Has anyone ever attempted the Lands end to do the John O’Groats off road Route totally Solo, on a single speed? And if so how would you train for such a thing?

I only ask as I’m trying to dream up a (UK based) Endurance challenge for myself to work towards being fit enough to beast myself into (Probably take a while to get there);
Solo/SS/off road from one end of the country to the other seems like a tough one to me, but you never know, I do like the idea of stacking the odds against oneself from day one…
Maybe I should stipulate some extra rules to up the “Grrrr” factor:

1- The bike must be fully rigid (Comfort is for the weak)…
2- Single speed means one gear for the whole trip! (no changing the sprocket if you know you’ve got a day of mostly climbing ahead)…
3- No Hotels – Camping/Bivvying for the whole trip…
4- Start the Trip on the Mid Winter Solstice, Shorter days/Colder nights…
5- No Buying Food – Either carry it, Scavenge or Kill it, survivalist Skills FTW…
6- No buying spares – total self sufficiency as above, so carry enough tubes, tyres, brake pads/cable, chains and sprockets (See rule 2), etc to get you there…

I don’t think I could really manage half of that if I’m honest, but it’s fun to imagine…

What other scary/Manly Bike based, Endurance challenges can people dream up? (Or indeed have actually done)…

http://nepalorbust.info/

Look at the map, mate from Uni, Loco supported, morally that is as it’s a rigid 😀

Pathetic. A RealMan would do it on a bmx.

yeah! I’ll tell him he should have done it on a unicycle! He’s carrying on to NZ if funds last, I’m not jealous at all 👿

can you eat 5 cream crackers in a minute? – no water allowed.

Pathetic. A RealMan would do it on a bmx.

Good point, I have a BMX…

Why not come and have a go at the Welsh Ride Thing in May http://welshridething.blogspot.com/ it may seem tame by your description but you might be surprised … it’ll certainly give you a taste.

PS. It’s been done by women too.

Pathetic. A RealMan would do it on a bmx.

😀

Addendum:

-No Panniers/Frame bags/Bottle cages, Saddle or Bar packs, you’re only allowed to carry kit on your Back Grrrr!
-BMX Must be fitted with 120 Psi Slick tyres Grrrr!
-You Must manual the 200Ft either side of any County borders you cross, Failure to complete the 400Ft annual means you have to go back and ride the Whole County again Grrr!
-You Must collect and carry for the remainder of the journey a rock (Minimum weight 2Kg) from each country you travel through Grrr!
-Bonus points for ambushing Doggers Grrr!

I really now think an organised Endurance/torture event based on some of these ideas would be great; Orienteering but for real men…

Biggest thing I’ve done has been MM (in a very poor team), didn’t do well, need to up the commitment really, so some sort of overall Fitness/Endurance goal is needed, but doing some events like that as part of the prep makes plenty of sense to me…

What other scary/Manly Bike based, Endurance challenges can people dream up?

💡 don’t wipe your bum for a month 💡

😯

What other scary/Manly Bike based, Endurance challenges can people dream up?

Win a race, much more impressive.

MM in a team?? Try solo before you try anything like what you’re saying! 😉

MM in a team?? Try solo before you try anything like what you’re saying!

Well Duh…

Win a race, much more impressive.

Granted…

I quite like the idea of achieving something “Epic” in terms of distance/self sufficiency, planning, etc not that winning a Race isn’t just a different type of challenge…

The Trans’ Provence article in Last months ST set me off on this tangent, re-read it last night you see…

Joking aside Something involving a bit of Distance, some “self sufficiency” and a single speed has started to appeal to me, I can grind away all day on a geared MTB, but I fancy the idea of achieving a bit more with even fewer bells and whistles…

A lot of my riding is solo these days and I think having a longer term goal, a target trip or event to plan and execute for myself at some point in the next 2-3 years is a worthwhile thing to aspire to…

Does nobody else ever consider such things?

I managed to slice some bread straight the other day.

Why don’t you just stay home, buy a hammer and repeatedly hit your legs with it? It’s a lot cheaper.

Does nobody else ever consider such things?

Oh yep, i’m just being an ass about the race thing. I tried to ride coast to coast in Japan in a day once (not as impressive as it sounds, couple of hundred kms) but i was foiled by a collapsing wheel. So watch out on the spares front.

transvésubienne is on my list for this year

I contemplated trying to complete the C2C on the summer solstice.

I then took a long hard look at myself and decided to dismiss the idea as utter folly….but for some reason it just won’t go away. 147 miles in 16hrs or so of daylight…..it’s certainly challenge enough for a forty-something like me!!!

Why don’t you just stay home, buy a hammer and repeatedly hit your legs with it? It’s a lot cheaper.

I alsmost fell off my chair…

-No Panniers/Frame bags/Bottle cages, Saddle or Bar packs, you’re only allowed to carry kit on your Back Grrrr!

A real cyclist would never carry a rucksack,let the bike do the work and no saddle? what stand up all the way/

Proper Manly Challenges?

finish the decorating.

(not a chance)

I contemplated trying to complete the C2C on the summer solstice.

I then took a long hard look at myself and decided to dismiss the idea as utter folly….but for some reason it just won’t go away. 147 miles in 16hrs or so of daylight…..it’s certainly challenge enough for a forty-something like me!!!

That sounds like a good one to train for – if you can consistently average a bit over 10Mph (16.1Km/h) you should be able to do it with an hour or so buffer…

Although it’s worth noting the Summer solstice falls on the 21st (Tuesday) this year, and MM will be the weekend of the 18th, So if one were feeling mental enough, you could Race MM Solo, have one days kip (Monday the 20th), then straight off to do C2C inside 16 hours with Jelly for legs…. Now that’s a challenge, don’t you think …

In fact 147 Miles (236.5Km) in 16 hours is basically an MM solo winning level of performance I Believe, approximately equivalent to 26.8 laps of the 8.8Km course in just 2/3rds of the time… Correct me if I’m wrong…

Yeah, I reckon I’d fold…

CLIC24 for a laid back chariteeee event as a early season opener ?
Its mid May , so good ground work for a solo MM . then C2C in late June.
SDWD, 200 miles and 12,000ft of climbing in less than 24hrs
WHW in 24 hrs Alpine styleee

You can get as ‘Out there’ as you like with your BMX trip , why not add solid tyres ?

but for some reason it just won’t go away. 147 miles in 16hrs or so of daylight…..it’s certainly challenge enough for a forty-something like me!!!

Off road, I’m not sure. On road, oh yes. Hell, even I’ve done 160+ miles in a day (RvV sportive), which should be incentive enough for any man.

solo strathpuffer is the hardest thing I have ever done – pretty much every ounce of strength / will for a below mid table finish.

TandemJeremy – Member
solo strathpuffer is the hardest thing I have ever done…

Now there’s a real manly challenge.

Do it solo on a single speed and try to get in more laps than the girls…