[Closed] How are you training in the last week and a half before Kielder?

i think you've missed the point of stw; no one will be doing any training

we're all just wondering when to start discussing tyres - all the prep you could need!

You're right. Maxxis Ignitor front; Larsen TT rear - worried that the rear could be a touch tacky in the dry or get clogged if its muddy. Stuff the training I need to change tyres.

Just lost a week of riding to a bad cold so I'm going for broke with a weekend at Dales bike centre, followed by a week of more or less total rest. Got plenty of miles in my legs but not many hills! Fire XC Pro FTW (because that's what's on there at the moment)

Whats this tapering everyone goes on about?

I'll be doing my 5 x 76 mile daily commute, 2x 35 mile (tues and thurs night) club training, a 60 mile saturday morning club ride plus on my 2 days off some mtb riding ( albeit very medium paced). Prob take friday off day before and race on saturday.

This week will be all about checking bike is fine ( new chainrings, chain and brake pads going on and will bed them over 2 or 3 rides)
Will leave my specialized tyres on cos thats all i have and there pretty fast rolling
Next week will be sorting food and drink out

shame radiogear, if there's any truth in your regime you could prob do ok if you eased off a bit. That would be gay tho

exactly , and i couldn't be looked upon as being gay.

There's no way though, that the people who will win are doing that sort of mileage/time on a bike, unless of course it's you.

I'm just carrying on as normal. I was very crap last year and bugged out after two punctures, complete brake failure, 95% gear failure and a very poorly back. This year I just want to finish so I'll not be pushing hard at all.

There's no way though, that the people who will win are doing that sort of mileage/time on a bike, unless of course it's you.

Why not though? .TDF riders are doing 5 - 6 hours a day on their bike with only 1 or 2 rest days all tour, and even then they ride on their rest day. I'm not saying i'm pro level but i do alright

Reckon you'll be ok whatever tyres Mr G.
I on the otherhand have a few days to loose a stone, find some legs an lungs or at the very least think up a good excuse.
Is that the dog eating all my psp22...??

Whats this tapering everyone goes on about?

I'll be doing my 5 x 5 mile daily commute.

This week will be all about trying to find a bike or making mine not shit (bodging the BB, making the brakes work, putting the rigid fork back on).

Will leave my Mountain King tyres on cos that's all I have.

Next week will be sorting food and drink out.

😉

Why not though? .TDF riders are doing 5 - 6 hours a day on their bike with only 1 or 2 rest days all tour, and even then they ride on their rest day.

I'll be drinking beer and talking shite.

Still planning on coming over and offered to be a dogs body to Sara. Forgot about accommodation though. Oh well something will work out.

You can kip in my tent Drac, it'll be quite cosy seeing as it's a two man and you'll have to be quiet.

I've got a race in the morning you know.

I really should go out for a mountain bike ride at some point before the race mind.

140 mile road ride last Sunday, I'll be out this thursday on the mtb and over the bankholiday twice. Once on an easy ride with friends and once on a 50miler stretching my legs and doing final kit prep. In the week leading up I'll just be doing my normal commute and skipping the Thursday night ride. Probably do one 20 mile ride Wednesday/Thursday. I find I get lethargic if I rest too much before a race but I do notice if I take a few days off that I feel fresher. My main aim will be to get proper nights sleep in for the week (hence no night ride) as that effects me most noticeably.

Did the kielder Calling a week ago. Still have a bruised arse.

Had a very chilled out weekend just gone, no riding fri/sat/sun.

Bak into regular commute: 15 miles each way mon/tue/thu/fri, night ride wedesday. Do some relaxed mtbing over the weekend. Commute tue, mtb wednesday, chill thu and fri.

Closet lazyboy, I like my days off in the name of 'tapering' 😆

Forgot about accommodation though. Oh well something will work out.

I've not organised that yet either. Really should.

Ah cheers Samuri that's that sorted then, see something always works out.

I may bring a bike over, as much for fleeting between places as anything so probably the Jake. And ****in' big lock.

Phone the campsite, a nice lady will take your name for the "event-only" overflow camping. Give somebody a fiver on arrival and you're sorted.

I did a couple of long road rides last week, I'm trying to get out at for a couple of hours at a quickish pace every day this week, may do a 5 hour ride on Thursday and then a couple of very easy runs next week. If I take long rests I feel really sluggish when I get back on the bike.

Or I could take Samuri some beer.

radoggair - Member

Why not though? .TDF riders are doing 5 - 6 hours a day on their bike with only 1 or 2 rest days all tour, and even then they ride on their rest day. I'm not saying i'm pro level but i do alright

Radoggair, fair play to you for putting the miles in, but have you ever considered that you might be addicted to exercise?

I used to kick about with a Scandi girl who had issues, when we suggested that she took a day off she would say something like "I had a day off a couple of weeks ago". She used to keep herself going with enormous amounts of cereal, every now and then the sugar rush would wear off and somebody would find her asleep somewhere, like at her desk at work, or sitting on the pan.

Training was going well. A few 90 and 100+ mile road rides this summer with plenty of short, hard MTB rides. Felt good after two 7-hour MTB rides last week.
But then I got sent away by work at short notice on Tuesday. Hope to be home tonight for a short road ride or turbo session, which would be my first ride in four days. But I could be stuck here until Sunday, which would mean a whole missed week. I'm free all week next week when I had intended to be taking it easy and tapering. Should I stick to that plan, or does anyone have alternative suggestions for final week prep, given that this week has been almost completely written off?

I would be tempted to do a decent ride early next week if you've had time off, or maybe one or two short, sharp ones. It depends how well you usually recover. You are better getting out there and realising that you feel pretty good and are looking forward to the event, than resting and worrying.

I did an 83 mile off road on Sunday over the chilterns. Out for about 10 hours. This week I haven't done much. Might do a couple of short rides on the road bike.

Still debating whether to buy a suspension seatpost to make things easier on my super stiff scandium hardtail. Also not looknig forward to the 5 and half hour drive to kielder.

I don't need to train, because I've a lighter bike with bigger wheels arriving tomorrow.

🙂

I don't need to train, because I've a lighter bike with bigger wheels arriving tomorrow.

IS that a ragley by anychance?

IS that a ragley by anychance?

It is indeed 🙂

Just done 4 days of Stanes trails so I remember how hard all that climbing was 😉
Popped into newcastleton on way back, trails looking ace except for the bit they used before the soup stop, the forestry have totally wrecked them, even the fireroads....mudslop hell.

You can do it this year samuri

I don't need to train, because I've a lighter bike with bigger wheels arriving tomorrow.

Does it have a built in electric motor?

It's a weapon!

Last year I made some cue sheets on sticky labels and stuck one on my top tube. It gave the distance to [b]S[/b]nack, [b]W[/b]ater and [b]F[/b]ood points and the time I needed to get there to maintain at 8mph average.

[url= http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2605/3886485115_517b54257a.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2605/3886485115_517b54257a.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/mike_mc/3886485115/ ]#k100 crib sheet - 8mph version[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/mike_mc/ ]miketually[/url], on Flickr

I found it really useful, but it was illegible by the time I got to Newcastleton.

This year, I'm going to print onto paper and coat in sellotape, then loop it round the bars, like a bracelet (inspired by [url= http://www.marathonguide.com/fitnesscalcs/PaceBandCreator.cfm ]marathon pace bracelets[/url]). Overall distance, interim distance, point, type ([b]f[/b]ood, [b]w[/b]ater, [b]b[/b]ag collection), time cut off, time to meet average speed.

[url= http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4929487122_5a56c2a168.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4929487122_5a56c2a168.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/mike_mc/4929487122/ ]Kielder Pace Bracelet Spreadsheet[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/mike_mc/ ]miketually[/url], on Flickr

If anyone wants a copy of the spreadsheet - miketually AT gmail DOT com. It's got the bracelets for 8mph to 13mph average.

If you want them laminated Mike I have one here I've never used I could print one of I do it. But as I'm such a disorganised feker best to have your sellotape back up.

We've probably got a laminater at work somewhere, actually. Good point 🙂

Lol I did wonder. Sellotape doesn't last long if it's heavy rain.

I'm seriously impressed with Mike's effort there.

[i]You can do it this year samuri [/i]
You gave me one of the best racing tips anyone has ever told me last year, pity everything broke.

I'm seriously impressed with Mike's effort there.

It's all done automagically 🙂

That last 28 miles with no water or food stops really stands out when you list the interim distances...

Ruddy hell. Seeing this sort of thing is making me worry. I haven't got a bike computer and i wasn't even planning on havinga watch!

Ruddy hell. Seeing this sort of thing is making me worry. I haven't got a bike computer and i wasn't even planning on havinga watch!

If you're going for a really fast time or trying to avoid the cut-offs, it's more important. If you're confident you'll finish in 10 to 12 hours, you don't need to think about it.

I don't have a choice of tyre, so this is the alternative to pondering tyres 🙂

I'm going to use the 'Virtual Partner' thingy on my Garmin & plan to be an hour over the minimum time at the hot food stop & then manage that hour for the second half

That's the plan, the reality is likely to be a bit more chaotic

So what's the deal with all the mile markers? as there's only stations at

15 miles
25 miles
36
4242
50 miles
65ish miles
75 miles

I think he reckoning that those are the checkpoints

32,55 & 78

Yeah, those are the time cut-offs.

Sent out several copies of the xlsx file tonight. So, I've bunged it up on Google Docs: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AuKOuAY2FWIzdGFhekJtS1h2OUhHZmVldTFIcURrQUE&hl=en_GB (or http://tinyurl.com/k100geekout for ease of use)

Hopefully, that works okay. Scroll right for the 'bracelets'. Copy and paste into Word probably best way of printing them with a bit of control over font sizes and the like. The number at the top is the average speed, with 8 being the slowest you can go and still hit the cut-offs.

Last year, I managed 8 until the 78 mile check point. I must have died on my arse after that, as I didn't finish until 8:30pm.

Top Work Mr Tually.

I certainly need all the help I can get.

cheers miketually!

last year i got the time wrong for the first cut-off point (thought it was 2.30 for some reason) AND set my bike computer up incorrectly so was really going a lot slower than i thought i was. d'oh...

Mike, How do you know the time cut off points when they haven't told us? Unless those are the one's for last year

(sorry for all the annoying questions)

The cut-offs are on the website: http://www.sip-events.co.uk/kielder-time.html

There are more checkpoints, which we're not told about, but they don't have cut-offs they're just to stop people cutting corners.

My bike's arrived 8)

My bike's arrived

Pics and pics 😀

Ah.. i was getting confused between check points and cut offs (the bit where it says "There are 4 check points around the course, though obviously we're not going to tell you where they are."

Pics tonight after I've built it up. I'll also put some pics up of me taking it home from work on the back of my commuter 🙂

It's only 0.5mph on the average speeds, but I'm calculating that 7.5mph (not 8.0 as above) is the slowest you could go with a minimum margin for error.

Start @ 0630hrs
C/O 1 : 1400hrs (7.5hrs), 55miles = 7.33mph
C/O 2 : 1530hrs (9.0hrs), 65miles = 7.22mph
C/O 3 : 1700hrs (10.5hrs), 78miles = 7.43mph

This does mean that the average speed INCREASES from C/O 1 to C/O 3 😮 Unless that means that the 55-78 mile stage is all downhill 🙂

The bracelets are a great idea. Printed off and covered in Sellotape already.

The bracelets are a great idea. Printed off and covered in Sellotape already.

I'm wishing I'd put some advertising on them now 🙂

Re: the mandatory kit list
Do any of you 2nd timers know if a CO2 inflator counts as a pump?

Thanks for the bracelet Mike. I'm using Co2. Made a big effort to get weight down plus get some of it onto the bike. Got a saddle bag and going with a bottle cage rather than backpack.

Would anybody who rode last year bother with a mudguard on the back? Stupid question I know but takes my mind off things.

I ran a Crud Catcher, but didn't bother with a rear guard. I'm pretty sure than Brant would disown me if I put one on this year's bike:

[url= http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4932728010_f60c2dcb4f.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4932728010_f60c2dcb4f.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/mike_mc/4932728010/ ]Ragley TD-1 Race Weapon[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/mike_mc/ ]miketually[/url], on Flickr

I do have full mudguards on the bike I used to bring it home from work though:

[url= http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4931876915_f6aed5879c.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4931876915_f6aed5879c.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/mike_mc/4931876915/ ]TD-1 on Yuba Mundo[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/mike_mc/ ]miketually[/url], on Flickr

Looks like just the ticket. No mudguards then.

My weekend training has started with a short stella interval session, now embarking on a long distance shiraz session. Crisps, garlic bread and spag bol have all made an appearance also.

I have decided that on the day I shall mainly rely on the goodies available at feed stations along with a few essentials secreted about my person. I think this cavalier attitude may just work for me. As for the bracelet..... well... I may wear my leopard skin lycras if the weather is inclement!

I'll probably be running mudguards F & R.

Front will help keep the glasses clean and let me see where I'm going. If the glasses steam up if it's wet then I'll be less likely to be hit by debris or grit in the eye. Rear will help keep my bum dry, keep me warmer and in a better mood to continue.

You'll never notice the weight.

Silly not to if it's wet at all, really.

Though I'm just not a 'core as MikeT

Looks awesome Mr Mike T :
Did brant give it to you then?

p.s. Today's training is Rioja.

It's the Hotlines demo bike. Mine's not ready yet.

Night training - vsop cognac - 2 reps

Might trial the mudguard tomorrow - going down to the Cotswolds to find some hills. Alternative is Gortex pants - although I think the arse has worn through which kind of defeats the purpose.

Had a spin out on the TD-1 yesterday with the kids. Just 10km our-and-back along an old railway line, but the youngest is only 4 so not bad really.

We're meeting a friend for a walk and picnic at Hamsterley tomorrow, so I'm riding there and back (25 miles each way). Just to give my legs a spin out and get used to the new bike, really.

Well I emailed Sara and that's my training schedule done.

Just need to pick up some beer on Friday and I'm sorted.

If I do go out tomorrow, Kielder will be my tenth ride of the year 🙂

Hhahaha that's slack.

Only two of them were less than 100km though - when I popped to Dales Bike Centre for a coffee in January I only did 90km and the short HTN in February was only 15km.

Ride log: http://mactually.co.uk/index.php?cat=11

And my ride to work's a huge 5 mile round trip 🙂

Did 25mile yesterday, broke rear derailleur. Thanks to Scott's cycles in Brum for replacing it instantly; they also got rid of my squeaking cranks so I won't have to ride on my own any more.
Just done 90m today on road - ate a bit more than I usually do and finished in good shape. Bring it on.

Oh, my dad wants to come up and take pictures. Anybody know where he might find a good spot, relatively easy to access?

I rode (on road) over to my mums yesterday, a steady 60 miles, Thats training done for me now 😛 Gonna give the bike a good clean today, was hoping to fit in a quick service pre Kielder (I'm a tech virgin/numpty) but that prob won't happen now, so will just give the drivechain a really good clean and lube and hope for the best.
May have a couple of steady rides in week just to stay loose.

Had a disaster of a final training ride today 🙁 Decided to do the CVMBC route (it passes a mile or so from home) and was going fine until 26 miles and then just died. I've never had total fatigue like it. Had to get off and walk up that last 1/2 mile of the Pennine Way climb. Was hoping to extend the ride and get maybe 40 miles in but limped home just after 30 miles.

:S Odd. I've never experienced anything like that before. I was taking SIS drink and fluids etc. 🙁 Averaged 7.7mph - including the walking, so am still just on the right side there.

I'll put in a quick 16mile loop in later this week then it is in the lap of the Gods.

Ah well, the only way is up from here.

Andrew, that is a very severe route, I'm sure the climbs won't come as thick and fast (and steep!)at Kielder, just a bad day mate, you'll be fine.
I took the easy option of a flattish ride for my last one to boost confidence a bit. Good luck.

Went for a walk at Hamsterley with the family and dogs, so I rode up there to meet them and then rode back aftwerward.

There: http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=2882492
Back: http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=2882495

Haven't really had the time to get some serious rides in so have just been doing 30 - 40 mile road rides and some 30 mile off road rides. Am now officially worried as I'd normally do 50 - 60 mile off road rides before something like the Kielder. Oh well - nothing grovelling up the hills and being sick loads won't help 😉

Spent most of last night walking between the bed and toilet throwing up. Good training.

Spent most of last night walking between the bed and toilet throwing up

If that's the case, you can go on the rack & you're new pimpy bike frame with wheels [I can't call it a bike, it has too many parts missing] can go in the car

I don't do puking in my car [any more] 🙂

🙂

Feeling a little more human now after a day on the sofa. Even managed to eat two whole slices of toast!