Question for bikers: how long does it take for a 17 or 20 mile ride?

[donsu]

and doesn't a person have to practice and be in great shape to bike that far?

in the heat?

[IrateCitizen]

1. Road or trail?

A 17-20 mile road ride for someone in good biking shape should only be an hour or so. A trail ride over relatively untechnical doubletrack would probably take about 1.5 hrs. A trail ride over technical singletrack would take about 2 yrs or so.

Riding 17-20 miles on a road bike is a pretty short ride, even in the heat. I used to do 28-30 just for my short evening jaunts after work, when I had better hours than I do now.

[BlueEyedSon]

7. 2 years !?!

LOL, funny typo!

[Lin]

14. 2yr bike ride-ahh-My dream come true-*didn't fall off a bike--lie <eom

[central scrutinizer]

2. depends on the kind of ride

17 miles on pavement is about an hour on a road bike (1/2 an hour if you are Lance Armstrong). If there is a lot of climbing then it gets tougher. Mountain biking is usually slower due to the rolling resistance of wider, knobby tires. I am almost as old as * and short for my weight, but I could do that in the heat on a mountain bike in less than an hour and a half. I don't know what the terrain is like on the pig farm, but I doubt if there are any extended climbs.

[lanparty]

17. Mountain biking is slower due to ...

It's slower primarily due to the terrain. Even double track fire-roads are bumpy and uneven. Technical singletrack makes you dodge trees and jump over tree logs. Don't forget about descents, switchbacks and climbs.

Of course, that's the point. After scoping some pictures of the presidents ranch, I'm pretty sure he was riding on unpaved, flat recreational trails. Here is a link to aerial photos of the Bush Ranch.


http://www.photostogo.com/content/topsearches/U.S.%20President.asp

It's probably doable in 1.5 to 2 hrs for a man with the president's stamina and coordination.

[mhr]

3. 10 mph - 1.7 hours, 15 mph - 1.13 hours, 17 mph - 1.0 hours, etc

5 mph - 3.4 hours

All based on avergae speed over the duration of the ride and a 17 mile ride.

To calculate take the distance and divide by the average speed.

For example: 17 mile trip, 10 mph (miles per hour), time 17/10=1.7 hours.

1.7 hours = 1 hour and 42 (.7*60minutes) minutes

[Eye and Monkey]

4. It's depends on your level of condition, experience, the terrain, etc.

A couple of hours is the general answer.

Given the likely terrain in the Texas Hill Country (Crawford included), near-about anyone in decent shape should be able to cycle that far in a couple hours.

Off-road, even on prepared trails, can be tricky. It's not unusual to lose it and crash, go endo, or face-plant. Especially going downhill - the reports said Junior performed his face-plant while going downhill. I like that comment, it has a certain irony.

Nonetheless, Junior's face was PALE in the photos shot a few hours after his alleged ride. That doesn't fit - he should have had some indication of being out in the sun.

[jay-3d]

about 2-3 hours

I can average 11-12 miles per hour when racing single track. more likely 6-8 miles per hour if just riding. We have almost 30 single track parks around DFW ~2 hour drive. Great place for MTBR. you would think some of them would have more respect for TEA-21 and the environment.

[Eye and Monkey]

15. I've never ridden in DFW area, but have all over the Hill Country.

Sometimes in decent shape, sometimes in not such good shape. Yeah, a couple-hours-ride could easily be three hours long.

Not all "off-road" trails are single-track, much less challenging.

I pretty much doubt that Junior has a single-track course on his fake ranch - more likely it's a set of trails that were cut & prepped for security purposes. It seems likely that a fair-sized chunk of his alleged ride was basically on packed dirt road wide enough for a pickup truck.

[DoYouEverWonder]

35. How do you make 20 miles of trails

on a 1600 acre pig farm? Unless he's just riding in circles around the driveway?

I can see Babs on the front porch and W exclaiming, "Look at me Mommy, I don't have any training wheels". Oops...

[Eye and Monkey]

38. Let me do some math - it seems entirely possible. 1600 acres is alot.

On edit - yes, it's possible. The perimeter of the property is probably around 5-6 miles. Considering that there would be alot of "security" trails, there are probably at least 20 miles of trails and roads across and around the property.

Of course, that doesn't really speak to the issue that Junior probably does ride in circles around the driveway saying "Look at meeeee, Mommy, uhhhh, I mean, Condi."

[No Mandate Here.]

12. Don't you go pale when in shock?

I think the general population is beginning to see the level of shock we have seen for several years now.

[Eye and Monkey]

16. Perhaps immediately after a fall. But hours later, no.

Especially if you've been in the sun.

[cliss]

5. I know what you're getting at

you're wondering about Beelzebush's fall over the weekend? I'm not sure how long it would take. If you're an experienced biker, it should not pose a huge exertion. And bush is in good shape.

But people have posted here that it was in the high 90's in Crawford over the weekend. Also, Bush's face is pale so he would have gotten a sunburn from his ride.

I personally doubt he went out for a bike ride and got hurt. And his caretakers are liars. But -- thank God they're bad liars (lazy) so we detectives can take their lies and dissect them.

[wtmusic]

6. If you haven't done it

it's going to seem a lot longer and slower.

Great shape? Nah. But you would have to build up to it.

[troublemaker]

8. On a bike or on your face?

[onehandle]

9. Beat me to it. nt

[donsu]

10. I wondered cause I hadn't heard of his biking before

and I don't think he fell while biking.

thanks for all the info

[jpgray]

11. When I averaged 23 mph, not too long

Now it would probably take me an hour and some significant change, since I switched over to running and have an extremely heavy, cheap bike. You don't have to be in great shape if you take it slow.

[mrgorth]

13. They say he was mountain biking

but he was on his ranch. I've been mt. biking for more than 10 years and I rarely have the appetite for more than, say, 7 miles of singletrack. The secret service would NOT let him ride single track. He was probably riding on dirt roads. It was a decent ride. He's probably in good aerobic shape.

[lanparty]

18. I don't see the problem

I don't see why singletrack would be a problem as long as the area was secured. You put one agent in front and another in the back. You'd simply need access to a clearing to helicopter him out in case there is a national emergency.

Though somehow, I get the idea that if our nation was under attack, he'd ride an extra 5 miles before he lifted a finger. He certainly didn't do anything on the morning of 9/11.

[mrgorth]

23. IMO it's just too dangerous

At least here in the northeast anyway. Any real singletrack ride could end in a broken collar-bone, smashed up choppers, etc. Now, I've never had a serious injury myself but this is simply too risky an activity for the (P)resident to engage in.

[lanparty]

26. They can't stop anyone ...

The Secret Service really cannot stop the President from doing anything. He has the ultimate authority. They can simply advise him.

You can break a collar bone snowboarding. But I guarantee you, they won't stop Kerry from doing it when he's president.

[mrgorth]

30. Of course

you can break your collarbone in the shower. If you snowboard well there's not much of a risk as long as your not doing double black diamonds, which I would definitely advise Kerry against doing. It's simply iresponsible and if Bush was singletracking he'd get a bunch of shit...justifiably. Again, maybe yours is different than mine. This is the same reason baseball teams don't let their stars ride motocross.

[lanparty]

31. Lots of people ...

Lots of folks break things ski-ing and snowboarding. Especially those who cannot avoid trees. Honestly, I'm not sure that Singletrack much more dangerous. Albeit, there is typically more trees.

I can understand them not wanting the Prez to do downhill bike racing or street luge. However, most singletrack is pretty mild. I've seen more injuries from people getting stuck in their pedals than actually taking spills on the trails.

[Kinkistyle]

19. I avg about 6.5 miles/hr at a regular pace.

So doing the math, approx. 2 and half hours.

[robbedvoter]

20. They said the top soil was losened by rain - W tsking risks - except that

...It did not rain!

[Andy_Stephenson]

22. Loose topsoil...in Central Texas?

Hardly. The dirt when wet becomes a gooey sticky mess. Lose topsoil...my ass. They don't call it elevator mud for nothing.

[robbedvoter]

28. Must've been that cloud above W's head:

[truthbetold]

21. Have to play devil's advocate.

Even I think there's something fishy about the biking story, but in regards to him looking pale...
Sunscreen perhaps?
:shrug:

[pschoeb]

24. Get a 300 mpg engine for your bike, it goes 30 mph

it's light weight and you can still pedal with it.

http://www.bikeengines.com/index.htm

Patrick Schoeb

[ze_dscherman]

25. No great shape needed

Of course, it depends on the terrain, but my son did 101 km (63 miles) on a single day, with some quite some luggage (sleeping bag, mattress, clothes, water) to carry. He was nine years old then, and the terrain was half hilly, half flat. But it was not very hot then, and he was very eager to do the 100 km. Usually, we ride 40-50 miles per day.

[lanparty]

27. There are freepers everywhere.

Check out this conversation on BikeForums.net

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=52897

[robbedvoter]

29. See my boo-boo?

[maggrwaggr]

32. could somebody do the math and see if you could even DO a ride that long

at Bush's so-called ranch?

the ranch ain't that big.

And if he goes out riding, doesn't he have to have secret service guys riding with him?

The whole bike ride thing is just another goddamn story they're telling about Bush.

Just like the British Airways pilot saying he saw them flying to Iraq and the goddamn fake turkey once he got there.

It's all 100% bullfuckingshit

[Cronus Protagonist]

33. An hour on road, 3 hours on dirt.

Unless it's all downhill, in wich case minutes will do it.

Click here for stunning, insulting, shocking, funny buttons, magnets and stickers

[TahitiNut]

34. We should chip in and buy him a Big Wheel.

[Padraig18]

36. 2 hours, give or take.

You shoudn't try it, though, if you're not in at least semi-decent shape, ESPECIALLY in the heat. *shakes finger*

[ForrestGump]

37. About ten minutes

Oh...the other kind of bike...

[Eye and Monkey]

39. No, Forrest, they only allow Junior on THIS kind of motorcycle (photo)