Ride 24 - am I nuts?

biondino

The question in the title is rhetorical, but feel free to answer it if you like!

In June I am doing a 24 hour team relay charity ride on the Top Gear airfield in Surrey. have a look at this here link for info - it's quite an adventure!

I just hope none of my team-mates have any intention of trying to win the bloody thing...

I'll be doing it in support of Action Medical Research and AFC Wimbledon, and at some point I will ask ever so nicely for sponsorship, but for now, have a read and tell me what you think!

il_principe

Sounds eminently doable. A full on Euro Sportive would involve 6-9 hours in the saddle, this is 6 hours all in on a flat course (assumption as link isn't working). Tiring but doable. Good luck, better get endurance training!

gtvlusso

My mate did a 24hour mtb race by himself - he came 2nd in his class.....Loony!

Best fit those tri bars and hope for no cross/head wind!

biondino

Sorry - have fixed the links. Here's a google map of the airfield - I can't make out where the famous Top Gear corners are though!

biondino

I was supposed to get tri-bars from the guy I bought the fixie off but due to my own idiocy I forgot to take with me a bag to carry them home in! I guess they're still mine if I want them - which I guess I do...

cjcp

Very do-able. I've done a couple of 24 hr dinghy races and they were great fun.

Are you allowed to use tri-bars though? You'll be able to draft anyway

Eau Rouge

biondino wrote:

Sorry - have fixed the links. Here's a google map of the airfield - I can't make out where the famous Top Gear corners are though!

I could, but this guy has drawn it better
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u303 ... -anim2.gif

I would have thought drafting would be better than tri-bars too.

lost_in_thought

Sounds hard but great! How does it work with the team thing? Shifts of a few hours or one hour each or something?

cjcp

lost_in_thought wrote:

Sounds hard but great! How does it work with the team thing? Shifts of a few hours or one hour each or something?

That's where the team tactics come in. Do you save your strongest rider for the last couple of hours etc?

lost_in_thought

cjcp wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Sounds hard but great! How does it work with the team thing? Shifts of a few hours or one hour each or something?

That's where the team tactics come in. Do you save your strongest rider for the last couple of hours etc?

Ohhhh so you can decide...

So then, blondie, let's talk tactics!

cjcp

I think they use they use this track for Surrey League races.

Shimano tried to organise a 24 hr event on the open roads in the Beacons last July, but I don't think they had enough entrants.

You have to make sure you have all the kit you need for mechanicals, food, drink, sleeping, any injuries and what not.

Roastie

biondino wrote:

In June I am doing a 24 hour team relay charity ride on ...

Good on ya!

Unfortunately my riding mates pulled out so I wasn't able to get a team together.

All the best - I'm sure it will be a blast!

Jay dubbleU

Good luck - good job you're doing it for a medical charity - will be happy to sponsor you

Jen J

Sounds great, and it's the week after the WHW Race, so I may still be able to nab you for my support crew...

stuaff

No, you're most definitely not nuts. It's a good cause, bloody hard work though so you'll earn every penny! I'll happily bung you a few quid. Thinking of doing my own charity ride next year (next year's version of this http://foldingbikechallenge.com/ ). Which is going to be a doddle in comparison to what you and your chums are taking on...

biondino wrote:

I just hope none of my team-mates have any intention of trying to win the bloody thing...

Once that flag drops, the red mist will descend....it did for me in my one-and-so-far-only race (the Smithfield Nocturne folding race last year...not long for that, woo hoo!). All that 'it's just the taking part' stuff doesn't ring true, does it?
Popping over to the IOW for some endurance testing shortly (IOW Randonnee on the 4th)?
And if you fancy some night running practice... http://fnrttc.blogspot.com/

cjcp

Jen J wrote:

Sounds great, and it's the week after the WHW Race, so I may still be able to nab you for my support crew...

WAHEY! She's back!

How are you, Jen?

Jen J

cjcp wrote:

Jen J wrote:

Sounds great, and it's the week after the WHW Race, so I may still be able to nab you for my support crew...

WAHEY! She's back!

How are you, Jen?

I'm good thanks - back on the fixie for commuting, but so far can only do a few miles at a time. Will do a RP trip with Blondie soon on the triandrun bike. The Madone is a vastly expensive ornament for now.

Doing a lot of running over the next few months - am off to Scotland today to run the Highland Fling tomorrow on the WHW (53 miles!) and run another 42 miles on it on Sunday.

London Marathon? What's that?

biondino

Thanks all! I will come round cap in hand at some point - very kind of you to offer. For now I just need to think about formalising my training slightly, getting some long rides in, and practising applying Sudacrem to sensitive areas!

Eau Rouge - thanks for the map, that is really useful! I guess the race itself can't take place on the track like that as the crossover bit would be too dangerous, especially at night! I wonder if it'll be laps of the whole thing - the bumf does talk about the 2km runway we'll be using.

If there are only 30 teams, do I really need to learn bunch riding, or will we all get split up? God, I am only just realising what a noob I am!

gtvlusso

You'll be fine!! Enjoy it and do some good for charity!

Just think of all the stuff you can buy in prep - seat, clothing, tri bars, lightweight wheels.....!

biondino

As for tactics, well, at this stage I haven't a clue! I also don't know about the strength of the other riders - one does post here (hi Russ!) and is roughly on the same kind of level as me, I think - the other two I have no idea.

I think it's safe to assume that we're not going to win, but as has been pointed out, that probably won't make us into Team Pootle. On the other hand, it might mean that flawless tactics aren't quite as important as they might be. We also have to figure out what one does for the 18 or so hours he's not actually riding! The gf wants to come down to check it out but I doubt she'll be hanging around all night (though we did just buy a tent - hmm...)

biondino

I hope my toupé (saddle) is up to 6 hours hard riding...

Christophe3967

biondino wrote:

I hope my toupé (saddle) is up to 6 hours hard riding...

Mine is fine but the Assos shorts help... Sounds like you're going to have a blast btw

cjcp

I suspect the field will split up and the strong riders will gather together to put some distance between them and the rest of the field and then fight it out amongst themselves and then steal a lap here and then. Could be like a big Madison!

So, you won't need to learn big bunch riding, but you should aim to work with other riders you suss out to be similar levels to yourself, and look to tag onto the back of groups which pass you if you think you can handle a higher pace and want to put some distance into those around you in the standings.

Take a stopwatch with you too. You need to monitor whether you're getting slower and therefore whether you should do a changeover - can be a real problem if you're riding at night.

If your team mates are sleeping somewhere other than the team van, you'll also need a "runner" (other than the team mate watching you - in case you have a mechanical or something) to wake up the next rider about 30-40 mins in advance of when they're due to go on, so they have time to eat, drink and warm up a bit; taking a bike on a turbo might not be a bad idea to help warm up.

I say all this, but I haven't checked out any of the rules!

stuaff

biondino wrote:

I hope my toupé (saddle) is up to 6 hours hard riding...

Well, one way to find out is to try it....

il_principe

biondino wrote:

I hope my toupé (saddle) is up to 6 hours hard riding...

More than adequate, I've sat on mine for 4-6 hours before with no/little discomfort, but yeah, good shorts are worth the cash for long rides, I'd go Castelli or Assos if I were you.

I wouldn't worry about tribars etc, they're all well and good for time trials and triathlon blasts but I wouldn't want to spend too long in an 'aero' tuck (although I guess it depends on how long your shifts on the bike will be). If you're gonna go with that route then start working on your flexibility and core strength as soon as you can, makes a world of difference - one of the reasons Fabian Cancellara is so damn good at TT's.

always_tyred

jashburnham wrote:

biondino wrote:

I hope my toupé (saddle) is up to 6 hours hard riding...

More than adequate, I've sat on mine for 4-6 hours before with no/little discomfort, but yeah, good shorts are worth the cash for long rides, I'd go Castelli or Assos if I were you.

I wouldn't worry about tribars etc, they're all well and good for time trials and triathlon blasts but I wouldn't want to spend too long in an 'aero' tuck (although I guess it depends on how long your shifts on the bike will be). If you're gonna go with that route then start working on your flexibility and core strength as soon as you can, makes a world of difference - one of the reasons Fabian Cancellara is so damn good at TT's.

That, and he is the love child of an ox and a giant redwood.

greg66_tri_v2.0

jashburnham wrote:

I wouldn't worry about tribars etc,

That (and a full on TT bike) ran through my mind. But the rules exclude both. Road bikes only with no such mods....

cjcp

Greg66 wrote:

jashburnham wrote:

I wouldn't worry about tribars etc,

That (and a full on TT bike) ran through my mind. But the rules exclude both. Road bikes only with no such mods....

Ho hum.

Just the deep rim wheels then.

biondino

Hey jash can I borrow the FFWDs

I have, today, received a pair of Castelli shorts in the post. I'll see ow they go - if they're not right I'll get me some bibshorts instead. last year, when I did the charity ride, I treated myself to the Focus, so this year I reckon I can justify treating myself to some kind of nice kit!

I don't want to have a better bike than I merit, though - with deep section wheels and tri bars people would expect me to be a lot faster than I am, and being scalped would be that much more painful. God, I hope there are some unfit donkeys taking part, I really don't want to be right at the back!!

I wonder if the track'll be floodlit or whether we'll need strong enough lights to light our own way?

cjcp

biondino wrote:

I wonder if the track'll be floodlit or whether we'll need strong enough lights to light our own way?

Email the organisers.

I would have thought that the changeover/pit stop area would be lit though.

The beauty of it being a circuit is that you won't appear to be at the back.

il_principe

biondino wrote:

Hey jash can I borrow the FFWDs

Of course you can...

... Ah darn it, you run ShimaNo though, not compatible I'm afraid!