How to Cycle Long Distances

The longest distance I ever cycled in a day on a heavily loaded bicycle was 135 miles. The key to covering this kind of distances is to ride slowly, use the gears, conserve energy and relax.

To cycle a heavily loaded bike at nine or ten miles an hour on flat ground with no wind is a very relaxed activity. Any increase in speed will consume a lot more energy due to increased air resistance, and the more speed is increased the more energy is consumed for each mile an hour gained. I could cycle at ten miles an hour all day, at fourteen miles an hour I might manage three or four hours on the bike, but at eighteen miles an hour I’m finished in an hour. See the graph at the bottom of the page for the energy cost of higher speeds.

Drop handlebars reduce wind resistance

On a heavily loaded bike any kind of hard attack on a steep hill will burn energy very quickly, get into the lowest gear and climb slowly. Three miles an hour is a good speed on a steep hill.

Another way to burn energy quickly is to accelerate hard. When starting from a standstill, use the gears and and build speed slowly. Gears are a great aid to covering long distances if used well. Never push a high gear hard, if in doubt drop down a gear.

The key to covering long distances is to spend many hours on a slow moving bike. To stay on the bike it’s essential to relax and stretch as you travel. Constantly changing hand position will avoid numbness in the hands. Standing on the pedals and stretching the legs will avoid cramp and give your backside a break from the saddle. When cycling slowly up a hill, sit up and relax your shoulders and neck.

I never drink or eat on the bike. While racing cyclists need to eat and drink constantly, they are chasing speed and burning a lot of energy very quickly. Afer a good meal and several mugs of coffee I can easily cycle for three hours without eating or drinking.

Drop handlebars are invaluable for covering long distances. When cycling into a strong wind or going fast downhill, I use the drop handlebars to cut wind resistance.

Perhaps the most important part of doing a long journey on a bicycle is to enjoy the journey. Sit up, look around, relax and enjoy the view.

The energy cost of speed

Cycling in the Rain

I cycle almost every day, running errands, going to jobs and just for fun. Living in Ireland I often cycle in the rain. Down the years I’ve tried a lot of different breathable raingear but I always find that I end up sweaty no matter what the product promises. When it comes to rain gear for cycling, I’m a conservative, I like a cape and wellington boots.

Available in Argos

My current cape was bought in Argos for €12.99, over a year ago. I expect many more years of wear out of it, as it’s still as good as new. Don’t remember where I got my wellies but they are also a low cost and long lasting item.

A cape does have one very big disadvantage, it is not at all aerodynamic, so if you want to cycle fast forget it. I’m happy with a cape as my cruising speed on the bike is about 10 mph. It is a major drag to ride with a cape if you get faster than this or try to ride into a strong head wind. On the other hand it acts like a sail with a strong tail wind.

The beauty of a cape is that while it keeps the rain off it also allows the air to circulate freely underneath. The only exception is on the shoulders where it rests which do get a bit sweaty after a while, but this is a minor inconvenience rather than a major discomfort. I have on occasions ridden for hours in heavy rain wearing my cape and wellies and got off the bike bone dry.

It’s a very old answer to the problem of how to stay dry on the bike and will not suit many cyclists, but for me it's the perfect low cost solution.

Raleigh Bike Cape from Argos

Bicycles and Horses

As a child in rural Ireland in the mid 1960s I can still remember a society and economy that was not fully integrated into the global oil economy. Only the wealthy and professionals owned cars. Poorer households did not have a car and the bicycle was still a very important form of mass transit. Many smaller farmers did not own a tractor and draught animals were still common. I also remember a few people were still using handcarts and wheelbarrows to carry cargo on the roads.

The Horse - beautiful but expensive

No one used horses as personal transport. Those without cars used bicycles, small motor bikes or they walked. Apart from the fox hunting horses of the rich and the gentry, there were heavy draught horses and they were used exclusively to haul heavy loads and do heavy farm work like ploughing and mowing. Asses were used for lighter loads and work like getting turf out of the bog.

Horses particularly hard working heavy draught horses are very expensive. They need a lot of ground for grazing, when working hard, like when plowing they need grain, which required more acres to grow. An old farmer told me the first tractor he bought freed up one third of his land for human food production.

A tractor when not in use can be left unattended and costs nothing. A draught animal needs food and attention 365 days a years. They are prone to health problems and can be difficult to get into foal, this all takes time. They need a lot of land and a lot of labour, and in this way they consume a lot of renewable energy.

The Bicycle - practical and cheap

Compared to a horse a bicycle is cheap in both energy and time. A bicycle can travel a lot further and faster in a day than a horse and will consume less energy doing so. Like a tractor when not in use it has no cost and needs no attention. It is also a lot more energy efficient than walking and a human can carry a lot more cargo on a bicycle than on foot. Humans are unlikely to give up the bicycle, for walking or riding a horse over distances.

A neighbour who is an expert horse trainer and breeder told me his father, who was also a horseman, would go long journeys to horse fairs in the 1950s to buy good draught horses he could sell close to home at a profit. He did not go on a horse, nor did he walk, or take the train, he rode a bicycle. If he bought a horse, it walked  home beside the bicycle, even poorer Irish horse farmer in the 1950s travelled by bicycle not by horse.

Even when fossil fuels are all gone in some distant future, steel could be made in solar furnaces and water turbines could power machine tools and all those scrap cars will provide lots of metal to recycle for making bicycles. People may end up riding heavy steel bikes on gravel or dirt paths in the future as they do today in rural Africa.

Lighter Bicycle Touring

Last year I bicycle toured with about 17.4 kg (38.36 pounds) of cargo. I’m almost finished assembling kit for the 2012 touring season and this year I will carry a much lighter 13.1 kg (28.88 pounds), including food and water. Every time I climb a hill I will feel the benefits of a lighter load.

Releigh Royal Touring Bicycle

My 3 kg Coleman Cobra 3 tent, which is sold as a three man tent but in reality is really a spacious two man, will be replaced with a 1.5 kg one man tent. I’m looking at four different tents right now that fit the bill. This will cut the load by 1.5 kg.

Last year I had a 1.5 kg Kelly Kettle, this is replaced with a 0.75 kg Trekker, from Kelly Kettle. My tool kit is now based on a 200 gram multi tool rather than the the 1.6 kg toolkit I used last year. A 1.5 kg sleeping bag has been replaced with a 1 kg bag. Metal cutlery has been replaced with a plastic sporke.

I reduced the amount of spare tee shirts, socks and boxers I’m carrying and added a 110 gram collapsible basin which will allow me to wash clothes every day. I’ve also added a 20 liter collapsible water container which weights 200 grams. The Kelly Kettle, collapsible basin and water container provide the means to boil lots of water for washing dishes, clothes and myself.

Trekker Kettle and Cook Set

I’ll carry 0.5 kg of bone dry timber and 0.8 kg (800 ml) of vegetable oil for the Kelly Kettle. While I expect to scavenge most fuel on the road, a reserve of reliable fuel is essential to get the kettle going quickly in all situations.

I’m replacing a 0.2 kg foam mat with a 0.4 kg self inflating mattress.

I loaded the full touring weight of 13.1 kg (28.88 pounds) onto my new Raleigh Royal touring bike, and rode about 20 miles to test its handling. It handles very well even on a twisty 25 mph downhill run. I toured last year with my Raleigh Oakland hybrid carrying 17.4 kg (38.36 pounds), the Royal with only 13.1 kg (28.88 pounds) aboard is a much more nimble and maneuverable touring machine.

A few more items to buy and I am all set for the open road.

Trekker Kelly Kettle

Sporke

Sporke