Riding to the Nurburgring and back - Rad am Ring
Discussion
Hi All,
I've decided on taking on a bit of a daft challenge this year, for two reasons, firstly I feel like I've not done anything to really test myself for too long, and secondly I want to do something in memory of a hero of mine, motorcycle racer Chrissy Rouse, who sadly passed after an accident last year, and to honour Chrissy it has to be full commitment, nothing less.
So the plan is to ride from where I live in Suffolk out to the Nurburgring to watch the Rad Am Ring 24 hr race, then ride back again after the event. The Nurburgring is somewhere i love having been there a number of times in cars, and its perfect for me in that it ties in cycling with the motorsport theme.
I'll ride from home to Harwich, then catch the ferry to Hook of Holland, from there I'll give myself two days to get to the Ring, aiming to arrive on the evening of 21st July, I then hope to be able to do a few laps of the circuit on the tourist ride on the morning of the 22nd, and will stay there until Monday morning, I will aim to ride back over Monday/Tuesday catching a late ferry on Tuesday night. That's the loose plan but given this is a circa 500 mile trip I'm fully aware it might not quite work out like that!
I was a fairly keen road rider going back several years, but lost my bottle when my daughter was born and subsequently stopped and sold my bike. I've really not done much since but I have over the years built up an old late 80's Raleigh Mirage MTB as a multi-purpose tool, which I've used for riding with my daughter and sporadic rides out, and its this bike I'm going to use for the ride.
The plan is to keep it simple and carry as little as I can, I don't want to go down the route of panniers etc and ideally want to do it with one bag on my back.
Clearly i don't have a huge amount of time to prepare, so there is going to be alot of training ahead!
I'd love to hear from anyone who has done anything similar and any tips/advice you can offer :-)
I've decided on taking on a bit of a daft challenge this year, for two reasons, firstly I feel like I've not done anything to really test myself for too long, and secondly I want to do something in memory of a hero of mine, motorcycle racer Chrissy Rouse, who sadly passed after an accident last year, and to honour Chrissy it has to be full commitment, nothing less.
So the plan is to ride from where I live in Suffolk out to the Nurburgring to watch the Rad Am Ring 24 hr race, then ride back again after the event. The Nurburgring is somewhere i love having been there a number of times in cars, and its perfect for me in that it ties in cycling with the motorsport theme.
I'll ride from home to Harwich, then catch the ferry to Hook of Holland, from there I'll give myself two days to get to the Ring, aiming to arrive on the evening of 21st July, I then hope to be able to do a few laps of the circuit on the tourist ride on the morning of the 22nd, and will stay there until Monday morning, I will aim to ride back over Monday/Tuesday catching a late ferry on Tuesday night. That's the loose plan but given this is a circa 500 mile trip I'm fully aware it might not quite work out like that!
I was a fairly keen road rider going back several years, but lost my bottle when my daughter was born and subsequently stopped and sold my bike. I've really not done much since but I have over the years built up an old late 80's Raleigh Mirage MTB as a multi-purpose tool, which I've used for riding with my daughter and sporadic rides out, and its this bike I'm going to use for the ride.
The plan is to keep it simple and carry as little as I can, I don't want to go down the route of panniers etc and ideally want to do it with one bag on my back.
Clearly i don't have a huge amount of time to prepare, so there is going to be alot of training ahead!
I'd love to hear from anyone who has done anything similar and any tips/advice you can offer :-)
First off, YES! Multi day cycling trips to somewhere special are absolutely bloody epic. As long as you’re (reasonably) fit enough, you just have all day to take it all in and pedal along. You’ll naturally take it a little easier as you’re aware of the potential distance, but that’s part of it all too.
2 things. Are you sure an MTB is the way to go? A road, or even a gravel/cross bike would be SO much more efficient
Also, it gets fairly lumpy the closer you get to that part of the world……
2 things. Are you sure an MTB is the way to go? A road, or even a gravel/cross bike would be SO much more efficient
Also, it gets fairly lumpy the closer you get to that part of the world……
First off, YES! Multi day cycling trips to somewhere special are absolutely bloody epic. As long as you’re (reasonably) fit enough, you just have all day to take it all in and pedal along. You’ll naturally take it a little easier as you’re aware of the potential distance, but that’s part of it all too.
2 things. Are you sure an MTB is the way to go? A road, or even a gravel/cross bike would be SO much more efficient
Also, it gets fairly lumpy the closer you get to that part of the world……
2 things. Are you sure an MTB is the way to go? A road, or even a gravel/cross bike would be SO much more efficient
Also, it gets fairly lumpy the closer you get to that part of the world……
Don't do it with a bag on your back. The weight of that bag will be extra weight in your seat via your arse. It may feel fine on short rides, but if you are doing multiple days long distance it WILL be felt.
You'd be far more comfortable using bike packing bags if you really don't want panniers.
Check the profile of your trip to see what sort of terrain you will be going through, and make sure your gearing will suit. You don't want to be grinding up them. An app called Komoot will do this.
You'd be far more comfortable using bike packing bags if you really don't want panniers.
Check the profile of your trip to see what sort of terrain you will be going through, and make sure your gearing will suit. You don't want to be grinding up them. An app called Komoot will do this.
Thanks both, I think its the mileage day after day that will be the biggest problem for me as I've not really done much of that, so will try to cover riding days back to back as much as possible in my training.
When i say MTB, i guess the spec i have it at now is more like a hybrid, its on road biased tyres and whilst i can't remember the details now, I did spend quite a bit of time getting the gearing right, its still running a triple on the front but more compact than the original and the rear cassette was chosen to so there are no big jumps up or down.
Do you have any links to the type of bags you're talking about?
Here is the old girl;
When i say MTB, i guess the spec i have it at now is more like a hybrid, its on road biased tyres and whilst i can't remember the details now, I did spend quite a bit of time getting the gearing right, its still running a triple on the front but more compact than the original and the rear cassette was chosen to so there are no big jumps up or down.
Do you have any links to the type of bags you're talking about?
Here is the old girl;
That’ll do the job. I would swap in some ergo grips for more hand comfort.
Panniers (and mudguards) are the way to go. You don’t want weight on your back, apart from anything else it makes your arse more uncomfortable.
I’d maybe suggest a better saddle (brooks b 17 or cambian) but if that one fits your bum nicely, ignore that.
I’m sure there at least one long-distance bike trail heading down towards the Eiffel that you can take.
Panniers (and mudguards) are the way to go. You don’t want weight on your back, apart from anything else it makes your arse more uncomfortable.
I’d maybe suggest a better saddle (brooks b 17 or cambian) but if that one fits your bum nicely, ignore that.
I’m sure there at least one long-distance bike trail heading down towards the Eiffel that you can take.
This is a decent guide.
https://bikepacking.com/plan/guide-to-bikepacking-...
Make sure you are comfortable on long rides. Less aero, more upright is a big help.
Don't worry about going fast.
https://bikepacking.com/plan/guide-to-bikepacking-...
Make sure you are comfortable on long rides. Less aero, more upright is a big help.
Don't worry about going fast.
Sounds like a good trip to do, but what sort of distances have you done in a day before?
That’s a fair trek on the other side to ride in 2 days (215 miles thereabouts).
You may want to consider adding another day in otherwise it’ll be fairly long days in the saddle, whilst certainly doable in 2 days it might take the shine off it a bit riding most of the day.
Have done both touring on a 29’er with slicks UK / Pyrenees and road biking 218 miles being the most I ever did in a day which was lonnnngggg
Don’t know if it’s a thing in Holland / Germany, but in the Pyrenees a lot of the supermarkets have washer / driers in the car parks for a reason charge so could wash kit every few days and not need to take too much with me.
Worth a search on google maps street view to see as would help with keeping your load to a minimum/ fresh kit is always a boost.
That’s a fair trek on the other side to ride in 2 days (215 miles thereabouts).
You may want to consider adding another day in otherwise it’ll be fairly long days in the saddle, whilst certainly doable in 2 days it might take the shine off it a bit riding most of the day.
Have done both touring on a 29’er with slicks UK / Pyrenees and road biking 218 miles being the most I ever did in a day which was lonnnngggg
Don’t know if it’s a thing in Holland / Germany, but in the Pyrenees a lot of the supermarkets have washer / driers in the car parks for a reason charge so could wash kit every few days and not need to take too much with me.
Worth a search on google maps street view to see as would help with keeping your load to a minimum/ fresh kit is always a boost.
Edited by lastofthev8s on Wednesday 4th January 13:02
Edited by lastofthev8s on Wednesday 4th January 13:08
Excellent thanks for all the info/suggestions :-)
Most in a day before was a little over 150 miles, but with some fairly significant differences, I was riding quite alot at that time on a very light road bike with di2 etc, I was closer to 30 then, now pushing 40, and that was mostly in a group or at worst with one other person.
So a few luxuries I won't have on this trip!
I have considered having an extra day, but I want this to be a proper challenge, I feel adding an additional day is just going to make it too leisurely and not inline with my reasons for doing it, so I've pretty much decided it has to be two days, the other factors are more days holiday used up at work if i add extra days, and of course its more efficient in terms of the hotel costs and the ferry timings work well doing it in 2 each way.
Most in a day before was a little over 150 miles, but with some fairly significant differences, I was riding quite alot at that time on a very light road bike with di2 etc, I was closer to 30 then, now pushing 40, and that was mostly in a group or at worst with one other person.
So a few luxuries I won't have on this trip!
I have considered having an extra day, but I want this to be a proper challenge, I feel adding an additional day is just going to make it too leisurely and not inline with my reasons for doing it, so I've pretty much decided it has to be two days, the other factors are more days holiday used up at work if i add extra days, and of course its more efficient in terms of the hotel costs and the ferry timings work well doing it in 2 each way.
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