a few questions for a cycling noob!!

ditpoker

some background, I have cycled in and out of town for college for 3 years, about 20mins in and 20mins out. havent done this since January. In the summer, myself and two friends plan on flying to Boston and cycling to Atlanta (about 1300m) over an 8 week period.

1. can anyone give a rough guide as to how much a bike will cost for such a trip. and what resale value we might have after it, if any?

2. are there any general points to consider about cycling in the states?

3. I have a pre-existing ITB injury (iliotibial band, commonly known as runners knee or cyclists knee). anyone have any experience with this injury. I hurt my knee training for a marathon, and have not cycled in a while.

Thanks.

ba

MY TIP: get training! you'll have to increase your endurance and start building up the distances on the weekend/weekday. trips of 120km with baggage.

do you plan on selling the bike upon your return cos then you might as well get a touring specific bike, cannondale do a nice one for €1500 i think, in cycleways.

TinyExplosions

I'd recommend getting a bike and gear over there... particularly with the weak dollar, you could save about 30% on prices... maybe budget 2 grand for everything (including shoes, gear etc), and you should be ok (split pretty much 50/50 on bike to gear).

As for resale value, you're probably looking at losing half the value, but it may well be worth bringing it back and selling over here, or keeping it and using it more -you may get bitten by the bug!

As for the injury, I'm afraid I don't know, however I do have a knee injury that kept me out of all sorts for 6 or 7 years that hasn't been a problem on the bike thus far.

kona

id love to do this but im off to whistler for the summer:D

id say even more important than training is planning.

IMO there is no way sombody with a knee injury, can train in 2 months up to a standard to cycle 230 kms a day minimum, and thats without gear, and rest days(very important tbh).

do you know youre route?? you cant use the freeways, do you know places to avoid, (two milkbottled irishlads on 2 e1500 bikes in "da hood" is asking for trouble), are you confident in traffic, the yanks are lunatic drivers. how much have you set aside for maintenace?? do you know how to fix a bike quick??can you bodge a "get me by untill i can replace" together.

if you have all your **** together id reccomend, a drop bar racer, aluminium frame, a bomb proof wheelset, and maybe a mtb groupset. look at a cyclocross bike and stick a set of slicks on it, and a big saddle.
cylocross bikes can take more abuse than racers/tourers.
as said before buy the stuff over there, it will be cheaper, id try sell it there too, not worth the hassle bringing it back to recoup e200 or so.

then you will need to buy tools, id advise a multitool, spoke key, chain tool, cone spanners, tyre levers(if you struggle with tyres), and a foldable track pump or co2 cannisters..

then in a bag you should have, a folding tyre, 2 tubes, a puncture repair kit, a chain, brake pads, gear and brake cable and a can of gt85 as well as a good quality lube.

id head over to the fitness forum too and ask on re-hydrating and protein powders. i use maximuscle protein and the stuff cyclogical sell, alive-o i think.

kenmc

kona wrote: »

IMO there is no way sombody with a knee injury, can train in 2 months up to a standard to cycle 230 kms a day minimum, and thats without gear, and rest days(very important tbh).

eh? if he cycles every single day it's 43km a day!

1300miles (his numbers, assume it's correct) = 2080km. lets call that 2400 km for the hell of it.
2400km over 8 weeks = 300km a week
Cycling every day of the week it's 43km a day
If he only cycles 5 days a week that's only 60km a day. very doable and achievable in 2 months.

kona

kenmc wrote: »

eh? if he cycles every single day it's 43km a day!

1300miles (his numbers, assume it's correct) = 2080km. lets call that 2400 km for the hell of it.
2400km over 8 weeks = 300km a week
Cycling every day of the week it's 43km a day
If he only cycles 5 days a week that's only 60km a day. very doable and achievable in 2 months.

**** my bad, i thought i saw 13,000, im a decimal off sorry, and my units are ****ed i ment miles! duh!lol then yes its very achievable, here was me thinking he was crazy:D:D

ditpoker

kona wrote: »

**** my bad, i thought i saw 13,000, im a decimal off sorry, and my units are ****ed i ment miles! duh!lol then yes its very achievable, here was me thinking he was crazy:D:D

scared me there! wasnt sure how far i had to do at all for a moment.

thanks for all the input. as far as training goes i was in training for a marathon up to about 3 weeks ago so i still have a decent level of fitness (and was reasonably fit before that anyway) and will do some training in may.

the more research i do into this trip the more daunting it becomes... :eek:

i'll be the most hyrdated person in the states, i'm obsessive about that sort of thing. really its the equipment side of things im at a loss for... i can see me walking into a bike shop in boston (i do intend to buy all over there) and saying "i dont know what i need, gimme everything" but if i can put together a check list between now and then it will be great...

kona

there is a saying that it takes 4 months to get peak fitness, but 4 weeks to lose it.:o

and i know im sounding like a lil pr!ck here but, running and cycling fitness are totally different as you use different muscles for each, likewise training at a steady pace is bad because you lose your speed and change of pace.

have a look at the us bikes such as trek, giant, specialized, kona, GT etc these are bikes you will easily get there cheap.

blorg

As Kona says, it's going to be more about the logistics and planning what to pack, etc. than training for the distance. 2,000km over 8 weeks should be easily doable for anyone with even a moderate level of fitness.

The temperatures may be an issue depending on when you do it. I believe the humidity can get very bad; I was in Atlanta in March and it was pretty much like an Irish summer at that point. Having cycled in high temperatures my no.1 tip would be to plan to get your cycling done first thing in the morning- get up before dawn and head out as soon as it starts to get light. You can then knock off before lunch and not have to cycle any more for the day.

It's good to have a bit of experience with the bike before doing this sort of thing, but it is difficult to argue with the cheap dollar. Bikes were always cheaper in the US anyway (and tax a lot lower) and the weak dollar is making them even cheaper yet. I'd suggest you have a good shop in Boston lined up who will have something _in stock_ in your size and can fit you on it.

Avoid racing bikes as such but a drop-bar tourer or cyclocross bike as Kona suggests would be ideal. You want something that can take a rear rack and panniers.

Well before you go, lay _everything_ you are planning on taking out somewhere and aim to get rid of half of it. This is a tip I read in a book by Anne Mustoe and it is very valid. Good luck with your trip!

Also no harm asking for advice in the touring forum on bikeforums.net who are a forum very popular in the US.