I was looking at how long it would take. To drive to Zion national park. And noticed that the bike icon, said it's doable in 8 days. I didn't think that was realistic. So after research and maybe some exaggeration in my abilities. I have a plan to make this trip. By cycling 100 miles a day for three days and taking the forth day off. Until I get there. Is this a more realistic expectation, or am I just going to burn myself out?
by TactlessPuddle8
32 Comments
If you have to ask, the trip is likely too hard or will take much longer for you. That said, it is technically possible to ride 100 miles per day with every fourth day off. You should be comfortable with highway riding, very good with bike repair, and pretty experienced with route planning, finding camping spots, or have plenty of funds for motels. Same goes for food.
EDIT: also Google’s estimate is for riding 24/7. If you average 75 miles per day, this ~2,100 mile trip will take you a full month at an absolute minimum.
It really depends on your current fitness level, the type of touring you envision (credit card/hotels or camping) and the time of year. Keeping a pace of 100 miles/day on a loaded bike is not crazy if you’re well trained, but it won’t give you a lot of time to enjoy your trip off the bike (which is to me also the point of touring).
That 8 days is if you pedaled non stop. Without knowing anything about your riding experience I would say even 60 miles/day average is hopeful, and that number goes down if you plan to fully self support and sleep under the stars every night. If you are serious about doing this you need to do a shit ton of research, routes, gear, campsites, weather forecasts, etc… Can you wing it? Maybe, but even then I would plan on this taking a couple weeks at a minimum
My experiance is with a solid frame mountain bike and a heavy weight set up. 60km is a lot if you are not in really good shape. Let alone 100 miles. Not saying its not doable with the right set up, gear and fitness level but if your not on a road touring setup with ultralight gear and already used to long rides (like within the season) I wouldn’t recommend it.
GDMBR riders often do 100 miles a day and TDF/Giro/Vuelta riders do more so it’s possible, but do you really want to do that to yourself.
Unless you’re a very experienced cyclist, back-to-back-to-back centuries will not be doable especially since it looks like you’re coming out of WV (Morgantown area?) which is very challenging riding.
I’d recommend looking into the Adventure Cycling Association for an established route to hop on: https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/interactive-network-map/
It looks like you’re near the Chicago to NY Route, from there you could hop on the Eastern Express to bypass Chicago, and hop on Route 66 or the TransAmerica, both excellent routes that will take you to the Western Express, which goes through Zion National Park.
I don’t want to discourage you, I was certainly not adequately prepared for my first long bike trip, and I was still successful. Just temper your expectations about mileage per day.
I would say it is possible to do 100 miles, 3 days, and one day off. But those 3 days will be really hard. They will take you 8+ hours, unless you are trained well, and dont forget you have to take breaks, eat, etc.
I would aim for max. 60 miles per day as a daily goal, if you are capable to do more on a day, then go for it.
Maybe you are going with minimal gear, no tent, and sleep only in hotel, then 100 miles should be doable actually, but still depends on your level
You won’t ride your bicycle 24 hours a day. Even if you did 8 hours every day, it would take 25 days. That would be with no day just to wash your clothes and buy stuff. So this is still not realistic and still based on this app that is not made for this kind of planning at all. It also doesn’t consider time lost for repairs, bad weather, etc.
Well quick math with guess to your starting point it looks to be about 2000 miles. That’s a pretty big tour for someone to be asking about with no real background. My advice would be to ride a century first. If you have done so, now try it with 20 extra pounds on the bike. After that ride, do it two days in a row. Ride one state over and camp after choosing a path. After all that, decide whether it is worth your time, money, and resources to take a month off to ride to Zion.
You will burn yourself out. Go check out FlyScout Ryder on YouTube. He’s done a lot of the routes across the country. He never does 100 miles a day unless he’s going downhill with a tailwind.
You should plan for 60 miles a day tops. You should also plan to get to where you’re going a couple hours before the sun goes down just in case you have a mechanical that slows you down for an hour or so.
And be careful. That part of the country is *not* bike friendly.
If you’re using Google for routing, you haven’t done enough planning /s
All jokes aside, there are a lot more details to consider on a long bike trip in terms of navigation, resupply, roadside repairs, weather, etc. It’s an absolute blast if you’re fit enough and ready for the challenge though. Do some training rides throughout the spring and work up to the mileage a bit at a time until you think 100 feels doable. My first century day was on my first bikepacking trip and then I followed it up with 95 miles the next day and 97 after that, so it’s definitely doable.
8 days on Google maps means 8 days of constant riding day and night.
Your plan equates to 75 miles a day and if you did it nonstop would take you about a month to reach your goal. The route you have shown is likely the most direct roads and you won’t be allowed on them. Also much of that route is boring as all hell. Colorado is going to be a major slow down with thousands of feet of climbing and you are going to get hit with the elevation challenges for a few days as well. If this is a self supported venture you will need a fair amount of gear and this will further slow you down.
Race across America record is 7.5 days.
I did a route similar and gave myself 45 days: Washington DC to San Diego. Agreed if you have to ask, it will be a bad time.
use komoot and call it a day.
You might also wanna have a look at ‘Race across America’ and their route
Realistically, this would take at least 2 weeks
Experienced rider here. I did the great divide (2700 from Banff to Mexico border) in 40 days. Cranking out 100 miles a day multiple days in a row requires some pretty top level physique. So even if you have that capacity, with weather and bike issues and minor injuries or belly issues or saddle sores etc this would at minimum take 21 days if you’re not a pro. Plus, if you’re not racing or anything, it’s way more enjoyable to take your time on this kinda ride
That’ll definitely take longer than 8 days. That estimate is way off.
Use komoot
Whats your current riding experience?
The 8 days is around 300 miles a day, which is what the best ultracyclists basically do in self supported races such as transcontinental, so if you’re asking you’re not doing it in that time.
But id say 100 miles a day is extremely doable, as long as you cycle consistently and are comfy on the saddle for 8-10 hours a day.
If you average 15 mph that’s only 6-7 hours a day, add in stops for food, water etc and you’ve got a full day of cycling.
This is all dependent on your ability, what do you currently average over different distances? Do you know the road surfaces on the route?
How far is your longest cycle and how comfy do you find your bike and position on the bike?
According to a little simple math, 100 miles per day with every 4th day off gets you 600 miles in 8 days. That puts you somewhere in western Illinois at the most. This doesn’t account for all the unknown variables that will no doubt arise and slow your progress. Not trying to be a buzz kill here, but, trust me, as someone who has completed a cross-country ride (Mexico to Canada on the GDMBR in 48 days) 8 days is extremely unrealistic for this ride.
My first long solo bike tour was from central Missouri to western Colorado and that took me 15 days.
I would say – first day take it easy. Second day build up and on third do 100 miles. Then a rest day and then on just do 100 mile days. Wind, and terrain will slow you down, so in the more difficult sections deduct some pace while in good tail wind just hammer it and get some distance in.
Checking out the sights 📸😮💨
100 miles out west is a lot different than 100 miles over the plains.
Not impossible, just not probable that you will be successful while also having fun. My advice: do the trip, but without time constraints. Plan the trip out and find the time to “take your time”. You might learn better routes that afford you more adventure and enjoyment along the way. My wife and I did 4000 miles across the West. Best time in our lives… just waiting until I can afford to do it again.
Is this I70? Because you’re not cycling interstate 70.
What’s your current fitness level? If you can do a 100km non-stop training ride you can probably do this trip as well.
Looks like you’re opting to burn yourself out. From my experience touring, aiming for 60-70 mile days is a good sweet spot when you calculate breaks, possible mechanicals and weather. Hell there might be some days you only do 40 or 50 due to how brutal the route is (especially going through mountain ranges and hilly areas).
Also note that Google Maps bicycling directions should be taken with a grain of salt, it’s designed for driving first, bikes distant third. I would look up the Trans-America routes or Strava heat maps for better route planning.
Simplify. Just do 200 miles per day. You will get there quicker and save money on food and lodging logistics.
Pro tip: Sell your bike at the start of the ride and run it on foot. You will save even more money this way with no maintenance required or chance of a mechanical. Ditch your clothes also, don’t need em. Food you can find on the ground or in bushes. Sleep when you get to Zion. It’s pretty simple.
Take 36 hwy across Kansas. Do not take 54 as many cyclists have died attempting that route.
8 days means biking 12 mph 24 hours a day. This is not doable.
Your suggestion of biking 100miles a day for 3 days with a 4th off means 32 days of biking.
100 miles a day may be doable in the plains, but Appalachia and the Rocky’s will make 100 pretty difficult.
I would not focus on biking 3 days with one day off. Instead I would bike for about 6 hours a day and go as many days until your body says to take a full day off. And your body knows best. Don’t try to convince yourself you can do an extra day if there is a doubt. Listen to your body. Maybe you can do more than 100 one day and only 40 on another day.