Chad Thoughts

About a year ago, my older sister came to me with an idea. She wanted to bike 100 miles in a day. Seemed reasonable to me. There’s a long bike trail very close to my home that we could use and easily get to that 100 miles. Averaging about 20 miles/hr on a bike, doing 100 miles seemed very achievable in a day. My brother got wind of this idea and decided to come along too.

Towards the end of 2024, we picked a mid January date and went for it. The day ended up being a little overcast and cold but considering it rained the next day, it ended up being perfect, minus a strong wind on the ride South.

We left at day break, made three stops along the way, two for food and one for beer and finished as the sun was setting. The breaks made it pretty easy overall. And there wasn’t much elevation change as we’re in Florida. The wind, seemingly coming from the South, impacting us on the ride back, wasn’t ideal but we finished. My back was a little sore but overall, my legs just felt strong the next day. I was fully expecting to be sore.

I frequently visit southern California to see my other sister and we typically do a full day hike up a peak, some which are over 4,000 feet of elevation. See the Southern CA Six Pack of Peaks. Every time I’ve done one of these, it takes the full day (sunrise to sunset) and by the end I’m completely broken. Even the last few miles are very difficult and I’m begging for the next trail turn to see the parking lot. Even the thought of In ‘n Out on the way home doesn’t sooth the muscles. The day after is difficult too, as your legs are wrecked. It isn’t until sometime around the second day after you begin to recover. These hikes impacted me significantly more than the 100 mile flat bike ride. But I will do it again and will shoot for doing it in less time.