Charity Bike Ride - More than i can chew?

[ColCook]

I have been planning a journey to raise money for a charity close to my heart(macmillan cancer) in memory of my late grandad and after a cycle to work scheme gifted me with a Giant Defy 3 I decided to ride from my home town Chelmsford, Essex to Lands end during my holiday (7 days, Mon - Mon)...

After trying to find guides on the net i am now worried i may have bitten off more than i can chew mileage wise, but have already taken sponsorship and booked hostels.

Can you please let me know in your experience if you think the below is realistic or should i make some changes?

Chelmsford - 90m - Oxford - 75m - Bristol - dayoff - 80m - Exeter - 45m - Plymouth - dayoff - 90m - lands end (10miles back to penzance).

each town is an overnight stay in a quiet hostel with maximum sleep so i am travelling very very light.

My day should compromise roughly at most:

2h ride - 30min rest - 2h ride - 2h lunch - 2h ride - 30min rest - 2h+ ride.

I would say i am above average fit and regulary run and weight train luckily i only weigh 10 stone, I have run a half marathon last year and maintained that fitness level since about a year ago and am currently riding 20-30 miles every week night, i have no more free weekends to cover any more distance and plan to leave on the 3rd of August.....

cant wait...... but scared!

Any help suggestions i would be grateful, is this the realms of a proffessional or can i do it with mental focus, i dont want it to be a walk in the park but i want it to be achievable......

 

[Muddyfox]

Someone with more knowledge about distance riding will be along shortly to give you good advice

But i wish you the best of luck ... and remember Devon and Cornwall are 2 very hilly Countys

Simon

 

[stoatsngroats]

The 2 hour lunch would probably be the last thing I would do!

 

[ColCook]

The 2 hour lunch would probably be the last thing I would do!

I had thoughts this may be too long and would probably get ancy full of adrenaline sitting around but didnt want to be sick in the next two hours riding and didnt want to over do it....

What would you recommend?

 

[RedBike]

If you're currently regularly riding every weekday then that sort of mileage should be within your grasp. Espeshially as you're travelling light / you've got rest days. Just get used to doing a few long rides at the weekend.

I've just done a short tour, about 8 hours on the road a day for 4 days. My tip would be to travel as light as possible and invest in the best saddle/ shorts you can afford.

Not sure about the 2hrs dinner stop. If you're on your own leaving a bike can be arkward and you don't want to have to carry heavy locks.

 

[vernon]

What are you going to do with the hour and a half left over after eating your lunch? You might even find half hour breaks a tad long as your legs will have stiffened during the break.

The last leg is the one that will be the most challenging. Devon and Cornwall's hills are always challenging no matter how fit you are.

 

[Yellow7]

Hi.

If your relatively fit as you state & been doing 20-30 mile evening cycle runs then you’ll be fine, especially as your travelling lite.

The two hour lunches I think is way too excessive, just think, by mid- day you’d be ticking over nicely with your body in swing of the days pace & then you’ll stop for 2 hours? Your muscles will relax, & your train of thought & will be a push to get back into it.

I’ve done three biggish tours, & one real big one last year & always found it best to eat snacks along the way, apples, bananas, nuts, Twix (or energy bars if you buy into that). I found stopping for a pee here & there & to take photo’s maybe (not of myself peeing!!), ½ hours lunch breaks would be best. You’ll be surprised how the miles rack up. Don’t leave the bike computer set on the daily mileage as you’ll be constantly looking at it to see how far remaining & that physiologically belittles what you have done, just leave it set to time, or max speed & only look at it at say ~ 3:00pm or something, this helps. Sometimes you’ll have achieved a higher mileage than you thought you’d be at & then you get a better sense of achievement for the day, believe me!

The rest days? Again, with you training you’ve done & fitness level your at you’ll wake up on those proposed days & think “I feel fine, let’s go!”

Last year I had similar thoughts as your having, that I’d bitten off too much, but fortunately the televised program of Mark Beaumonts around the world cycle was on a week before I went, doing the same daily mileage he was on helped to suppress any feelings of uncertainty over what I was on the verge of doing.

Music on. Pedals turnin’. Mile munchin’. Believe in yourself, you’ll be fine mate.

 

[stoatsngroats]

30-45 mins is enough for me.

The journey is the enjoyable bit, not the lunch stop - that's just for refuelling!

 

[wyno70]

From what you've said about your fitness, I think you are more than capable of doing it.

Having done tours myslef, I'd echo what is said above 2hrs for lunch is way too much, you'll get bored and even worse, will start to stiffen up.

I'd consider stopping more frequently for much shorter, i.e. consider having 3/4 20 to 30 minute stops during the day and eating less much more frequently. That will keep you better fuelled and your rhythm will be much better. Just have a sandwich, bit of cake or banana etc at each stop and you'll be fine.

In my opinion, you can't plan it that rigidly, as if you come to a big climb, you might want to stop at the top, take the view in and have a break.

My biggest suggestion would be don't plan too much. You'll only get nervous if you are outside of your plan, just chill, take it nice and easy and enjoy the journey. Stop when you want. If you get a bit behind, you could always do 20-30 miles on your 'day off' just to keep loose and catch up.

Good luck!

 

[Brains]

Check the route very closely - without the benefit of an O/S map I suspect the bit between Oxford and Bristol is over the Cotswolds.

It's maybe much better to do a route that basically follows the Sustrans routes, so Reading, Bath, (along the K&A canal,) Wells, Exeter.

Then you have to sort out the route through Cornwall.
You will not do Plymouth to Lands End in a day.
The A30 is not a cycle route !!!!!
It's basically a motorway in all but name for much of it's Cornish length

There are two Sustrans routes down through Cornwall, both are hilly, one is basically north coast, other basically south coast. It may be possible to do Exeter to Truro in a day and then Truro to Lands End in a day.

As most end to enders will tell you, in the thousand mile length the toughest bit is Cornwall and it does not make any difference whether that is the first two days or the last two days.

 

[CopperBrompton]

I think it depends how you eat. Little-and-often is better, but personally I find that hard to achieve on a long ride, and tend to want a full meal at about a third of the distance. That needs time to digest, so I'd definitely take at least an hour's break even if you eat immediately you stop.

 

[ColCook]

Thanks

Thanks to everyone for their advice, i have decided to take out a rest day so i can Lower my mileage in Devon and Cornwall and removed the breaks, I will be stopping mid day to stock up on Pasta but will just have 2 minute breaks here and there the rest of the time...

www.colins-world.co.uk will be my blog for the journey!

Thanks again

 

[andym]

Check the route very closely - without the benefit of an O/S map I suspect the bit between Oxford and Bristol is over the Cotswolds.

Only if you go the long way round - the Cotswolds proper are west/north-west of Oxford while Bristol is to the south-west.

... but will just have 2 minute breaks here and there the rest of the time...

What, not even if you come across a particularly tempting pub? I agree with the comments about the two-hour lunch break but don't over-timetable things.

 

[ColCook]

Made it!

Thanks for all the advice it proved to be of great help, i lost my front gear changer in Cornwall and was down to 8 gears for 60 miles but because i had done more miles before hand i had time to do it, didn't take long breaks as i just wanted to keep going. Devon was definately killer hills but I managed 65 miles across it in a day, just gotta keep pedalling!

I have posted a blog on www.colins-world.co.uk if anyone is interested and Oxoford to Bristol was no problem, just because there are no sustrans cycle routes doesnt mean its not possible!

Thanks again, Next year End to End!

 

[simon_brooke]

I have been planning a journey to raise money for a charity close to my heart(macmillan cancer) in memory of my late grandad and after a cycle to work scheme gifted me with a Giant Defy 3 I decided to ride from my home town Chelmsford, Essex to Lands end during my holiday (7 days, Mon - Mon)...

After trying to find guides on the net i am now worried i may have bitten off more than i can chew mileage wise, but have already taken sponsorship and booked hostels.

Can you please let me know in your experience if you think the below is realistic or should i make some changes?

Chelmsford - 90m - Oxford - 75m - Bristol - dayoff - 80m - Exeter - 45m - Plymouth - dayoff - 90m - lands end (10miles back to penzance).

each town is an overnight stay in a quiet hostel with maximum sleep so i am travelling very very light.

My day should compromise roughly at most:

2h ride - 30min rest - 2h ride - 2h lunch - 2h ride - 30min rest - 2h+ ride.

Go for it!

Work out the minimum, weight wise, that you can take with you. If you're staying with folk you know, mail changes of clothes ahead (and have them mail dirty clothes back to you). Make sure you have adequate clothing for wet and for cold weather, whatever the forecast. Use a sports drink mix with the right salt balance. Carry cereal bars of a brand you find appetising as on the road snackage. Eat a good breakfast of slow-burn carbohydrates - porridge is good - each morning.

When I was 17 I cycled from Beattock (north of Lockerbie) by Carlisle (60Km), Ambleside (70Km, but over Kirkstone Pass), Lancaster (70Km), Manchester (70Km), and Bridgenorth (140Km) to Cheltenham (80Km), so six days riding in all. The stage to Bridgenorth was 'a bridge too far', and I was so tired after it I took two rest days; but I was not a strong seventeen year old, and I was on a cheap bike with a full touring load. The reasons for the stop locations is that they were places where we had family friends I could stay with - my parents didn't mind me riding on my own (and a lot of it was main roads, although of course they were quieter in those days) but they weren't keen on me staying in strange places .

I think you're overdoing the rest stops. Particularly in cooler weather it's not good to let your muscles cool - so I would advise one morning session and one afternoon session.

Edited to add:

Damn! Idiot. Remember to read the whole thread before posting!

Congratulations!