24 hour solo bike ride

JeffreyGuille

I am thinking about doing a sponsored bike ride in the summer of 2014 where cycle as many miles as I can in 24 hours. I am 17 years old and currently cycle 40-50 miles a week - mostly commuting - and can cycle about 18 miles in one hour. I am in my final year at school so while fitness isn't my priority I certainly have enough free time to double my mileage for the few months leading up to the ride. I have a low end road bike and basic repair tools but not really any other specialist equipment (other than a helmet and lights etc). Is this a good idea? How many miles can I expect to cover in 24 hours? What would be a good training program to follow? Is there any other equipment I should invest in? And lastly, any hydration and nutrition advice? Thanks!!

dw300

JeffreyGuille wrote:

I am thinking about doing a sponsored bike ride in the summer of 2014 where cycle as many miles as I can in 24 hours. I am 17 years old and currently cycle 40-50 miles a week - mostly commuting - and can cycle about 18 miles in one hour. I am in my final year at school so while fitness isn't my priority I certainly have enough free time to double my mileage for the few months leading up to the ride. I have a low end road bike and basic repair tools but not really any other specialist equipment (other than a helmet and lights etc). Is this a good idea? How many miles can I expect to cover in 24 hours? What would be a good training program to follow? Is there any other equipment I should invest in? And lastly, any hydration and nutrition advice? Thanks!!

In!

*Grabs Popcorn*

xavierdisley

Preparing for a 24hr ride takes quite a while and I would suggest doubling your weekly mileage to wouldn't be enough. If you are dead set on doing it the best thing to do would be to ride in the safest environment you can, if you enter the CTT National 24hr championships they'll calculate your distance for you, there will be marshals everywhere and it's lap based so any supporting crew (or other competitors) aren't that far away from you.

You could also consider doing something like Ride24 run by Action Medical, they use closed circuit motor circuits and provide food and drink, and have a solo category. You would have to raise funds for Action Medical rather than another charity though.

The main issues aren't necessarily fitness, but more comfort, sleep deprivation and of course nutrition. If you don't mind stopping a bit to refuel then you can work out a fairly good feeding plan, but if you try and stay on the bike the whole time and incorrectly feed it's game over

Xav

marcusjb

The CTT 24 isn't a bad suggestion. This season it is in Sussex in June. In those conditions, very big distances are possible - over 500 miles for the top riders.

If you wanted to stick with it solo, then 250 miles is a good starting point for a solo rider and very achievable if you put the work in over winter and get your food etc. worked out.

Simon doughty's book gives a great load of plans and guidance for training for a long event. Well worth getting.

The reality for riding big distances at moderate pace is you just need to ride your bike, a lot. Typically, riders for this sort of event are riding at least 500 miles a month over winter and getting to well over 1000miles a month in the summer months. Fitness is secondary to all of the mental fortitude side of it - don't get hung up on intervals and speed work - long steady distance all the way for this sort of challenge. Audax will be very helpful for riding some big distances with like minded people.

Comfort is everything, tweak your position over time and find what works for you.

Food and water take ages to find what does and doesn't work for you. Personally, I keep the food real and avoid gels and powders, but it is easy to get it wrong and be stood at the side of the road heaving your guts up.

Good luck.

cougie

Comfort is key.

I've raced 100 mile TTs on my TT bike. Then I had a 12 hour coming up so I thought I'd swap to my road bike - as I'd done more hours on that. Turns out that what is fine for 6 hours might not be so good for 12 hours. I pulled after about 8.

I'd think a 24 hour isnt the best idea. You probably havent spent more than an hour on the bike in one go ?

Why not choose a place to ride to? The coast ? A notable place ? Make it 100 miles or so away and that would be enough of a challenge for you for this year - 6 or 7 hours in the saddle.

JeffreyGuille

Thanks for all of the advice everybody! I have ridden for more than one hour, the most I have done in a day is about 50 miles - in just under 4 hours - and I wasn't tired at the end of it. I sounds like a 24 hour cycle may be too ambitious, so I'll train for a 100 mile ride over Easter and see how that goes. Maybe I was underestimating the amount of miles I need to put in! I guess I'll build up to 100 miles a week for the century and 150 over the summer if I go for the 24 hour ride.

dw300

JeffreyGuille wrote:

Thanks for all of the advice everybody! I have ridden for more than one hour, the most I have done in a day is about 50 miles - in just under 4 hours - and I wasn't tired at the end of it. I sounds like a 24 hour cycle may be too ambitious, so I'll train for a 100 mile ride over Easter and see how that goes. Maybe I was underestimating the amount of miles I need to put in! I guess I'll build up to 100 miles a week for the century and 150 over the summer if I go for the 24 hour ride.

Yeh, much better idea. Your 4hr, 50 mile ride might not have tired you out, but could you do it 5-6 times back to back?

The logistics alone for a 24 hours ride are a tough task. It's good to see a young person prepared to listen to people who have done it before. You'll find the 100 very satisfying and it'll give you experience to build from.

Good luck!

cougie

When i was 16 I rode 140 miles - basically my parents were going on holiday and they said there was no room for the bike so I said I'd ride it there then. The more relatives that said I couldn't do it - the more I was determined to do it. It was a great adventure. Good luck with yours.