Hey, am looking to give a couple of 24 hour events a bash for the first time. Chiller 24 and Strathpuffer, am looking for any advice at all you think would help. Newbie, from training , clothing , what to expect , nutrition etc . I’ve given some 7 and 10 hour events a bash the last couple of years , am by no means an athlete haha , being able to to complete the full events is the goal. Cheers
Depends a lot on your goals.
If it's to get round, have a bit of fun, survive etc, your approach can be a lot more relaxed than if you intend to be up the sharp end. Also, are you doing it solo or as a team and do you have any support?
I'm probably pitting for a couple of friends at Kielder and could look after one more rider if you don't already have support. Not sure if the PMs work on here but give it a try if you need help. I'll be racing the Puffer though.
If you're just doing it to see if you can (as I was at my first) treat it mostly as an eating competition with a bit of a ride thrown in.
Both of those being winter ones take every piece of clothing you own, also get more gloves and take those too.
If you don't have decent lights get some! (I'd suggest 1,500+ lumens, and probably three of them as there's a lot of dark tine) Exposure do light hire, they can be rather expensive to buy, especially if you're just trying it to see if you like it.
Both of those races can be amazing in the right conditions or horrific in the wrong ones. 24hrs of Finale is the one I would really recommend if you fancy a trip to Italy, amazing course and atmosphere and considerably warmer....
How did you get on at the 7 and 10hrs?
I've not done any 24 hour mountain bike rides but have done several 400km and 600km audax rides and the key thing is to make sure that you refuel properly.
The longer I ride the harder it is for me to digest solid food so I tend to go for easy to eat stuff such a Muller Rice pots. More recently I have found bottles of Huel excellent for fuelling with 400 calories of slow release energy.
If you can a few of those in a coolbox they should keep you pedalling along with a few bananas.
Cheers for the replies
I’ll never finish upfront but I’d like to finish decent , I’ve been enjoying them so far, it gives me something to focus on, helps mental and physical health , I’ve managed to shift a fair bit of weight but more is needed haha.
ill be doing it solo with support from family, am hoping my mate can help with bike repairs etc but am unsure if it will be possible. I might send a sos 😁
I went into this year hoping for an extra lap at 10 under, xc bike weight loss etc etc but I had some setbacks, injury , reduced training so it ended up even tougher than last year haha.
10 under the Ben 25 , 7 laps 26 7 laps
10@Kirroughtree 25 , 8 laps
Glentress 7s, 7 laps 25 and 26
I’ve been trying to do some back to back days recently to help plan for 24 hours, some night riding etc is on the cards .
Am going to try kirroughtree seven and tour o the borders the following day to try get my body used to riding tired etc, unsure how this will go.
i need to improve on fueling , i find it tough to eat cliff bars after a few hours. I end up relying on sis gels. Normally have a bladder with sis electrolytes mixed in and a bottle of lucozade sport every 2-3 laps.
Am playing to try sis beta chews, maybe gels to as they have more carbs.
It's a few years since I did puffer/chiller. When solo I trained with a few couple of hour ride a week at a steady pace then one hard (basically ride hard until you blow) lots will say that all wrong but hey.
The event itself (it's not a race for us mere mortals) is a mental and fueling game. I used to have flasks with Knorr chicken and noodle soup and cooked pasta(half a portion) in take away plastic boxes. Get in rip top off pour hot soup onto pasta, eat, move on. After a half way through it's Muller rice for me. I avoid gels as it can get messy next day. I just drink water as flavours become sickly. This explains my, now, intense dislike of bananas, even just the smell.
The rest is just mental and you've either got that or not and you'll find out at 2am which it is. One reason I hate support is them saying you look tired or asking if you're ok. I'd rather not hear it. It puts doubt in your head at a time when you're willing is fading.
Take warm gloves many many warm gloves, spare shoes if you have them, dry socks. Only change clothing if you've stopped for 30mins(mechanicals etc), try to avoid that.
One reason I hate support is them saying you look tired or asking if you're ok. I'd rather not hear it. It puts doubt in your head at a time when you're willing is fading.
Your support should ideally be someone who knows you well, and so knows what you like when in terms of food etc, what motivates you, etc, etc, but not someone who really cares about you, partner, parent, etc as they may try to get you to stop when you look like death, you need a mate who'll push you out again for one more lap
Dont stop. I've limited experience but from what I know, Its a mental game, and a logistics game.
You wont be the fittest or fastest. However as with any endurance race, you can push yourself up the rankings massively by being disciplined and organised. You need to have already planned your pitstops, kit, food, fresh bottles etc should all be ready for you when you arrive in your pits etc.
People who fanny about, sit down in a comfy chair 'just for 5 minutes', faff about, turn up to the changeover zone and their mate isnt there, get back to the pits and need to make up a bottle etc, are just going backwards.
Be organised, keep a steady consistent pace, KEEP MOVING!
Didn't one of the most successful 24 riders of this parish attribute one of his wins to working out how to vomit while not stopping? 🤣 🤮
Your support should ideally be someone who knows you well, and so knows what you like when in terms of food etc, what motivates you, etc, etc,
It helps if they know/understand 24hr racing too and can kind of second-guess how you'll be feeling.
I did SITS as a Pair one year and alongside us was another guy from our cycle club doing it Solo with his wife as support so she basically ran the two camps. She was brilliant, always had food ready, knew when to leave us alone, knew when we needed a pep talk. She'd done it before for her husband and that understanding and acceptance was amazing.
We ended up on the podium (Men's Pairs), her husband was top 10 in Solo M. None of that would have been possible without her.
Someone running around going "what do you want?" and "how are you feeling?" would not have been a help at all!
Didn't one of the most successful 24 riders of this parish attribute one of his wins to working out how to vomit while not stopping?
I have paused, but not got off the bike, to do it. Stop, one foot down, lean over, do it (don't get any in your shoes!) carry on.
On a related subject, no bib shorts. Far too long if a toilet break is ever required. You'll either get the squits or constipation, I much prefer constipation
Sick on the bike, no bibs , keep moving 🤘
cheers lads , a few helpful points
Just don't wear anything on the bottom half. Then you can purge in any way you fancy without getting off you bike.
Just don't wear anything on the bottom half. Then you can purge in any way you fancy without getting off you bike.
