Afternoon All,
I'm riding the 280 miles from London to Paris in 24 hours this weekend and, despite a good amount of training, I'm starting to get a little scared. I was wondering if any of the good people of STW had any advice on how to cope with silly mileage, lack of sleep and any other such challenges a ride like this may provide?
Start off steady, eat regularly and often.
IBUPROFEN!!
I might see you there, I am a mechanic on one this weekend.
You can probably grab some sleep, or rest at least on the ferry.
Keep eating and keep drinking. Don't think of the overall ride, break it up into chunks. Try not to lie down. So long as you keep riding it won't be too bad.
Know how to fix a puncture 😉
Thanks mtbmatt, if it's the Scope ride then we may well cross paths.
I have no idea what charity it is yet. If you see cycletec vans, then I will be one of them.
Hopefully riding as much as possible.
A pair of very good bib shorts. I bought a pair of assos shorts, s7 neopro, at the weekend, my god they're incredibly comfortable.
Never done anything that long but:-
-Arrive well rested
-Keep eating and drinking - have variety as one flavour of energy bar will kill you, as will just having energy bars. I'm a big fan of pork pies.
-If you can take a change of kit and babywipes. It might make things a little more comfortable if you spend a few minutes getting changed.
-Chamois Cream - so much that you can barely stop sliding off the saddle!
-Start slower than you think is acceptable - ride the last 25 miles as a timetrial if you have any energy left.
-Keep pedalling - Soft tapping is better than freewheeling and will make a difference over a long ride.
-Don't stop. Obviously you'll need to occasionally but be organised and efficient to minimise faff. I realised when I started to do endurance racing that I was spending up to 30 minutes at feed stations over the course of 10hour race. Time that could be better spent pedalling.
-Break down the ride. Go through the route and treat it as a series of smaller rides.
A pair of very good bib shorts. I bought a pair of assos shorts, s7 neopro, at the weekend, my god they're incredibly comfortable.
I'd go for two pairs of shorts, and chamois cream. Always seen me right on long rides.
Ooo, good luck! 🙂 I wouldn't use it as a regular fuel, but as an emergency pick-me-up, a drop of water in a bottle, filled to the top with full fat coke, topped off with an energy gel - correctly or otherwise, I have been led to believe that road teams use this to get a flagging rider to the end of a stage. Works for me too, not sure if it's mental as much as anything.
JDFO, as they say in the ultrariding community..
DrP
(Just Don't Fall Off!)
Don't just rely on energy products to see you through, after day 3 of 9 doing LEJOG last year all I craved was real food and full fat Coke.
I will disagree over shorts. I think its too late to start experimenting & I wouldn't try out anything new on a 280 mile ride.
I will disagree over shorts. I think its too late to start experimenting & I wouldn't try out anything new on a 280 mile ride.
I agree with that, but I'd still chuck on my two most comfy pairs!
Good advice so far, thanks. I think I will stick with what I know re. shorts, they seem comfy enough and I'm not sure a 24 hour ride is the time to try something new.
I honestly don't get the 2 shorts thing. One pair of comfy shorts should be fine.
Adding 2 pairs would need an increase in saddle height - not a bad thing as such, but a PITA.
Bitter shandy is great stuff for long rides. Eat real food as welll as the energy products. Top up the chamois cream regularly.
It is normal for the thought of a 280mile ride to feel overwhelming.
However, if you split it into 10 28 mile rides and stop after each one for a bit of food and a change of position you'll be grand.
I'm doing the Scope ride too this weekend, looking forward to it. I think the distance will be ok, it's the cycling through the night (staying awake) that I'm not so sure about... You feeling ready?
Looking windy isn't it...
Good luck and remember.. finishing is your only effin option.
Pain is just weakness leaving your body.
marvincooper, I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I suspect most will get to the start wishing they'd trained harder or longer but it's too late now. I'd agree with the aprihension of the long night, I'm hoping a load a caffeine and some real food will be fine.
I'd recommend Assos bum cream - I'm on tour at rye moment doing some of the longest days I've ever done, and it's like a magic potion! Wish I'd discovered it years ago!
How did you get on lunge?
Terrible weather through the night and the final bit into Paris, so big well done if you were one of the 8 who made it within 24hrs. Big respect to anyone who rode the full distance actually, not a nice day on a bike.