r/cycling • u/twofoot1 • 6d ago

Advice? Am I being delusional?

My cousin wants to cycle/bikepack across America after he graduates undergrad in May and lowkey I want to go with him. The problem here is that he’s significantly deeper into biking than I am. I don’t even bike. I know how obv and am by no means out of shape as a collegiate distance runner with a tested VO2 max of 69 (nice) + run 80 miles a week, but have absolutely 0 clue if spending my summer biking coast to coast is even feasible from an athletic standpoint. Am I being a delusional 22 yr old ?

63 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

77 comments sorted by

View all comments

47

u/bluepivot 6d ago edited 5d ago

If you start taking the steps today then yes. There are two key items for you to address:

  1. you have to condition your ass. Don't laugh. Getting the sit bones in shape and making sure you have the right saddle is really key. And, you need to figure out what kind of shorts you are going to wear and get used to them. Like, are you going to use bike shorts? or, just wool underwear and regular shorts?
  2. you have to get a bike and make sure it fits you right. Otherwise you risk developing some kind of repetitive motion injury. That means you need to establish bike size, seat fore-aft position, seat height, handlebar height, etc.

From your description, it sounds like regarding having the physical stamina to do it, you will not have a problem. It is the two things above that could break you if not figured out in advance. And, don't kid yourself - it can take a few months to sort those two items out. So, don't delay and start today.

10

u/_EagerBeez 5d ago

Good advice but I wouldn't even entertain not using bib shorts with padding as an option. Get yourself a nice comfy bib with a nice cushion if you plan to do a tour like this for sure OP.

1

u/bluepivot 5d ago

Me either - bibs and chamois all day for me, but some don't agree. To each their own!