Epic charity challenge!

[Jackleman]

OK, I am relatively new to PH but have not used this section at all yet so here goes...

After several years of doing charity challenges in the form of seeing how far I could walk in a day I am turning my attention to the two wheeled variety to try and raise some spondoolicks for charity and also get a bit a fitter.

So my plan at the moment is the following...

Sept 2010:-
Cycle as far as I can in a day, I am hoping to hit around 100 miles.

Sept 2011:- I will cycle from Chichester on the South Coast down to Spain via Cherbourg.

2012:- Something even more epic if I survive the first two!

So, really I am in here for a little support, but mainly advice.

My first question is this, I did a ride today on my mountain bike, 42 miles, 3hrs.49m across a variety of terrain. I have some data here:- http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=2089...

You can see my route and if you click your mouse on the pin it will give you some extra data. What I am after is something I can add this data in to so to work out how many calories are burnt.

The next question is, this ride was done on a mountain bike with chunky mud tyres, if I did the same amount of effort on a half decent road bike how much more easier would it be assuming it was on road only and relatively flat. My training at the moment is on a mountain bike as that is all I have, but I hope to switch over to a road bike a few weeks before but hopefully pounding the hills will have built my strength up.

Any help, advice, support would be very welcome. If people are interested I will keep this as my thread to let people know how I get on.

Cheers

Steve

[Jackleman]

Bump.

[isv]

Get a decent road bike, ideally a 'sportive' type that will be comfortable and fast over a long distance. I have a Specialized Roubaix and it is brilliant for long trips. I did 1,000 miles in 9 days on mine last month - was pretty much perfect. 100+ miles in a day on one of these is not an issue assuming your fitness is OK. btw - pay attention to amount of daylight available in September - you don't want to be cycling at night. Pay greater attention to the route - you really don't want to find yourself on a major road/dual-carriage way for any longer than necessary.

I wouldn't want to do those sorts of distances on a mountain bike - simply too slow and far too much effort. Get a road bike and the difference will probably be dramatic...

Edited by isv on Tuesday 27th July 16:37

[broadhat]

Google map

Definitely a heart rate monitor. I use a Suunto t3c The above little beauty burnt 1220 calories for me this morning, my first outing on a bike I've had lent to me for a triathlon. I used Google's My Tracks on my phone to record it, gives details of ave and max speed, time moving, time stopped, elevation, gradient etc.

eta: just read your mountain bike question. I've been using a mountain bike up until this morning. A whole world of difference between the two. From my experience of a single ride, if you want to cover distance, you'll need a road bike.

Edited by broadhat on Tuesday 27th July 16:42

[Parsnip]

swerni said:

To work out your calories you need a Power Meter, that will tell you exactly how much you burn. Anything else will just be a guess.

As to how you would find it one a road bike, that would depend on how fit you were.

The calories burned given by a HRM is an estimate - often out by a fair whack. The only way to do it accurately is a power meter (which is a super expensive bit of kit, way above the needs of most cyclists). Typically, if my power meter is reading 800 calories, then the HRM will be estimating about 1100.

The key is building it up slowly - if you have the time in the saddle then a 100 miler is a piece of piss. If you have the fitness, but have never sat on a bike for 5 hours+ then it will be hellish.

It will be easier on a road bike, impossible to quantify though - no idea what your bike is, or what road bike you car talking about. Depends a lot on you too - if you buy a super aggressive race bike and you are uncomfortable on it, then it doesn't matter how fast you are going if you can't do the distance.

[Jackleman]

Thanks chaps.

Some good advice there.

I will be looking for a road bike soon, it will have to be second hand though as I am on a budget at the moment, are there any good websites other than eBay I should look at?

Cheers

[Parsnip]

I would agree with you, was just stating that using a HRM is at best an estimate and not to put too much stock in it.

Even with the reading from my power meter, I tend not to pay any attention to the calories burned - you learn what your body needs and when - I don't need a computer to tell me that I am hungry or that I am putting on weight.