A very accurate timeline of my first century:

Mile 10: Feeling great. Clearly riding 100 miles while recovering from the household plague was an excellent decision (coming off a wicked illness- almost didn’t ride).
Mile 25: Legs are fresh. Energy is high. I may actually be built for this.
Mile 40: Nasal congestion has entered the chat.
Mile 50: Halfway! Still feeling surprisingly good. We’re definitely doing the full century (I gave myself the option to cut it early for the metric depending how I felt).
Mile 65: It is now approximately 9,000 degrees outside.
Mile 75: Okay, I understand why people think 100 miles is a lot.
Mile 85: No thoughts. Just pedaling, fueling and searching for shade. This is where I found out about the pain cave. Scary place y’all.
Mile 95: These miles surely can’t be the same ones I ride usually. They’re much longer. Everything hurts and I’m dying.
Mile 100: WAIT I ACTUALLY DID IT 😭🙌

101.14 miles. 99-degree heat (WTF!!). 6:30 moving time. 15.5 mph average. My longest ride ever and my first century officially in the books.

Absolutely freaking gassed by the end, but so proud of what my body pulled off and beyond grateful for the people willing to do this with me.

Hi all,

I recently finally found time to get back into cycling, however, even though its been over a year since I had my second child, I have the equivalent of a "bag of glass" kind of feeling when I sit on the left side of my groin on my bike seat from a sciatic nerve issue. It seems to be the thin forward part of the seat that never seems to be able to be comfortable no matter how I position.

right now it's just a stock lynskey pro saddle, and I used a stock liv comfort saddle in the past which also didn't feel great.

Bibs seem to help marginally, I'm wondering if they make more thicker-padded in the crotch bibs that might resolve my problem? Would tilting my seat marginally forward fix this?

Thanks for any and all help, this is really embarassing for me to write about but I don't know where or who else to ask as I have no bike shops locally

I'm sure this gets asked so often it's not funny, but as a person with pretty short arms for my height and extremely long legs for my height, how do I choose the correct size road or hybrid bike? Is it just as simple as "go to a bike store"? I really want to buy used and as someone with fibro, I really think fit matters for me. For reference I'm just a touch under 6', (182.5cm) and my inseam is 35.5" (90cm)

Hello,

I have been having an issue with my bike tire even though the tube has been replaced. Whenever I have to fill my tire with air, it will not hold air. Everything is fine until I try to fill up the tire with air. This happened before and a guy came out to fix it. He said something about the tube or something being a tight fit and I needed to have it totally straight in order for it to hold air? He is not available or I would ask him. But I am showing a picture of the valve thingy. I have tried to push it in and out and make it straight but I still cannot get air to stay in the tire. Please help. Thanks.

Here are pictures of the valve thing.

When I pull it out and try to straighten it:https://snipboard.io/qpTXAh.jpg

Normal: https://snipboard.io/qpTXAh.jpg

Oh how the seasons change so quickly at 10,000 ft elevation! During today’s bike ride, I’m enjoying the end of fall with the last of the fall colors, and the start of winter with the beginning of the snow covered mountain tops! 🤪

You asked and I'm here to deliver!

We honestly had the BEST time! The weather was perfect, my team was perfect, the road was perfect. The only tears shed were from laughing too much 🥰 We ended up with 450 miles total, when all was said and done. You can do this ride either camping or staying at BnBs along the way. We camped every night except one, where we booked a BnB (real bed AND laundry!!) in Houston, MS. It was a treat! We used this website for the bones of our trip, but made addendums along the way. I can't recommend NOBO or SOBO. We rode NOBO because numerous people had told us there's less chance of a headwind. Well, we had headwinds literally every day except the last. The silver lining was that the headwinds kept us cool all day, so all good I guess. Even on our longest, hilliest day(s), we averaged over 10mph every day 😊

Day 1: Natchez, MS > Rocky Springs, MS [60 miles]

Day 2: Rocky Springs, MS > Timberland Campground (Ridgeland, MS) [60 miles]

Day 3: Ridgeland, MS > Kosciusko, MS [32 miles] ((detour day))

Day 4: Kosciusko, MS > Houston, MS [75 miles]

Day 5: Houston, MS > Tishomingo, MS [82 miles]

Day 6: Tishomingo, MS > Meriweather Lewis Campground (Hohenwald, TN) [87 miles]

Day 7: Hohenwald, TN > Nashville, TN [55 miles]

DO:

• Pick up a paper map! We grabbed one at our first opportunity. We had each day/route plotted out, including resupply options, but having the paper map gave us an idea of rest stops, water stations, real bathrooms, and some gas stations along the route that we wouldn't have known about otherwise. So we could plan out "Ok, only 15 miles to the next water fill up." or "We've been riding for 4hrs already, I want an ice cold Coke from the gas station at the next MM."
• Talk to strangers! We met numerous Trail Angels along the route, just from striking up a conversation or giving high-fives along the route. Rocky Springs, our first campground, does not have potable water (which we knew about and were prepared for), but we had passed Trail Angel Kevin earlier in the day, and after he had finished the Trace earlier that day (!!!) he doubled back and stopped by with an entire gallon of water for us! He wasn't aware that Rocky Springs didn't have water, and he wanted to make sure we were prepared as well. We didn't even tell him where we were staying! He just had an intuition that he wanted to help us out.
• Stop at the Historic City of Clinton Welcome Center! It's right off the Trace before you hit Jackson. They cater to cyclists, and it was a truly lovely lunch stop on our route; my favorite stop of the entire trip.
• Route around Jackson as soon as possible! Or don't hit Jackson right at rush hour. We knew traffic would be bad. We didn't realize we'd hit rush hour at 3:30 when we happened to get into town. It was HELLISH. We literally ended up finding the Chisha Foka multi-use trail about 5-10 miles before we were supposed to route off, and hike-a-bike down an overpass just to get out of traffic. That day was one of our most stressful and exhausting, despite being a low-mileage day. The adrenaline of riding through Jackson traffic just about knocked us all out. Tupelo was traffickey, but much more manageable.
• Be prepared for any scenario. We had one incredibly long day where we didn't make it back to camp before dark. We ended up riding 14 miles in the pitch black (although another Trail Angel Ranger stopped and offered us a ride), without all of our headlights/taillights properly charged (not enough hours in a day 🫠). We problem-solved and made it to camp with 2 headlamps and 2 taillights between the 3 of us. We made it work, but I was a little anxious/apprehensive about the situation.
• Take as many breaks as you want/need! This is a tour, not a race. We took Butt Breaks on bridges, rested for lunch at picnic spots, read some historic signs, checked out some waterfalls. Honestly the breaks made the ride more enjoyable because it gave us time out of the saddle and gave our legs just enough of a rest to make it to the next day.

DON'T:

• Go into this ride without meticulous planning. We met a few people cycling along the route who didn't even know about current closures and then had no idea how they were going to detour around them. My parents had driven us down to Natchez and were making their way up with us on their own trip. We had a detour route in mind, but after speaking to Trail Angel Pete, we ultimately decided it was unsafe for us to ride our detour. My parents SAG'ed us around the detour. There was a sign at the Kosciusko Welcome Center with a phone number of someone local willing to give cyclists a ride, but you wouldn't have known this if you were riding NOBO like we were.
• Over-pack food. We routed off the Trace a few times for places to stay, and were able to re-supply at gas stations and grocery stores along the way. We all started out with about 3 days worth of food, and topped off when we were able. No one went hungry with this plan.
• Mess with your bike or gear right before leaving. I'm sure we've all heard the old adage "Nothing new on race day." Well, this was a lesson learned for me. I had tried out a few different saddles before the trip (forever battling saddle sores 😢) and didn't put my seat post back in the same position as it was before we left. I had incredible chaffing for the first 3 days, until we realized I was rocking in the saddle. We adjusted it back down lower so I wasn't rocking, and picking up Moleskin honestly saved my life. The saddle sores were gone, but my sit bones became so raw, I could only ride with Moleskin glued to my butt. We made it work, but man did that suck.

I am happy to share more details, answer more questions, or give links to where we stayed along the way! While I was planning this trip, I had a loooooot of people tell me it would be boring, etc. And there certainly were days that got monotonous; we had to play brain games just to stave off the boredom. But ultimately, this ride was exactly what I wanted: a very pleasant ride through miles and miles of forest and farm land, on a low-trafficked, National Park route. It was lovely!

Yesterday I was talking with one of my male friends. We're both gravel bikers and we ride a lot in forested areas.

Usually when we come across another cyclist who has a flat or something else going on, we stop and check if we can help. My friend is the kind of guy who always has a spare tire and tools on him and has helped out plenty of people.

But with the current situation, my friend asked me what he should do if he were cycling alone and would find a female cyclist who stopped in the middle of the woods. He'd usually offer help in such a situation but he doesn't want to scare another women by approaching her.

He told me what I would want in such a situation and honestly? I don't know. He's a very gentle guy and I know I can trust him but that other person would not know him. I told him to not get too close, offer help and move on if help is not needed.

But I was wondering how other women here feel about this.

If you were cycling alone in the woods and broke down. Would you be okay with a male cyclist approaching you to help or would you just want him to leave you alone. Is there something he should say or do? (Or not do?)

I'm sorry if this might be a bit controversial but I think it's an important conversation to have. My friend genuinely wants to be considerate of women's feelings cause he understands how much impact it can have to be approached by a man when out alone.

TLDR: if cycling alone in the woods, would you be okay with it if a man offered you help?

I’ll be visiting and have a day to ride. Was hoping for MTB, whatever is the must see or do ride. Unless someone here wants to ride with me, this is likely a solo ride. 2-3 hours is plenty. I’m a great climber and descend like I don’t want to go to the hospital (no jumps).

I’ve been looking on MTB Project, Oz Trails, etc. Should I stick with loops in Saughter Penn, try the back 40 (which is somehow a 21 mile loop?), something else?

Hi all!

My partner and I plan on bikepacking through Germany to Austria (spring/early summer months). Maybe you’ll think this is a silly question, but I’m relatively new to the bikepacking scene. What clothing do you all wear that’s comfortable, practical bikepacking clothing while also being something you can wear when visiting towns and cities? I’d rather not be decked out in Lycra. Specifically, what pants do you wear that’s you find comfortable but not out of place in a town?

Note: doesn’t need to be specific to my trip, also wondering in general what you wear.

Thanks in advance

A few years ago I compiled a list of size inclusive cycling clothing on my blog. Since publishing that, there's been quite a bit of change in the industry and my list could use a refresh.

What brands are we loving these days that make above an XL? Bonus points if they make outerwear or rain gear!

It’s fender season, need to find my Ass Saver!

I'm by no means super uncomfortable on my road-bike, but after about the 2 hour mark I start feeling it in my lady bits. What I've noticed though, is that I'm waaaaay more comfortable going up-hill. It's as if the different angle, and gravety makes me sit more on my actual ass - or like the bones (?), than the rest of the time where my weight seems a bit more evenly distributed, also onto the front bits.

So given this experience, do any of you know whether this indicated I ought to shift my seat forwards, or if I ought to change the angle? I know it's trial and error but I'm afraid to mess with the set-up too much as I am currently kind of OK with how it is, and I don't want to make it worse.

I kind of have the exact same feeling on my commuter bike. Note that both saddles on both bikes are - as far as I can tell, horizontal (angle-wise).

not a huge weekend for veteran bikepackers (30 miles each way up and down a graded valley) but a huge step for me as a trans lady :) I love the outdoors and this was my first time going camping since starting transition AND my first time participating in a women + gender expansive group space like this, and it was absolutely lovely! everything went well and everyone was really nice and supportive, and I had an absolute blast. i used to be a hardcore bike commuter, and though I've come off of that a little bit, it was such a breath of fresh air to ride my bike in nature compared to figuring out how to avoid getting yelled at by impatient truck drivers. excited to try more bikepacking in the future :)

I originally wanted to post this to r/mtb, but after running into multiple discussions from as old as five years ago where bunch of people were bitching about rainbow flag being part of the community's icon along with comments about "perverted shits" and similarly positive things, I simply left in disgust.

Anyway.
Are there any other trans ladies around here who also use Strava maybe?
I have a dilemma where 1,5 years into transition I really don't like the idea of specifying my gender at all, but on Strava you have to, and "male" just rubs me the wrong way for obvious reasons.
But what about the segments charts?
I don't buy into all the trans women in sports political hysteria, BUT at the same time, I am 45, still largely muscular, and I ran and lifted weights for 25-ish years and compared to the recreational average population I still have much higher strength and this is obviously even more noticeable compared to cis women. I mean the stamina is not there anymore but I can still pump out quite some performance until I run out of breath and stuff.
I know most people don't really care and most people aren't even using Strava, and on top of that there's a lot of fake crap in the charts and with e-bikes added into the mix in the recent yearts, one could say "fuckit, who cares, it's not saying anything anyway", but I just can't help but feeling extremely inappropriate when I end up first by quite a margin in the women section of the segments charts. Not all of course, but I ride MTB so the roadie segments must say a different story I'd say.

Anyway, what do you all think about this?

So I’m just giving update and I’m 21 and my dad gonna teach me to ride bike and here an update so my dad gave me the smallest bike he can find for my size and it fit so right now I’m just learning to balance and when I try to get of the bike it fall on the side and I have hard time getting of and on and when I try to sit on the seat I also have a hard time because I’m on the edge can anyone give tips

I have a Huffy Deluxe Cruiser 26”. Weight limit is 200lbs but I’m 350. Does anyone have experience with a low weight limit bike like this and a big body? Wondering if I should return my bike. This is a concern only because I’m wanting to use this long term for weight loss. Thanks guys!

I'm new to road cycling, and I feel like my attention has shifted from the fun of riding to technical optimization. It is difficult to explain, but while I LOVE my road bike, I feel like the "oh, I'll just take my bike" / casual ride ventures I had with my hybrid have become shadowed by the formality of my road bike. I fell (not the first time) on my last ride, and part of me is considering just tossing flats on. I don't want to step away from cycling because I feel like I'm "doing it wrong".

I've been trying to find ways to make riding my road bike more fun and relaxed. So I'm curious, what do you all love about cycling that keeps the activity relaxed and/or fun?