How many Miles a day is reasonable..

Am starting a plan a approx 500 mile (360 by google map.. extra built
in to try to stay on backroads when possible.. getting to campsites..
etc.) bike trip for a group of Boy Scouts next summer. Leaving
Detroit Michigan to Upstate New York (to Palmyra, through Canada) It
will be in July, HOT & Muggy!!!!.

What would be a decent working number to start with in regards to how
many miles a day they could cover.. for planning purposes.

We plan to camp.. they would get up in the morning.. have breakfast and
hit the road. They could lunch on the go (or McDonalds.. whatever)
A support group would pack up tents, etc, then pass them on the road
and set up the next night's camp, and have dinner ready when they come
in.

We will try to spend the months and weeks leading up to it getting them
to put in some miles on their bikes to get ready, they may or may not
follow the program.. .but working in their favor is they are 14 years
old.. and a reasonably athletic bunch.

wrote:
A request for information about the reasonable traveling range of a boy
scout troop two-wheeling on a 500 mile trip in July.

I'm without a clue here, Jackjohans. In cycling events, I've seen the
"family rides" are in the 15 to 20 mile range, but I imagine your group
will be spending more time on the bikes each day, and quite probably
will be on more capable bikes. What is their current "day excursion"
cycling range? Remember, when you do the trip they'll be packing
luggage.

Perhaps the best source of information for the training, route planning
and daily travel ranges etc. would be other scoutmasters.

Robert Leone

wrote in message
ups.com...
Am starting a plan a approx 500 mile (360 by google map.. extra built
in to try to stay on backroads when possible.. getting to campsites..
etc.) bike trip for a group of Boy Scouts next summer. Leaving
Detroit Michigan to Upstate New York (to Palmyra, through Canada) It
will be in July, HOT & Muggy!!!!.

What would be a decent working number to start with in regards to how
many miles a day they could cover.. for planning purposes.

We plan to camp.. they would get up in the morning.. have breakfast and
hit the road. They could lunch on the go (or McDonalds.. whatever)
A support group would pack up tents, etc, then pass them on the road
and set up the next night's camp, and have dinner ready when they come
in.

We will try to spend the months and weeks leading up to it getting them
to put in some miles on their bikes to get ready, they may or may not
follow the program.. .but working in their favor is they are 14 years
old.. and a reasonably athletic bunch.

There are so many variables. The physical ability of the weakest member,
the size of the group, the amount of non-transit time you want each day.

For me I would put the top end at 100 km [62 miles] a day for a middlin
sized group of relatively fit riders who wanted a reasonable degree of time
each day for whatever non-transit recreation you wish.

On 4 Oct 2005 08:53:05 -0700, wrote:


wrote:
A request for information about the reasonable traveling range of a boy
scout troop two-wheeling on a 500 mile trip in July.

I'm without a clue here, Jackjohans. In cycling events, I've seen the
"family rides" are in the 15 to 20 mile range, but I imagine your group
will be spending more time on the bikes each day, and quite probably
will be on more capable bikes. What is their current "day excursion"
cycling range? Remember, when you do the trip they'll be packing
luggage.

Perhaps the best source of information for the training, route planning
and daily travel ranges etc. would be other scoutmasters.

Robert Leone

He also doesn't say how many days are scheduled for the trip. If two weeks,
obviously 30-35mi/day with a long ride one day would do it. In the US the
scouting merit badge for cycling is, iirc, 50 miles. So they'd probably
want to do at least one 50 mile day if their req. is the same.

Since they have a group packing up the tents after breakfast, I'm guessing
they're travelling light with full sag, so 35 should be doable.

jj

wrote:
Am starting a plan a approx 500 mile (360 by google map.. extra built
in to try to stay on backroads when possible.. getting to campsites..
etc.) bike trip for a group of Boy Scouts next summer. Leaving
Detroit Michigan to Upstate New York (to Palmyra, through Canada) It
will be in July, HOT & Muggy!!!!.

What would be a decent working number to start with in regards to how
many miles a day they could cover.. for planning purposes.

We plan to camp.. they would get up in the morning.. have breakfast and
hit the road. They could lunch on the go (or McDonalds.. whatever)
A support group would pack up tents, etc, then pass them on the road
and set up the next night's camp, and have dinner ready when they come
in.

We will try to spend the months and weeks leading up to it getting them
to put in some miles on their bikes to get ready, they may or may not
follow the program.. .but working in their favor is they are 14 years
old.. and a reasonably athletic bunch.

50 miles a day, maybe? I'd say it depends somewhat on how well you can
get them prepared in the months before hand, what quality of equipment
they'll be riding, and what the terrain looks like (I can't imagine that
upstair NY would be anything other than lots of hills!), etc. It'll be a
lot harder on the adult riders than on the kids, if they're not used to
doing long rides on a regular basis.

wrote:
Am starting a plan a approx 500 mile (360 by google map.. extra built
in to try to stay on backroads when possible.. getting to campsites..
etc.) bike trip for a group of Boy Scouts next summer. Leaving
Detroit Michigan to Upstate New York (to Palmyra, through Canada) It
will be in July, HOT & Muggy!!!!.

What would be a decent working number to start with in regards to how
many miles a day they could cover.. for planning purposes.

Figures in kilometres since you'll be riding a lot in Canada

Maybe anywhere from 60-100 km per day? Figure about 20-25 km per hour
elapsed time, from the departure time to off-the-bike and into camp,
not actual riding time. This has been my, not very wide, experience and
seems to be what an old friend who was a cyclist in the WWII German
army seemed to think was very reasonable.

This allows time for washroom breaks, the odd flat or quick dip in a
lake, and the occasional wrong turn or the famous "Where'd Joey go? He
was here a minute ago!" usually found with a group ride.

Riding alone and with light baggage I find 100km/day is a touch too
much if I want to be a tourist as well. On the other hand if you really
want to travel *and* your troop is used to disciplined riding in a pace
line I'd guess 120 km/day would be reasonable (depending of course on
wind and weather). Remember the prevailing winds are from the east and
they get a long sweep across that nice flat SW Ontario countryside.

Insanely competitive and determined you could probably do 150km one or
two days but I suspect the kids would be exhausted. It really requires
an experienced cyclist to do that kind of mileage and I am not sure
that 14 year olds, unless they are experienced club/racing cyclists,
would have the endurance.



We plan to camp.. they would get up in the morning.. have breakfast and
hit the road. They could lunch on the go (or McDonalds.. whatever)
A support group would pack up tents, etc, then pass them on the road
and set up the next night's camp, and have dinner ready when they come
in.

You might want to consider either a fairly long lunch break or
afternoon pause during the hottest part of the day or alternatively a
very early start and a plain to end the day in the middle of the
afternoon as it gets very hot.

We will try to spend the months and weeks leading up to it getting them
to put in some miles on their bikes to get ready, they may or may not
follow the program..

If you can, I'd suggest holding two or three(several?)group riding
clinics to teach riding in a pace line, rotations, etc. A group that
knows how to ride together are likely to enjoy themselves more, make
better time and ride more safely. Also, a good pace line can haul a
weaker rider along when needed.


.but working in their favor is they are 14 years
old.. and a reasonably athletic bunch.

Sounds like a fun trip. Good luck

Good info so far.. and to answer some of your questions:

They will be traveling with no luggage, just a little food for the day,
and obviously water, support van carrys rest.

Bikes, they should have pretty good ones.. we will borrow if we need to
in order to get suitable bikes. Not high end racers.. but decent ones.


I am thinking on the road 6:30am and do pretty much the whole day, not
formal scheduled stops... they can rest when needed on their own
throughout the day.. but pretty much just keep it in gear until they
reach the night location. Adult chaparones will take care of camp
cleanup, packup in the morning.. .then setup & dinner on the next
camp... in order to give them the most number of hours on the bikes.

If it all works they could get up.. grab breakfast and jump on their
bikes... then roll into camp at night.. camp set & dinner ready.. they
can goof off a while.. maybe swim.. or hit their sleeping bag right
away.. whatever they want.)

I was wondering if I could get 100 or 125 miles a day out of them?
Adult chaparones will likely be limited somewhat in the amount of time
they can take off work.. so I would like to get there.. enjoy a day in
NY.. then drive them home all in 6 days time.

Am I dreaming.. or is it possible?

wrote in message
ups.com...
Am starting a plan a approx 500 mile (360 by google map.. extra built
in to try to stay on backroads when possible.. getting to campsites..
etc.) bike trip for a group of Boy Scouts next summer. Leaving
Detroit Michigan to Upstate New York (to Palmyra, through Canada) It
will be in July, HOT & Muggy!!!!.

What would be a decent working number to start with in regards to how
many miles a day they could cover.. for planning purposes.

We plan to camp.. they would get up in the morning.. have breakfast and
hit the road. They could lunch on the go (or McDonalds.. whatever)
A support group would pack up tents, etc, then pass them on the road
and set up the next night's camp, and have dinner ready when they come
in.

We will try to spend the months and weeks leading up to it getting them
to put in some miles on their bikes to get ready, they may or may not
follow the program.. .but working in their favor is they are 14 years
old.. and a reasonably athletic bunch.

================================================

The 6:30 am on the road plan. Good idea, but in my experience ( and I have
quite a bit ) it is hard getting a group going. So, plan for 6:30 am ...
and hope they are on the road by 8:30 am. What about breakfast? Are they
going to be eating their wheaty's at 5:30 am, in the dark?

Per day /////////// plan about 5-6 hours of riding. That would be
8:30 - - 12 pm ,,, lunch = 3 hours. After lunch = 2 more hours of
riding. If the terrain is easy,,, maybe 50 miles per day. If hard,,,,
40 miles per day. Mix it up... Do a long day followed by a short day. Tell
them .... "guys, we ride 60 miles today so we can swim at the .... swimming
hole"... the next day, do a 35 mile day.

Remember ........................ have FUN.... BE SAFE
.......................

This comment answers a different concern. Have as many cell phones in the
group as possible. They will probably end up forming "cluster groups," of
riders with similar tastes and riding ability. Be sure each group has at
least one phone. If you notice some weaker riders who tend to fall back and
ride alone, make sure not to lose track of their whereabouts. Nothing could
be worse than having someone riding alone wander off course without a phone.

On 4 Oct 2005 10:09:18 -0700, wrote:

Good info so far.. and to answer some of your questions:

They will be traveling with no luggage, just a little food for the day,
and obviously water, support van carrys rest.

Bikes, they should have pretty good ones.. we will borrow if we need to
in order to get suitable bikes. Not high end racers.. but decent ones.


I am thinking on the road 6:30am and do pretty much the whole day, not
formal scheduled stops... they can rest when needed on their own
throughout the day.. but pretty much just keep it in gear until they
reach the night location. Adult chaparones will take care of camp
cleanup, packup in the morning.. .then setup & dinner on the next
camp... in order to give them the most number of hours on the bikes.

If it all works they could get up.. grab breakfast and jump on their
bikes... then roll into camp at night.. camp set & dinner ready.. they
can goof off a while.. maybe swim.. or hit their sleeping bag right
away.. whatever they want.)

I was wondering if I could get 100 or 125 miles a day out of them?
Adult chaparones will likely be limited somewhat in the amount of time
they can take off work.. so I would like to get there.. enjoy a day in
NY.. then drive them home all in 6 days time.

Am I dreaming.. or is it possible?

I think you're dreaming. As I mentioned the scout merit badge in cycling in
the US has a ride of 50 miles in one day as one of the requirements. I just
don't think you're going to get 100 miles per day out of 14 year olds who
are probably -not- training for this ride, even on one of the six days
scheduled, let alone for 5-6 days straight!

If they are riding at 12-14mph, that's still over 8 hours a day in the
saddle and for untrained riders, even if they have the ability, this will
cause blisters and overuse problems. Even 50 a day is a bit much for that
age group unless they've been averaging 100 miles per week for the previous
four months or so, which I doubt.

Why not ask a couple of the kids. 'Hey, how many hours at once can you ride
your bike every day?' I bet they say 'oh about 2 hours'. Even if there's no
a risk of blisters or sore butts, there's attention span. You might get
50-60 miles on day one, but then everyone will be moaning and complaining
after that. Remember as one poster pointed out, you have to base it on your
slowest rider, not your fastest. Even a full supported ride for adults on
perfectly flat ground rarely goes over 50 miles a day for 6 days.

jj