BHF Southdowns Randonee 100 - anyone done it?

diy

I ride a full susser around the 14kg mark, I've done 60 on my old hard tail which was a little lighter. It nearly killed me has anyone done the 100?

I'm thinking about it.

anyone got any links to to the stats for the route, I've heard some crazy f***ers do the double! :shock:

Horta

Hello diy, I did the full 100 last year on a 15 year old hard tail. The same bike that I did the shorter route 3 times before. I always stopped at Lewes, 'cos it looked a nicer place for the family and me to meet. Now that I live in Eastbourne, I have to do the full monty!

Do the June version, the weather always seems to be better in June. We took 14 hours, with no major stops, just to refill the bottles at the taps that are on the route.

The route is nice and easy (I'm a roadie!) and only gets hard from just before Brighton, where the chalk hills start to kick in. So just as you're good and tired, the hard work begins!

It's a great ride, I'll be doing it again this year.

diy

That is interesting so the hard bit is the 65 section on?

lfcquin

diy wrote:

I ride a full susser around the 14kg mark, I've done 60 on my old hard tail which was a little lighter. It nearly killed me has anyone done the 100?

I'm thinking about it.

anyone got any links to to the stats for the route, I've heard some crazy f***ers do the double! :shock:

I did the BHF ride a few years back on old hardtail. It was the toughest 1 day ride I have ever done, having said that, I wasn't particularly fit that year and I hadn't trained for it at all.

I agree with Horta, most of the steep tough stuff came towards the end, it wasn't technical at all, just some steep bits. It might be just because I was knackered but there was definatley a lack of flat bits! Being a Northern boy, I have no idea on sections, I was just following the wheels in front.

You should be fine if you can handle 60 miles on a hardtail and you have time to put in some miles between now and then.

diy

thanks - I need something to work towards, last year I did most of the brighton-london-brighton (I managed around 90 road miles), but it is a crap ride if you ride up as you need a late start. It then took 6 hours to get to brighton because of cycle traffic jams.

I've done the Devils dyke section to eastboarne without too much problem, so I think I will put in for the 100. - I'll plan for 14 hours.

I wish they'd do a round trip version, because the logistics are rubbish.

Horta

diy, if you've done the Devils Dyke onwards, then you've got a good idea of what to expect. The main thing is to get some good long rides in as well, to get you used to being in the saddle for that long. I mixed on and off road rides, cos I could and that seemed to help.

Food wise you want to see what you can put up with for 14 hours, I threw in a couple of plain ham sandwiches, because I can only stand so much sweet junk.

You could do a round trip, but you'd be absolutely chinstrapped! Plus you'd have to be more than a little mental! :roll:

I understand the problem of point to point rides. I used to take the train to Winchester, stay overnight then get the other half to meet me and spend some time pottering around Lewes. If you're doing the whole route, you've then got the option of the youth hostel at the end of the trail. It's just been rebuilt and looks very swish, give them a call, they're usually pretty cheap.

Good luck and see you in June

Mutlydarnsarf

I accidentally entered the June 2009 ride thinking it would be on road like the Isle of Wight Randonnee. Fortunately someone advised me to fit knobbly tyres in order to keep upright as its 95% off-road, so off had to come rack and mudguards to make room for them.
Was brilliant fun though.
For your first effort I just suggest that you tag along with someone, early in the day, who either knows the way, or has a GPS. It wasn't so much fun getting lost and taking 13hrs for the 100.
It is helpful that BHF provide water & basic support etc along the way, although there are taps if u know where to look.
I enjoyed it so much i got Santa to bring me a proper MTB.
I am entered for both dates in 2010.
If you need any detail help or advice just PM me. Glad to help. Its all in a good cause.
Don't let anybody fool you - the climbs are a challenge all the way through unless you are pretty fit, although I'd say they are slightly easier west to east than the other direction.

Mutly

jaredpace

I did this with a pal of mine a couple of years ago. Take the hardtail!!! There is nothing even close to being technical enough for the full-suss. Some of the climbs can seem long, so every pound of weight you can shed off the bike, the easier you'll make it for yourself. Took us 10hrs 21mins including breaks. I would definately go with the June event. Oh something else, get used to going out at 6am for a ride, as you'll be starting at around 6:30 on the day. Hope that helps.

kernowaj

Im doing it for the first time in June too. I'll be riding my fsr stumpy 09. Not the lightest bike. Looking forward to it though.

beechtree

Am booked in for the July date, first time.

Last year caught the train to Petersfield and tried to do the QEP to Winchester section, but went the wrong way down Buster and didn't have a map or route programmed into the GPS (couple of lessons there).

I plan to try and do the same a couple of times this year, well not quite the same as i'll take a flipping map (or splash out on upgraded GPS).

Would be keen to hitch up with anyone who knows the route to train on this section, it's the easiest for me as only live 10 miles from winchester.

Will try and keep checking this thread.

diy

I'm probably going to put short trak or small bloc 8 on for the day.. definitely not going with mud tyres. Worse case I will go with a Nevegal.

I will be riding with a group of about 6 people. happy for others to tag along.

beechtree

How did everyone get on last weekend?

I was out nr basingstoke, 09:30 -> 12:30 and it was uncomfortably HOT! There's a distinct lack of shade for large parts of the SDW.

Do the BHF provide much in the way of support and do the taps become a choke point.

Thanks

Horta

Support consists of bottles of water at checkpoints. On the SDW the water taps are plentiful and there's little queing.

Saturday was stupid hot, as you say there are long strectches with no shelter, especially towards the end, which is an issue, if like me, you're suffering from heat exhaustion! Doh!

I was stumbling, incoherent, nauseous and incapable of carrying on, with only 10 miles to go! The lesson learnt? Don't try a new energy drink on the day.

Good fun up until then and will be back next year, maybe even next month, unfinished business! :twisted:

Freshfunkmeister

I did the 100 miles ( actually 107 because i got a bit lost early on ) and the heat really took its toll. I left at 0700 and got back to Eastbourne at 2100. Fitness wise, if you can do 40mile,i reckon you can do 100 if you've got the right energy drinks and food. Its just along day in the saddle !! Will definately be doing this next year...

RockyBalboa

Does any one have any training advice / programmes I can follow for this event in September? I have a reasonable level of fitness but haven't ridden that far before, only about 50 miles on road and a lap or 2 at Afan and the Gap in Brecon. Any thought or comments welcome.

Thanks

bike-a-swan

Get out, ride some long rides. With lots of hills, preferably.

When I did it last year for the first time I'd been doing 50-60milers off road every week for a while. Went too fast at the beginning and struggled for a fair bit in the middle. This year, not much training, little more than a 20miler since christmas, but because I took it gently from the beginning and knew I could do it it wasn't too much of a problem.

So, ride lots, take the ride gently.

diy

Get your weight as close to optimum as you can, you don't want to be carrying excess. Buy quality gel packs, nutrient bars and water supplements, the thing that killed most people in June was the heat, and loss of electrolytes. If you are riding in a group make sure they are up to the ride. In my group 6 started and only 2 finished, it took a lot out of us at the beginning trying to hold the group together.

Get off as early as you can, because some in my group needed tinker time it was nearly 7AM when we set off. So we were right in the heat during the hard part of the trail.

When you get to devils dyke the last 5 miles is a good indication of what the next 10-15 miles is going to be like. Devils is really in my view the half way point (even though its 65 miles) because most of the climbing is left to come.

If your max distance is 40-50 miles on road, I would politely suggest you think about the logistics of getting home if you drop out at devils dyke. IMO the 100 is equiv to 150 road miles.

Also get fast rolling tyres and run them as hard as you can bear.

beechtree

Am keeping things flexible at this stage ... dog has just had 8 puppies so other half is tied to home and unable to chase me half way across southern england just in case my piles errupt, or some other medical condition / tech problem forces me to pull out.

If things go ok, should be in Eastbourne between 20:00 and 22:00, train back to Basingstoke / Winchester would take around 2:30 hours changing at Clapham Juntion. Will consider this option if i'm still able to walk and it's closer to 20:00.

Otherwise will be looking at a hotel for the night.

beechtree

Got an email from the BHF this morning; thought it may be useful to others riding on Saturday:

The team will be at Chilcombe at 05.00 hours to set up for the event and riders can set off from any time after 05.30 till about 09.30. It depends on how quickly they think they can complete the route and whether they are doing the 65 or 100 mile route.

We have plenty of check points (about 7) so roughly one every 14 miles but they are mostly in the middle of nowhere. The first check point QECP (about 20 miles in) has refreshments and food and there is also a pub at the 65 mile mark. We always recommend people bring their own food. We have water at all the checkpoints and taps on route which are on the map for a constant supply.

In the past we tried doing food energy bars etc but people had such varying tastes so we felt it best to recommend people bring their own.