The Grand Tour.. 1000 km journey from Boston to NYC and back

[Archee Jan Bloch]

Hi .. my name is.. Archee, Panda, Jan... Esk8riders... etc..
I have been asked to share my thoughts on my long trip, what is advantage and what is disadvantage and how to ride long trips... as individual or as group ride

some of you know I did several long trips from 300 km to 1000 km at once, without sleep and I got lot of positive messages and tons of questions .. I want to give you some ideas and be able to answers yours if we never connected and you want to ask them..

1. So let me start with what I ride and what I use as equipment..
I have Monster 3108 Wah wheel (loomo mod) and successfully done several long range trips such 700 km, 550 km several 500 km etc.. the wheel now has about 9000 miles so about 14400 km on it.. and I'm the second owner so we can say about 15000-16000 KM on these batteries.. whatever they are .. tesla rebrand.. or LG 50T .. I don't know...they are fine though
I weight 120 KG.. with gear and chargers and all stuff  135-137 KG.. My range is about 75 miles if i go slow and not gear just helmet
my range with fully loaded about 60 miles... if I go around 20-25 miles per hour
I charge at slow around 3 amps at home and on the road I charge at  15 amps.. just shy of that.. sometimes i need to switch to 10 or less but if I charge from EV car stations I can do 15 amps no problem.. I prefer to charge from 30-95 % and once in while do full charge on the road.. it takes about 2.5 hour to charge full cycle but I usually spend about 1.5 h.. then I get itchy to go on the road
my charger is CHargery 24s 25A charger but it can't output 25 amp for my 100V  only 1500W so that's about 15 amps.. it's enough I use J1772 to Nema plug that runs of 240V from EV stations .. your charger needs to support 240 input.. or you will burn it and get stuck.. good to test before..

2. Route planning. Maps, Trackers etc
I do my plan before the trip with sometimes inspecting the route via google maps satellite and especially around areas that are unknown..  EV stations are great addition to charging but sometimes even though Shareplug says it's available, it's not in real life because it might be in closed lot or municipal building  Since I also put regular charge plugs on the map, I already know some of the locations but adding new plug to it for others to use is about 1 minute thing so I do add a lot of plugs when I'm charging from standard outlets  I use EUC world written by @Seba I love that app and I can do many things with it.. even after I finish riding.. see the log and data to optimize my next ride, I use Sports-tracker app for last 4 years and I like to turn that off as well.. I use google maps for biking navigation but that's sometimes iffy.. you need sometimes direct route and some of the major roads allow bike but google won't send you on them.. local knowledge is plus

3. actual charging and sleeping

I don't sleep on these rides because I simply can't.. I had have always problem sleeping and sleeping outside next to parked cars or buildings with possible people coming makes me stay awake ..  I did sleep on my 700 km trip in the wild, just under some pines with my survival blanket from mylard it was good to rest a bit.. I also think that I enjoyed that trip a bit more..  In fact riding and being tired is not really good.. you won't absorb the ride, you enjoy it but miss on many things.. especially at the end I was literally falling asleep. I won't make a habit of this.. I think riding  35 hours straight is not  a problem if you have sleep before and after but riding for  68 hours straight is just too much.. Your brain tells you go sleep and also tells you to ride.. if you ride fast it's ok but if you need to preserve battery or bad road you will fall into microsleep.. like me.. it happened 2 times on this trip and few times before..  charge spots are selected randomly based on the consumption but also sometimes when I know I need rest. I use the shareplug app or chargepoint+ as I know these are usually showing the good EV plugs or use NYC eboarding map if I"m in region where people have been riding...If on my own I search for commercial buildings or gazebos in parks etc... it doesn't always work but spending too much time in one location finding plugs is not really good.. so thats why I always leave a bit of range left to move forward if needed

4.  group riding
This one is tricky one because while some people want to join long rides while being in their homes and comfort when it actually comes to it is bit different.. I don't usually make a big fuzz about it and planning is swift.. however we all need to understand following.. if someone falls and we are in the middle of the way and they want to get home.. they have to find a way to do it.. pay the uber etc.. People that get tired or have limited range have to understand that before.. on really long rides I prefer going alone.. it's easier.. you ride when you can and you rest when you can.. you charge individually so no issue of triggering the switches.. if I have someone to join me we sometimes split and charge a part.. even several miles apart.. if you ride with other people it's good to appoint someone to watch and rest can sleep.. and rotate however since people have different range and different chargers it's important to find middle ground..Less people is beneficial unless you plan on getting a hotel and rest and charge up but then it's a road trip. One thing is important to mention.. we are all made different way.. some can handle less sleep and some can't.. also in the beginning there is no pain but as you ride your body starts aching.. back,neck feet.. butt and hips and feet.. if someone did 30 miles max and then decides to do 150-250 mile ride.. probably best is for them to start with 100 and see if they are still good  after that.. if you are completely beat... longer rides makes no sense.. you will not enjoy it

 

5) ride for miles or ride for fun
ok that's a good one.. because I did both and I think ride for fun stays with your longer.. I'm not saying you are not having fun riding long range ride but if your brain is partially working.. you wont' remember many things.. it's also about taking the time to stop and see things around.. EUC is easy because you can stop nearly anywhere and just see all around  you without need for adjustment of backing to  some parking lot etc..  it's good to travel in Odd quantity of riders so decisions are easy to made.. I remember being on several trips with 4 of us and if 2 want to do this and 2 that.. it's pain.. so 3, 5 and 7 .. wouldn't do more than that..

6)  Riding Etiquette

I try to ride as bike.. respect traffic, sometimes I see lines of cars behind me where they can't pass.. I slow down and wave at them to pass me.. I feel better this way because having someone to try to squeeze between me and incoming traffic with semi or trailer that's just one way for disaster.. I also witnessed lot of road rage, guy passing me about 5 inches from me or rolling coal on purpose because they had to slow down... let them go .. don't fight with them.. if they even try to run you off the road you hurt yourself, break your wheel and won't be able to catch them.. respect them and they might respect you.. I know this is hard sometimes.. especially in group riding but put yourself behind that wheel..and let's say you are following a tractor .. you hate that.. so I get it... I move over if I can.. bike lanes are not always present and even when they are cars sometimes parked on them.. it's good to be alerted..


7) what's next... well I'm not sure if I do same or similar or even more.. 1000 miles sounds like a fun but maybe next year.. charging is waste of time and I did charge 16x on my last trip.. sometimes I didn't need to but I just wanted to be off the wheel for a bit. I have few other routes in my head but not sure if I make it happen...

if you have any questions please comment bellow I like to share what I can and help the community if they are interested

here is my relive video
https://www.relive.cc/view/v8qkd4pXGKv

and my tracking stats on EUC World
https://euc.world/tour/590115462668294

 

Archee (Panda)
 

 

 

[Philip W]

What a grand journey !! Man you are my hero now !

[Goonman]

Good advice for sure. I know I can do 100km/60 miles no problem and I plan on doing another another 80km after a recharge of the wheel and myself. I want to build up to bigger and longer rides. Sleep will be a thing for me though. Probably pay for accommodation if I were to go longer. Was considering teaming up with someone but I now I think I will be better off solo. Thanks.

[Dgar]

This is great information. I doubt I will ever be able to do long rides because my plantar fascitis keeps flaring up every time I try to go very long. Even so, I would love to be able to work up to 100 miles some day. This is all good information to know.

[Chris Sandvig]

How do you keep your hands warm? I can't fit gloves over my wrist guards. 

Amazing trip! I can't imagine riding this far in one shot. You are a tough dude. 

[Chris Sandvig]

Thank you for the tip. I did not know there was such a thing as golf mittens but they look like they would do the job. 

[Mantraguy]

I was messing around in euc.world last week and noticed a single tour in progress, so I had a look and it was you! I followed it on and off for the rest of the day, following your progress. Cool to be able to read up on your ideas around such an impressive feat. I'm not sure I'd be excited about going non-stop without sleep, but doing a multi-day long-distance trip does sound intriguing! Thanks for the write-up and info - I'll be watching more of your tours!

[mike_bike_kite]

You didn't say why you do these trips which I think is a big question. Riding long distance without sleep would be torture to me.  

Do you ride seated? Do you have a pack pack or attach things to your wheel?

Edited December 3, 2020 by mike_bike_kite