Long distance with the velomobile

STORIES FROM VELOMOBILE COMMUNITY

Long distance with the velomobile

Author: Max Weldert

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I am certainly not a good long-distance cyclist, but in the 12 years that I have been riding a velomobile, I have often covered stages of several hundred kilometres a day. Today I would like to talk about how a velomobile rides over long distances and, as an example, report on my last long-distance ride.

 

At the end of August, I travelled with my Carbon Quest from Münster to a seminar in the Mecklenburg Lake District. This is a distance of exactly 500 kilometres that had to be covered in one day. I had already stowed my luggage, such as clothes, laptop and other items, safely behind the seat the evening before. Everything I need to reach on the road without getting off, such as an external battery, food and drinks, can be stored next to the seat.

 

Thanks to the incredibly high efficiency of a velomobile, it was possible to cover this route completely in daylight, i.e. I started at sunrise and arrived at dusk. In addition to long ranges, a velomobile can also achieve very high average speeds thanks to the very low wind resistance. With the right weather conditions and the right tyres, I can ride at over 40 km/h for several hours, even with a Quest. It's important to distribute your power throughout the day in the best possible way and not to overpace right at the start.

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 This is how it goes straight ahead for kilometres

 

This early in the morning, I need time to get going anyway and deliberately let it roll without much pressure. I'm looking forward to the first longer route I've travelled since my daughter was born a few months earlier. The weather is fine, there are only a few cars on the road and the kilometres fly by. I usually listen to music or podcasts on the way, but every now and then I also enjoy putting my headphones aside and pedalling along in silence. For me, there is no other activity that allows me to be with myself as much as cycling. Long distances in particular are like meditation, where I find myself and my brain stops thinking. It usually takes me a few hours to get into the mode where body and mind merge into one.

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 Sitting very comfortably in the velomobile

 

On the way, I mainly eat fruit, nuts and liquid food. At some point, however, I can no longer stand the sweet shakes and after about 200 kilometres I treat myself to an extended breakfast break in a café. The break with fresh rolls and a large coffee is balm for the soul. By now it's mid-morning, the sun is pleasantly warm and I use the stop to let the soaked seat mat dry in the sun, wash off, change my clothes and walk a few steps without cycling shoes. It's always amazing how much energy you can recharge during breaks like this.

 

The route, starting in North Rhine-Westphalia, leads wonderfully quietly through Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg and finally Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. As always, Brouter did the route planning for me and I just ride it bluntly via Komoot. I'm very happy with this setup. At times it goes through the most sparsely populated areas of Germany and I can let the Quest run. Only the bottom bracket position and my new cycling shoes give me a hard time. I had disregarded the advice to only set off on the long distance with tested equipment due to a lack of preparation time, and now I was taking my revenge. I tighten my shoes a little more loosely and finally take them off completely to continue barefoot for a few kilometres. I stop again after 350 kilometres and adjust the bottom bracket position by moving the sled a few millimetres forwards. My knees thank me for it.

 

It's now late afternoon and it's starting to get tough. The missing kilometres from this year are clearly noticeable and I'm travelling quite slowly for the last 100km. 80% are already done, it's not really that far, but 100km still means another 3 hours. That's hard on the mind. So I treat myself to another ice cream break. When I get off the bike, I realise that I'm a bit shaky and take the precaution of topping up my water supply.

 

At the end, there are actually a few more mini hills, but with the confidence that it's not far away, they are easy to manage. I finally arrive in Waren an der Müritz at dusk and am overjoyed. About an hour before arriving, I had also ordered a large Asian dish by phone, which I can now enjoy on the market square. It's always a great feeling to arrive and look back on the day. 500 kilometres on a bike, "just like that", in rather poor condition. That's probably only possible on a velomobile. At the end of the day, I can cool off in the Müritz.

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 Finally arrived

 

The Quest ran, as you would expect, unobtrusively and reliably. What an outstanding velomobile was created there. So elegant, comfortable and fast at the same time. I am sad that production of this classic is to be discontinued.

 

Over the next few days of the seminar, I clearly realise that this day trip has doubled my family-related sub-par annual mileage. Climbing stairs is difficult, my legs are heavy, I'm hungrier than average and the calories I've lost need to be replenished. I'm glad to have a few days off.

 

At the end of the week, the alarm clock rings at 5 a.m. and I make my way home. But before I really get going, I treat myself to a luxury and ask the youth hostel for a box in which to pack all the luggage I need for the seminar and send it home via DHL Packstation. I imagine I notice the weight saving when I accelerate, but maybe it's just a little mental help. There were five days between the outward and return journey, so my legs should be largely recovered. Nevertheless, I'm a little slower than on the outward journey, which is partly due to the rain. Towards the end, the Teutoburg Forest takes its toll on me and I long to finally arrive home and be back with my family. Around 7 p.m., I realise with horror that the battery in my light is flat. Have I been travelling with the lights on all day by mistake or did I forget to charge the battery at the seminar? Now it's too late to think about the cause, because I still have a long way to go. My half-hearted pedalling comes to an end before the onset of darkness and I push hard on the pedals once more. I fly towards the finish line at 45-50 km/h for the remaining 45 kilometres and make it just before sunset.

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The last few kilometres through the Teutoburg Forest

 

My conclusion about long-distance cycling with a velomobile is that, in addition to speed, the feel-good factor, the amount of space and an ergonomic position are the most important factors. For me, the Quest is a vehicle in which I can travel comfortably for 16 hours, even if it can't quite keep up with the latest developments in the world of velomobiles in terms of efficiency.