What to prepare for long distance riding

As a cycling enthusiast, I rode from Jiaxing, Zhejiang to Xiangyang, Hubei during the summer vacation this year. The whole journey was 1,050 kilometers, and it took 5 days, with a daily distance of 210 kilometers. Let me briefly talk about my experience.

Notes:

1. The most important thing about cycling is to arrive at the destination safely, and then the wind and freedom. Long-distance cycling will definitely take you to the national highway. Regarding traffic safety, the first thing I emphasize is: (1) Drive to the rightmost side of the non-motorized vehicle lane, so that you and the large trucks can be assured. (2) Give way to the speed but not to the road. There will be some damn things driving against the flow on the non-motorized vehicle lane. Don't change lanes easily, because there are large trucks on the left that may endanger your life at any time. You can just force the dog driving against the flow to stop and let it change lanes for you. Always ensure your own safety. (3) When you encounter an obstacle on the road and need to change lanes to the left, you must first turn your head to observe whether there is any vehicle coming from the left rear.

2. The second problem encountered on the road is a flat tire. How should I put it? On average, a flat tire occurs every 200 kilometers. A flat tire will definitely occur on the national highway. Don't be lucky. I think I rode a long way before without a flat tire. That is purely because there are fewer small iron wires and broken glass on urban roads. Regarding tire repair tools, I will tell you the conclusion directly. Only choose CO2 nozzles and CO2 cylinders, see the picture below. Give up portable pumps (troublesome, tiring) and Xiaomi inflators (heavy, damages the nozzle). Develop a good habit of being brave enough to accept new things. Calculated based on 1,000 kilometers, bring a CO2 nozzle, 5 CO2 cylinders, and 5 inner tubes. It is enough for you to slowly burst. When changing the inner tube, you must remember to clean the sharp objects on the outer tire.

3. Travel light: Buy a beam bag for mountain bikes to put mobile phone navigation, shelves and camel bags. For road bikes, just carry a small backpack, listen to the voice broadcast of the navigation, don't bring headphones, and turn the mobile phone to the maximum volume. Two sets of cycling clothes are enough, and the one you wear is dried in the hotel at night. Bring a mobile phone, charger, power bank, 90 compressed dry food, ID card, and two 750ml water.

4. About the problem of rain. If you are out for a few days in a row, you may encounter rain. I offer you two ways. One is to stay in the hotel and wait for the rain to stop if you don't care about the cost. You can ride when the rain stops. The other is to take a car to make up for the lost distance. There may be a charge for parking the bicycle, which is a small matter. You must lean the bicycle against the side without the rear derailleur. My rear derailleur was damaged by the car. The core idea is not to ride a bicycle on rainy days. Your braking distance and the braking distance of a large truck are extended on rainy days. The most important thing is to complete a long-distance ride alive. Don't put the cart before the horse, dear.

5. I don't know how far your own physical strength can allow you to ride in a day. People who have no cycling foundation can easily complete 100 kilometers a day. Then 150 kilometers, 200 kilometers, 250 kilometers, and so on. There is another very important question. Switch Baidu Maps to the satellite map shown in the figure below. It is better to take a detour to avoid mountain roads. In fact, there is no need to worry about why many things happen. You can avoid many pitfalls if you follow these experiences. My personal experience: uphill one after another, the mentality exploded. Downhill speed was too fast, and I fell when turning. I was scared and took the train home.

6. After the ride, I realized that it was nothing special, so I just let it go. The amazement of people around me is useless to me.

7. Regarding route selection, according to the distance you plan to ride every day, find the most suitable city or county or town on the map, where there are hotels. You can also look for a lunch restaurant and navigate directly to the lunch restaurant in the morning. The distance is half of the daily distance. By the way, don't ride at night. Riding on the national highway after dark is simply a death sentence.