I need a good bike route.

[jamesi]

I'd like to get in a 40-50 mile ride Sunday morning. I see a lot of cyclists starting at squires castle on river road. Does anyone have a route they like in that area? Moderate ascent is OK. Thanks.

James

[alison]

If you want to start from North Chagrin reservation, a popular place to ride would be south on Chagrin River Rd. The road was closed most of the summer at Wilson Mills, but I think it is open now. You can take this road all the way to the South Chagrin reservation. From there, head west on Hawthorne Pkwy toward Bedford reservation.

I ride this as an out-and-back from my house in University heights pretty often.

Alison

[Brandon]

Here is a link to one of my favorite routes. Most of my long rides this summer contained much of these roads:
www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/oh/-willoughby-hills/552125363791317606

Expect a hilly ride on scenic country roads.

One caveat: Parts of Sperry Rd. (this is the long northbound stretch of road) were being paved this summer and were not ideal to ride on. I tried to route you around the bad section via Heath Rd. (which was also being paved in sections) as best as my memory served me. If you encounter gravel on Heath or Sperry you can navigate between these 2 roads continuing Northbound. By the time you get to Mulberry Sperry should be good and is the ideal road to use to travel into the Holden Arboretum. Feel free to get in touch via e-mail or through this forum and I'll answer any questions you might have (including how to stretch this into 50 miles) the best I can.

My second suggestion would be what Alison mentioned. This route is less hilly with a bit more traffic and is also quite scenic...but I like the hills ;-)

Also, these maps can be a great tool for planning routes:
www.noaca.org/bikemaps.html

[jamesi]

Thanks. Both routes look good. I appreciate the links too.

James

[jamesi]

I've decided on the 40 mile loop. This will be my longest ride to date by 10 miles. I'd like to finish between 2:15 and 2:30, but I don't know because of the hills. With regard to nutrition I'm thinking 2 gels and 2 bottles. Does that sound about right?

[alison]

2 gels doesn't sound like enough calories for a 40 mile ride, IMO.

I like to eat solid foods on the bike, so I would pack a PBJ sandwich or a clif bar along with some gels or gatorade. If you are going with all gels, grab a few more than you think you will need in a variety of flavors. You never know what will taste good while you are out there, and it is better to have too many than not enough.

Alison

BTW Brandon, I like the looks of that route you mapped, and I might have to give it a try myself. I never go that far north, so it would be an adventure!

[jamesi]

Alison, thanks for the advice. I certainly don't need to be convinced to bring a PBJ...I'd bring a turkey leg if I didn't think my fingers would slip off my brakes!

[karming]

I'm not sure you need much more food. Figure 2.5 hours or so for 40 mile ride. 2 bottles of powerade or gatorade plus 2 gels should provide enough calories. If your bottle is about 24 oz then that's approx 250 calories (500 total). 2 gels should get you about 200 calories so total intake should be approx 700 calories. If you eat a good breakfast (and dinner the night before), your body will have more than enough glycogen stores. bring a third gel if you're really concerned.
Let me give you an example. For an Oly tri, I have cereal then for the race one bottle of powerade and 1 gel. It's always good to practice keeping on the lighter side on the eating. There's a good article but a running coach at www.mcmillanrunning.com that goes into his thoughts on it. Essentially teaching your body to be more efficient.

[chuckm]

Like so many things about this sport, the more you do it more you'll learn what works for you. I'm with Karming on the less is better option, but until you've tried it a few times, you're better off to err on the side of excess. I'm good for three or 3 1/2 hours with water and a bar, but I stay hydrated and well fed most all the time.

[Aussie Rob]

I don't think you need any calories until you get north of 60 miles imo.

Figure we store about 1800 in our muscles, and burn rate on the bike of around 600 an hour unless you're going hard. For a 40 mile ride id carry 2 bottles; one water, one gatorade.

It'd suck to ride 40 miles and gain weight for it! But Chuck is right, what works for some won't work for all. Experiment and see what you like to do. Finding your bonk point is always fun

[jamesi]

Thanks for all the info. I think I'll just go for it based on my original plan and figure it out from there. I'll favor a less is more approach.

Thanks again,
James