Can my friend cycle 70 miles in 4 hours?

Absolutely.

Going 17.5 MPH wasn't a challenge at all. From the 1:30 ride, here are my takeaways.

- Going full aero position stresses other muscle groups too much, so I'll have to alternate between full aero and semi-aero.

- I didn't have toe clips or a cage on the bike yesterday. I'll be making a cage out of duct tape before the ride (not taping my feet to the pedals but making a duct tape cage. There is a difference.)

-Fueling will definitely be important, and I'm comfortable going fast and eating/drinking.

- I need to wear more aerodynamic clothes. I'll be wearing Nike Pro Leggings on bottom and a slim-fit Under Armor shirt on top.

- I don't have access to padded shorts, so I'll be wrapping a towel around the saddle so my ass doesn't die.

Also shoutout Dad for the comment.

XCemdee wrote:

- I don't have access to padded shorts, so I'll be wrapping a towel around the saddle so my ass doesn't die.

This one. This might be worse than without the towel. Definitely test it for awhile first.

Good saddles with the right hole or cutout are what actually works. The big padded saddles are just for old moms who ride a couple miles at a time. I could see the towel being a problem.

I rode a BMX bike 50 miles when I was 11.

Don't underestimate kid power. That said, seeing my buddy on a road bike coming back when I was still 14 miles from the turnaround was a bit shocking.

I'm skeptical of the duct tape straps, and very skeptical of the towel wrapped around the saddle.

If that's your plan, I would suggest testing them on a proper ride before the big day.

Okay, noted. Thanks for the input.

I'm not telling him not to go for it. I'm just telling him not to underestimate the endeavor and to respect and prepare for it. I'd do the same for some weekend warrior team sport athlete setting out to run a marathon.

I don't mean to be glum

But your poor bum

Will be feeling foul

After sitting on that towel

:(

Coloradoman wrote:

I am the proud father of the young man who will ride 70 miles in 4 hours.

I hurt for you nay-sayers, who say it can't be done; you sit on the sideline while the adventure-seekers and achievers stream past you.

...

Strange post. You realize you are posting on a RUNNING website not Facebook...everyone here is active, many were (or are) great runners, cyclists, and triathletes.

I've ridden three hundred miles in a day, I've done 200km (~124 miles) sub 6 hours.

I raced BMX as a kid in the 80s, mountain bikes in the 90s, and then became a roadie in 2003 (but only time trials, I don't like racing).

So that is why I think that a guy on a mountain bike with no experience cannot ride 17.5 miles per hour for 4 hours. I could go out on a road bike right now and do 20 mph for 4 hours, but I'm not certain I could do 17.5 on a mountain bike...and that's with like 50,000 lifetime cycling miles.

Don't bother with the duct tape straps. You aren't losing power using flat pedals for steady state use. They mostly help when you pick it up suddenly, which you won't need to do for your attempt.

My cycling shorts that have liners have always been on the thin/no cushion side, and it's not a problem (I rode up to 350 miles a week when I was younger). If the ass pain that you are talking about is in the sit bones, that just takes adjustment (and time for the bruising to heal) - about a week or two after the first real ride, if I haven't been on the bike in while. I'd not try the towel, you might cause a chafing problem.

Make sure to watch "Breking Away" the night before. Go Cutters!

This ^

Goodbye knees.

Bet you can't....

1. Road bike vs mtn bike...

2. Even with a road bike your running engine will stop carrying you at about 2-2.5 hrs .... thats when you notice you need the fit cycling muscle.

3. all the aero stuff is just not important to 17.5mph... it will get really hard to hold even 14mph by 3 hrs off of nothing longer than 50mi rides...

4. if you trained long rides / some hill or trainer workouts for 6 weeks, and you were with a road bike.... than probly.

I think this will be tough, but I think a good athlete who is determined to finish has a very good shot. I started doing longer bike rides on a hybrid, which has tires somewhere between a MTB and a road bike, and could easily hold 19.5 MPH for hours of riding. I eventually rode 100 miles in just under 6 hours. Granted, the tires were skinnier, but still...

Also, I think it's weird that people are pointing out how they can ride 20 MPH on a road bike but that this is somehow much harder. There is an enormous, exponential difference in drag between 20 MPH and 17.5 MPH. The road bike is theoretically more aero, but at speeds under 30 KPH (18.6 MPH), I've always found the drag to feel much more manageable. It feels like 30% more work to go from 18 MPH into the 19s, I think.

The bike sounds a bit iffy to me, but for a runner with fitness to go say <18 in a 5k, this is a childs play achievement

just a datapoint of (1), I'm not in particularly good shape, but I've done the middle age tri thing/hobby jogging and all that, and my 5k is right at/about 20 flat. Sucks, but thats all I got and anytime I make some sort of improvement /training block I get injured and start back up again. Always end up at 20. So anyways I bike a lot right as a tri-mid packer, maybe 70-80 mpw. I'm not fast.

I can do the half iron around 5:30 without too much puking if it doesnt get too hot, but none of the individual times are worth a damn, postng sample performance for reference

1.2m swim, ~32 mins, so like 1:30/100y pace, aka warmup speed [I'm lazy but an ex swimmer]

56 mile bike leg: 2:45 ish, so like 20-21 mph avg [dont be impressed, this is like 2.5w/kg on a tt bike]

half thon: 1:53 or so, like 8:40 pace or something, aka slow and sad

throw in 2 transitions and a potty break and probably some sort of cramping pause, ~5:30

why am I saying this? On my old-skool full suspension vp1 nomad [bouncy/squishy/heavy] w/2.5" tires, I have <zero> problems averaging 15 mph net in city streets/commuting conditions, and easily hold 17 just cruising [at my super basic 2.5w/kg zone 2 level], which I can hold literally for like 5 hours if I need to. Also a sidenote, this mtbike is setup with a bash-ring so I'm overspeeded to hold 17, with proper gearing 18 wouldnt be particularly challenging. If you allowed me to swap to a 1.8" to 2.0" tire it would be even easier.

And I have nowhere near the aerobic capacity of OP, although you might confuse me for someone fast if you thought 20 mph for nearly 3 hrs is fast on a tt bike [it isnt], the people with aerobic engines similar to OP will do around 23-24 mph in that scenario.

Every single runner who starts biking outperforms me in every way on the bike when I compare segments/performances. There is nothing magical about fitness, runners have it, and when they hop on a bike if they are fitter than you they are faster than you.

Wow, where to start...

I think I’ll sit this out and just wait for the result, and the story that goes with it.

THis whole thread is a combo troll from several posters who likely don't even know each other.

There is no ride, no bike, no duct tape.

End of story.

x2, I was fooled until the part about the duct tape toe-cages and the towel.

Yep, the duct tape gave it away as pure bs.

I wondered why 70 miles was chosen as soon as I read the OP. Ridiculous distance.

Hey trolls, decent job—but tbh the fake dad was the best. That some guy would come in here, blowing his son...LMAO. I just figured they might all be French

Vaseline your crotch liberally. It will greatly cut down on friction.

That wobbly back wheel is concerning.

Can't you borrow a better bike? Ask you friends and neighbours.