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scozim

Dang lofter - I'm jealous. Sweet looking Gitane ride. I'll be taking my son camping by mountain bike next month - but unfortunately it won't be on a Gitane.

I've seen two Gitane Gran Tour bikes for sale in our area in the past year and both were too tall for me.

Wisey

Happy riding Don. Very Happy

lofter

well here is the big write up . ive been dreading coming on here and having to write this . how far did you go ? about 99 miles in two days . ended in alton illinois. started off wed morning bout 8 to 830 . it was a hot humid morning to say the least. i was pumped to ride after being up all night .
got across town heading for the interurban bike trail . a block away from the trail , i flatted. crap ! pulled off right at the trail head to fix my flat. noticed how wore my tires sidewall was so i pedaled onto the trail after fixing my wheel . stopped at scheels sporting goods store to pickup a new back tire . thought about swapping the tire right there but i wanted to make some time up from flatting , so i folded the tire and strapped it down . off i went . buy this time its in the high eighties already .

i road to chatam illinois , stopped for a bite to eat since i didnt eat this morning . got my waterbottle filled and headed out . rode the route i planned to the auburn illinois park stopped to take a break . man it was hot, in the low nineties . i must have rested for 20 minutes . back on the bike and pedaling to thayer illinois . this is the same route i took two years ago . but today it was 92 , 93 degrees plus . the roads had turned from nice to very hot and sticky tar . twice before i got to thayer, a county truck passed me spreading gravel out on the hot roads. not cool at all! made it to thayer and was really hot and im a really bad sweater.

i bought a soda out of the machine at the local police / fire station, man it was good . i had been trying to conserve on water since the next town was carlinville where i was staying the night . i brought along 2 20 oz water bottles and a camelback i strapped to the rack pack .

i rode out of thayer and headed towards carlinville . as i left thayer the roads started getting worse . it felt like i was sinking an inch down into the roads as i went along. the last time i went down these roads it was fine , this time the roads had deteriorated really bad . loose gravel everywhere. i would hit loose gravel and the tar that had built up on my tires , snatched up the loose gravel and sounded like a machine gun was being fired at me . it was really bad . it took alot out of me to ride these roads in this shape and me being out of shape . i was sweating so much and drinking water so quick . there was no shade as i was riding thru soybean fields and corn fields.

the first 20 miles went pretty easy , the second 20 miles was not fun at all . i have some advice before attempting this , make sure you have enough water , do some real riding before doing this kind of tour, and not just a ride in manhattan on your race bike, and watch how much weight you have on . my bike weighed a ton . i had 40 lbs. of gear and me being really out of shape and 220lbs did not help matters.

after pedaling 40 miles my energy was getting zapped by the heat and the roads i was riding on . i drank both water bottles and was working on the camelback after forty miles. i rode past otter lake and hit some really big hills on the backside of the dam . i had to get off the bike and push it up a couple of the hills . my bike felt like 200 lbs. at the 50 mile mark i was greeted with a really bad strech of road if you want to call it that , with alot of more gravel . i almost fell in this stuff . . looked back and what do i see another flat . crap!. it was getting late in the afternoon and it was 94 ,, 95 out . i stopped , got off my bike and sat down next to the corn field to get some shade . it was the only thing i had to get shade from . i was out of water at this time .

i changed the tire out that i bought earlier in the day . i was having cramping problems with my legs from being tired and dehydrated. i was in a bad spot for sure i must have been there for 40 min trying to cool down . a red pickup came barreling down the road and pulled up and stopped . it was three good ole farm boys out driving around having a couple cold ones. they asked if i was broke down . i said "nope got it fixed " . i spotted a beer in the one guys hand. i said "i sure could use one of those cold beers tho". the guy in the back reaches into a cooler and hands me a miller lite . now im a bud kinda guy , but man did that miller lite taste so freaking good .
after sitting there for another 20 min . i decided to push on to carlinville. i was having alot more problems with cramps in my legs . i dont think i could have made it the 10 miles to carlinville had it not been for that cold beer . made it to carlinville stopped at the walmart and got gatorade , filled up on water and food for the night . pedaled out to beaver dam state park . that is where i stayed that night .
it was hot at the park , i was still having leg cramps bad. ever have leg cramps trying to sleep in a one man tent? sucked ! i ate some chicken i picked up at walmart and crashed . a very long day at 69 miles .
the next day i got up and took my sweet ass time getting going .
the road to plainville was busy but it was a nice hard road so i didnt care. then from plainfield it was back to the country roads again . the roads were a little better than the day before , not great ,but better than yesturday . the weather was overcast today so it wasnt too bad. temps were in the mid 80's. i made better time than yesturday . i watched my water intake better today . i bought some propel packets to put in my water bottles along the way. i was sore and stiff from the ride the day before , but no cramping which i was worried about . went thru woodurn and then the town of moro. i made my way over to alton and rode down to broadway street . i stopped at fast eddies for food and water and beers. this is where i decided to end my trip .
i was sunburnt, tired and just wore out. i didnt want to do the last 100 miles on the trail . there was still flooding problems and so i wussed out . my wife got off work and drove down to get me . i was really bumming on the way back home that i didnt finish the trip . i didnt want to come on here and say i didnt make it . after looking back now , i think i made the right call . the day before really made me open my eyes . it made me realize i cant just get on the bike anymore and just do 50 to 70 miles in a day like i used to be able to do .i havent ridden alot in 2 years and it really showed . im so out of shape it sucks. i have alot of respect for those that can go out and tour for weeks on end . you have to be in decent shape to do so . so i want to do this trip again in sept when its a little cooler for me . this time ill be ready . im going to try and do cycling 2 or 3 times a week for the rest of the summer . i feel bummed that i let you guys down ..

Wisey

Well hell, Charlie………. Wink

Don, you haven't let me down, and I don't think anyone else would feel like that either. I'm glad you took the sensible option, and I hope you're doing something nice for the missus for coming to collect you. Laughing

Man, there is nothing good about getting heatstroke at our age. You're just asking for a heart attack. Sorry that your tour didn't turn out as you'd hoped, but hey, you are back on the bike man! Cool

Couple days of recovery muffins and you'll be good as gold. Then maybe just get out there regularly for some 20 - 40 milers. Besides, you are the King of Gitane Time Trial Bikes. You don't need to ride more that 25 miles anyway. Twisted Evil

Keep at it mate and in a few months you'll be fit enough to do that tour without breaking a sweat.

gmany

The heat has been too much for us mortals to ride in all-day.

It rained just a bit ago, but earlier it was 100 degrees with 110 heat index. It was a little worse yesterday.

Late september/early october should be very nice.