Cycling for long distance may look daunting at first, one must be truly disciplined while preparing for such a feat. After completing my first ever long distance solo ride of 2200 KM in India, I am witnessing many cyclists itching to do a similar feat. They were filled with too many questions and doubts in their mind about everything in the ride. Let me share my experience of what I felt to be the important aspects while preparing for a long distance ride.
My exposure to cycling have changed to a who new level after completing this 2200 KM solo ride from Chennai to Delhi. I have received hundreds of messages on social media from riders across the world.
Of course, Indians were of the majority in that. I get to know that they were regularly cycling daily, weekly and all. Some where cycling 30 kilometers everyday of the week and I came to know about someone who is riding 50 kilometers every day as a challenge and when I saw, he was on his 84th day going successfully.
Many of these riders asked me about the challenges I faced, how I overcame the hardships in this epic journey of mine. Out of all those stuff you have to prepare, there are two main things you should master before taking on a long distance ride.
Mental Fitness
In my perspective, Mental Fitness will the first thing a rider should master for a long distance ride. You should prepare yourself for all the hurdles that might come up in your way during the trip. You cannot expect to escape from the challenges but to prepare a matured mind to tackle any situation that comes up. Will write a dedicated blog post about why Mental Fitness is much required for a long distance ride.
Physical Fitness
Next up, is obviously the physical fitness. In order to pedal throughout the day, you have to keep yourself most fit before hitting the road. Make sure you are an active player before attempting to ride regularly. When you pedal constantly for a continuous amount of days, your body will not be the same everyday on road. If you are already fit enough then it will be easy for you to tackle everyday physical challenges.
After spending 28 long days on the road cycling solo from the south to the north, I felt 99% of the challenges I have faced are mental and just 1% are physical. "You can do anything you set your mind to, man" - Eminem.
I had the responsibility to take the message #feartheroutine to the people. I wanted to show them they can take risks in life and follow their dreams. This is something helped me mentally push all the hurdles aside and keep marching forward. What is the message you want to convey?
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| Preparing the cycle |
My exposure to cycling have changed to a who new level after completing this 2200 KM solo ride from Chennai to Delhi. I have received hundreds of messages on social media from riders across the world.
Of course, Indians were of the majority in that. I get to know that they were regularly cycling daily, weekly and all. Some where cycling 30 kilometers everyday of the week and I came to know about someone who is riding 50 kilometers every day as a challenge and when I saw, he was on his 84th day going successfully.
Many of these riders asked me about the challenges I faced, how I overcame the hardships in this epic journey of mine. Out of all those stuff you have to prepare, there are two main things you should master before taking on a long distance ride.
 |
| My glowing face after my cycle got puncture somewhere in the highway, Maharashtra |
Mental Fitness
In my perspective, Mental Fitness will the first thing a rider should master for a long distance ride. You should prepare yourself for all the hurdles that might come up in your way during the trip. You cannot expect to escape from the challenges but to prepare a matured mind to tackle any situation that comes up. Will write a dedicated blog post about why Mental Fitness is much required for a long distance ride.
Physical Fitness
Next up, is obviously the physical fitness. In order to pedal throughout the day, you have to keep yourself most fit before hitting the road. Make sure you are an active player before attempting to ride regularly. When you pedal constantly for a continuous amount of days, your body will not be the same everyday on road. If you are already fit enough then it will be easy for you to tackle everyday physical challenges.
After spending 28 long days on the road cycling solo from the south to the north, I felt 99% of the challenges I have faced are mental and just 1% are physical. "You can do anything you set your mind to, man" - Eminem.
I had the responsibility to take the message #feartheroutine to the people. I wanted to show them they can take risks in life and follow their dreams. This is something helped me mentally push all the hurdles aside and keep marching forward. What is the message you want to convey?
Author's Note
Like the article? If so, like my social media pages. In case you hate it, please do let me know in comments about where I sucked. Either way, it will help me improvise. Thanks.
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