Riding 200 miles

[nammynake]

The longest rides I have done in a single day are 105 and 112 miles. The 105 miles was on a mountain bike tourer fitted with panniers and semi slicks about 6 weeks ago (part of our ride from Blackpool to Paris), the 112 mile was on a road bike for the Fred Whitton in May.

There is a possibility of doing a 200 mile ride in a few weeks and I wondered what (if any) specific training I could do in that time to give me the best chance of finishing? The ride would be on my road bike and there wouldn't be any significant hills on the way.

I have lost some stamina since the Fred Whitton but still do a 50 mile hilly ride each weekend. Am I doomed
to fail ?

[anonymous-user]

EPO

[louiebaby]

I did LeJog over 9 days in April / May. The first day was 124 miles, and the longest rid I'd ever done. In the 6 months leading up to it, I think the longest I managed was a few 70 milers.

Depending on what you hope from the 200 miler, I'd say you just need time in the saddle. It'll be a hell of a long day for you, but if you eat and drink continuously, and have short breaks reasonably regularly, there's no reason why you won't manage it.

Grit, determination, and some mate to share the banter and the wind will help too. Good luck!

[samwilliams]

louiebaby said:

...but if you eat and drink continuously...

This is the key. Once you have a moderate amount of fitness, and an arse used to sitting on a saddle for several hours, you can pretty much go for as long as you want as long as you get your pacing/nutrition/hydration right.

[nammynake]

samwilliams said:

This is the key. Once you have a moderate amount of fitness, and an arse used to sitting on a saddle for several hours, you can pretty much go for as long as you want as long as you get your pacing/nutrition/hydration right.

I'm not so worried about time in the saddle - that 105 miler was probably about 12 hours riding - I am more concerned with the physical effort required to keep going for 200 miles. I do tend to eat sufficiently when riding, especially when going over 60 miles (I don't eat much when doing less).

There should be a few of us which will help by drafting.

[Steve vRS]

What sort of distances should you start to think about eating on the go?

I am up to doing 30miles now at 17mph average (admittedly fairly flat Cheshire roads) and I only take water with me.

Thanks

Steve

[samwilliams]

nammynake said:

I'm not so worried about time in the saddle - that 105 miler was probably about 12 hours riding - I am more concerned with the physical effort required to keep going for 200 miles. I do tend to eat sufficiently when riding, especially when going over 60 miles (I don't eat much when doing less).

There should be a few of us which will help by drafting.

In that case, aim to consume about 300 calories an hour (I'd go for easily digestible foods but not instant release stuff like gels myself - any more than 300 calories and it starts to have a detrimental effect on your performance) and water consumption is very person/weather dependent. You'll probably need to drink more than you naturally would though. I'd aim for at least 750ml/hour, maybe with some electrolytes too.

As long as you do this, and cycle within your limits at all times, I think you'd be fine, physically at least. (Motivation/boredom is a different matter altogether!)

[samwilliams]

Steve vRS said:

What sort of distances should you start to think about eating on the go?

I am up to doing 30miles now at 17mph average (admittedly fairly flat Cheshire roads) and I only take water with me.

Thanks

Steve

I think you need some kind of food for anything above 3 hours. Below that it might be useful, especially if you're pushing yourself hard, but I don't think it's really necessary.

[anonymous-user]

samwilliams said:

Steve vRS said:

What sort of distances should you start to think about eating on the go?

I am up to doing 30miles now at 17mph average (admittedly fairly flat Cheshire roads) and I only take water with me.

Thanks

Steve

I think you need some kind of food for anything above 3 hours. Below that it might be useful, especially if you're pushing yourself hard, but I don't think it's really necessary.

it depends what you have eaten in the hours before the ride too, if its something useful like pasta or porrige then it might be three hours or so. once riding, unless its very quick digesting energy like a gel, you will need to be eating before you need to feel the consequences. i'd get used to gels. high five are quite watery in concentration.

[anonymous-user]

samwilliams said:

Steve vRS said:

What sort of distances should you start to think about eating on the go?

I am up to doing 30miles now at 17mph average (admittedly fairly flat Cheshire roads) and I only take water with me.

Thanks

Steve

I think you need some kind of food for anything above 3 hours. Below that it might be useful, especially if you're pushing yourself hard, but I don't think it's really necessary.

it depends what you have eaten in the hours before the ride too, if its something useful like pasta or porrige then it might be three hours or so. once riding, unless its very quick digesting energy like a gel, you will need to be eating before you need to feel the consequences. i'd get used to gels. high five are quite watery in concentration.

[louiebaby]

nammynake said:

I'm not so worried about time in the saddle - that 105 miler was probably about 12 hours riding - I am more concerned with the physical effort required to keep going for 200 miles.

I'm not going to try to give you any advice about pacing or how hard you should be going, it's too personal. What you definately should do is optimise your bike. Like Team Sky do.

By this I mean make sure that the wheels are true, and rolling with as little resistance as possible, the tyres are suitable for the job and at an appropriate pressure, the brakes are set up properly, and so on.

The extra effort you have to put in to overcome the inefficiencies will really add up over the 200 miles. You'll not notice it much over 50 miles, but after 150, you certainly will. This goes down to clothing and weight on the bike too.

If you have a support car, only carry one bottle, and just a phone, no spares. Get some miles in some comfotable but close fitting Lycra so you're aerodynamic. Be safe and seen though, I'd run the lights regardless of the time of day if I were you, you'll get tired and your concentration will suffer, so better safe than sorry.

Finally, and this might seem obvious: DON'T GET LOST. It's fking annoying to go back 3 miles when you're already knackered!

Do you want another team member, I haven't got a challenge to train for at the moment. What's the event? (I'm awesome to draft behind, by the way.)

[TonyHetherington]

swerni said:

I want to do Plymouth London at some point this month, anyone else up for it?
That's 200ish mails

Just keep plodding and grazing, it's a marathon not a sprint

How long will you take to do that...in one hit?!

[village idiot]

i did a 110 mile fast ride last year with very little in the way of training... the first 65 miles saw an average speed of 22mph and after that the knees started to suffer... by the time i got back into geneva (it was a circumnavigation of lake geneva) it felt like someone was scraping the insides of my kneecaps with sandpaper...

my tip... don't push silly big gears... keep spinning nicely and your knees should survive.

[amnesia182]

My mate did the Mallorca312 earlier this year on bananas, gels, and water... 312km including some evil mountain climbs in 11hours and 53 minutes. His previous longest ride was under 70 miles. Oh and he was on a bike he rented when he got there.

Easy peasy !!

No wonder I can't keep up with him on training rides...

[Chicken Chaser]

I asked this question not so long ago after complaining about aches & pains. If you're a regular rider, but regularly getting aches and pains over a given distance, then as per the advice, work on your core, seek a bike fit and make some alterations to your position.

[Gargamel]

105 on an MTB vs 200 on a roadie. Roughly equal I'd say on a physical effort basis.

I would try to get a 100 er in before the day, aim for around 7 hours if you can. good chance to test the kit, bike, food etc strategy.

[TonyHetherington]

swerni said:

yup, that's the plan, it's pretty much 200 miles from Plymouth to home.

I originality intended to start in London and see how far I could get in 24 hours, but this is preferable as I finish as home

I'm tempted to come along with you - though september's completely out for me. I'll pop you a message on FB

[crisisjez]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I think you have your seat too high and your clips too far toward the front of your shoes. This will result in a higher natural cadence (the clips that is) but will overload the knees and back. As already said core work is essential, does your upper body move when you pedal? that will also hurt your back. Are you overstretching on the drops, do you vary your position. Do you sit upright and stretch at all?
Loads of questions, the only sure fired way to answer them is to get a bike fit and ride with someone who can see whats happening with you.

[crisisjez]

TonyHetherington said:

swerni said:

yup, that's the plan, it's pretty much 200 miles from Plymouth to home.

I originality intended to start in London and see how far I could get in 24 hours, but this is preferable as I finish as home

I'm tempted to come along with you - though september's completely out for me. I'll pop you a message on FB

I would be interested, would stay with you till Hook area(J5 M3).
Although I'm not that fast yet I did do a century ride 2 weeks ago and that was fine (4500ft elev)

[okgo]

Sigma is in Hampton Wick.

Many places do fittings. I am possibly going to have one as I get what you get too sometimes. Although only if really going hard.