[Ryan G.]

How do you define or describe an 'epic' ride?
A long 25+ mile ride on your favorite trail....
A long 25+ mile ride on a trail you had to drive out of your way to...
A long ride that whoops your tail because to you it is an epic, even if to Mr. Joe MTB it wasn't...

Had this discussion with my friend the other day, and we seemed to agree on our definition. Of a long ride, usually 20+ miles, that includes a break where we eat something, usually a energy bar and something to drink.

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

My definition of epic changed as I rode more. I used to think of a 20-25 mile mountain bike ride with 2000-3000' of climbing as an epic, but it's more than double that now....and it wouldn't matter if it was a ride out my back door or one I drove to, it's a ride that takes most of what you've got....

 

[Ryan G.]

My definition of epic changed as I rode more. I used to think of a 20-25 mile mountain bike ride with 2000-3000' of climbing as an epic, but it's more than double that now....and it wouldn't matter if it was a ride out my back door or one I drove to, it's a ride that takes most of what you've got....

Are we talking about double the mileage, like a 40-50 mile bike ride, elevation or both? I think I would perish....

 

[YuriB]

Epic

.....is inversely proportional to how many beers I can drink after the ride....

 

[Nat]

How do you define or describe an 'epic' ride?
A long 25+ mile ride on your favorite trail....
A long 25+ mile ride on a trail you had to drive out of your way to...
A long ride that whoops your tail because to you it is an epic, even if to Mr. Joe MTB it wasn't...

Had this discussion with my friend the other day, and we seemed to agree on our definition. Of a long ride, usually 20+ miles, that includes a break where we eat something, usually a energy bar and something to drink.

An epic is so long that you wonder whether you're going to make it the whole way before bonking. Could be 10 miles, could be 100.

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

Are we talking about double the mileage, like a 40-50 mile bike ride, elevation or both? I think I would perish....

It's not that hard (as long as you work yourself up to it)...I know some who'd double that before calling it epic...

 

[CHUM]

An epic is your longest, hardest and most challenging ride to date. Doesn't matter if ya drive to it, ride from your front door or even if it's only 5 miles in the hills with 300 ft of climbing.

To me it's your personal best.

 

[SMOKEY]

I have met and spoken with several bikers and asked them about epics and they have no idea what am talking about. I just figured it was an internet thing. Come to think of it, I have never met a rider who even knew what an epic was!

 

[Shannon-UT]

When I think of epic rides, I don't necessarily think of a mileage, others might. I've done 25 milers that were easy, but 14 milers that I thought I'd never finish and took forever.

So epic to me would be something that maybe lasted 4 hours or longer either because it's so techincal, or just plain long, or you got lost and ended up bushwacking it because the trail is no longer used and have to bust out the map, you wonder if you'll ever make it to the end, you're pushed to the limit, and when you do get to the end feels like quite an accomplishement. Then again that may be easy to someone else! But it is usually an adventure.

I think it is a personal definition.

 

[santa_cruzer]

A short list of factors contributing to an Epic:

1.)Severe shortage of water/food.
2.)Extreme weather conditions.
3.)Something on the bike breaks(usually a seat at 20 miles away from the car).
4.)Bodily harm.
5.)Sincere doubt about wether or not you will/can make it home, usually from some combination of factors 2-4).
6.) The best intentions.



-R

 

[Nat]

A short list of factors contributing to an Epic:

1.)Severe shortage of water/food.
2.)Extreme weather conditions.
3.)Something on the bike breaks(usually a seat at 20 miles away from the car).
4.)Bodily harm.
5.)Sincere doubt about wether or not you will/can make it home, usually from some combination of factors 2-4).
6.) The best intentions.

I dunno man, this list just sounds like poor decision-making to me.

 

[edouble]

sounds great but...

It's not that hard (as long as you work yourself up to it)...I know some who'd double that before calling it epic...

where do they find the time?. somethings being neglected in their life, thats for sure. stil, i wish i could ride that much!.
my idea is anything over 3hrs because i rarely get to ride that long. distance dosnt matter as much because the difficulty of the trail will determine that.

 

[YuriB]

Clear your weekends or become a grad student.
I'd say this qualifies as epic
http://www.topofusion.com/azt/

 

[rzozaya1969]

I have met and spoken with several bikers and asked them about epics and they have no idea what am talking about. I just figured it was an internet thing. Come to think of it, I have never met a rider who even knew what an epic was!

Oh, that means you weren't talking about the Spech bike?

Kidding. I think that for me an Epic is an all-day ride, regardless of my level. Maybe an epic for me would be a warming up trail for somebody else, and a plain impossibility to another.

I think that for me an epic would mean about 18 to 28 miles, depending on terrain.

 

[cbmtbr]

A short list of factors contributing to an Epic:

1.)Severe shortage of water/food.
2.)Extreme weather conditions.
3.)Something on the bike breaks(usually a seat at 20 miles away from the car).
4.)Bodily harm.
5.)Sincere doubt about wether or not you will/can make it home, usually from some combination of factors 2-4).
6.) The best intentions.

-R

santa cruzer has it right. epic is a term stolen from mountaineering, and definately involves serious suffering. A long climb (or ride) is just that- a long climb (or ride). Add the factors above, and a climb (or ride) has become an epic. Climbing magazine often has issues devoted entirely to epic stories- read some of those and your next 5 hour ride won't seem like much.

 

[Ryan G.]

santa cruzer has it right. epic is a term stolen from mountaineering, and definately involves serious suffering. A long climb (or ride) is just that- a long climb (or ride). Add the factors above, and a climb (or ride) has become an epic. Climbing magazine often has issues devoted entirely to epic stories- read some of those and your next 5 hour ride won't seem like much.

..haha someone needs to grab a story from this magazine or quote and post it up, then it will make a 20 mile bike ride look like lawn bowling...

 

[like_the_wheel]

where do they find the time?. somethings being neglected in their life, thats for sure....

Why do people always have to assert something negative? Maybe people who do rides like this arrange their lives so that that is the main objective and everything else is just details. Maybe they don't get involved with someone or start a family on purpose? As long as they are doing what makes them feel fulfilled then why does something in their life have to be neglected as you said??? I'm not trying to rip you a new one here just trying to see where you are coming from....

Anyway, to me an epic is like someone else said, a ride that takes everything you've got. For me that's typically 3-5K climbing and anywhere from 20-50 miles but really it's more the elevation than the mileage that makes it hard. 100 mile road loops that are flat are pretty boring really but when you face 1000' of climbing in one mile of trail things get tough quick!

 

[frank n. beans]

A short list of factors contributing to an Epic:

1.)Severe shortage of water/food.
2.)Extreme weather conditions.
3.)Something on the bike breaks(usually a seat at 20 miles away from the car).
4.)Bodily harm.
5.)Sincere doubt about wether or not you will/can make it home, usually from some combination of factors 2-4).
6.) The best intentions.

Good summary.

If you are enjoying the ride all the way through, I don't think that you can call it an epic. It has to hurt - hurt more than you wanted it to. And take longer than anticipated.

 

[Pain Freak]

Number one reason

that makes an epic ride to me:

"it's the one you will never forget".

Some of the things that help, is the effort applied, time riding,(I personally think 10+ hours is a reasonable bike ride), scenery, friends, and the feeling of accomplishment after you drag yourself to your vehicle after the ride.Mileage plays a part in it,but like somebody else posted,it all depends on the terrain.

 

[endurowanker]

anything involving more than 2 hours on the bike gets into epic territory in my opinion.