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Ok so I'm doing SITS solo and would be grateful for advice (sensible) on the best way to enjoy the "experience" and get in a decent number of (well at least 10) laps.
I'm assuming eating and drinking little and often is better than stopping for a beer and a BBQ, or is it?
Should I try to do as many laps as I can on the saturday, get some rest overnight then add a few more on sunday or what?
I'm not a wippet but can plod along without stopping reasonably well for several hours (say 4 or 5) at a time without stopping for any length of time.
Gels, gels, gels, and electrolite stuff and lots of drinks to make sure you don't cramp might be a good place to start 😉
Best of luck BTW!
mick - do my first solo too and plan to ride 3-4hrs eating while riding, energy bars, gels and drink electrolyte. Quick stop after 3-4hrs for food and then another 3-4hrs up to around midnight when if needed i will grab a couple of hours shut eye and then back on it until i drop.
See you out there!!
in the words of John 'Shaggy' Ross to me at the start of my one and only solo race - "start slower than you think you should and get slower".
I found the plodding strategy fine and in fact only stopped plodding when I ran out of light batteries. Take every piece of cycling clothing you own, mucho sudocreme/assos/minty 4rse lard application and some thought about what you're eating the night/lunch before the start would be useful.
Taking rest is failing I reckon.
Take some energy products (bit less than 1g/kg body weight/hour) and then eat some really tasty savoury real food - in small portions. I made little chicken fajitas when I did it. Too much energy gloop will make your stomach upset.
Also, take a radio. I listened to BBC World Service through the night - saved me.
Start slow and get slower - well that was my tactic as very much a non racer
Pace yourself - again I set off at sunday pootle pace minus a bit. Don't run the start either - just let all the racers clear off so you get a clear run on the first lap.
Making best use of your energy is key - and a comfy set up.
Eat as much real food as you can - a good mix of different carbs. You don't want to be fuelled just on gels. I took a break every lap on the grounds I would run out of miles in my legs before running out of time.
Good luck
Was my first last year and it can't be that bad as I'm back this year. I drank too much energy drink and by lap 8 was craving water and Coke. I didn't ride as much as I should as I came to the tent to eat and sat there being looked after rather than a quick turnaround. I wanted a min of 10 laps and did 11 in the end. I plodded, this year I'm going for more - conditions depending. Good luck! I'll be on the black Cube HT or Titus Motolite for comfort say hi!
i recently did the 24/12 solo 12hr as my 1st solo event and i just went at a pace where i wasn't out of breath and ate one gel+one bar per lap and drank water/weak elctrolyte mix one bottle per lap and once or twice stopped for 5mins to scoff some pasta. worked for me and now dont think i'll enter many team events now as i enjoyed it so much.
go slow and enjoy..
oh and use bum cream my arse was in tatters after...
make sure you don't cramp might be a good place to start
That's true!
When the going gets tough I'll try not to think about you having fun in Les Arcs!
My strategy was to just try not to have any really long breaks. I wanted to finish knowing I couldn't have done any more laps, and not to have had a kip. I started slow (well I started too fast but got Rich to talk me back to being the right speed), granny ring is your friend. I tried to do 2 laps, rest, 2 laps, rest - having a small amount to eat at each rest. After the middle of the night I was down to one lap then rest, but my rests didn't get any longer. I think the longest I had off was about half an hour.
My other strategy was to keep enjoying it 🙂 keep smiling.
Have fun!
Try not to do too much before you stop. I made that mistake at my first solo, felt knackered four hours in!
I'll be doing two laps-have 2 mins, 2 laps-have 2 mins etc (depending on the weather)
Later on probably drop to single laps & have a couple of mins-eating every time if possible & changing bottles.
I'll have a couple of hours off during the night to get a bit of sleep-usually when I run out of light batteries or it starts raining, one or the other usually happens!
How did you get on Mick?
How did you get on Mick?
Set myself a target of 10 laps, after 2 felt that was pretty conservative but then had a hamstring problem, detailed elsewhere, that meant that in the end I was happy with 10, really enjoyed it and once I've sorted the hamstring out will be back for more