- Location
- Glasgow
First 600k tomorrow!
- Thread starter middleagecyclist
- Start date
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Banjo
Fuelled with Jelly Babies
- Location
- South Wales
I allways find DIYs harder than the same ride as a calendar event. Don't beat yourself up you did far more than most of us ever have done or ever will.
srw
It's a bit more complicated than that...
Isn't this normal for Uttoxeter?
Anyone who can do 400k+ is an absolute loon and deserves every plaudit in the book. My best is 200k in 17h.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Congratulations on what you did achieve! 
)
I don't like sleep deprivation, and have always felt that if you stop and sleep in the middle of a ride, then it is really 2 rides back-to-back, even if audax rules treat them as one.
I managed 227 hilly kms in 12 h 45 m and that was enough to convince me that my personal limit would probably be about 400 km around the time of the summer solstice when I could just about get it done in the hours of daylight. (Definitely not this year!
) I don't like sleep deprivation, and have always felt that if you stop and sleep in the middle of a ride, then it is really 2 rides back-to-back, even if audax rules treat them as one.
tubbycyclist
Senior Member
- Location
- Hebden Bridge
Packing definitely knocks confidence but you are not alone! I packed on the Pendle 600, not sufficiently prepared for the brutality of the 33% climbs in the North York Moors and the challenging conditions. Riding alone definitely makes it tougher and definitely undermined my commitment. It was a complete contrast to the Three Coasts 600 where groups formed and drifted apart for the whole ride and made it a much more social and shared experience.
I am sure you will have been thinking about what worked and didn't and I think the detail (especially around digestion) matters. For example, I know energy gels upset my stomach. I also stay away from the mayonnaise-packed garage sandwiches as I know they cause problems. I find Milk/Milkshakes helps me on the road and prefer savoury stuff to sweet. Everyone is different and some would cringe at my food choices but finding the right balance and sticking to it can make a big difference to comfort.
I am sure LEL will be a completely different experience with a lot of riders on the road, a warm welcome and good food at the controls, rather than the isolation and garage forecourt stops that are uninspiring and I am sure (hope?) this will be worth a few hundred km!
I am sure you will have been thinking about what worked and didn't and I think the detail (especially around digestion) matters. For example, I know energy gels upset my stomach. I also stay away from the mayonnaise-packed garage sandwiches as I know they cause problems. I find Milk/Milkshakes helps me on the road and prefer savoury stuff to sweet. Everyone is different and some would cringe at my food choices but finding the right balance and sticking to it can make a big difference to comfort.
I am sure LEL will be a completely different experience with a lot of riders on the road, a warm welcome and good food at the controls, rather than the isolation and garage forecourt stops that are uninspiring and I am sure (hope?) this will be worth a few hundred km!
OP
OP
middleagecyclist
Call me MAC
- Location
- Prestwich, Manchester
Thanks for all the support and tips. I'm going to chalk it up to experience and not let it put me off LEL.
One reason I may have felt so bad is I've just finished a run of 4 night shifts on Friday morning and I know my sleep pattern takes a beating for a few days, combine that with 4.5 hrs sleep on Saturday night/Sunday AM and I guess tiredness is bound to creep in at some point.
Despite feeling fine on Saturday I would have liked to have taken slightly longer breaks and a sit down hot meal (or two) but as I had the really kind offer of accommodation and understanding company from Yanto (on YACF) I didn't want to be arriving at silly o'clock in the morning. Perhaps more than 2 hrs not cycling in 17.5hrs isn't a bad idea!
I'll also try some of the diet/hydration suggestions given here as well. I like the idea of milkshakes and think these will go down well and I'll add some nuts in to the mix too. I got really fed up of sweet things! I think it will be so much easier on LEL having food at controls rather than having to hunt for stuff at shops.
My Hayfever kicked in big time on Sunday. Sore, dry eyes, an itchy nose and sneezing++ was certainly not helping me enjoy things! I hadn't taken an antihistamine as i find the non drowsy stuff doesn't work very well for me and chlorpheniramine (Piriton) works well but makes me drowsy. I will be starting on some inhaled beclematasone (Beconase) today so should be well controlled in a month.
Right. Off to see when I can fit my 300k ride in for July!
One reason I may have felt so bad is I've just finished a run of 4 night shifts on Friday morning and I know my sleep pattern takes a beating for a few days, combine that with 4.5 hrs sleep on Saturday night/Sunday AM and I guess tiredness is bound to creep in at some point.
Despite feeling fine on Saturday I would have liked to have taken slightly longer breaks and a sit down hot meal (or two) but as I had the really kind offer of accommodation and understanding company from Yanto (on YACF) I didn't want to be arriving at silly o'clock in the morning. Perhaps more than 2 hrs not cycling in 17.5hrs isn't a bad idea!
I'll also try some of the diet/hydration suggestions given here as well. I like the idea of milkshakes and think these will go down well and I'll add some nuts in to the mix too. I got really fed up of sweet things! I think it will be so much easier on LEL having food at controls rather than having to hunt for stuff at shops.
My Hayfever kicked in big time on Sunday. Sore, dry eyes, an itchy nose and sneezing++ was certainly not helping me enjoy things! I hadn't taken an antihistamine as i find the non drowsy stuff doesn't work very well for me and chlorpheniramine (Piriton) works well but makes me drowsy. I will be starting on some inhaled beclematasone (Beconase) today so should be well controlled in a month.
Right. Off to see when I can fit my 300k ride in for July!
Andrew Br
Still part of the team !
- Location
- Chorlton Cum Hardy
As the others have said MAC, it's some achievement to have got so far on your own; calendar events are usually more sociable and that can help a lot.
It also proves that your training is working; you've found something that you need to work on.
I struggle with nutrition on audax and I find skimmed milk or milk-shakes and pork pies are really good for me if I'm using a supermarket as a control. In cafes I opt for beans on toast with an egg on top.
On the bike I eat either Bounty bars or Jelly Babies for a bit of a treat and I usually have a couple of gels if I need a boost. I keep this stuff in my jersey pockets or a top-tube bag so that I nibble as I ride along.
Good luck with your next rides and keep us informed
.
It also proves that your training is working; you've found something that you need to work on.
I struggle with nutrition on audax and I find skimmed milk or milk-shakes and pork pies are really good for me if I'm using a supermarket as a control. In cafes I opt for beans on toast with an egg on top.
On the bike I eat either Bounty bars or Jelly Babies for a bit of a treat and I usually have a couple of gels if I need a boost. I keep this stuff in my jersey pockets or a top-tube bag so that I nibble as I ride along.
Good luck with your next rides and keep us informed
.
frank9755
Cyclist
- Location
- West London
Well done! You didn't achieve quite all of your objectives but you achieved a lot. And you seem to have some pretty good ideas why you didn't feel good enough to complete: pushing too hard on the first day, hydration / nutrition and being tired / sleep-disturbed at the start.
Long distance cycling is a mental, more than a physical challenge so a solo 600 is a massive thing to attempt. On a calendar 600 there is the next control to look forward to, periods of riding with others or even just passing or being passed by them. I've never done a solo 600 (I've done 3 calendar 600s + PBP) and I expect most of us who have ridden long distances have not either.
From reading you account, I've no doubt that you can do a 600km, on a different day and learning from your experience on this ride.
Long distance cycling is a mental, more than a physical challenge so a solo 600 is a massive thing to attempt. On a calendar 600 there is the next control to look forward to, periods of riding with others or even just passing or being passed by them. I've never done a solo 600 (I've done 3 calendar 600s + PBP) and I expect most of us who have ridden long distances have not either.
From reading you account, I've no doubt that you can do a 600km, on a different day and learning from your experience on this ride.
OP
OP
middleagecyclist
Call me MAC
- Location
- Prestwich, Manchester
Took a day off the bike yesterday and went out for short but lumpy 30k at a nice steady pace today. Everthing felt fine and I was glad to be cycling. Back on 4 night shifts starting tonight but have made sure I have no nights at all to do in July. I am so glad I swapped some off duty a few weeks ago or I might have been coming off nights again just pre LEL 
steve52
I'm back! Yippeee
- Location
- bottesford scunthorpe
its insperation for me audax here i come, r but gentaly at first lol im doing 130 miles on sunday flat ish
mcshroom
Bionic Subsonic
- Location
- Egremont, Cumbria
Well now it's my turn 
6am tomorrow I set off on the same ride, and it will be my first 600
6am tomorrow I set off on the same ride, and it will be my first 600
OP
OP
middleagecyclist
Call me MAC
- Location
- Prestwich, Manchester
Good luck. I might see you in the morning (see YACF) but i'll be thinking of you anyway and wishing you the best. The train station at Uttoxeter isn't the nicest place to wait if you are tempted to pack...Well now it's my turn
6am tomorrow I set off on the same ride, and it will be my first 600
mcshroom
Bionic Subsonic
- Location
- Egremont, Cumbria
Well I've made it to Askern so 95km down. My hayfever is really playing up though. Eyes ate stinging like crazy.
steve52
I'm back! Yippeee
- Location
- bottesford scunthorpe
am going to make my ride tomorrow a 200 k,just feeling a bit wimpy about it compared to you looneys,any one near leicester fancy doing a 300 together some time?
,just feeling a bit wimpy about it compared to you looneys,any one near leicester fancy doing a 300 together some time?
