Bit of a challenge

sabretalon

Hi, this year I am going to be Chairman of my local Round Table in Swadlincote. Each year we organise a chairman's challenge.

I have only just started MTB'ing but wanted to give myself a challenge as well as raise money for a local charity. This will be open to all our members to take part in.

So, one of the things I am considering is to do a coast to coast challenge in a day, which I think the best possible route would be around 150 miles?

Anyone done a route that is doable by blokes who have very little experience in riding? We don't mind if we have to spend 24 hours on the go as that is the target. If averaging 15 MPH we are looking at 10 hours, how realistic is that? We have time to put in some miles to build up our stamina/fitness levels as the intention is to run it in July.

Any tips on routes to choose and building up fitness levels would be appreciated.

welshkev

15mph off road on a mountain bike? that's going some. I uaually average around 12 KMH. I know I'm not the fittest guy in the world, but still that's a pretty quick and to sustain that over 10 hours for only semi-fit guys.....is that feasible? I don't know?

for example, the west highland way - not coast to coast I admit, is approximately 120 miles long and I know fit people who have struggled to do it in less that 20 hours

sabretalon

Did say it was a challenge. One route I spotted is only 140 miles.

140 at an average of 7mph is 20 hours.

I suspect we will look at some off road sections and some road sections to help boost the average speed.

We do have a habit of biting off more than we can chew when we set our challenges and we do always achieve them, regardless of how difficult we make it. I am the oldest in the group at 44. I was a Royal Marine, fitness was fantastic until I had an issue with a fractured neck. I am not adverse to pushing myself and I am building up my fitness levels on the bike now, and towing a kids around in a trailer is going to help build the stamina levels, I hope.

If we have to drop it back to 2 days based on advice from others, then we will but we really like to push ourselves and it does sound better when seeking sponsorship, coast to coast in 1 day. We also have the nickname for the event as sleepless in the saddle.

Balaclavas

Its worth noting that the best XC riders in the world were only mangain 14 odd minute laps at hadleigh during the olympics IIRC. That's less than 13 mph!

njee20

It's not really the same terrain though is it.

15mph is bloody quick, not an unreasonable average for a bit of road, light off road stuff, but a) virtually impossible for 'proper' offroad, and b) even less attainable once you factor stops into the equation - which will decimate your average speed.

A more relevant comparison is probably the SDW - hilly, but easy riding, and all off road. The really fast times (think elite riders) are c 7 hours for 102 miles, which is only 14.5mph, and only 2/3 the distance.

10-12mph would be a more realistic aim for an average I'd say.

thomasmorris

The SDW is a pretty good approximation to the terrain you'll see. It's got a few on road sections but mostly wide tracks. As off road routes go it's a fast one.

The SDW route for cyclists is actually just less than 100 miles (the walkers path is 102 along beachy head).

I don't know of anyone who has done it in 7 hours when I clicked through the leader boards on strava. I've done it in 8:43 (8:30 moving) http://app.strava.com/activities/52752985 which is quicker than anyone I know personally, or have seen on strava, but no doubt an elite rider would do it quicker... A very good time is 10 hours (~9.5 mph), 12 hours (~8 mph) is good going for an average cyclist, and most novices do it in two days.

Josh Ibbett's record for the double is 17:47: so 10.6 mph.

Anyway, Njee's estimates for off road speed I would say are an upper estimate, even for elite riders. I'd say 12 mph is a better bet.

Based on the above I would set a challenging time for fit, but not really 'cycling fit' blokes at 8 mph (considering c2c is another 44-55 miles on to of SDW). That give you 17.5 hours for the 140 miles route, so still do-able in a day though.

sabretalon

Thanks guys. This is still at idea stage and we will be looking into actual routes. Some of the guys did a bike ride not long ago for 135 miles but all road over 2 days, they said they really felt that they could have done it in the one.

welshkev

sabretalon wrote:

Thanks guys. This is still at idea stage and we will be looking into actual routes. Some of the guys did a bike ride not long ago for 135 miles but all road over 2 days, they said they really felt that they could have done it in the one.

road riding is completely different though. I have friends who do 100 mile road rides for fun :shock:

garnib

why don't you try a couple of these events first

http://www.tonyaschallenge.co.uk/


http://www.great-east-midlands-bike-challenge.co.uk/


there are a lot of local routes out from swadlincote 30mile plus loops ..

good luck with your challenge

njee20

I don't know of anyone who has done it in 7 hours when I clicked through the leader boards on strava.

Not every cyclist on Strava shocker... Tim Dunford has the record, 7:15 IIRC, and reckons he could do sub-7. But Tim's not normal.

Thanks guys. This is still at idea stage and we will be looking into actual routes. Some of the guys did a bike ride not long ago for 135 miles but all road over 2 days, they said they really felt that they could have done it in the one.

As said, road is far quicker than off road. It's doable in one 24 hour period, but don't underestimate how quickly you lose time for mechanicals, bad weather etc etc, have a contingency.

thomasmorris

njee20 wrote:

I don't know of anyone who has done it in 7 hours when I clicked through the leader boards on strava.

Not every cyclist on Strava shocker... Tim Dunford has the record, 7:15 IIRC, and reckons he could do sub-7. But Tim's not normal.

7:15... impressive! I wasn't expecting the records to be on strava, obviously not everyone uses it, and it's only been around for a few years. But, a lot of people do use strava and it's a good way of estimating what a good, average and slow time might be. I was just emphasizing to the OP that 14.5 mph was high estimate even for elite riders. If 7:15 is the record that's 13.1 mph.

Anyway, we're both giving the same advice: for an off road ride by casual cyclists assuming a 15 mph average is unrealistic in the extreme. With mechanicals, food stops and comfort breaks 8 mph would be a challenge.

thomasmorris

sabretalon wrote:

Anyone done a route that is doable by blokes who have very little experience in riding? We don't mind if we have to spend 24 hours on the go as that is the target. If averaging 15 MPH we are looking at 10 hours, how realistic is that? We have time to put in some miles to build up our stamina/fitness levels as the intention is to run it in July.

As above, 15 mph is not realistic, I feel 8 mph would be more realistic based on my experience of what sounds like a similar route. However, off road is hard to predict as courses vary significantly due to conditions (wet/muddy), wind and climbing and ration of road:offroad.

sabretalon wrote:

Any tips on routes to choose and building up fitness levels would be appreciated.

No route tips, but just focus on long rides of around 3 hours or more. Doing longer riders isn't just about fitness (although you will see gains), but more about getting experience which will help you identify and solve potential 'show stoppers' on the day: saddle sore, position related injuries (back, knees, neck), getting food and drink in, equipment failure etc.

Doing various hard intervals may make you faster, and if you have spare time by all means do them, but as your challenge is just to complete the route you should aim to eliminate the problems that will force you to climb off the bike as a priority. No amount short rides or intervals can hep you do this.