Morning all,

I’ve entered Dusk Till Dawn this year in the solo category and wondered if anyone had any advice on training/ the actual race? I’m not in it to win it or anything but just want to give a good account of myself.

Doing a lot of road riding at the moment (longish distances) as I’m doing one of these Pedal to Paris things in a few weeks. Other than that anything in particular good training?

Any pearls of wisdom gratefully appreciated!

bump….. 😀

I found on my first 12hr solo my arms and shoulders suffered, but that mainly came from a lack of long hours in the saddle, just make sure you get out for some 5+hr rides to see what pains you might get and to try and fix it before the big day, also chamois cream is a must, helps prevent serious soreness

All of Rob Dean’s advice on bikemagic and here is really good, he’s the man in the know =)

Sounds like you have a good base of fitness. I would try and throw in some long rides on the MTB, I found a few years ago when I rode most of my long distance rides on road, my upper body became tired a lot quicker than in previous years.

In the race: Eat as much as you can, obviously not going mad, early on, I find that I find it harder and harder to eat as time goes on. Have treats for when the going gets grim.
Accept that you will have a bad patch and hopefully you will come through it. This can be quite hard when the bad patch hits you, you can fall into a plod for the rest of the day but if you keep positive you will come through it.

Use bottles not a camelbac, I always used a camelbac up until this year as it allowed me to keep going more but bottles are so much easier to manage and you don’t have a weight sloshing about on your back which is nice! try and get a helper, I generally end up doing them super solo, which is harder and wastes more time at each stop.

Be organised, know were everything is when you pit, I am not organised and loose a lot of time pitting!

Buy or make sure you have new gloves, I used an old pair in a hot 10 hour race, my hands felt like they were bleeding as the palm has a couple of creases in them, nothing you would notice on a two hour ride but a bumpy course and 5-6 hours in my hands were hurting so much I wanted to cry!

Get some good shorts and chamois cream!

Hope thats of some help

I had a flask of hot sweet coffee in the solo pit area last year, which was fantastic at 2am. That seems to be when the cold, dark and exhaustion hits and everyone quits. Just keep plodding on, taking the gels.

Dawn is lovely in Thetford…

Cheers for the info very helpful!!! Upper body pains is interesting, might see if I can get to some cross training classes before and will look to get some long MTB rides on the go!
Got the magic cream for the long road rides so all set there, not a fan of camel backs as don’t like the weight like you say, might get a few spare bottles though to aid the change overs.
Sweet coffee is a great idea, did it in a team last year, was very grim, although started to dry out towards the end and get quicker!

Not tried the gels before, heard they can give you an upset stomach if you not used to them?? Also do you not need to make sure you drink loads with them?

Thanks again

A lot of gels don’t require extra water with them – SiS gels for example are isotonic, but do trial them before your event.

Don’t make any firm plans, like ‘I’m not going to stop for x hours’ Be flexible, you’ve got 12 hours. While you’re not in it to win, it’s always good to do as well as you can, which means a good steady pace, even if you take an hour out, that last lap may make a difference.

assuming you are planning on completing the time rather than winning then

– better to stop and eat/drink for 10 mins every hour or so than to try to tough it out, but not so you get too comfy.

– lots of food, and lots of different types of stuff, the last thing you thought you would like is what you’ll want. And hot drink.

– bring every item of cycling clothing you own

– never needed cream

– prefer bottles

– go slower than you think

– chat to people

I tend to get over exciting so slowing myslef down on the first lap is a must I think!

Would like to get a respectable finishing position, but in no way good enought/ fit enough to compete, so yeah to finish the 12 hours without needing a massive break would be great for me!

Interesting on the stop every hour (assume every lap then) for a bit of food, was thiking about trying to get a couple in then stop. I guess a massive amount will depend on the weather conditions, last years was a tad demoralising when I got over taken by someone walking with their bike….

don’t take on any significant carbs in the 90 mins before the start and in the first hour and a half or you’ll not burn fat so easily. use diluted energy drink for the first couple of laps.

Bring helpers. In my experience, it’s too easy to stop for too long when truly solo; I get on better with someone to help out, hand me food, bottles etc.

Try not to keep up with the team racers. In any race where the categories all are riding at the same time, it’s very tempting to keep up with people who aren’t needing to save themselves.

No heroics. Ok, I ride SS so this is more important for me. Sure I can make that tough climb normally, but I find I go better by backing off and saving my legs.

Cheers iDave, I would very possibly have been stuffing my face with pasta prior to the race! 😀 I’ll eat up front now.
Sadly got no helper with me, so I guess its a matter of just trying to have everything lined up and organised before the race starts. Am I right in thinking there is a tent for solo riders at D2D?

you can have pasta three hours before, then have more protein and low GI carbs 90 mins before.

have a plan for the 12 hours,I tend to take enough food & water for two laps if the laps are roughly 1hour. Quick stop food more water then head out again for another 2 then follow this pattern.If you don`t have helpers i try and make up a load of drinks which saves some time. Oh and try to keep motivated

Personally I would advice against a slow start, you will be stuck in traffic and waste a lot of time, sitting there doing nothing. I wouldn’t get worried about passing everyone or being a bit stuck behind someone for a while but I would try and get out fairly quickly. I find it’s better to just try and ride at a reasonable pace and avoid plodding, plodding is miserable, you will hit a plod stage for sure but you might as well have some fun before that (and sometimes afterwards if you keep positive)

Also I agree with the above, I think at most you need to stop every other lap, if you can make sure you have enough water and food for two laps at least you will save time, 10 every lap not moving will add up very quickly, (that’s 2 hours not moving over the 12 hours!)and you will be constantly on the back foot, having to catch and pass riders that you past last lap.

Plus adding to my earlier comments about doing a fair bit of off road training, with good technical skills (obviously the course makes this more or less important)you can make some easy time up over those that are less good off road, it will save energy too, being able to keep smooth rather than having to start stop a lot. Also you will get tired and become more clumsy as time goes on so saver to start at a higher level.

Know that you are not ‘racing’ it, but all these things add up to make it more or less pleasant. Although you are riding for 12 hours, so in one way there’s little point on worrying about the small things but equally you have a lot more time to keep making small mistakes which really add up.

Sadly got no helper with me, so I guess its a matter of just trying to have everything lined up and organised before the race starts.

Pre-fill, say, 12 bottles with whatever you’re going to drink, leave them trackside – a folding table is ideal – if you’re on a pre-planned food strategy, rubber band a gel/bar/whatever to the bottle. Come in, dump old bottle, collect new one. Go. Pedal. I guess other people may differ, but I really don’t want to come in and hang around.

There’s a limit to what your body can absorb while active, so while you should keep eating, don’t stuff yourself. Avoid fatty stuff too. And don’t try any energy drinks, gels etc in the race that you’ve not used in training.

Don’t be surprised if you have a bad spell at some point, just keep going and keep fuelling and you’ll get through it fine.

Clothes? You don’t need to bring everything you have unless you’re determined to win some sort of fashion prize. Maybe one change of stuff if you need a morale boost, several pairs of gloves.

That’s what works for me, but obviously everyone’s different.

Read the article in which Chipps and the fit bloke did soemthing similar..

Really helped me first time Soloing 10@Kirro this year.

Stay within your aerobic zone have a little salt on food (salt sandwiches work for me) stay hydrated. Dont over do eating or drinking. If its your first race I would aim to take it easy, stay chilled and enjoy it. Make a reace of it on your next solo race when you have more experience.