Distance challenge

Peddle Up!

I've been doing reasonable distance rides (Sportives, mainly) for a while now and I'm generally comfortable with distances around 100 miles (109 the longest, so far). I'd like to push the distance a bit to see what I'm capable of, and would appreciate a few tips.

Obviously a circular route, or figure of eight would make sense so as not to stray too far from the start point (or rescue point ), but what would be a reasonable distance to aim for? I appreciate that terrain is important too and hills get much more difficult near the end of a long ride.

Do rides get disproportionately harder the longer they are?

smoggysteve

So long as you keep hydrated and refuel as you go, another 50 or so miles on top of the 100 you do now shouldn't be that difficult.

marcusjb

Peddle Up! wrote:

Do rides get disproportionately harder the longer they are?

Not directly. Depends how you ride the longer distances. I can knock seven shades of poo out of myself on a 100km run, I can cruise around a 200km run without too much effort (at this stage of the season anyway - different story in the low season!).

Once I get up to 300km, I am not strong enough to ride those anywhere near full guns blazing, and I am generally riding very conservatively. There are those who can tear around those distances and more, but they are a different league to most of us.

All of this ignores differing terrain, weather conditions etc., all of which can turn a short ride into a massive challenge that half kills you.

Anyway, next distance - maybe 200km (125miles)?

sub55

how far do you want to go? ultimately the only limiting factor is sleep deprivation.

Bobbinogs

Time to add some more audaxes to the list there Peddle Up? The Beacons 200k next week is a good 'un (I'm signed up) and there are lot's of fantastic 200k rides (The Nutty Nuns, Barry's Bristol Ball Buster, The Barbury Bash, Ian's Valley of the Rocks, Steve's Gospel Pass, Mark's many Mr Pickwick's, etc. Phil's Kidderminster Killer is great, I did it last year but will miss it this year as I will be riding in the Jura mountains ). You will be riding longer but on some great routes with good company and excellent, well chosen stops. All for just a few Pounds.

No magic formula to riding longer, just the basics of pacing yourself, being comfortable with self sufficiency and making sure that you can drop to 'get me home mode' (that's what I sometimes do on long rides, just stick it in an easy gear, ignore HR and just keep the cadence high).

http://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=58799.0

Peddle Up!

Good advice. Thanks guys.

sub55

If you really want advice ( dont get married ) get your riding position right so that its comfortable.
Then continually push the boundaries , you obviously wont have the time to knock out 100 plus rides every day , so if you've only got an hour or so , push the speed. The quicker you are ,the easier the long ride will seem as you'll be further away from your limits. Audaxes are good ,the long distances tt`s are equally enthralling.

smoggysteve

sub55 wrote:

If you really want advice ( dont get married )

Great! Now you tell me.

drlodge

Lots of good advice here about pacing yourself, preparing mentally, refueling etc. I just did 144 miles on Saturday (Elstead-Stonehenge 200k Audax Route from Guildford) having done 100 miles early May. I think the most important lesson is not to try too hard going uphills - strain your legs early and you'll pay for it later. I actually felt quite strong in the last quarter albeit with a 20+mph tail wind behind me (had to suffer the headwind and rain on the way out tho)

Peddle Up!

Managed to nudge just over 140 miles on Saturday (yes, the very hot day - 32C at one point! :? ). No records broken, apart from a new distance for me, but not too shabby for an old git.

marcusjb

Good work.

How did you find it?

It was brutally hot over the weekend (I was riding in Leicestershire, Rutland sort of area). Very hard to ride anything - let alone 140 miles - well done!

Peddle Up!

marcusjb wrote:

Good work.

How did you find it?

It was brutally hot over the weekend (I was riding in Leicestershire, Rutland sort of area). Very hard to ride anything - let alone 140 miles - well done!

Yes, it was a bit warm. I got through ten cycling bottles of Nuun as well as cups of tea/water etc., at the cake stops. The last thirty miles or so were a bit challenging as there were several climbs (Cotswolds) to tackle but the thought of some ice-cold beer in the 'fridge kept me going. Foolishly I didn't eat at the last cake stop as I was getting a bit sick of sweet stuff, but I think this was a mistake. Next time eh?