73kg and 70psi is fine for me. 150psi is way off.

+1 sat here in Andorra for the advice. Never had the slightest issue flying Easyjet with booked sports bag for bike. My Evoc bag, helmet, chain lube, camelbak and shoes come to 24kg. Hold bag was 14kg.

Agree about HR but were talking about training and measuring the effort in training. A power meter is more accurate but very expensive. You certainly need to understand you own heart rate zones if your serious about training. Junk miles are just that. Wasted unstructured training.

Heart rate monitor and linked to online diary like Polar. I wouldn’t agree with nearly all the advice above about trash mileage. Quality over quantity.. Turbo and road bike are required. Single speed has nothing to do with getting fit enough. It’s 90% rider 10% bike. It’s a common misconception. You can make your own plan. Read what’s on line. You should also include a series of events leading up to the 24 hour solo event. Experience is a great help as it gives confidence. Of course if you want to do a solo event and stop every lap then ignore the advice. You can just take a rest every lap, change kit or take a nap during the night. But I wouldn’t class that as a serious solo.

I always fit a crud catcher for technical or DH riding.

+1 Spicy

I have Zesty no chain suck. TBH I think it’s your set up. Maybe check hanger etc. something’s not right you shouldn’t have any chain suck. Means something’s broken,not adjusted properly or bent.

Sat on Andorra, great weather and trails thinking I know why I don’t bother with events when the weathers bad.

Maxxis ardent 2.25 LUST year round at 20 psi

lot of money if it goes wrong or fork/shock becomes damaged from poor servicing. I let the pros do mine.

+1 dogtag

661 evo knee are superb

Im with Halifax home contents insurance you can specify any single item like a bike for any amount and get home and away from home insurance. It covers me for trips abroad to so as long as they dont exceed 30 days. Seemed quite cheap to.

Broadman cx or Thorn Mercury 700c Rohloff fast touring bike with flat bars looks ideal for light fast touring needs. I would avoid the full on tour bikes as they tend to be heavy. I was on a trip recently with one guy who had a Thorn but couldn’t get up all the North Vietnam hills even without any bags!

I have also a Broadman road team road bike and with a frame and handle bar/seat bag is ok for light B&B touring 🙂

Depends how you want to travel but I think many people are over biked and carry too much IMHO.

Think its hard to identify a norm as so many factors are involved.

I have pace maker as mine dropped to 30 and below and was iregular now its set to 45. I wouldnt worry too much the cardiac centre could set mine even lower. 45 is quite normal.

I check my own bike period. If something isnt right. Its my fault. Your mate should have checked his own bike. Sounds tough but thats safer than relying on others.

I live in Brizol, add your bike to contents insurance its a lot cheaper than getting specifc insyrance. They also give home and away so if it gets nicked abroad its still insured.

Was looking at Peru with these

http://www.sacredrides.com

W2 way more fun IMHO but I do enjoy Skyline as well. Nice to see its open again. Frankly over the winter I didnt bother as so much was closed.

Big day out? Black mountain route or Quantocks. Quantocks has loads of great riding to offer. Just explore any combe or bike tracks leading down hill 😉

Doctor 1st

A more up right position on the bike might help? Getting a larger bike would not help as you would be bent more. Change stem length and spacers.

+1 for gym and core it works for me. I never stretch 🙂 and I do about 200 miles a week on average. I also include 2 – 3 gym sessions as these are essential for core stability to balance leg strength.

Been looking for sometime 😉 think 2014 is looking good as I retire in 2013 😀 Done trans alp, good intro to multi day events.

NW my MTB break was same at the neck. I have had the bolts out and it is a lot more comfortable. But thats when MRSA infected the wound and I had some major surgery to remove it and that has left more scar tissue damage. Still some pain but tends to be post ride. No pain killers.

Broke my left femur twice in two different accidents one road, one MTB +1 MRSA. Just lucky I guess 🙂 I ride full sus all the time. Its more likely your bike setup than the bike type. FS will be way more comfortable. Could be your seat height/bar combination. Try crankbros pedals for maximum float. My left leg needs more. I would also advise strength work in the gym. Your doctor physio can advise but I do some specific stuff on the machines. I have some pain occasionally over the hip area where all the surgery was done but not while I’m riding. I have completed many enduro, 12 hour solo etc events including trans alps.

Just wanted to give you both some hope I know what its like trying to recover and it takes a lot of time and effort. Whatever you do dont stop.

I would say that it will be very hot in August from expereince and wouldnt be the ideal time.

great sites and riding. Who needs 160mm 🙂

something wrong with your sealent then. Mines still liquid after 6 months. Has to be changed every 6 months anyway. I run a HRII 2.4 on the front for euro rides its not LUST but went up fine with track pump and stays up. I dont get much air so maybe thats the secret.

+1 tubeless and as stevomcd says real tubeless

also if you use anti slip paste it means you dont tighten it so hard to stop it slipping and cause damage to the post

as a man of a certain age (humpf) there seems no agreed age classifications betwen events? Some seem to say 40+ is vet others vet 50+? I think being the wrong side of 50 and having to compete with 40 somethings is a bit stiff.

Just my experience from multi day events etc yours is not an isolated case we have all had to over come those dragons.

GL I would add from further reading the blog that maybe you need to look at diet/power.

Simple approach carbo = fuel Protien = repair. I use salt sandwhiches as my great treat on long distance 🙂 I also have one type of fuel bar which I always eat on all races. I also train with same fuel intake so my body knows what to expect.

On long enduro rides water, fuel intake is difficult so you have manage effort and fuel intake carefully. Take in more plain water. This means backing off the power a bit to allow your body to continue to take in energy. It tends to slow down as you increase effort etc.

I dont see any mention of gym etc some cross training is great at maintaining your endurance on long distance or multi day events. Your arms, back etc dont become so fatigued and eat up valuable energy.

Its all a energy game 🙂

GaryLake

read your blog. I think your suffering from over training from what I read and you need to do different HR zone training. Too much of the same type, distance, intensity every day, check quality and avoid junk training/miles? Eating on the move issues you mention sounds like your over compensating for tired body with too much energy drink or food. As you get fitter you need less water and energy. Rest is as (more) important as training.

Bombers not much use mate they came in the night and tip toed pass all the sleeping riders to get to the best bikes. I think the comment from security was along the lines of ‘a white van drove in late at night and then left very early am’ Was pretty pants when the same had happened at the CRC marathon a few weeks earlier.

+1 for Zesty here cant think it will slow me up, quite the reverse.

Maxxis Ardent LUST <caugh> 🙂

+1 take the fastest. I will be swapping out the reverb for the thompson as well.

Yeah its difficult to pass but after the 3 hour and 6 hour mob leave I find its pretty clear.

Remember to look after your bikes after what happend last time when a load were stolen on the Sat night. Lock them in the car or to self 🙂

Gary
Whats the Wales C2C like? Sounds interesting – linky?

12 hours solo

I use Oregon 450 on road, MTB and walking. Good size screen, very robust and mapping is changed by micro card. 2 x AA rather than rechargeable as they are easy to get around the world. I use 1:50k OS mapping.

On road it operates just like a car sat nav, shows turns on screen. No buttons all touch screen. Used it in europe as well.