It's my birthday next Wednesday so I've taken the day off work to go and ride.
I quite fancy a 120 miler on the road - it's my 37th so it's a bit of a 'who cares if you're getting older' type thing. It'll be the furthest I've ever ridden although I used to regularly ride 70 milers and I did 103 in 7 hours last summer without any major probs and I'm pretty geared up for endurance generally. I ride with a road club doing fast-ish 40 milers pretty regularly.
I figure my best approach to complete this is to feed well coming up to the day, start early to give myself plenty of time, take it easy and keep an eye on my hydration and food intake. I'm in London so I might just ride out of town and get the train back but I'll hardly be out in the sticks and will be able to pick up food and drink from shops on the way. I carry SIS gels for keeping the bonk at bay, they seem pretty effective for me.
Any other thoughts?
Cheers
Strategy for a 120 mile race - Yes, lots, including pain
Strategy for a 120 mile leisure ride - No, just ride, enjoy
If you're going one way, with a train return, plan on getting a tail-wind?
Stop and eat lots little and often, have fun, maybe plan a ride with bail outs? No point killing yourself for last 30m if you're not enjoying it.
Just go out and enjoy.
Good breky a few hours before. You won't need much nosh if you're going steady, I take extra munn tablets to add to bought water if needed.
Still quite nippy out, I slightly underdressed for a 90 last Sunday and the wind and rain knackered my arms so watch for that.
A one way ride always seems easier?
Pick a target, like a town on the coast thats about 100-110 miles away, don't be too precise as you will get lost!
Maps are pointless, just make a mental tick list of villages to aim for. Smaller villages will avoid big roads obviously.
Eat regulalrly
Go slower than you think you should, you can always spring the last 30miles if youve got the legs
Stop at shops and buy milk, its great for energy as its got some protein to boos insulin levels and keep the sugar in your bloodstreem longer.
Stop at shops and buy milk
blleuurrrghhh, I cant think of anything more vile to have in your stomach after 10 miles of riding never mind 100 !
I'd def take a map if in unknown territory. Ending up lost/on busy roads is no fun.
save the gels for the last 30. better off eating slower release stuff (bars or proper food) little and often as you ride.
a nuun tablet in your bottle if the weather gets warm.
Have a good breakfast, like porridge for example. Eat something every half hour after the first hour - gels, etc and take something savoury so you're not just eating sweet stuff.
Take it easy and enjoy it. And yes one way rides do seem a whole lot easier.
Some good tips there - the wind direction being pertinent - I'm thinking about London-Poole and train back - and winds tend to come from the West. No doubt I'll get the carriage to myself 🙂
You won't need much nosh if you're going steady
For an experienced old timer like you maybe, but not the advice I would give to someone doing a 120 miler for the first time.
Flapjack is your friend.
If you're in London, why not take an early train out & ride home?
If you need to bail, it'll be a shorter distance to a station and less time to get home.
A couple of years ago I did Reading-Bristol on the canal towpath & some roads, about 100 miles. Brum-London on the Grand Union would be about right for you I'd have thought
I'd much rather ride somewhere and get the train home than get the train then ride home. Surely riding to somewhere different is more fun than riding home.
I can't see the difference, myself.
But I can see that there's a difference between arriving home to a cold beer & a hot bath, and getting to a station and finding you've an hour wait before the next train (or you've missed the last one) , then a train journey & another ride to your house.
Yeah, I'd rather train out and ride home than the other. If 120 miles is pretty much your limit, the last thing you want to be doing when you're knackered, sweaty and hungry is lugging your bike onto trains and spending 6 hours sat in a cramped carriage with 3 drunk scotch blokes.
Keep an eye on the weather as the wind is very unpredictable lately. We've had a lot of Northerlies and Easterlies and Wed 19th is forecast for Northerlies again. It'd be far better riding to the South West with a tailwind than training it out there only to find you're slogging into the breeze all the way home.
I rode from Godalming to Colchester (was aiming for Ipswich but ran out of energy and time) last August. That was 120 miles and I learned some valuable lessons:
Chamois cream would've been very welcome!
I didn't eat enough and wasn't getting enough energy from the drinks I carried.
My Forerunner GPS lasted 10 hours then wanted to die on me. If you're using a GPS (for nav or just to record your ride), take spare batteries or something that'll charge it en route (like a Freeloader)
I should've gone a longer route on a single, easy to follow road than trying to cut across country and having to stop every 15 minutes to look at a map.
I should've carried everything on my bike and nothing on my back, except perhaps a Camelbak. I was carrying a change of clothes and trainers in a rucksack that were painful to carry towards the end while the frame mounted bottles got empty and light.
Take a small, lightweight lock to secure the bike while you're buying more drinks and energy bars.
Also, some train companies (SW Trains in particular) are charging rush-hour rates for trains quite late into the evening. Price your ticket online as it might be worth getting dinner wherever you end up and getting the train back later.
Enjoy your ride!
Ian
id rather ride out train back tbh as if you feel youve had enough at 80 you can just find nearest station and shoot home
Don't know where you are in London, but we used to do a nice ride out West. Sort of Amersham - Marlow - Thame and back. That used to clock up over 120 miles, but it was with a club. Classic riding area for NW London clubs.
Make sure you can get your bike on whichever train. Can't think of a bigger pain in the arse than arriving at a station to find a jobsworth clippie that won't let you and bike on the train!
Remember to take some toilet roll 😯