially called in our DNF already, we were all free to go any way that would work for us. The ride leader and another member headed to Odawara station to have a meal together before using their rinko bags for the train ride home. Another member and and I cycled back another 73 km to Tokyo via Rt135 and then Rt246 which again was very busy. But we got home safely about 36 hours after we had started.

A few things I took home from this ride:

Preparation for an event like that is really important. I had all the clothes I needed, all the cables and other electronic gear, no issues whatsoever and I also didn't really carry anything bulky or heavy that was unneeded on this ride. Recent rides in cooler and partially wet weather had helped me figure what clothes to bring.

Physically I was well prepared due to my recent long rides. It was my 10th ride of 150+ km since the beginning of August. One of them was another brevet (i.e. with time limits), others were rides with faster friends (Thanks, @microcord!).

I was very happy with the new GPS. The Wahoo Elemnt Bolt performed flawlessly. I rode the last 160 km without recharging, but on Saturday I could also charge it on the handlebar in the rain without issues. I loved the way it announced turns from the RWGPS cue sheet. The maps on the unit aren't great but workable until you zoom out too far.

Sleep planning also worked well. I got sufficient sleep the week before. The day before the ride I got up early, which made it easy to go to bed early and fall asleep easily the night before the ride. The short night at the Kenkoland worked out pretty well too.

Two major changes I would make:

I need mud flaps for the mudguards to keep spray off the shoes, especially going through puddles on the road. That would also prevent lubrication issues on the chain. I had to relube with donated chain lubricant on the second morning (I had some in the bottom of the bag but my friends saved me from having to search for it) as the splashing water had washed off too much oil.

And I want some shoe covers for the rain, to definitely make sure my socks will stay dry when it's wet out there. I had brought a second pair of dry socks which I used on day 2, but I could have done better with proper shoe covers.

I am glad I didn't stubbornly continue the ride on my own without a hotel stop in the early hours of Sunday. Day Two was much more enjoyable with my friends and safer too.

I would join another Fleche ride in a heart beat. With a good team it's one of the most enjoyable formats of randonneuring.

s800.jpg
Brilliant post, @joewein, as always. Thoroughly entertaining and informative. I loved what you learned from the ride. I had been meaning to contact you and ask for advice on what to do for long rides, but was too lazy. This post was perfect!
 
I am curious about these massively long rides. I'm OK for the first 100km. By the second 100, I have hot spots on my feet, my back is aching and my saddle is usually getting very uncomfortable. I've never really gone beyond 200 so don't know what would happen, but figure it would be pretty painful.

So, @joewein and @Kangaeroo how do you do it? Do you just grin and bear it or have you got things dialed in so that the pain is tolerable or even nonexistent? Specifically, I'm curious what saddle you are using, whether you've had a bike fit, and whether you've set your bike up for a more upright/comfortable position. Inquiring minds....
 
I am curious about these massively long rides. I'm OK for the first 100km. By the second 100, I have hot spots on my feet, my back is aching and my saddle is usually getting very uncomfortable. I've never really gone beyond 200 so don't know what would happen, but figure it would be pretty painful.

So, @joewein and @Kangaeroo how do you do it? Do you just grin and bear it or have you got things dialed in so that the pain is tolerable or even nonexistent? Specifically, I'm curious what saddle you are using, whether you've had a bike fit, and whether you've set your bike up for a more upright/comfortable position. Inquiring minds....
I'm not sure. No brain, no pain? Except, if I don't ride on any given day, I stiffen and can't ride. So I keep going.
My saddle is the standard issue for the Trek FX, which I don't even know and couldn't work out through Google. I am blessed with a massively padded arse, but I also struggle with bum soreness. Most of my rides are very short, so when it comes to a long ride, I just move my butt around.
I haven't had a proper bike fit, but Tim at Astuto gave me a quick and dirty review that made a world of difference, especially when climbing. I want a proper fit on the Trek, but the seat post nut has worn down and the LBS wants an arm and a leg to adjust it, so a fitting is not going to happen.
My biggest problem is my feet, especially when it gets cold. I compressed a nerve some years ago and it has never really recovered, so my feet ache even on short rides. I also have some arthritis in my toes, which sends searing pain up my legs at times. I guess at those times it's Rule Number 5. But I have found that moving from clipless to flat pedals helped.
Not sure if this helped, but it's what happens with me.
 
So, @joewein and @Kangaeroo how do you do it? Do you just grin and bear it or have you got things dialed in so that the pain is tolerable or even nonexistent? Specifically, I'm curious what saddle you are using, whether you've had a bike fit, and whether you've set your bike up for a more upright/comfortable position. Inquiring minds....
If you have any issues, I would recommend a good bike fit. I had one a few years ago, but it basically just confirmed how I had dialled myself in already through trial and error over a few years of riding long distances.

My saddle is a Brooks B17, a leather saddle. It gradually shapes itself to your sit bones. The way the leather is tensioned over a metal frame, it acts a bit like a hammock. I usually don't wear cycling specific shorts with it but I avoid cotton because it doesn't deal well with sweat. To avoid butt pain, I do have to help keeping the circulation going by either spending time off the bike every now and then (e.g. conbini stops, stopping for taking pictures) or standing up, which I mostly do when coasting (descents are great for that). That's why long climbs are the most difficult for me with regards to butt pain. Typically I don't have any issues until about 100 km, after that it depends on how much I periodically stand or get off the bike. As long as I keep doing that I can more or less keep going indefinitely, as far as sitting is concerned: 150 or 300 km, it's all the same. The 400 was great!

The geometry of the Elephant Bikes National Forest Explorer I ride is well suited for long rides as it has a relatively long head tube, which makes for a more upright riding position. My bars are pretty much level with the saddle, a typical touring bike setup. At the same time, if I want to go more aero, for example going fast on a flat road, I can use the drops for extended periods, whereas a lot of people with a more aggressive cockpit setup only ever ride on the hoods because with a slammed stem and short head tube their drops are too low to be usable by them. They would end up putting too much weight on their arms or bend their neck too much to look ahead. Changing between the hoods and the drops provides a variety of positions, which counters fatigue and back pain. When I do have back pain, it tends to be when I've been spending too much time in front of the computer and not enough on the bicycle! No matter how much my back hurts, going for a ride invariably improves it. That is hardly surprising, as road cycling shifts weight off your spine and onto your arms.

I used to have issues with my feet tingling, especially during climbs. Two things that have helped were going from flat pedals and sneakers to SPD shoes with a stiff sole and consistently buying shoes that are wide enough for my wide feet. Now I only need to make sure my shoes stay dry in the rain and warm in winter weather to be comfortable. The gearing could also be a factor since lower gears give me the option of spinning faster instead of pushing harder at lower RPMs, which could restrict circulation more.

Last but not least, what tires you use makes a bike difference too. I ride 650B x 42 mm at about 3 bar (42 psi) which makes for a very comfortable ride but at the same time they have good rolling resistance. The narrower the tire, the higher the pressure needed to avoid pinch flats (which I've never had on this bike) and that means your body gets rattled more on anything but smooth new asphalt. You don't necessarily have to copy what I ride, but if you like to ride long distances I would recommend fitting the widest tires your frame can take, whether that's a 25 mm or a 28 mm or more. Another benefit of wider tires at lower pressure is a decrease in punctures. Almost the only exposure to punctures that I get is when I help ride mates fix theirs.
 
@Kangaeroo and @joewein Thanks. Been thinking of trying a longer ride but kind of intimidated. I'll take some of your ideas and give them a try...especially the wider tires. I've resisted getting a bike fit because I'm cheap and stubborn, but might just try that as well. The worst problem for me lately is the hotspot on my right foot. Tried everything...SPDs, Speedplay Frogs, a variety of shoes, flat pedals, etc. etc., but so far, at about 80km - 100km the hotspot gets really painful. Fixing to try some tennis shoes next as a last resort.

Anyhoo... You guys who can knock out these 3-400km rides in one go just amaze me.
 
@Karl, you gradually have to work up to it. You can't go directly from 50 km to 300 km and expect it to be easy. Endurance builds gradually. As a rule of thumb, if you have done about 2/3 of the distance as your biggest ride, you'll manage the next one up (as long as the bike fits, you pace yourself and eat and drink properly). It's the same for marathons.

Also, a faster shorter ride is a good preparation for a longer slower ride. You can always go further by going at a slower pace. Don't expect to maintain your 50 km workout pace on a 200 or 400 km ride.

I have done 21 rides of 160+ km each this year so far, about two a month. Even if you don't do anything, your fitness will not drop significantly for two weeks. So 160-180 km has become like my base maintenance level. Even if I haven't done anything but ride to a shop and back in the last two weeks, I can always get on my bike in the morning and ride 170 km to Tomin no Mori or the Greenline and back.

If I were to go for a month or two without riding much, it would get harder again to do this until my body adjusts once more.
 
I had hoped to do a lot more cycling this year (and tiling) but it was soooo rainy and I don't like to ride in the rain unless I have to. But, looks like maybe the skies are clearing a bit and we may have a few days of good weather on the weekend (the only time I can do a long ride). May start trying to do some over-100km rides and start working up a bit.

One more thing....

Got a cut on my sidewall. It is about 1 cm long. Noticed the tube protruding a bit. Patched the sidewall, but no I'm debating whether to ditch the tire or ride it. Apart from the patched area, it is good to go. Hate to throw the tire out but not sure if I should trust it.

Anyone have this issue? Throw it out or ride it?
 
My cheapskate self is inclined to go with @kiwisimon 's advice, but my aversion to risk side is inclined to side with @bloaker 's 'peace of mind' comment. Visions of riding in traffic, at speed, and having a blowout probably has me leaning toward replacing the tire.
 
Got a cut on my sidewall. It is about 1 cm long. Noticed the tube protruding a bit. Patched the sidewall, but no I'm debating whether to ditch the tire or ride it. Apart from the patched area, it is good to go. Hate to throw the tire out but not sure if I should trust it.

Anyone have this issue? Throw it out or ride it?
Imagine yourself stranded in the middle of nowhere, because your tire has blown out again, but is beyond repair this time, and you'll have to walk 10 km to the next convenience store. In road shoes. Not to speak of risks.

Look, just replace the tire. If there is a bulge, it's not worth taking the risk.
My cheapskate self is inclined to go with @kiwisimon 's advice, but my aversion to risk side is inclined to side with @bloaker 's 'peace of mind' comment.
In my mind you are conflating being a cheapskate and being frugal. Someone who doesn't spend money unnecessarily is frugal. Someone who prefers to invest into quality and do proper maintenance on their things is frugal. That's different from being cheap. Just sayin'.
 
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