Things you sign up for, then regret massively later...

babychaos on Fri, 2016-07-29 10:47

That's a long way My journey into cycling began in 2009. I'd been running for 2-3 years, however I was picking up injuries, so a friend suggested I do triathlon instead (less running, he said...)...which was fine, apart from the fact I couldn't swim, and didn't have a bike.

So I learnt to swim, and bought a bike, and it quickly became apparent I was far better at cycling than running or swimming. I decided that I needed to set myself a challenge, and at about the same time an event called Ride Across Britain was announced. 1,000 miles in 9 days. At the time my longest ride had been about 50km (30 miles), so I naively signed myself up...how hard could it be?

Turns out "bloody hard". The next 10 months were a real education in structured training, endurance, nutrition, and also some of the technical aspects of cycling. There is a big difference between running for 1 - 1½ hours, and cycling for 6 hours day after day after day. I remember arriving in John O'Groats feeling thoroughly out of my depth, in the middle of a howling gale and rain storm (probably clement weather up there though!). Over the next 9 days I broke myself...by day 3 I was on prescription painkillers, with the organisers doctors handing them out like smarties every morning to an ever-increasing queue of riders. I had an issue where the sheath of my quad muscles (the fascia) was disconnecting from the muscle, and binding instead to the thigh bones, and every night a physiotherapist would slowly and painfully pry them apart, extending my ability to ride by another day.

The Unit at Lands End Of course, I finished, with Rob and Kate to welcome a (slightly delirious and broken) me over the line at Lands End. Of course I raced it, coming in 6th out of the 600 riders. Of course I could barely walk for the next fortnight. Over those 9 days I formed an amazing bond with a small group of people I rode with (we still refer to ourselves as "The Unit" when we meet), even though I spent 90% of the time watching their butt as we forced our way down the country. I said I've never do it again, as the experience would not be the same.

...however, Threshold Sports (the organisers) have set up a new event. Same theory (though going Lands End to John O'Groats this time), in 5 days. That averages out at ~190 miles a day. With the best will in the world, that is a brutal challenge, and not one I can easily turn down.

Ahead of putting my name down, I did some "Reality Check" numbers, to work out if I was capable of it, and I also discussed it with my coach. While I'll be 7 years older going into this (if it goes ahead, they need 50 ~~idiots~~ participants to make it work) I'm fitter, stronger and more resilient...and I'm also a lot more savvy in terms of cycling, and my own capabilities, as well as having access to the technology to monitor myself closely.

So, I reckon it will be along the lines of;

11-12 hours of cycling a day (averaging ~18mph or 29kmh)
Burning 7,500-8,000 calories a day
...while cycling, you can digest approximately 4 calories per kilo of body mass per hour, which means I'll be able to eat about 2,500 calories while riding. That means I will have to eat (and digest) ~6,000 calories in the time off the bike. And Sleep. And get a massage (to protect my quads from overuse damage)
I reckon on about 5 litres of fluids per day on the bike (10 bidons)

I've ridden ~300km in a day precisely once...last year during Mallorca 312, and I certainly wasn't in a fit state to do another 4 of those, though once again I did sort of race it. I think doing 1,000 miles in 5 days will be very much dependent on strict discipline, and keeping to a set pace and power, and (sounds a bit daft) putting effort into recovering properly, and making sure I'm physically fit for the next day.

URL:

Ride Across Britain - Ultra

Comments

Hang on - you've signed up for this madness?

Submitted by brainwipe on Fri, 2016-07-29 13:04

Yes. Yes I have.

I'd say "it keeps me off the streets", but in this case the opposite is true...

Submitted by babychaos on Fri, 2016-07-29 14:16

When is this particular mental going to be? How long do I have to write your eulogy?

Submitted by brainwipe on Fri, 2016-07-29 14:35

Plenty of time...set off from Lands End on 13th September 2017.

The rough plan is to do a normal winter base period, with a bit more focus on longer rides, especially back-to-back, and then from June/July next year I'll put a real focus into long rides, probably stop racing etc etc. I'm currently doing ~500km/week, which is a pretty reasonable training volume...however I will plan on doing 250km rides back-to-back at weekends next year (roughly Reading to Cardiff), with August Bank Holiday being a final series of rides...

Submitted by babychaos on Fri, 2016-07-29 14:56

Shitting biscuits.

When you do your long ones, will you do loops or straight-and-train-back jobs?

Submitted by brainwipe on Sat, 2016-07-30 19:41

Wow, that's a lot of cycling. Good luck mate!

Submitted by byrn on Sun, 2016-07-31 11:57

Rob - I haven't got any hard and fast plans for the training plans yet, though logistically most will probably be loops from Reading. If I use the train to get places, it will probably be train out/ride back (again, easier to organise). I may stick in some cycle to x, stay overnight, cycle back for some of the back-to-back rides (for example, cycle to Cardiff, stay overnight, cycle home). I'm feeling a little more confident after having done a fairly brutal ride yesterday, and not really feeling too bad today.

Byrnie - Cheers!

Submitted by babychaos on Mon, 2016-08-01 07:44

Fucking hell, I didn't realise you RODE HOME AFTER. That is the level of mental you'll need for the LE-JOG.

Will you need any new/special equipment/toys for the LE-JOG ride?

Submitted by brainwipe on Mon, 2016-08-01 10:04

If you can't come 42nd in a sportive (out of ~26,000), then ride 65km home, what can you do?
It actually wasn't too bad. I got my nutrition and hydration right, and that makes a lot of difference.

I only think I'll need 2 things;

1) A saddle that is good for 11-12 hours. Mine is good for 4-5 hours, but after that the lack of padding starts to have...consequences. Finding the right saddle is pretty hard work, so I'll be trying plenty out. I know some of the things I need (narrow nose, middle cut-out).

2) A GPS head-unit with base-maps. My current one can do routes, but it uses a breadcrumb trail on-screen, rather than a base-map. That's normally OK, but for stuff like roundabouts and vague junctions I'll need a bit more, or forever be taking wrong turns. They are not cheap, but they do get a lot of use...

Otherwise, everything else boils down to "a bike".

Submitted by babychaos on Mon, 2016-08-01 10:38

Hang on. You came 42 in RideLondon/Surrey? I didn't quite understand that...

Will you be buying a new bike for LE-JOG? Go on, post some bike porn - you know you want to. :D

Submitted by brainwipe on Mon, 2016-08-01 11:17

I wrote a spreadsheet a while ago that will strip websites of results, and then sort them into time order (who knew Excel was such an efficient web-spider?). Legally sportive-organisers are not allowed to display results in time order (it's not a race, and insurers don't like you pretending it is...)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bebDQUbJjkVieMIXzx97b59O0pAfi0ZW...
(you might need to be signed into a Google account to view).

I had the 42nd fastest time yesterday in the 100-milers.

Bike wise...yes, I probably will get a new bike. I have 2 choices;

1) Canyon Aeroad - While it's not cheap (£3,500 for the model I would go for), for the money it's a serious bit of kit. The frame is Pro-Tour spec, it has the same group-set that I recently put on my current road bike (which makes it easier to swap and share components), and the wheels are very good. Geometry is aggressive (short headtube and headset, seam-tube is more vertical to place the rider further forward on the bike), which is very similar to what I currently ride.
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2) DIY Chinese Bike - probably using a Ridley Noah Fast frame-set (shown, ~£400), which looks dirty-fast. Add on a pair of chinese wheels (~£400), and a legit Ultegra Di2 Groupset (~£850), handlebars, stem and saddle, and I'll have a very good bike for about £2k, saving £1.5K over the Canyon. Downside is that it's not legit, plus side is that I can be far more exacting about the setup, in terms of frame size, handlebar width, stem length and drop etc.
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My bike set-up has been politely described as "aggressive", in that I have a very short stack, and a longer-than-normal reach. This forces you into a more aerodynamic posture (lower head, more horizontal torso), which some people find uncomfortable, but I'm quite used to it now (I actually have the Wattbike set up more aggressively). I'd like to change the stem (the bit between the steerer tube on the front forks and the handlebars) to be slightly longer, and with a negative angle, to further reduce the stack length. The Canyon comes with an integrated stem/handlebar combo, so there is less flexibility there for tinkering with position.

Submitted by babychaos on Mon, 2016-08-01 11:58

SEXY BIKIES! Will you build the Chinese-sourced bike yourself or get a shop to do it?

Will the aggressiveness need to eschew a little for comfort for the long distance? Do you have a yoga/stretching regimen for that? I imagine that you'll want to race the LE-JOG (it's not a race (it's a race)) so hammering along like a twin-wheeled nutjob might suit you.

Submitted by brainwipe on Mon, 2016-08-01 14:02

I'd like to give it a go building it myself, though I have a mechanic friend for backup. Problem with modern bikes is they use a Pressfit bottom bracket, which requires specialist tools. My Pina has a threaded bottom bracket, which is a lot simpler to service.

You can't race 300km/day. Survival has to come first, and a key part to that will be efficiency. The smaller I can get my frontal area, the less energy I'll have to burn (generally, 80-85% of the effort you put into pedalling goes into overcoming air resistance, and the rider accounts for about 75% of that, with the bike making up 25%...as such getting a good position is absolutely key).

I do some stretching and flexibility work (more in winter than summer), but I'm a strong believer in training on what you race on, so that you get used to the position. I also have fortnightly sports massages, to iron out any niggles in the legs and back before they become injuries. I'll probably put myself on a core-strength regime over winter this year, which also helps when you're bent over at 90' for half a day, every day.

Submitted by babychaos on Mon, 2016-08-01 14:16

which also helps when you're bent over at 90' for half a day, every day.

Can we just assume that I made the smutty retort to that?

Given that you're going to be upping your training, will you be putting back your entry into Bake Off next year?

Submitted by brainwipe on Mon, 2016-08-01 14:36

Shit, just saw this on the BEEB. Robin Chard: RIP and good on you, mate.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-36940216

Submitted by brainwipe on Mon, 2016-08-01 14:37

Re: smutty remark. Cycling involves grown men wearing lycra, shaving their legs and (to all intents and purposes) greasing up their balls. Nothing you can say will make it any worse.

Shame about the fatality...still waiting to hear abut the chap who head-butted a tree on the descent through Pyrford.

Submitted by babychaos on Mon, 2016-08-01 15:26