Equipment

This is the post that I ment to write yesterday, but didn't get around to. You might be wondering how it is possible to ride 90-100 miles sitting on the same seat for 6-7 hours and not be sore (except for tired legs or the hopefully very ocassional crash)?
Some of it is because of training for the ride but a lot of what makes it enjoyable is having the right equipment. Nearly everyone is riding a road bike. These are bikes with tires about 23 mm wide. The bikes are made to be as light and efficient as possible. Some people have bikes where the wheels alone cost twice as much as my whole bike. That being said, you do not have to have a super nice bike to do a ride like this. We always wear helmets gloves and glasses. The glases partly for the sun and also for protection against rocks and bugs. The other day, I actually took a small stone right in my lens. Without glasses this would have been much more than a minor annoyance. The other thing that helps a lot is to be properly set up on your bike. If everything fits, it makes things much nicer.