In years past, every riding season (end of April thru mid-October for me, usually) I would register for 7-10 event rides, which are supported road rides of between 36 and 105 miles, include fully stocked rest stops at intervals of 8-20 miles with snacks/water/portajohns, and are generally a very good time. Yes, they cost a fair amount of money to register, but they usually benefit a charity so I don’t feel too bad about shelling out some bank to join these rides.
The year 2020 has put a temporary moratorium on event rides, just like with marathons, fun runs, and other gatherings. So how does one go about getting some long road rides in, unsupported? Well, here are some tips that you can use to make your own event ride, either for a solo ride or one with a few distancing friends.
Tip 1. Use a route planner app and download the route to your phone or GPS. I swear I don’t get paid for the mention, but I use Ride With GPS and it is slick. I don’t have a paid account, but for free I can map out a route on public roads, see the route length and a profile of the hill climbs & descents, and download the whole thing to my phone. Once I’m out there on my bike I can bring up the app on my phone, and using the phone’s GPS the app can give me turn-by-turn audio directions if I want (I can see my location on the app graphically, of course, but usually my phone is in my jersey pocket). Route planning is a necessity, unless you happen to know the route and the area like the back of your hand…otherwise, the same roads can look different to you at different times of day, different times of year or in different weather conditions, so you really want to have the route on your phone in order to avoid the misery of ever having to self-locate and then self-navigate just by dead reckoning.
Tip 2. Scout the route in your car beforehand if you’ve never seen the route or it’s been a long while, especially in rural areas. Google and other map sites have a funny way of sometimes overselling what kind of roads are where. I have planned out routes that appeared paved on the map, only to find out they were gravel or dirt, or even worse non-existent. Also, road conditions can change very quickly: construction can be happening, potholes can show up, and all sorts of other hazards can develop since the last time you cycled on a road. So it’s a good idea to drive the route, or enough of it you can make a good scouting report, before you commit to bicycling it.
Tip 3. Pack plenty of food & water, and locate refilling places beforehand. Nothing will put the big ‘ol SUCKS on a ride faster than hunger or thirst with little hope of quenching. So throw plenty of energy bars (or waffles, gummies, etc.) in those jersey pockets and fill at least two bike bottles before leaving. Then, in addition, know one or more places along the route where you can get drinking water, purchase food, pee, etc. Also, know yourself…for example, I know that for a ride under 60 miles I don’t need to carry a ton of food, but if I’m going 60-100 miles I need to have a definite food plan. Same with water: in hot summer weather, two bike bottles are going to need refilling, probably before the 30 mile mark.
Tip 4. Have an escape plan. Sometimes despite your best planning efforts, things go wrong that no reasonable cyclist can hope to repair out on the road before nightfall. Have a plan for what to do in these situations. Identify a buddy or family member who can drive out to your location if you give them the SOS call (I highly recommend confirming that the buddy is OK with being your safety net beforehand.) The last thing you want is to be 50 miles away from your house or car with either a busted bike or malfunctioning body, and no one to help you out. This is especially important during the pandemic, when stores and bike shops are mostly closed and hitchhiking is unlikely to be easy or successful at all.
Tip 5. Invest in a small phone charger you can pocket. Most of these little chargers cost $30 or less nowadays, which is a small price to pay if it means the difference between executing your escape plan immediately or having to walk 25 miles to a phone you can use because your cell phone died. Don’t forget the charging cord!
Using these tips you can still have some epic road rides, virus or no virus.
Bike Newbie 