Cycling Galway - Limerick Return

Burial

Hey all,

I am 22, heading on 23, and I am thinking of buying a new bike (my preference is a mountain bike with slick tyres, but I know that a road bike would be better in terms of performance on the road) and my goal would be to eventually cycle from Galway to Limerick on Friday and then return from Limerick to Galway on the Sunday.

I am pretty much going from couch to 160 km in a weekend... I am aiming to do this around October/November if that is possible..

I have a few questions, and I appreciate any answers to them!

What training would I need?
What is the average speed on a mountain and road bike?
How long would it take to cycle on average with a mountain bike? (I heard 4 hours?) and a road bike? (I heard 2.5-3 hours)
Would trying this with a mountain bike with slick tyres be foolish of me?
When I do the cycle, is there anything I should bring? I.e. energy drinks/gels etc.
Any advice in general?

tuxy

I took up cycling 2 months ago and had not exercised much in about a year.I have been cycling 40-60km twice a week. Don't think a cycle like that would phase me at this stage although I would not be fast even on a road bike, so probably 4 hours each way.

Why do you want a mountain bike? Will you be cycling off road also?

Tonyandthewhale

Burial wrote: »

What training would I need?
What is the average speed on a mountain and road bike?
How long would it take to cycle on average with a mountain bike? (I heard 4 hours?) and a road bike? (I heard 2.5-3 hours)
Would trying this with a mountain bike with slick tyres be foolish of me?
When I do the cycle, is there anything I should bring? I.e. energy drinks/gels etc.
Any advice in general?

If you're not going until october or november I wouldn't worry about setting up a regimated training schedule, just get out on the bike as much as you can and enjoy yourself.
Average speed can range from 10km to 40km/per hour depending on fitness levels, wind, hilliness of route, how you're feeling on the day, group versus solo riding and how much of a hurry you're in. Just go at whatever pace you're comfortable at, if you're cycling regularly you'll soon figure out what you're average pace is and consequently how long it will take.
It would take a lot longer on a mountain bike than a road bike for obvious reasons, I love mountain biking and I love mountain bikes but they're not designed for riding on roads.
Bring what you would bring on any longish ride, a pump, spare tube, tyre levers, something to drink and some food, common sense stuff like.

monkeyslayer

yea just get out on the bike, enjoy it and build on the kms each week. you'll find you start recovering a lot faster between rides so multi day spins stop being a major problem. As for fitness, if you're already fairly strong and healthy you'll be grand. I remember a few years ago the day when i cycled from mikes bikes in dun laoghaire to bray after collecting a new bike and i thought it was the most epic amount of exercise I've ever done. I was wrecked for days after. A whopping 10km and not a hill in sight (!) Within four or five months i was doing ten times that in a day with no major difficulty