How does anyone actually do a 200 Km ride in one day ??

[Fab Foodie]

My experience of a 200k ride in one day yesterday. The Ditchling Devil audax: I got up at the crack of dawn and rode to the start (20km) but afterwards I was very tired and couldn't face 20k of battling through Balham and the terrors of Tulse Hill, so I decided to get the train from Richmond. On a Sunday. With services plagued by "staff shortages"*. As a result it was nearly 10pm when I got home.

For me this represents the problem of 200k rides. I'm pretty slow (it took me nearly 12 hours). Even for a relatively nearby event, it's hard to fit it into one day. If I want to do a long ride (For me that equals 160k. 200k is a bit of an exception) the best thing to do is to get up early and start from home, negating the need to get to and from the event. Even then the whole day is pretty much wiped out.

I suppose another approach would be to go faster, but that's not very likely.

* "Staff Shortages" translates as: We do not think it worth hiring sufficient staff to provide a service. We'd rather cut costs and cancel things. Sod you.

This is why to get distance miles I like to tandem another ride with a night ride. In particular cycling from Abingdon to London on the Friday evening for the start (100km) and then ride with the group to the final destination as per Shoreham. That gave me 228km. To ride back to Abingdon would have netted another 144km but frankly that's a next big step for me. PLUS I like the post fry-up banter and a few pints rather than a quick feed and straight back out.
Riding one of the legs over a Friday night means that only Saturday gets washed out. If I did a 200 on a Saturday, I'd be washed-out Sunday as well, so in terms of family life riding a Friday night works well.

On the food front for Abingdon-London-Shoreham, I had a good late lunch on Friday, left around 1630. Stopped at Beaconsfield services for a Subway, rode on to London where I had a Whopper meal with Coke and a Dble Espresso around 2200. Bread Pud at The halfway stop and a fab full fry at Shoreham!
Then rode to Wetherspoons Brighton for 3 pints of brown beer and the train home :-)

 

[smutchin]

How does the sleeping work for 300k and 400k. I'm pretty sure I'd need some shuteye, especially for a 400k, as I'm a full value 200k rider. Audax hotel for 15 minutes followed by a thousand yard stare?

400s are tricky. Some riders finish them in the same time it takes me to complete a 300, which is a long day ride. The first 400 I ever did took me around 26 hours. That was tough. I've got a bit quicker since then but I still find them a very awkward distance - more difficult than 600s in some ways.

Start time can be a factor too. I did the Severn Across in 2014, which started at 6am. I was aiming to finish it inside 20 hours (ie by 2am). It took around 21 hours in total but I was able to ride on through without sleep (just as well as if I'd stopped, I probably would have ended up with hypothermia). The Asparagus & Strawberries 400 last year started at 9am. It's a much flatter ride than the Severn Across so finishing inside 20 hours is more realistic, but because of the start time, that would mean riding through the night. Some riders booked a room in the travelodge at around 300km. Sensible.

Time spent faffing at controls is another problem I have. Riding quickly is fine but if you linger at stops, you have less opportunity to sleep later on if you want/need to.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Time spent faffing at controls is another problem I have. Riding quickly is fine but if you linger at stops, you have less opportunity to sleep later on if you want/need to.

This is quite a learning for me. Since I've started using GPS I'm surprised at how much time on a ride is 'wasted' by faffage and time 'not moving'. It's considerably more than one imagines it to be.

 

[Dogtrousers]

To re-address the OP's comments, in the light of Sunday.

I know this could get some very silly answers but..............hey-ho.
As an old fart who is gradually building the mileage up I don't do serious speed cycling e.g. today I did 27 miles and AVERAGED 11 mph.
I am planning a 100 miler but thinking..........hang about...........I will have to set of at 0700 in order to allow, say, 2 hours for breaks.........and still not get back till 1900
So....for anyone to do 160 miles in a day they would have to AVERAGE, say 16 mph.
That is serious cycling for the average person.

Here was my timetable:

06:30 leave home. Ride to start. 20km @ ~20km/h (~12.5 mph)
07:30 arrive at start. Get card. Eat doughnuts. Have a wee. Eat more doughnuts. Mmmmm. Doughnuts.
08:00 official start
08:10 I notice that it has started, drag myself away from the doughnuts and get going.
Moving 200km @ ~20km/h (about 12.5 mph)
Stopped time ~1.5 hours. That included nearly half an hour at the top of Devils Dyke sitting in shade glugging down water and wondering whether to bail as I had overheated and felt unwell. ~20 mins at the other three controls. And a stop to help a guy with a broken chain (see this post about a strange coincidence)
Total time 11:40 or thereabouts.
19:45 or thereabouts arrive at end. Get card stamped. Have a rest.
Overall speed 17.5 km/h (~10.5 mph)
20:10 or thereabouts ride to station for protracted train journey via unlikely route with three changes.
22:00 or thereabouts. Home.
Total distance in day ~220km (136 miles)

 

[Dogtrousers]

This is quite a learning for me. Since I've started using GPS I'm surprised at how much time on a ride is 'wasted' by faffage and time 'not moving'. It's considerably more than one imagines it to be.

A lot of GPS "stopped time" is an illusion. Traffic junctions, stopping for a breather at the top of a hill, stopping for a wee, photo opportunities, are all part and parcel of travelling by bike.

Although it's true that it is possible to lose track of time at a control that has a seemingly unlimited supply of bacon rolls, or cake.

 

[Fab Foodie]

A lot of GPS "stopped time" is an illusion. Traffic junctions, stopping for a breather at the top of a hill, stopping for a wee, photo opportunities, are all part and parcel of travelling by bike.

Although it's true that it is possible to lose track of time at a control that has a seemingly unlimited supply of bacon rolls, or cake.

All that is true (and often necessary such as junctions), however one doesn't often factor it into a ride with any great accuracy. I tend to ovestimate my riding time and underestimate my stopping time. In general my guesstimates overall are about right, but it shows areas for improvement which in the case of Audax might be significant, i.e finish sooner, pedal more gently or grab a kip.

 

[outlash]

Although it's true that it is possible to lose track of time at a control that has a seemingly unlimited supply of bacon rolls, or cake.

Indeed. I did a modified version of Cycle Club Ashwell's 'ride of the 3 cafes' last year. Just over 13 1/2 hours total time, 9/12 hours moving time.