Charity cycling - what's achievable?

Jivingtinker

Hi
New to the forum so if I make a mess of things, apologies.
I am close to agreeing to do a ride for charity. But I plan on doing the ride with a friend, unassisted, from Sheffield to London and back within 48 hours. I need to know if this is possible by seasoned long distance cyclist. I am not new to cycling but have never done anything anywhere near this sort of distance.
What sort of training should I be looking at (please consider I work full time mon-fri and have two children under 3 (one new born))?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Tom

Wirral_paul

Sounds like a great challenge - go for it. Whether its acheivable by yourself - what sort of distances have you been riding so far?? Looks to be around 330 mile round trip??

The logical way to do this for me would be to start early afternoon on one day and give yourself in effect 3 days to ride the distance. Do 100 miles or so and stop about 65 miles out of London. Ride into London and straight back to the same place for another overnight stop, and then ride the final 100 miles starting early morning on the final day.

VTech

The advice above looks good, make sure you have all angles covered regarding security and well being, numbers if people who can assist locally if possible.
If you do as above why not post on the forum for someone local to be free if needed on a certain day so they can pick you up if needed ?


Good luck.

Jivingtinker

Wirral_Paul wrote:

Sounds like a great challenge - go for it. Whether its acheivable by yourself - what sort of distances have you been riding so far?? Looks to be around 330 mile round trip??

The logical way to do this for me would be to start early afternoon on one day and give yourself in effect 3 days to ride the distance. Do 100 miles or so and stop about 65 miles out of London. Ride into London and straight back to the same place for another overnight stop, and then ride the final 100 miles starting early morning on the final day.

Thanks for the quick reply. I knew I would get great advice here. Would never of thought to split it up that way.
Cheers.

Jivingtinker

Does anyone know a suitable landmark in London to hit before setting off back? Don't really know London well and wouldn't know whether better to spin round at Big Ben or Nelsons column. Safest and easiest would be best. Could stop for a brew with Will and Kate but we will probably be to busy.

simonhead

Jivingtinker wrote:

Does anyone know a suitable landmark in London to hit before setting off back? Don't really know London well and wouldn't know whether better to spin round at Big Ben or Nelsons column. Safest and easiest would be best. Could stop for a brew with Will and Kate but we will probably be to busy.

How about somewhere like Hillingdon Cycle Track?

marcusjb

Riding anywhere into central London and back out will eat up quite a few hours. Other than that, the distance is very achievable in 2 days.

How to train for that sort of distance - ride lots and get your comfort and eating right. Audax events may be a good build up for you.

markhewitt1978

Jivingtinker wrote:

Hi
New to the forum so if I make a mess of things, apologies.
I am close to agreeing to do a ride for charity. But I plan on doing the ride with a friend, unassisted, from Sheffield to London and back within 48 hours. I need to know if this is possible by seasoned long distance cyclist. I am not new to cycling but have never done anything anywhere near this sort of distance.
What sort of training should I be looking at (please consider I work full time mon-fri and have two children under 3 (one new born))?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Tom

180 miles, each way. When you say "within 48 hours" I guess you really mean over 3 days rather than over 2?
There's no real trick for training, just go for longer and longer bike rides until you are used to covering a lot of distance, this will mean a lot of time on the bike, which is where most people (myself especially) have problems.

markhewitt1978

Jivingtinker wrote:

Does anyone know a suitable landmark in London to hit before setting off back? Don't really know London well and wouldn't know whether better to spin round at Big Ben or Nelsons column. Safest and easiest would be best. Could stop for a brew with Will and Kate but we will probably be to busy.

No idea about the cycling aspect but I think a picture of you in front of Big Ben is pretty much compulsory , you could do Nelsons Column and Buck Palace too within half an hour.

t4tomo

nelsons column/ trafalgar square is pretty central and iconic - bit harder to get a decent photo at big ben given how high up it is, plus traffic a nightmare around westminster.

good luck if you decide to do it.

marcusjb

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Jivingtinker wrote:

Hi
New to the forum so if I make a mess of things, apologies.
I am close to agreeing to do a ride for charity. But I plan on doing the ride with a friend, unassisted, from Sheffield to London and back within 48 hours. I need to know if this is possible by seasoned long distance cyclist. I am not new to cycling but have never done anything anywhere near this sort of distance.
What sort of training should I be looking at (please consider I work full time mon-fri and have two children under 3 (one new born))?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Tom

180 miles, each way. When you say "within 48 hours" I guess you really mean over 3 days rather than over 2?
There's no real trick for training, just go for longer and longer bike rides until you are used to covering a lot of distance, this will mean a lot of time on the bike, which is where most people (myself especially) have problems.

180 miles - I'm not a fast rider, but can do that in under 15 hours. Plenty of time to then sleep, get up and do it all again the next day!

desweller

The bits around Sheffield can be a bit hilly! Are you planning on having some support or are you carrying all your supplies on the bike?

Jivingtinker

DesWeller wrote:

The bits around Sheffield can be a bit hilly! Are you planning on having some support or are you carrying all your supplies on the bike?

By bike really. I was wondering how much I would need seeing as I will be riding practically all day and sleeping/eating when not. I thought I would be able to get everything in a medium sized rucksack. Realistic? My wife has said she would like to help but, again, we are complete novices when it comes to this sort of endeavour. I greatly appreciate all of the advice you have given me. I reckon I'll give it a bash.
Guess I best start thinking about how I'm going to get into shape for this thing. I'm not exactly the skinniest of blokes.

Jivingtinker

marcusjb wrote:

markhewitt1978 wrote:

180 miles - I'm not a fast rider, but can do that in under 15 hours. Plenty of time to then sleep, get up and do it all again the next day!

Are you suggesting I go straight to London (setting off at 6am for instance) stay over and simply reverse on the way back? I initially though this but quite like the idea of three legs (setting off at midday). Which would be a better use of time/rest?
Thanks for the discussion. Really interesting to see what you think and why.

VTech

If you do too much right off you could be in for a fail before you start. I think the three day option is best but I would prefer backup if it were me.

desweller

You won't want to carry all your gear on your back for two days, trust me. If you really want to ride unsupported, consider either a saddlebag (e.g. Carradice) or bar bag.

Consider how much food you're going to need. It ain't a normal day so it ain't a normal calorie count - you will eat quite a bit!

Grill

It's totally doable. It's not too far and a flat route. Considering that you get 40 hours for a 600k audax (which will almost always be way hillier) you should be able to do it in one.

Best training would be to do longer audaxes (300, 400, 600).

cougie

Why to London ? Any particular reason ?
What route are you planning ? Are you doing the A1 all the way or something ?
I wouldn't fancy 300+ miles on that.

A rucksack on the back isnt a great idea. Any weight on the back will soon get uncomfortable.

You could do safer and just as challenging rides - just not down to London and back. What about the TdF stages for next year ?

Also a lot o the people saying its very doable are massively experienced cyclists. P-B-P is a big ride.
What distances do you do currently and when would you plan to be riding this ?

Jivingtinker

cougie wrote:

Why to London ? Any particular reason ?
What route are you planning ? Are you doing the A1 all the way or something ?
I wouldn't fancy 300+ miles on that.

A rucksack on the back isnt a great idea. Any weight on the back will soon get uncomfortable.

You could do safer and just as challenging rides - just not down to London and back. What about the TdF stages for next year ?

Also a lot o the people saying its very doable are massively experienced cyclists. P-B-P is a big ride.
What distances do you do currently and when would you plan to be riding this ?

To be quite honest I just picked a place. There is no particular reason for London. Brilliant suggestion. Cheers.

marcusjb

cougie wrote:

Also a lot o the people saying its very doable are massively experienced cyclists. P-B-P is a big ride.
What distances do you do currently and when would you plan to be riding this ?

Valid comment, but I (and many others) went from finding 100 miles tough work to finishing PBP within 8 or so months.

The build up to riding 600km (ish) would take less than that. The question on the OP's current sort of distances is very pertinent and also when they intended to ride this. They did ask if it was possible by a seasoned long distance cyclist.

Many people can be quite dismissive of riding 3-400 miles in a couple of days - I'm not a spectacular cyclist, but these sort of distances are very achievable for pretty much anyone provided they want it enough. You do not have to be particularly fast to do that. As grill points out, the cut off time for a 600km audax is 40 hours - really quite generous. Most long distance cyclists are not exceptional athletes, but have mental fortitude by the bucket load.

I think that it would be a great charity challenge - those sort of distances are hard for even regular cyclists to fathom, let alone non-cycling friends etc. it will be a challenge, but far from impossible assuming you build up to it well and learn to look after yourself on the road and get comfy on the bike. But don't wear a backpack.

Southgate

A couple of tips on riding in London. Unless you're on empty roads or are a serial RLJer, your average speed will be in the 12mph to 15 mph range, with a lot of stop - starts. Bear in mind that this style of riding can be quite knackering after a long ride, and we also have more than our fair share of psycho drivers on the road. If you're not familiar with the road culture here, it can be very intimidating and you need to be especially alert.

If you assume that every other road user is out to deliberately murder you without warning, you won't go far wrong. Again, after a long ride, maintaining this level of concentration can be quite tiring, so aim to arrive in London as fresh as possible.

It's going to be an epic adventure to remember, so I would definitely stick with your plans to head for Big Ben or another central London iconic destination. On the other side of the road from Big Ben, you can make a clever photo by lifting your bike up onto the back wheel, unclipping the front wheel and aligning the fork with the London Eye in the background. It makes a great facebook profile pic and it's guaranteed to impress your mates, cyclists and non-cyclists alike.

Piccadilly Circus would be another good choice, and if you can stomach the outrageous prices, you can unwind with a coffee in the Rapha cafe on nearby Brewer Street, which also provides secure indoor parking.

Jivingtinker

Thanks for all the fantastic replies. Backpack ditched! Still wondering wondering who would do it two conventional days (all the way to London one day, all the way back the next) or three (setting off at midday) and most importantly why?

VTech

I have a friend in the Premier group hotel chain who would be happy to arrange a free nights stay for you if they have a venue on your cycle path.

marcusjb

Jivingtinker wrote:

Thanks for all the fantastic replies. Backpack ditched! Still wondering wondering who would do it two conventional days (all the way to London one day, all the way back the next) or three (setting off at midday) and most importantly why?

2 days. It is more badass that way.

It isn't that an insane a challenge. 2 long days in the saddle. You should be able to get a semi-decent sleep between them.

However, I guess it depends on when you are planning to do it and your base fitness now. I.e. if you are wanting to do it this summer, your goals might be different to doing it in 2014.