Damn that's just over 100 psi, I keep mine at 80 psi back, 70 front. It's a hybrid though and the max rating for the tires (80 psi). I use Specialized Crossroads tires, 700 38c, good grip on any terrain. Front suspension is essential for your wrists. Still hurts with all the bad roads around here and after a long ride my arms and wrists tend to cramp up. (And my legs the next morning, yay for getting older)

I've used that hybrid bike on anything, very nice to be able to go from a mountain bike trail to get up to speed on smooth asphalt and back. The tires are wide enough for moderate gravel but will still dig in in loose sand and piled up gravel.

My decision process where to go is usually based on wind direction. Start out against the wind, wind behind on the way back.

115km small little tour lol :)

The fastest I did my 109 km route was 4h 15 minutes. I currently aim to go between 3 to 4 hours at a time, my knees are starting to get older unfortunately. I'm 46 now, 42 was about my peak year.

For my next bike I'm looking to go tubeless since there seem to a be shit ton of advantages, especially for a hybrid. I already know it's not gonna be cheap. Currently I'm estimating around 4000€ for the full package. Also looking into bigger bags since my current trunkbag is barely enough for a weekend trip.

A couple of weeks ago I did one of my favorite tours. It's 190km through slightly hilly fields and woods. All on pristine tarmac. Started a bit after 5am and managed to get back just before 3pm. I wasn't even feeling as if I was rushing but I was still surprised at the speed. Especially considering I had about 1000m total elevation.

Tomorrow I'm trying to beat my current record of 27kph average driving speed on a 100km+ trip, not too optimistic about it though. I really am not a good sprinter and I always take my time with hills since I prefer maintaining power output over maintaining speed. In the end the goal is to slowly increase my base speed to be able to do longer day trips. My goal is to comfortably do 200km trips in a timely manner and one day do a fun 250km trip. In the past year I have learned a lot about my own body and my techniques to conserve energy and refill energy at the right moments are getting a lot better. I learned that it's not about how much your muscles can do, but rather how good I am at replenishing energy, which can be done by stacking different kinds of carbs that have different times to get converted into energy. If you do it about right then you'll have a constant stream of ready energy.

For my next bike I'm looking to go tubeless since there seem to a be shit ton of advantages, especially for a hybrid. I already know it's not gonna be cheap. Currently I'm estimating around 4000€ for the full package. Also looking into bigger bags since my current trunkbag is barely enough for a weekend trip.

A couple of weeks ago I did one of my favorite tours. It's 190km through slightly hilly fields and woods. All on pristine tarmac. Started a bit after 5am and managed to get back just before 3pm. I wasn't even feeling as if I was rushing but I was still surprised at the speed. Especially considering I had about 1000m total elevation.

Tomorrow I'm trying to beat my current record of 27kph average driving speed on a 100km+ trip, not too optimistic about it though. I really am not a good sprinter and I always take my time with hills since I prefer maintaining power output over maintaining speed. In the end the goal is to slowly increase my base speed to be able to do longer day trips. My goal is to comfortably do 200km trips in a timely manner and one day do a fun 250km trip. In the past year I have learned a lot about my own body and my techniques to conserve energy and refill energy at the right moments are getting a lot better. I learned that it's not about how much your muscles can do, but rather how good I am at replenishing energy, which can be done by stacking different kinds of carbs that have different times to get converted into energy. If you do it about right then you'll have a constant stream of ready energy.

That's some nice speed!

I'm usually limited by my 2 water bottle capacity and prefer the quieter more scenic routes instead of smooth asphalt busy roads. This wreaks havoc on your wrists but the scenery is worth it. Path across all river rocks, 3 km rough section of the trail.

Google can be funny sometimes and has send me on paths that were completely overgrown, needing a machete to get through lol.

Hydration and energy the two key factors to keep going. I take some snacks with me on longer trips but never really put much thought in it. A refreshing swim halfway helps too! The best 'energy' boost is a cold spring along one of the trails. That water is 8c all year long coming right out of the ground. Crystal clear, big enough to dunk in and go 50% faster afterwards lol. You can probably drink that water straight from the spring.

On longer trips I always have my rack and bag with me. Adds plenty of weight, but also the security to not run out of food when no place to refill is near. That way I usually carry about 2.5L with me and enough food to last me for about 120km. Today is gonna be the first 100km+ tour where I won't take my bag with me. It's also a Sunday, which means the only way to get water is petrol stations who are far between.

We'll see how it goes. I don't feel great today, but maybe I can surprise myself. See you in 6h or so.

Well, this was annoying.

Made good time, had 28kph on the first half. I'm going back and headwind starts. First medium and then stronger and stronger. First I couldn't get to 25kph anymore even downhill, then not even 20. On my last 15km I had to fight not to be blown off the road. My power reserves were fine, I was eating properly and I had enough water. Whenever I caught a rare wind pocket I could easily go past 30kph. The weather was great, not too hot, no rain to see, just some Big Fat FUCK YOU wind in my face. In the end I wasn't even physically or mentally drained, it was just boring and meh to be held back so much by the wind.
At least I have a new record. Fastest 40k at 1:24 hours.

Here's some pictures.

Really nice morning. Not too hot.

First eating break after 50km.

Took "Cross Country" literal and went to Poland over the border.

Here I am thinking about all my life choices that brought me to this point.