Hey cyclists! I could need some advice.

[purf]

not something terribly crucial, mind you, but I feel like I'm missing some variables so I figure some additional input can't hurt. Here it goes:

I am going to move to a new city in about a month. We'll going to have some company haul our stuff around but there is one item that I reckon might be a bit problematic and/or increase the cost:

Spoiler: a bike like this

... which would take up half of the truck we had when we moved into the current apartment. So I am considering actually riding it down to the new place. Now, according to Google, that'd take 12 hours for 240km / 150miles. Does that sound realistic? An average of 20kmh resp. 12.5mph? Does that still sound realistic for a bicycle that weighs 35kg? Mountains are not too big of an issue. Total meters I have to climb (and let roll): ~850. But wind could turn out to be a problem.

On one hand I feel like I'm making a fuss here, on the other hand I'm comically unfit. I kind of would like to do this, in two stages, but am also very anxious this might turn out to be the world's shittiest idea. Once I hit the road, there is not really a turning back.

Suggestions, ideas?

 

[Lionsfan]

What kind of roads are you going to be biking on?

Also, I wouldn't recommend this. Biking 150 miles is no joke, especially if you're (as you put) "comically unfit". Serious cyclists take time to build up to it, and now you're thinking about doing it on basically a whim, with a bunch of stuff to weigh you down.

Essentially it would be like trying to run a marathon tomorrow

 

[Frezzato]

Don't do it. Riding 150 miles is on the level of the Tour de France, or in your case, if there are cobblestone streets along the way, more like a stage in the Giro d'Italia [http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01415/Denis_Menchov_1415175i.jpg].

Also, I don't think I've ever pedaled a 70+ pound bike. At most I've ridden an 18 pound mountain bike over 40 miles (slick tires), averaging 18 miles an hour. So that was only 2 hours and 12 minutes of riding. I think to go 150 miles would have taken me 9-10 hours if I didn't stop to rest. Now multiply 18 lbs. by over 3 times and I think it would probably triple the time required.

If you consider the time wasted, that would definitely be better spent working at your job or better yet, helping the others unpack the truck

Try and make room in the truck!

 

[Krustosaurus]

Just pretend you're out for a nice cycle then cram it on to a train and ride that to your destination. (Provided it has the usual larger space for bicycles etc and it goes somewhere near your home).

 

[purf]

Hm. I guess you're all right. Damn. I just really like the idea have been searching around a bit now and from what other people are travelling on bikes (+ luggage), I DO think that I can make 60 miles in a day. I've got all day. On mostly flat asphalt roads and we're talking Northern Europe here. Northern enough to not be hot. But yeah. It's more than that. And then, there's the second day. I had not thought about what a long bike trip does to one's ass. Maybe I'll turn this into a 4-5 day easygoing vacation kinda thing?

As for Make Room or Take a Train - the gist of the issue at hand:

Spoiler: Space requirements, only slightly exaggerated

 

[Frezzato]

Do all Nihola models have the removable tub in the front? And do you know anything about bicycles?

The answer to that last one is probably a big "YES! Obviously I do because I live in Denmark!"

But if you don't know much about bikes that's okay. If you can hire a trucking company to move your Nihola then you can probably make it fit a little better by removing the pedals [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD0vhR7SgZU&feature=kp]. That should give you more room on the sides of the bike. And maybe you could remove the tub from the front? Don't remove the wheels though; Nihola appears to use the old-style retaining bolts instead of quick-release levers.

.

However, if you decide to go riding for a week, just be careful of Der verschwundenen Anhalter![footnote]Don't click this! [http://basementrejects.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/v-h-s-vhs-vampire-bat-girl.jpg] Sorry, I couldn't find any modern urban legends from Denmark so I had to go with a German one.[/footnote] Or perhaps you could record your trip and put it on YouTube?

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

That's a very long distance if you have never done any long distance cycling before.

A 40 miler was my first entry level long distance ride and that wasn't easy/short.

It is hard to keep up your pace over such a long period, especially if you have not done it before and are, as you put it yourself, comically unfit. If you haven't done long distance before, I'd say that it would be impossible to do 12.5 mph constantly for 12 hours.

My bike is about 9kg, so 35kg sounds pretty damn heavy. Normally the trick is to make things as easy as possible for yourself, so this is just added hurt.

My advice would be to buy a camelbak (or similar) to keep yourself hydrated, as you ride. Also, bring lots of food for the ride to snack on as you ride or for breaks. You can also bring sports drinks as well. After riding for 1 hour and 30 mins, you will run out of your energy stores and will need to replenish, so that's when long distance strategies of nutrition come into play.

The food can depend on preference, but should be something that is simple to consume. Some people use energy gels, which can be bought online or sometimes in supermarkets, or some people go for real food, such as snacking on nuts, berries or other fruit or my boss who eats peanut butter sandwiches.

The trick to long distance is proper fuelling. Even the best can't last forever.

 

[renegade7]

Been a cyclist for some time, and I think I can give some informed advice.

For a Summer a while back I had to make a bicycle commute to college classes located 23 miles away, so basically I was doing close to 50 miles a day. My first day doing it I got lost and missed class entirely, having planned for a 2 hour trip there and two back after a 3 hour class period where I would recover my energy, instead it turned into a 5 straight hour clusterfuck where I rode a total of 60 miles in the summer heat. I didn't realize until after I had gotten back that I was dehydrated, and on top of that I had ridden past a stone quarry and had inhaled some dust (rode through a cloud...pro-tip, avoid stone quarries) and my usually tolerated allergies to my sister's cat (I normally took a few weeks of being home to get used to the cat) were the final straw. Throat nearly closed up, sinuses swelled to the point where my entire face hurt, had to go to the hospital. LUCKILY I was at least somewhat in shape, because my doctor gave me a very stern warning that I had put my heart at risking by stepping up to that much exercise so quickly.

But I couldn't afford a car, so I put an electric motor on my bicycle to kick on when I sensed myself getting overworked...took about a month before I could do the entire trip without help from the motor. And this was on a regular road bike with a backpack containing nothing but some water, a change of clothes, and a notebook. You're talking about going 3x that distance, without stopping, carrying cargo, and being "comically unfit".

First, you're assuming you won't get lost. Bike trails can be very difficult to navigate, and one wrong turn can add a lot of wasted time, and therefore wasted energy, if you don't catch your mistake.

Also, your trip calculator assumed a constant speed of 12.5 mph over 12 hours. That's just not happening, only a very, very well-trained cyclist (with substantial help from blood-doping, probably) would even be able to come close to that on a normal bicycle, let alone one weighing nearly 80 lbs.

A "century" for cyclists is the equivalent of a marathon for runners, cyclists train a very long time to be able to go 100 miles in one day, even with stops. Again, you're talking about going substantially further than that, while hauling stuff.

Wind can be a substantial challenge, even a light breeze can take a lot of effort to fight, and even an apparently slight incline can be difficult if it's long, and with that load then forget about trying to get up a steep hill.

So all that considered, I really don't recommend doing this. By all means take up endurance cycling, it's very good for you, but this is quite a bit more than I can recommend doing at first.

But if you have some time, say 4 or 5 days, I would suggest breaking it up into a long trip over a few days staying at motels or with friends...I guarantee you after your first 30 or 40 mile ride that bed will be literally the sweetest thing you have ever felt. Bring money for food also...lots of food, and DO NOT forget to hydrate, and remember sunblock, you do not want to be doing this with a sunburn xD I suggest this because for a beginner it is much more doable (and probably more survivable) and will be much more enjoyable as a long trip.

 

[Thedutchjelle]

i'm Dutch, so I do a ton of cycling by default.

However, 240 km in one day is insane. I did 180 km spread out over 3 days as part of my vacation last year and that was still fairly demanding. Although we also had our tents and camping gear with us which brought our (normal heavy Dutch city)bikes at a much higher weight than yours and it slowed us down, you're not going to hit 20 km/h if you're as unfit as you claim you are even with that low weight bike.
20 km/h is pretty fast, I believe most regular bikers (at least around here) hit 15 km/h is during a comfortable drive. Either split it up across multiple days or bring it on a train or dismantle it.

 

[purf]

So, I'm going to drive it down. In a van, that is, together with the other bikes. The moving company is way cheaper than expected and also rents their cars for little money.

Thanks for your input! Made me think this over and realize it would have been a stupidstupid idea. I mean, I am not THAT "comically unfit" as the mental image which may have popped up (I don't do sports but walk a lot - getting around town is always on foot or bike. Lean bodytype here that usually does alright in constant exercise where condition > power) so I think doing half of the distance in 10-12 hours would have been possible even if not exactly the meditating fun I pictured it to be. But then I would have been half dead on half the way. So, nope.

cheers.