[HN Gopher] Lachlan Morton completes 5,510km Alt Tour, beating p...
___________________________________________________________________
Lachlan Morton completes 5,510km Alt Tour, beating peloton to Paris
by five days
Author : giuliomagnifico
Score : 229 points
Date : 2021-07-13 10:55 UTC (12 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.bikeradar.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.bikeradar.com)
| tomthe wrote:
| This reminds me of the Stalfarfar:
|
| >In 1951, at 66 years of age, Hakansson participated out-of-
| competition in the 1764 kilometer bicycle tour Sverigeloppet from
| Haparanda to Ystad. Because of his advanced age, the organizers
| had refused to allow him to participate. The maximum age for race
| participants was 40 years, but nevertheless he started from
| Haparanda, formally not among the contestants but starting one
| minute after the last of them had set off and wearing a shirt on
| which he had written a big zero as his number tag. The Tour was
| run in stages, and while the contestants slept, Hakansson would
| pedal up to three days without sleeping. During the contest, he
| was presented as "Stalfarfar", a name that had followed him since
| the late 1940s. He kept a long flowing white beard that made him
| look even older, and the organizers were afraid people would
| laugh at the race participants. Many newspapers were covering his
| story, and he became famous as the nation followed his journey
| through the country. [3]
|
| During a few hours off in Soderhamn the police asked him to take
| a medical exam, which showed that Hakansson was in good health.
| After 6 days, 14 hours and 20 minutes, he arrived in Ystad - 24
| hours before the contestants. There was a parade with a marching
| band, fire brigades and Hakansson seated on the shoulders of
| younger men. The next day he had an audience with King Gustaf VI
| Adolf of Sweden.
|
| from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustaf_H%C3%A5kansson
| motbob wrote:
| That's a great achievement. It also illustrates why these long
| bike races are run in stages. A multi-day race where riders can
| disregard stages will turn into a nightmarish competition of
| inhuman endurance.
|
| In video game speedrunning, the communities surrounding >24
| hour speedruns (e.g. Breath of the Wild 100%) have often set up
| rules allowing for breaks for runners to sleep. This prevents
| the speedrun from becoming a competition of who can sleep the
| least.
| dan-robertson wrote:
| This used to be the case for the Tour de France. That is, it
| used to have no stages with night cycling allowed. I think
| one reason was that contestants would put their bikes into
| vans and drive at night while the judges couldn't see them.
| obmelvin wrote:
| > A multi-day race where riders can disregard stages will
| turn into a nightmarish competition of inhuman endurance.
|
| Iditarod and Yukon Quest are both like this - I met someone
| (who had won the Yukon Quest) that started wearing a helmet
| mushing because he had passed out from exhaustion and hit his
| head.
|
| edit/P.S. When just googling I saw something talking about if
| these races were cruel to the dogs. While obviously some
| people have (or continue to) treated their dogs poorly, I
| must say his dogs clearly lived to run. They were so cute and
| energetic. He talked about how a woman a couple decades ago
| schooled all the men in the sport by truly taking care of her
| dogs, and it seemed like that had a big effect on how he
| raised his dogs.
| a_f wrote:
| >nightmarish competition of inhuman endurance.
|
| On multi-day ultra-endurance rides there is an issue where
| your neck will no longer support your head against gravity,
| called Shermers neck syndrome.
| https://sportcoaching.co.nz/shermers-neck-a-guide-to-neck-
| sy...
| blowfish721 wrote:
| Sounds like a sound thing to do, if nothing else then to make
| sure people don't go to the extreme.
| https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-12541769
| stefs wrote:
| > A multi-day race where riders can disregard stages will
| turn into a nightmarish competition of inhuman endurance.
|
| i think the most famous example of this is the RAAM - the
| race across america
| (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_Across_America): "In
| length the RAAM is comparable to the Tour de France, but the
| races differ to a great extent. The courses of both races
| have varied over the years. However, in the Race Across
| America, the direction has always been from the west coast to
| the east coast of the United States, approximately 3,000
| miles (4,800 km), making it a transcontinental event. More
| importantly, the race has no stages, i.e., it is in principle
| a nonstop event from start to finish, with the fastest
| competitors needing slightly over a week to complete the
| course."
| ansible wrote:
| > _A multi-day race where riders can disregard stages will
| turn into a nightmarish competition of inhuman endurance._
|
| Well, people already do that too:
|
| https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a35885288/barkley-
| marathon...
|
| This is running instead of biking, but the same idea. I'm not
| quite sure why people subject themselves to this, but they
| do.
| dtparr wrote:
| If you're curious why, the most recent finisher at Barkley,
| John Kelly (a PhD Data Scientist, to maybe tie it to HN a
| bit more), blogs a good deal about the 'why' questions on
| his 'Random Forest Runner' blog (yes, a ML pun).
| https://randomforestrunner.com/upper-kelly-camp/the-
| decision...
|
| I still have no interest in doing it, but it was a very
| interesting look into the thoughts of someone who does.
| Pokepokalypse wrote:
| This is about the most Swedish story I've ever read.
| goatforce5 wrote:
| > In 1983, the 61-year-old potato farmer won the inaugural
| Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon, a distance of 875
| kilometres (544 mi). The race was run between what were then
| Australia's two largest Westfield shopping centres, Westfield
| Parramatta in Sydney and Westfield Doncaster in Melbourne.[8]
| Young arrived to compete in overalls and work boots, without
| his dentures (later saying that they rattled when he ran).[9]
| He ran at a slow and loping pace and trailed the pack by a
| large margin at the end of the first day. While the other
| competitors stopped to sleep for six hours, Young kept running.
| He ran continuously for five days, taking the lead during the
| first night and eventually winning by 10 hours. Before running
| the race, he had told the press that he had previously run for
| two to three days straight rounding up sheep in gumboots.[10]
| He said afterwards that during the race he imagined he was
| running after sheep trying to outrun a storm. The Westfield run
| took him five days, fifteen hours and four minutes,[1] almost
| two days faster than the previous record for any run between
| Sydney and Melbourne, at an average speed of 6.5 kilometres per
| hour (4.0 mph). All six competitors who finished the race broke
| the old record. Upon being awarded the prize of A$10,000
| (equivalent to $32,067 in 2018), Young said that he did not
| know there was a prize and that he felt bad accepting it as
| each of the other five runners who finished had worked as hard
| as he did--so he split the money equally between them, keeping
| none.
|
| from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Young_(athlete)
| atmosx wrote:
| Legend!
| kzrdude wrote:
| Stalfarfar translates as "Steel grandfather" where "steel" also
| has the connotation of sounding like man of steel (Swedish
| translation of the Superman superhero).
|
| I checked, Stalmannen (Superman) arrived as a comic in swedish
| 1949, so before the race. :)
| golemotron wrote:
| He lived to be 101 too. There's probably a lesson in that.
| boringg wrote:
| That's an impressive lifespan and accomplishment. Did the
| cycling bump his lifespan or did he have a good genetics to
| begin with?
| FpUser wrote:
| You can't live to 101 without proper genetics. Sport when
| not overdone improves the quality of life but is not likely
| to prolong it in any significant way.
| rflrob wrote:
| As I heard it, I'd you want to live to 80, you should eat
| right, exercise regularly, and not smoke. If you want to
| live to 100, you need to have the right grandparents and
| can live however you like.
| mongol wrote:
| I recently heard the Economist interview Henry Kissinger.
| He is soon 100.
| hallway_monitor wrote:
| Looks like I'm betting on the hundred year path!
| jacquesm wrote:
| Reminds me of
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Young_(athlete)
| kyleblarson wrote:
| Did he get tested for EPO?
| 11235813213455 wrote:
| btw, we naturally produce more or less EPO
| paulcole wrote:
| This is dope. I'm not a fan of world tour cycling but Morton's
| videos for his "alt" season doing Leadville, Kanza (now Unbound),
| GBDuro, etc. were really fun to watch as a fan of endurance
| sports.
|
| Guy really seems to just like riding his bike without the pomp
| and circumstance I normally associate with bike racing.
| bmj wrote:
| Yes, and EF Racing should also be commended for allowing Morton
| (and other riders like Alex Howes and Taylor Phinney) to
| participate in these events.
|
| The GBDuro movie[0] is really great.
|
| [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e74xncSCoqw
| nroets wrote:
| Interesting.
|
| The Tour Divide is a race of similar length, both distance and
| time.
|
| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_Divide
| stef25 wrote:
| A story about endurance cycling I enjoyed a lot is the one of
| Dean Stott's ride in S-America. It mentions a 65Km climb (Andes,
| I think).
|
| https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2018/4/special-for...
| taneq wrote:
| Isn't maintaining a solo pace much harder than maintaining pace
| inside a peloton (and isn't this a huge driver of the various
| strategies in long distance cycle racing)? Is this guy riding by
| different rules (eg. allowed to ride more hours per day or
| something) or is he just that much faster than the Tour de France
| cyclists? And if the latter, why isn't he out winning Tour de
| France?
| dr-detroit wrote:
| Lachlan is a pro racer and no hes not the best or anything. The
| whole point of Alt Racing challenges is he is doing something
| that you or I could do. Gravel races and such are supposed to
| be relatable for every day joe like us.
|
| Furthermore I would just add that you will never find a human
| being who is "just faster" than everyone else. There are many
| factors at play but UCI has rules about the shape of the bike
| and human beings can only push so much air out of the way.
| tokai wrote:
| He is riding three times longer each day. He is riding at a
| steady pace and not racing anyone.
| freetime2 wrote:
| He is riding at a much slower pace, and many more hours per
| day, than the Tour de France cyclists.
| brewdad wrote:
| He's also riding the transfers between stage start and end
| points. Sometimes there can be 100 miles or more between
| where one stage ends and the next one begins. This largely
| happens when the race moves from mountain racing to flatter
| courses.
|
| The competitors take a team bus.
| alisonkisk wrote:
| The Tour is a little over 100mi/day, up to 6hr /day.
|
| This Alt Tour was 200mi/day, 12hr/day
|
| You'd need more precise bookkeeping to calculate how impressive
| his speed was, but his endurance is incredible.
|
| A confounding factor is that at high speeds going a little
| faster takes a bunch more energy/biological resources (both
| wind and biomuscular effects), which counteracts some of the
| peloton advantage.
| boringg wrote:
| Strava profile --> https://www.strava.com/pros/3813861#interv
| al?interval=202127...
| boringg wrote:
| He's riding a completely different ride. He isn't riding it for
| time per se but rather amount of days. Yellow Jersey at the
| tour de france rides for total elapsed time. Completely
| different levels of work involved.
|
| For example - it says Morton was riding for 12 hours a day.
| Same riders on tour would be doing that ride in significantly
| less time. A completely different ride and bicycling
| capabilities.
|
| I'm not diminishing what he has accomplished (which is awesome)
| just pointing out the differences.
|
| For example: Sepp Kuss who won the stage the other day
| (https://www.strava.com/activities/5612150086) effort vs the
| ride by Morton Lachlan
| (https://www.strava.com/activities/5595556740). Morton's riding
| a roughly different ride (same terrain but different set up)
| and riding by about half the speed and 30% more distance.
| johnofthesea wrote:
| > and 30% more distance closer to 40% so spreading the effort
| through hours per day is understandable.
| tksb wrote:
| While this is all technically true. Lachlan and Sepp both are
| former winners of the Tour of Utah in the USA, which is
| shorter than the tour, but generally at a higher altitude
| with alpine climbs rivaling the staples of the Alps/Pyrenees
| in the TdF.
|
| Lachlan was one of handful of pro/ex-pro riders to start
| tackling the Everesting[1] record as well, which is a clear
| example of his ability to ride at (and above) the "level of
| work involved" in a TdF mountain stage.
|
| [1]:https://everesting.cc
| 11235813213455 wrote:
| competitive riders also have all the road for themselves,
| makes things a bit easier
| taneq wrote:
| Thanks for the explanation, that makes sense.
| Cyclone_ wrote:
| Yes it is harder when no one else is working for you, not sure
| though if he did a time trial (short days) or had rest days. He
| also doesn't have any SAG, which makes it much harder as he
| found out with his di2.
| boringg wrote:
| He rode it with a di2? Why would you do that - batteries
| based is the worst for a long ride.
| Cyclone_ wrote:
| They last quite a while, I've used di2 and SRAM red. If I
| were riding this I would only need to charge it 2 or 3
| times to get me through it.
| lonelyasacloud wrote:
| Not so much in this case.
|
| So as long as it's not off-road and it's properly charged,
| then electronic shifting is very, very reliable and
| standard kit for many ultra-distance riders, see, e.g.
| https://www.redbull.com/nz-en/trans-continental-race-kit-
| gui... and the late, great Mike Hall's bike
| https://road.cc/content/tech-news/219030-bike-check-mike-
| hal...
|
| Benefits from an ultra-distance pov include quicker/cleaner
| shifting holds momentum better. Reduced chain rub and gear
| maintenance requirements. Less force is required to change
| gear which decreases the risk of repetitive strain injury.
| And the ability to add satellite shifters (aka "blips") to
| aero bars and the tops, which makes it easier to hold a
| riding position. Oh, and they can also be set up to be more
| intuitive to use than trying to remember how to juggle
| front and the rear mech's when completely and utterly spent
| :-)
|
| All incremental at normal scale, but I can definitely see
| why it'd worth it to him at the scale of Lachlan's rides.
| boringg wrote:
| Keyword - properly charged. Thats the risk - the rest of
| it makes a lot of sense -- but the charging component is
| the issue. And if it goes dead your locked in.
|
| Surprising choice for a long race based on durability
| thats all. A guess it is a trade off decision -- work vs
| reliability.
| alistairSH wrote:
| Correct. As noted elsewhere, Lachlan didn't race a formal
| event. He did the ride for charity. The goal was to cover the
| entire Tour distance (transfers included) in less time than the
| actual race. And he met that goal.
|
| Drafting (riding behind another cyclist) can cut the effort by
| about 30%. So, the rider at the front of the peloton might be
| doing ~400 watts (and likely more, especially in the last hour
| of a ~5 hour stage), while cyclists in the back are only doing
| ~280 watts.
|
| To put that in context, as an average masters cyclist, 400
| watts is an output I can do for a couple of minutes at most.
| And 280 watts is an output I can maintain for about an hour.
|
| A top Tour overall contender will average >200 watts over the
| stage, and on a critical climb, might average 350-400 watts
| mostly solo (or in small groups) for 10-30 minutes.
|
| Discussion of Uran's power in a stage win from 2017...
| https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/tour-de-france/rig...
|
| Not from the Tour, but analysis of a young pro's power during
| his 2019 win at the 1-day Amstel Gold race...
| https://cyclingtips.com/2019/04/mathieu-van-der-poel-power-w...
| matsemann wrote:
| One thing to note is that their output is also crazy compared
| to their weight. Looking at the numbers I sometimes think I
| could stay in the peloton. But then I realize I'd be dropped
| as a hot potato in the first small uphill segment.
| alistairSH wrote:
| Absolutely.
|
| A strong recreational cyclist might have an FTP of 4 w/kg
| (FTP = functional threshold power = power one can maintain
| for an hour in perfect conditions). I can hit that target
| at peak fitness, but most of the year, I'm well below.
|
| Mathieu van der Poel is about 75kg with an FTP above 400
| watts. Over 5w/kg. He's a relatively heavy professional
| cyclist, but an amazing all around cyclist who can climb,
| sprint, and win just about any day.
|
| Tadej Pogacar, the current Tour leader, weighs about the
| same as me (68kg), but has an FTP somewhere around 400
| watts. Or 5.8w/kg.
|
| Of course, 1 hour power isn't everything. The 5, 10, and 20
| minute power these guys can generate is even more mind-
| boggling (not to mention more critical on race day, as they
| have to cover attacks and break-aways).
| discreteevent wrote:
| He is covering a lot more distance than the peleton. The
| peleton just rides the stage. Morton has to ride from stage to
| stage where in some cases the peleton may take a flight to get
| to the start of the next stage. Also he is carrying a lot more
| weight. He has a tent, cooking equipment etc.
| PaulDavisThe1st wrote:
| I'm suprised that nobody has mentioned that the origins of the
| TdF involved a continuous ride (actually more continuous than
| Lachlan's - sleep was counted as part of your time).
|
| It was changed after a few years. Some say it was because it was
| too hard on the riders, some because it was impossible to really
| monetize the race in this format (as RAAM knows all too well).
| neogodless wrote:
| Could someone in the bike racing world explain what "peloton" is
| in this context?
|
| > Five days in and Morton was 420km ahead of the peloton
|
| Of course a web search just comes up with Peloton exercise bikes,
| but this is lower case. So I'm guessing maybe they are not
| talking about a team sponsored by Peloton?
| masklinn wrote:
| The peloton is the main group of riders in bike races.
|
| Riders will usually spend most if the race in groups for
| efficiency and rest: most of the group will be drafting and
| only the front edge will be fighting against headwind.
|
| The largest such group (usually containing the majority of the
| riders) is the peloton.
| chillydawg wrote:
| The peloton is the main group of riders. They all share the
| same time, even if they're spread out 50-100m.
| kasey_junk wrote:
| The pack of riders who are on the main course and in close
| position.
| anamexis wrote:
| Others have summed it up nicely, but for more info:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peloton
| neogodless wrote:
| With Google, that result is fourth. Not bad. But because they
| are so focused on things people can buy, the first visible
| page of results is dedicated to the brand and local stores,
| and then the brand's Twitter. I should've kept scrolling...
| mavhc wrote:
| I made a wikipedia shortcode search, so I type: wp <item>
| about as often as I just do a google search
| alisonkisk wrote:
| It sucks that corporations get to steal words from the
| common language.
| tuyiown wrote:
| Peloton is the bulk of packed cyclists that is grouped together
| in all long races, due to the lesser average air friction
| riders have to fight within it. In the tour de france, the
| peloton group have a pretty homogenous total race time,
| outliers being either people frequently in leader group, or
| people that have mechanical problems or bad performance. Being
| in leaders groups frequently generally means you have put more
| efforts in the races, the smallers the groups, the harders. Not
| keeping up with the peloton is generally catastrophic since you
| add extra effort in finishing the race atop of your bad
| performance.
| harg wrote:
| As others have mentioned it's the main group of riders in a
| bike race. However, as is the case in this context, it can also
| be used to refer to the race in general, given that in the TdF
| all the riders will generally finish each stage within an hour
| or so of each other (or else be disqualified) and start the
| next one all together.
| flr03 wrote:
| In this context, it's just a nice way to say that he was 420km
| ahead of the actual race.
| optimalsolver wrote:
| I thought Peloton bikes don't go anywhere.
| mgsk wrote:
| Until I read these comments I thought he was racing against a
| Peloton bike delivery and I thought to myself well that's going
| to be easy because those things take months to arrive.
| vbsteven wrote:
| Mortons Alt Tour was a charity event to raise money to donate to
| World Bicycle Relief. More info and a donation link can be found
| on https://alttour.ef.com/
|
| I couldn't find any links to this page in the article.
|
| Some YouTubers tried to join him on his ride. One example can be
| found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bmFa3xsnr8
|
| Also noteworthy is that he had some issues with his shoes/pedals
| in the first days. After which he completed the tour on flat
| pedals and sandals!
|
| Another interview and video: https://sporza.be/nl/2021/07/12/de-
| avonturen-van-lachlan-mor... (site is in dutch but the interview
| is english)
| alistairSH wrote:
| And then he had problems with the sandals (blisters), so he cut
| half the straps off and continued on his way.
| dannyphantom wrote:
| Wow.
|
| "...he had climbed the Alps and the double pass of Mont
| Ventoux, explaining how he had subsisted on cider, melon and
| prosciutto..."
|
| https://www.bikeradar.com/news/lachlan-morton-completes-
| alt-....
| elif wrote:
| In long distance hiking there is often a brief intersection
| between unsupported and supported hikers. Once I even ran into a
| FKT attempt hiker 3 days in a row.. that was an ego boost.
|
| Never in my dreams would I attempt to out-hike a supported hiker
| on purpose, let alone adding 25% offtrail miles.
|
| This guy is proper bonkers. Kudos and props deserved.
| usrusr wrote:
| But he wasn't out-cycling anyone, Le Tour is a series of short
| (by comparison to a full day of riding) one day races that
| happen to change location each day, not a single race
| (supported or not).
|
| This Alt Tour thing would have to be compared to unsupported
| ultracycling events, where everybody is proper bonkers and this
| performance wouldn't stand out much. And compared to what
| happens at supported ultracycling, well, the RAAM is yet
| another different world entirely.
| tokai wrote:
| Long distance touring and racing are two different beasts. He
| rode 12 hours a day. The peloton rides ~4 hours daily. Watts
| numbers are also very different, as racing forces riders to
| spike with extreme numbers to accommodate different race
| situations. Like doing your absolute max effort for 20 minutes
| to get in/control the breakaway, and then still have to ride
| +100km at a high pace.
| DrNosferatu wrote:
| Hotel George V should have gifted him a full suite & spa service
| on arrival to Paris. So that, after 5 days of top-starred rest
| and nourishment, he could welcome personally the arrival of the
| peloton to the finishing line.
| tomcooks wrote:
| Shameless self plug for those into solo bike adventures, my
| 13000+ km ride between Lisbon and Istanbul
|
| https://www.tomcooks.com/?p=lisbon-to-istanbul-bike
| de_keyboard wrote:
| Huge kudos to Lachlan, really inspirational.
|
| If you haven't tried an ultra endurance sport before - could be
| running, cycling or even walking - I would highly recommend it.
| The frame of mind it puts you into is like nothing else. It's as
| different to everyday life as deep programming work, but another
| experience entirely. It's also very addictive, in a good way.
| paulcole wrote:
| > even walking
|
| I'm not a Dean Karnazes fan but this is something I did take
| away from his book. Just leave your house in the morning with a
| bottle of water, some snacks, your phone, and a credit card and
| just keep going.
|
| You'll be surprised how much ground you can cover and what a
| new perspective you'll gain about the place you live. Buy more
| snacks and drinks when you get hungry. When you get tired
| either turn around or Uber home.
|
| There's something very empowering to me about being able to
| cover a long distance under my own power.
| gswdh wrote:
| I learnt central London by doing this.
| vidarh wrote:
| It's remarkable how different perspective you get from
| walking than popping up in a new place after taking the
| tube. But even buses and cars screws with your perspective
| of how places are linked together relative to actually
| walking between them.
| fpoling wrote:
| I did recently 48 km (30 miles) walk the opposite way. I just
| took a local train from Oslo, Norway to Drammen and then just
| walked back. The scenery was stunning with high hills,
| forest, fields, fjords under bright blue sky. You just do not
| see this beauty from a car and even from a bicycle the
| perception is different. And the feeling of independence is
| very empowering indeed. I just new that the only thing that
| can get broken is myself. No worries about flat tires etc.
| matsemann wrote:
| Can recommend the same during winter. Take the (local,
| gjovik ) train nortwards, and then cross country ski back.
| russtrotter wrote:
| Where you say "just leave your house in the morning..."
| really drives home the significance of what Lachlan's Alt
| Tour particularly means for French people. Wanna ride the
| whole darn route just like your favorite pros? Get your bike
| up to snuff, just leave your house, grab some snacks... you
| can refill and do laundry on the way!
|
| More broadly, without all the resources, cars, gas, etc of a
| full "race" or event, you can still have meaningful
| experiences. That lesson seems like a great takeaway from the
| whole thing.
| de_keyboard wrote:
| It's a great way to have an adventure without much harm to
| the planet.
|
| Here's the no-fly policy for GB Duro, which Lachlan also
| completed:
| https://www.theracingcollective.com/gbduro.html#no-fly
| stef25 wrote:
| Injuries though, don't disregard them ... Cycling's a lot
| easier on the joints I guess.
| sb8244 wrote:
| It's certainly easier on the joints, although you're right
| about injuries. Knee pain regularly takes out professionals.
| Really important to know when to stop pushing.
|
| Lachlan did a full 10-12 hour day in sandals because he was
| having knee pain starting.
| alisonkisk wrote:
| Why do sandals help knees?
| bazzargh wrote:
| the sandals helped his blisters, but also he switched to
| flat pedals from clipless. That gives you extra freedom
| to move your foot to find a comfortable position, which
| can help with some joint pain. Me, I find saddle height
| is the biggest influence on my knee pain (too low,
| patella pain, too high, popliteal pain; my experience is
| from cycling from here in scotland to Corsica and back
| touring around france, among other tours. I'm a lot older
| and slower than Lachlan, tho)
| tentboy wrote:
| normal cycling shoes have a cleat you lock into the pedal
| with that allow very little movement. sometimes just a
| few mm of position change is all it takes to relieve a
| nagging ache and im guessing he found it easier to get
| comfortable with a shoe he can move around on the pedal.
|
| I've stopped mid ride to adjust my cleats just a smidge
| when i was feeling discomfort. you don't want to mess
| around with knee pain especially when riding 12 hours a
| day
| mikeryan wrote:
| I have a pair of these SPD/flat pedals on my cross bike
| (it's a light cross so I use it on road and even to
| commute if I need). Nice to be able to switch based on
| the ride.
|
| https://www.rei.com/product/668198/shimano-m324-spd-
| pedals
|
| On my mountain bike I clip in but use a shimano saints
| pedal that has a wide base so you can distribute weight
| off the clip a bit.
| sb8244 wrote:
| I suspect you're exactly right. I actually wish he
| would've said why the sandals specifically helped him
| because my immediate reaction was also, "what?"
|
| Here's the article about it that has a picture of his
| sandal setup: https://cyclingtips.com/2021/06/lachlan-
| morton-just-rode-two...
| vbsteven wrote:
| In an interview with Sporza he said on day 1 he had knee
| issues because his cleat slipped. On day 2 he rode
| through the pain. On day 3 he wore sandals on his trip to
| a shop and noticed his knee didn't hurt. So he bought
| flat pedals and continued on those using the sandals.
|
| He also said the shop did not let him buy only the pedals
| so he bought the whole bike just for the pedals.
| stef25 wrote:
| Currently I've been "out" for almost a month cause of a few
| runs I did on a beach (usually I run in the forest).
| Obviously sand works your muscles in different ways but I
| didn't expect it to hit me this hard. Super frustrating.
| sb8244 wrote:
| oof, I remember trying some runs in the sand before and
| had to stop much sooner than I would've liked. It
| _really_ worked my calves in a way that I was not used
| to.
| Pokepokalypse wrote:
| You can somewhat mitigate this by running down on the
| apron, close to the water. (though; I assume maybe that's
| what you did because running/hiking in dry sand is damn
| hard).
| Pokepokalypse wrote:
| >Cycling's a lot easier on the joints I guess.
|
| murder on the perineum though.
| ubermonkey wrote:
| I get that people think this, but it's really not true.
| With a good saddle that fits you on a bike that ALSO fits
| you, and good quality biking shorts (or a good quality
| bib), perineum pain doesn't really enter into it.
| hondo77 wrote:
| Not for me anymore: https://www.sellesmp.com/en/pro.html
|
| ymmv
| corny wrote:
| Takes some practice but very comfortable:
| https://spongywonder.com/
| de_keyboard wrote:
| Injuries are best prevented by slowly ramping up the
| distance. Many people see rapid progress in cardiovascular
| fitness but neglect strength work, quickly increase the
| distance and it results in injury. This is particularly true
| if you have led a sedentary lifestyle for years and decide to
| get fit!
| rday wrote:
| I just finished a ride from outside DC to Pittsburgh over 3
| days, ~365 miles(587km). So 10% of Lachlan's ride. I had
| saddle pain after day 1, so I stood on the pedals more. This
| quickly became knee pain, due to the extra exertion on my
| joints. So I transitioned between standing and sitting, and
| then my shoulders and arms started hurting :)
|
| Mark Beaumont[0] has said something along the lines of "fix
| every problem early". I should have gotten chamois cream
| instead of standing up.
|
| Anyway, all that to say I have no idea how Lachlan could do
| this without falling apart. Really incredible.
|
| [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Beaumont_(cyclist)
| hondo77 wrote:
| You set out to ride 365 miles without chamois cream?
|
| Ouchie.
| zikduruqe wrote:
| Brooks B17, plain street shorts, no chamois... it is like
| sitting in your favorite easy chair.
| matsemann wrote:
| For a short ride, perhaps. After a while most people will
| get chafing sores. A hard saddle, proper position and
| padded shorts "hurts" a bit on the sitting bones, but
| after one's adapted one can bike almost forever without
| any bum issues.
| ska wrote:
| If your set up is good and you are used to regular riding
| shouldn't be a problem for 30 days of ~120 let alone 3.
| Assuming proper shorts and a good seat, of course.
| de_keyboard wrote:
| If you are experiencing saddle pain after only one day
| (even a big day like you did!) of riding, it might be that
| your ride position needs some tweaking. A smooth pedal
| stroke will have you bouncing on the saddle less.
| _huayra_ wrote:
| I switched over to riding a recumbant bike for long tours.
| I would never bike commute on one because it's not quite as
| nimble (e.g. if one has to swerve suddenly; you can't move
| your weight around), but for long touring caring tons of
| gear it's the best!
|
| Top-end touring bikes are about $6-7k now, and you can get
| an Azub build for about the same price.
|
| Just make sure to practice a lot, especially with a loaded
| bike!
| jacquesm wrote:
| I broke my right leg in six places on a recumbent, they
| have some very unexpected failure modes. Be careful.
| TrevorJ wrote:
| Yikes - sounds like this failure mode needs to be
| elaborated on.
| oh_sigh wrote:
| I did a 3 month bike tour. On days I traveled, I went 60-80
| miles on a touring bike with 30 lbs of gear strapped to it.
|
| My experience was exactly the same as yours for the first
| week. I puked 4 or 5 times that week from riding up the
| maritime alps. Then after that I was a machine and felt
| like I could go forever. No pain, no chamois cream as
| others have mentioned - just padded compression shorts and
| lots of sunscreen.
| ubermonkey wrote:
| Are you saying you undertook a ride like that without using
| chamois cream from the get-go? Dang, man.
|
| Not for nothing, but the amount of riding you did there
| isn't CRAZY high for a serious cyclist. Often, fit or
| biomechanical issues don't show up until longer efforts. If
| you're still into riding, I'd look into a professional fit.
| cranekam wrote:
| I use chamois cream for every "serious" ride (which means
| anything but popping to the shops in my jeans) now. My
| butt used to be tougher but now I get saddle sores much
| more easily, particularly when riding indoors with worse
| ventilation and a more static position.
| throwaway6734 wrote:
| Did you take the C&O to the GAP?
|
| If so, very nice work doing that in 3 days! The climb at
| the start of the GAP is quite a workout
| rday wrote:
| I did, and it was! I was short on time. I think
| stretching to 5 days would be perfect. I missed a lot of
| really cool towns due to time constraints. But that just
| means I can do it again and have a totally new experience
| :)
| djcooley wrote:
| Did you ride the Great Allegheny Passage?
| 11235813213455 wrote:
| That's what cycling really is. I love riding, that's my only main
| of transport, and I don't see the point of races with so much
| assistance (technology, teammates, food, material, ..), and also
| the environmental aspect (consider all the vehicles, helicopters
| all the logistic, material for competitors, staff, organizers,
| spectators, ..).
|
| Let's come back to the real essence of bicycling, it's practical,
| useful in all senses, healthy (endurance, good for joints, heart,
| lungs, everything), federating, help train to surpass yourself.
| We should stop consuming entertainment, but do it in our day to
| day life, as part of our lifestyle (I mean not take your SUV to
| go to gym), let's get rid of all those useless technologies,
| watches, GPS etc, it's not useful, listen to your body and
| feelings
| agumonkey wrote:
| just took biking again after a personal chaotic hiatus (11km to
| go to work)
|
| my body is as capable as a plastic chair right now but it's
| still feels great to ride (I was surprised how good biking is
| for knees, my heart has a different opinion on that but still)
|
| no traffic, no detour, no stress of other drivers, almost zero
| risk of accident (I don't go fast enough for that yet), no
| pollution
|
| with covid there's quite a few more bike lanes and it's already
| a great pleasure, you can envision if everybody took their
| bikes more (for jobs or else) how cities would be leaner,
| cleaner, freer
|
| it's probably coming soon
|
| ps: I also agree a bit that we should drop a lot of "tech" and
| go a bit wilder more often
| 11235813213455 wrote:
| Nice, agreed. At least Sunday's should be car-free, stuff
| like that, and reducing more and more car traffic, that would
| definitely help promote bicycles
|
| For the heart, maybe don't push too hard, I used to push
| myself to the limit in the hills every sunday morning. But
| nowadays I ride slow, long distances, but slow, timeless, I
| would grab some figs here and there to refuel myself, or buy
| (fruity) food sometimes (+ stuff like lentils and greens).
| Normally with frequent riding, you'll get a low resting heart
| rate (below 50 bpm), a low breathing rate, as a result sleep
| is easy and good quality
| agumonkey wrote:
| I was reading about car-free day, apparently it's been made
| official since long (1996 in EU).
|
| And yeah we should push it up a bit more. Maybe preps some
| bike stock to make new people come to the party for a day
| and see. Also have more cargo bikes.
|
| I can't push my heart anyway or I suffer consequences, I'm
| maxing out below 10mph just to let things come back. Even
| at those slow speed it's already having intense effect on
| my cardio.
| CrackpotGonzo wrote:
| He's riding to support World Bicycle Relief, you can donate here!
| https://give.worldbicyclerelief.org/campaign/ef-rapha-for-wb...
| thesz wrote:
| Did he done steroid tests?
| nradov wrote:
| Like any other pro athlete at that level he has to keep the
| anti-doping authorities informed of his whereabouts, and they
| probably randomly test him a couple times per year. But this
| particular event wasn't a sanctioned race so there wouldn't
| have been any official testing as part of it.
| deregulateMed wrote:
| Not to sound cynical, but after seeing the enthusiasm about
| soccer and this reaching the front page...
|
| Is there an argument in favor of Sports? It seems like a waste of
| resources.
|
| I used to think it was a way to put the human body through
| emotions that we don't get through living in a civilization. But
| I'm not exactly sure that's true. And economic benefits could be
| traded to other entertainment or research.
| bonesinger wrote:
| Sports are a business and fall under entertainment anyway in my
| opinion. Owners make a lot of money and you won't see them
| footing the bill for new stadiums/fields generally too. Thats
| all tax-payer funded in the US. Internationally I'm not sure
| but I doubt they are footing the bill 100%.
| conro1108 wrote:
| Isn't the enthusiasm enough of an argument? People like it.
| It's good to do thinks we like.
| lexs wrote:
| The argument is probably that people enjoy it, does everything
| have to be in the name of result maximization?
| foxes wrote:
| Yes.
|
| Improving your physical and mental health?
|
| Commuting by riding/walking/cycling -- counts as
| sport/exercise?
|
| Running kept me sane through multiple lockdowns.
| hondo77 wrote:
| > I used to think it was a way to put the human body through
| emotions that we don't get through living in a civilization.
| But I'm not exactly sure that's true.
|
| I dunno. Riding my bike 100 miles, during which it hit 107deg,
| made me think "Today is the day I am going to die of
| heatstroke." That's not a thought I have during regular,
| civilized life.
| jhrmnn wrote:
| Ultra-endurance cycling is an entirely different discipline, just
| using the same vehicle. For anyone who's not familiar with it,
| see Beaumont's around-the-world record:
|
| https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/18/around-the-w...
| conradev wrote:
| If you want to see Lachlan in action, here are some good videos
| from his past efforts:
|
| Dirty Kanza 2019 (200mi gravel race in Kansas):
| https://youtu.be/kPODHtTdO24
|
| GBDuro 2019 (crossing all of England):
| https://youtu.be/e74xncSCoqw
| tksb wrote:
| Lachy and his brother Gus have been doing rad shit like this
| forever. They produced three films documenting smaller, but no
| less impressive, excursions under the Thereabouts title.
|
| Thereabouts (2014) - https://vimeo.com/102429420
|
| Thereabouts 2: CO to UT (2015) - [link seems to be dead atm]
|
| Thereabouts 3: Discovering Columbia (2017) -
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eMmVd401Z4
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