r/Biking

I (22M), and my friend (21M), want to tandem bike from Cleveland to Columbus in a day. We are aiming for a September ride.

There is the "Ohio to Erie Trail" that connects Cleveland to Cincinnati. (323miles-not feasible in a day for us), but it passes through Columbus. The on trail distance from city center to city center is almost exactly 200 miles. I think this is feasible on a bike in 24 hours. But, we want to try to do it on a tandem bike because we are young and dumb, and also try and do it in under 18 hours.
(4:30am-10:30pm ideal, 200mi/18hrs=11.11mph, leeway to under midnight 4:30am-12:00am, 200mi/19.5hrs=10.26mph) I'm aware we'd have to average this pace with food/rest breaks and water refills included.

Now this trail has some handy dandy maps online, there is not a whole lot of elevation gain southbound but certainly some, more concerningly in my mind for the sake of biking is that it is not all paved.

Now neither of us have ever ridden a tandem bike so that'd need to be fixed, and that's the basis of where my questions and concerns lie. I haven't scoured every inch of the trail but I have done it all to about 55 miles south of Cleveland, and will scope out more this summer if we deem this feasible.

We are rather fit but I'm aware that this is monumental. We both know how to pack food and water, he's a backpacking pro and I a novice(just to say we know how to pack food, not necessarily where our fitness comes from).

And now I turn to this subreddit for your thoughts.
Mainly:
Athletic feasibility
Tandem Bike concerns (vs regular bikes)
Path/trail concerns
Packing tools?

Anything else to think about and study/scope/prep?

Note: We are willing to do this on regular bikes but 1) less fun, 2) more bikes to maintain for 200 miles, 3) less fun.

Still would love any and all feedback thank you.

It may not necessarily be the designated "bike/ped engineer" — I mean the decision-makers who actually shape roadway design. In my view, their buy-in might be the single most critical factor in building all-ages, all-abilities cycling networks. Please share City name(s)and some details!

Do you eat before a ride? Just starting to wake up and ride with a goal of getting to a 10 mile ride. I’m very out of shape and 1 year postpartum. Do you suggest eating before a ride and if so what’s easy to grab and go?

Hi! I’m looking for some bike recommendations…not even necessary exact model, for starters I’m not even sure what type of e-bike makes most sense for me.

I’ used to ride downhill and bike parks a lot (10ish years ago). I still have my old do bike (trek session 8, 2012) and 4x bike. Other than that I have a ~18 year old basic mtb I really don’t like and which I’d like to replace. I have a wife and a small kid (1y8m). The kid loves his balance bike, he loves going to the pump track, so we bought the MacRide. We live in the Alps and  my wife has a Specialized Turbo Vado, so I’m kinda lagging behind. 

I’d like to ride more and I think with the kid growing up we could do that. I’d like to go on some trails, now with the MacRide, later on acting as the shuttle for him. I don’t think my wife would enjoy trails, so the fact that she doesn’t have a real mtb isn’t that big of a deal. I think. We might ride weekly during the summer, but this is my first kid so realistically I have no idea. He really likes the outdoors though, so maybe.

So now the question, do I get a electric fully, and if so do I go full power or SL? I'm 187cm and 103kg. Would a emtb hardtail be enough? Perhaps even a good analog fully? If I’d get a (electric) fully, I’d probably sell the session. With a hardtail I’d keep it.

Budget is 3500 EUR, new or used.

What do other dads have, is it enough, do you wish for something different? Money no object I’d just get a electric fully, but with the prices…it’s not really that it doesn’t matter.

Note: Generally I'm leaning towards a full power fully in the 150mm 29er range. But I'm not sure if that'll get used enough to warrant the price increase over a 29er e-hardtail for example.

I’m 42 and last year after my dog passed away I picked biking up and haven’t stopped since. I’ve been cycling regularly and am finding that I love long rides on country roads.

My parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in a week and a half and we are having a family vacation at the beach (I live in Indiana), and I decided to attempt my first century ride on the way out to the beach.

I found a route in Virginia on Ride with GPS that used to be for an annual cycling event, and I’m looking forward to exploring different terrain from Indiana. It has an option at mile 70 to cut back 5 miles to the start to cut the ride to 75 miles, if I don’t feel I can make it the last 25. Total elevation will be 7000ft. Currently the max I’ve done is 4000 ft elevation in a single ride (that ride was 50 miles), and the longest ride I’ve done is 65 miles. So I know this is going to be a challenge, but I’ve set aside the whole day to complete it, so I’m not going to be in a rush and will make sure to pace myself.

The main thing I’m concerned about is the rain. The ride is set for 9 days from now, and the app “Epic Ride Weather” is showing that for my route I can expect light to moderate rain for the first 1/3 of the ride and the last 1/3 of the ride. The temperature will be in the low to mid-60s in the morning and low 70s in the afternoon, so I don’t think there’s any concern for hypothermia.

But I’m looking for advice on how to manage—I ended up biking in the rain for 40 miles at the beginning of last week in the late night (trying to get as much training in as possible), and it was fine, but my wet feet were pretty uncomfortable by the end.

Should I take an extra pair of socks/gloves/jersey to change into once the morning rain is done? Is there a way to have the wet jersey drying on the back of the bike while riding?

Before starting the ride, should I stash a change of kit off the side of the road somewhere along the route where I should be when it’s dry during the ride to change into?

There’s no threat of lightning, so I’m planning to do it rain or shine—I just got fenders this weekend, so that should help. I guess any advice also on how to mentally be ready to handle this kind of weather would be welcome!

hey everyone. I have biked a lot in my life, but mostly as a kid on campgrounds or on trails with my parents. now I am an adult. I just brought my schwinn to my apartment, and not sure where to start. I don't have a helmet or a bike lock, I don't understand the rules of the road, et cetera. I mostly intend to use the bike to supplement public transportation, as I dont drive at all. i have some questions:

how important is wearing a helmet? how cheap can I go without compromising safety?

how do I find out the bike laws where I live? my apartment is in a township, and the public transport is in a city nearby. is there an agency that would publish this stuff? can I get a ticket on my bike if I (not intentionally) break the law?

how do I know when it's appropriate to ride on the sidewalk versus the road? we have some bike lanes in the city, but not everywhere, and not always clearly marked. I know drivers hate bikers, but pedestrians seem to hate bikers too.

are there any books or magazines that address common bike mechanical problems, kind of a reference book to keep on hand?

basket recommendations, so I can transport my purse/laptop/backpack without killing my back?

I am pretty nervous since I'm autistic and a lot of rules are based on intuition that I don't have (like the sidewalk thing). I just want to get around the city a little faster without adding a ton of hassle to my life.

Well, This is far into the future but I'm already pondering it. I guess people were right when they said you'll get bored quick. I'm not, really. I'm just really future focused.

I'm not a loyal brand person. I want a different brand everytime I purchase a vehicle, or at least an entirely different style, it makes me feel alive!

I brought a Yamaha YZF R125 2023 in March. Yes.

March.

Oh goddd as a new rider the thing is beautiful, I look after it well so far and I'm still 100% sure I want to keep this thing for at least the next 50 months. It wasn't my dream bike, it wasn't even the one I wanted at the time. But it was enough.

Yet less than 2 months later I'm thinking of replacing her! 😭😭

Long story short, I have no intention of selling this thing even if I do get a THIRD motorcycle. But I know I can get big money doing so even in 4 years time.

So, feel free to discuss in the comments, or help me!!!

When I go for my A2, sometime early next year I've set the objective to... What bike should I consider???

I don't want to waffle so I won't go into details, but as I said, I want something different every. Time. I've tried a commuter city scooter.. now a "super sports" bike (despite it being 125 they have the audacity to class it as that) and now people are telling me to get an adventure!?!!

For anyone wondering, I'm into cruisers.

Thaaaaaanks :)

https://gofund.me/ded235ee5

I am 5’6 for reference and usually use a 52ish cm bike. I am on my second Cannondale, currently using a quick 5. I like the hybrid/commuter piece of it, but I am riding longer distances and want something more comfortable. I ride on average 20-30 miles a go on both road and gravel/trail. I’d like it to be lightweight. I saw REI made a co-op ARD 1.2 that seems slightly more road, but I am looking for more recs. Happy to answer any questions. Thanks in advance!

I am dutch and moved to australia where biking without a helmet is illegal, but the route I ride is completely safe without a helmet, i just get police told me the other day that it’s illegal to have no helm.
Are there any like helmet that isn’t so big and bulky that i can maybe just put a hoodie over the top and then you can’t see it?
Helms are really kinda ugly and it demotivate me to ride if it is making my hair messed up

Hey everyone !

Im looking to get a motorbike i am 22yrs old. I have no experience with riding other than a moped in Sri Lanka for a couple months. Since then i have been tempted to get a bike back here in the UK and have been constantly being around bikes since being back
Can someone give me tips on what to get/start with i want to be a cool biker dude any advice what to get or look into would be much appreciated