I just returned from a 16 day, 1,800 mile bike trip from Topeka to Boston. This was done as part of an organized group of about 20 riders. I joined the last half of a coast to coast 32 day ride supported by America by Bicycle (abbike.com).
I had serious reservations about taking these 48 year old bones through such a trip since I ride reasonably well, but I recover about as well as your typical 68 year old. Even a fast century ride is no big deal for me on ride day, but it blows me up for about three days afterwards. Riding an average of 110 miles/day for over two weeks was a major challenge.
I managed to finish the entire trip without illness or major incident. I started to get into a groove around day 5 or 6 and the miles seemed to take less of a toll every day after that.
I noticed one major difference during the course of the ride that I hope others on this board can explain The first few days my HR was regularly exceeding 160 when I pushed up the hills. After that it was pretty rare to see it get above 140. I don’t know why that happened, but it was a common experience with the rest of the riders, some of whom were very strong. I am hoping this will be a big deal for me come IM Lake Placid day. I typically stay right around a 150 HR on that course and proceed to crumble like a cookie come marathon time. Maybe this year I can keep the same speed at a much lower HR and run at least most of the marathon. I will let you know in two months.
This is a very large and beautiful country. Going through even half of it under your own power makes that fact impossible to ignore. It is amazing to see the areas of highly diverse economies, values, and philosophies that all consider themselves part of one country. Maybe there is hope for the world after all.
If you consider taking a trip like this, note that I did two intelligent things on the trip. First, I was a classic party pooper since I was typically in bed by 7:00 and well rested in time for the 5:00 wake up call. The sleep helped a lot. Second, I did everything in my power to stay clean, though admittedly it was out of my control much of every day. I was the only rider who never got sick during the trip, though keep in mind most of the riders went coast to coast.
I was bummed that there was no virtual camp during the trip. I was hoping to post Francois type numbers. There is never a vrtual camp when you need one.
I should know by the end of July if this trip did me any good. Stay tuned.