I’ve done a couple of 6h events this year and last, and now I’m looking forward to my first 12h race at the Bristol bikefest next Saturday.

Do any more seasoned half day-ers have any last minute advice (assuming there is nothing I can do about fitness now!). What riding to do (if any this week)? What to eat the day before? What to eat in the race? Any tips on self-service pitting? Does going steady at the beginning help later on? etc. etc. anyway I’m sure you get the idea!

Cheers in advance 🙂

See you out there, it’s my third year in a row.

Ride very little for now, maybe a one-hour gentle spin tonight then rest.

Eat well before, drink plenty (not booze!). On the day take food you LIKE to eat. I subsist on gels/drinks/bars but make sure I stop to eat some real food every two to three hours – soft ham and cheese rolls, pain au chocolat, bananas and cans of coke work for me but eat what you are accustomed to.

Depending on whether you care about doing well or not, a good start is crucial at BBF – if you are not in the top half it is traffic-tastic (think standing still for several minutes) into the first bits of singletrack. If you don’t care too much, amble off slowly and enjoy!

I think there’s a tent/pits didicated for soloists but I tend to just hang out with mates riding as a team so not sure.

Good luck, enjoy it.

A few gentle spins between now and then to keep the legs turning over and to allow full recovery would be ideal.

Eating-wise, good, healthy food, plenty of carbs and try to hydrate really well (it’s due to be fairly warm on Saturday). Night before really depends on you – some people benefit from eating loads, for others that just makes them lethargic the next day.

Strategy really depends how serious/fit you are. If you’re really going for a result then sprint to the first singletrack and then settle into a steady pace, ideally that feels a bit easy so that you can sustain or even raise it later. If you’re less serious, then just go with the flow as time lost there will be small in comparison to how much the fast people will beat you by anyway.

During the race, drink lots (basically as much as you can manage) and try and eat plenty too – what will really depend on you again. Some get on with gels, others don’t. Try and also pack some normal food for if/when you get sick of race food – eg ham sandwiches, etc.

See you there!

pedal harder. don’t brake.

Thanks for all the info guys. Just got bike back from LBS, so that’s fully fettled. Have good range of gels, bars and normal food. Loads of water. Ready to go!

I mean’t to be at the Bitton Beer Festival tomorrow afternoon (a work social thing), I suspect that isn’t going to be the right kind of carbo loading! So will ahve to make my excuses.

Weather is looking great … see you all there!