I have a friend who decided he would like to do an adventure with his son who just graduated

[Longjohn ★]

High school. They had heard about the Pittsburgh to Washington trail and decided that would be a great adventure. They are not cyclists, they just went out and bought bikes. They started riding ten miles three times a week to train. They are pretty fit but not cyclists. They have been asking questions. They are doing the trip later this month and are planning on doing it in four days. Should I try to convince them they need to ride more and allow a couple more days?

[Reverend_Maynard]

10 miles 3/wk is better than nothing, but isn't going to prepare them for 4 straight days of big miles.  I always tell people you should be able to do at least 60% of the event ride in training with little or no trouble.  If you can't do that, or haven't even trained enough to know if you can, you're not ready.  If it was a good friend of mine, I'd try pretty hard to tell him what you think.

 

[Razors Edge ★]

6 hours ago, Longjohn said:

High school. They had heard about the Pittsburgh to Washington trail and decided that would be a great adventure. They are not cyclists, they just went out and bought bikes. They started riding ten miles three times a week to train. They are pretty fit but not cyclists. They have been asking questions. They are doing the trip later this month and are planning on doing it in four days. Should I try to convince them they need to ride more and allow a couple more days?

The GAP plus the C&O (Pittsburgh to DC) is 333 miles.  So, that's 83 miles/day for a 4 day adventure.  At 10mph, that's 8 hours of saddle time.  It is also of mixed quality surface, so potential for azz shaking is high - especially due to the latest rains we have been having - ruts and puddles (and mosquitoes) will abound.

Four days is fine for two high school or college kids (or cycling fit adults). They're dopey enough to ride in poor conditions, with few preparations, in a bit of discomfort, and can bounce back each morning.  A 40+ person is a little bit less likely to want to do that.

Just remind them that 80 miles per day is many times tougher than 10 miles per day for new riders. 

Tom

[Ralphie ★]

Yes, please take advantage of your experience to try to save them from themselves.

[Longjohn ★]

7 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

Yes, please take advantage of your experience to try to save them from themselves.

The guy has his own business designing beach houses so I’m thinking he can add some days without getting fired. I just don’t think he realizes how long it takes to pedal that far on an unpaved trail.

[donkpow]

I say let it roll. Some of the best stories in my life are about how I totally screwed up, misjudged, failed to anticipate, lost my ...

[Ralphie ★]

22 minutes ago, donkpow said:

I say let it roll. Some of the best stories in my life are about how I totally screwed up, misjudged, failed to anticipate, lost my ...

Plus, you don't have to seem whiny and preachy and overly cautious.  But then they may ask after it is over why you didn;t tell them.  Hmm, you are screwed.

 

[Longjohn ★]

He asked me how I hauled my camping gear. I told him I have a bob trailer that holds a lot of stuff. He wondered if you could rent them. I'm going to loan him mine. I don't know if he has any bike bags but the trailer is big enough to hold all you need. It pulls really nice.