America’s Biggest Health Crisis Coming Soon

America’s Biggest Health Crisis Coming Soon

Why is expected life shrinking? Why is it so hard to perform athletically as we age? Get insulin resistance under control, and so many options can be had. Ride your bike with the young guns again.

Long Stretch 500k

Long Stretch 500k

While I was designing the second 500k route I recently posted here I came up with the idea for the instant 500k route that is the subject of this post. Back in 2018 I had designed two 300k perms that started and ended in New Hope, PA. They both stayed entirely in Pennsylvania. I never reactivated them when the new Perm Program was instituted. But there were some good roads in each. I used those two routes as “inspiration” for Long Stretch 500k. Basically I used one of those routes as the southern portion of Long Stretch. And I used the other route as the northern portion of Long Stretch. Then I created a 100 mile route that connected the two together on the western end. And I started and ended the new route in Princeton NJ.

This route has a nice number of rest stops open 24/7 evenly spaced out. It has three historic covered bridges included. Two are actually on the route, and one is just barely off it but can be seen while riding the route.

CLICK HERE to see this route in more detail at RWGPS.

Advertisement

Bare Bones 500k

Bare Bones 500k

Here’s another 500k route that starts and ends near my home in Princeton NJ. It’s kinda on the hilly side, but should be fun. It was designed to be another bikepacking adventure route. The time limit is 33 hours and 20 minutes according to RUSA rules. As a result, it’s ideal to be ridden over an easy weekend. I’m not aware of any unpaved sections except for a very short towpath stretch by the Scudder Falls bridge on the PA/NJ border. Hopefully I’ll find time to ride this little puppy later this year.

CLICK HERE to see this route in more detail at RWGPS.

Passion to Pedal

Passion to Pedal

Shawangunk Expedition 500k

Shawangunk Expedition 500k

Not too long ago I noticed a new 300k perm route out of the Jersey shore region that headed up to Paterson NJ. There was a piece of that route I thought I liked, and used it for the inspiration that resulted in the instant route being created. Originally this route went clockwise. But the bike path over the Tappan Zee Bridge is not open 24/7. So I had to re-draw the route so the rider would get to the bridge when it was guaranteed to be open. I kinda like this route. It passes through NJ, NY and PA and should be a fun one to ride. Start it on a Saturday morning probably and finish it sometime at a reasonable hour on Sunday.

CLICK HERE to see this route in more detail at RWGPS.

Ultra Distance Cycling Routes

Ultra Distance Cycling Routes

I’ve been cycling the better part of my life. Until I was just past age 50 I thought of 100 mile rides as a seriously long endeavor. Then I started doing more and more of the 100-milers, and they didn’t seem all that long. Eventually I joined a cycling “club” called RUSA.org that administers randonneuring cycling events in the US. Most of the rides I’ve done with RUSA are 125 miles, 187 miles, 250 miles, 373 miles, 621 miles, and 750 miles. These are distances that easily convert to kilometers: 200, 300, 400, 600, 1000, and 1200. But as time has gone on I’m not really a fan of those increments of ultra-distance rides.

I now think of the 125 mile rides as babies or introductory rides. To me they hardly count as ultra-distance endeavors. I very much like the 300k (187 mile) distance since it takes up a full day, but I’m not exhausted by the effort required. The 400k (250 mile) rides take a full day, and they do kick me a bit. So the 350k ride is probably my sweet spot distance when I’ve got a day to kill. For me that is the ideal distance to ride when I’ve only got a day to do an ultra.

But if I’m going to wipe myself out and I’ve only got a weekend to do an ultra, then do I want to stop at 400k? Probably not! But do I want to jump all the way up to 600k? Definitely no. A 600k just takes too much time to get done in just a weekend. It’s possible. But really tough, especially if you have to travel to and from the start of the ride. So what is the solution? A 500k route. That’s 310.7 miles. Does RUSA offer many (or any) of these? No – at least as far as I know.

If I’ve got the time and energy to do a 600k, then I’d really like to add an extra 100k and make it a 700k ride. It’s pretty easy to create 700k routes simply by designing a 350k point-to-point ride and then just retrace it to get back to the place you originally started from.

And lastly, what is so special about a 1200k route? I just don’t see it. I prefer the 1000k routes much more. No need to waste an extra day adding on 200k to make it a 1200. So it is my opinion that ultra-distance rides I like the most are 350k, 500k, 700k and 1000k. That’s a major departure from 300k, 400k, 600k, and 1200k.

How to Get Fit in Your Fifties

How to Get Fit in Your Fifties

What Will Happen if You Start Swimming Daily

What Will Happen if You Start Swimming Daily

7 Benefits of Swimming

7 Benefits of Swimming

Never Enough 300k

Never Enough 300k

A couple of weeks ago I found myself with a little free time. It was either read another novel or sketch another 300k route out of Princeton. Designing a route won out. I got the rough draft done, but finishing the silly thing took a while. Been busy lately. Anyway, I finally got it done this morning, and here it is as an additional post to my blog.

CLICK HERE to see the route in more detail at RWGPS.