Road UK 24 - Newcastle to London

[SquareDaff]

Has anyone ever done one of these before. Seriously considering it for next years "big target". Just wondered if anyone on here had done the event or something similar and could enlighten me about what to expect / give training tips.

Essentially it's a 300 miles in 24 continuous hours challenge on generally lightly undulating terrain down the east coast. I'm in 2 minds at the moment - I don't know whether I would have the stamina to do it. I know I can easily manage the 14mph average speed they say will be the minimum to acheive the target over smaller distances. Not so sure over 300 miles.

Any advice welcome

 

[frank9755]

Not sure what you're asking: no-one can tell you if you could do it or not - only you can know that! For someone who does long-distance cycling it doesn't sound very demanding but for someone who doesn't, it would be incredibly hard.
Assuming you don't, the best thing to do is to work up to it. Do some audaxes - a couple of 200km rides, then a 300 and a 400. At that point you will know whether you will find it very achievable, or that its not your thing.

 

[DCLane]

For those looking for information on this event, it's at: http://www.rideuk24.com/

Seems OK to me, but expensive. It's really a long audax.

 

[frank9755]

Had a quick look and it seems to be a long-distance ride but heavily supported. It might appeal to those who want to do long-distance cycling but are not up for the self-sufficiency aspect of audax.

I see it is the same people who did Moonriders. See the FNRttC posts for a lengthy discussion on that. Don't want to repeat it here but I recall the guy organising that ride illustrated his depth of knowledge by talking about the Dulwich Dynamo! Essentially they are professional (ie paid) event organisers who are commercialising things that are already widely done on an amateur basis. But that's business and it doesn't mean that they can't provide a good experience for those who want that.

 

[dellzeqq]

another dumb idea from our favourite outfit. You're tired. You can't think straight. What kind of roads would you like to travel over to finish your long ride? My guess is...........not those going through North London. Turn the thing around, leave HPC at midnight and head north and you've got yourself a party........

 

[SquareDaff]

Not sure what you're asking: no-one can tell you if you could do it or not - only you can know that! For someone who does long-distance cycling it doesn't sound very demanding but for someone who doesn't, it would be incredibly hard.
Assuming you don't, the best thing to do is to work up to it. Do some audaxes - a couple of 200km rides, then a 300 and a 400. At that point you will know whether you will find it very achievable, or that its not your thing.

Essentially I'm just trying to find out if anyone out there has made the transformation from 100 mile monkey to 300 miles. If they have then how did they train for it and what challenges did they face increasing the distance. Whether they've ridden 24 continous hours including an overnight and what ups and downs the experienced over that period.

As you say, only I know if I can do it or not. I don't find 100 miles too exerting so I suspect the answer is yes. Would like to get as much information as possible about what I might be letting myself in for though and the best way to do that is to ask for others experiences.

 

[SquareDaff]

A simple rule of thumb is that whatever distance you can comfortably do as a matter of routine, you can probably double as an exceptional or occasional event.

Thanks for this - looks like a few 150 mile training rides on the horizon then. Leeds - Scarborough and back I think!!

 

[mcshroom]

It's basically a 500km audax with a bit more support looking at that, so the advice would be very similar.

1. Make sure your bike fits you well. As you move up through the distances then you will discover that bits you thought were ok are not quite right.
2. Keep the food and drink going in frequently.
3. Consider riding some shorter events to build up (as Frank has said). As this is just under 500km, then bulilding up through a 200, 300 and 400km would be a good idea (and if you've done those than you only need a 600km to complete a full Super Randonneur series).
4. Make sure you have decent lights to see by, and can keep them charged for the night riding.
5. If you need to, pull over and have a kip for a short while do so (not sure how that would work for a guided ride)
6. Mudgurads are a good idea if it's likely to rain/be wet as long rides with water spraying up your back are not fun.

 

[SquareDaff]

It's basically a 500km audax with a bit more support looking at that, so the advice would be very similar.

1. Make sure your bike fits you well. As you move up through the distances then you will discover that bits you thought were ok are not quite right.
2. Keep the food and drink going in frequently.
3. Consider riding some shorter events to build up (as Frank has said). As this is just under 500km, then bulilding up through a 200, 300 and 400km would be a good idea (and if you've done those than you only need a 600km to complete a full Super Randonneur series).
4. Make sure you have decent lights to see by, and can keep them charged for the night riding.
5. If you need to, pull over and have a kip for a short while do so (not sure how that would work for a guided ride)
6. Mudgurads are a good idea if it's likely to rain/be wet as long rides with water spraying up your back are not fun.

Thanks this is the sort of thing I'm after.
1) Expecting that - although my saddle is well bedded in (3 years) so just the geometry to look at.
2) Looking at the terrain I'd guess this will be a 5-6k calorie ride so will defo need food. Drinks goes without saying really.
3) Will look for some of those in the Yorkshire area - otherwise will just pick some routes around that distance.
4) Front lights are good for 6-7 hours and have backup chargers - rears will run throughout the night and take normal AAA's as backup.
5) No chance of any kip - although do pass by my mum and dads on that route - so could pop into the old bed for an hour
6) Hadn't thought of that one - cheers.

 

[frank9755]

5) No chance of any kip - although do pass by my mum and dads on that route - so could pop into the old bed for an hour

Mcshroom's point is spot on. If you are tired, you have to stop and sleep. To press on is both silly and dangerous. People can just nod off while cycling. People on this forum have done it and woken up in a ditch. A guy did it on PBP last year, went onto the other side of the road, hit a truck and didn't wake up. NB Don't rely on the guys organising this to advise you: past form suggests it's not likely that they know more about long-distance cycling than you do!

What is the appeal of this, rather than doing audax, aka long-distance cycling, where the event would be organised by, and you would be riding with, people with loads of experience of this?

 

[SquareDaff]

What is the appeal of this, rather than doing audax, aka long-distance cycling, where the event would be organised by, and you would be riding with, people with loads of experience of this?

This particular event....none. Just a desire to give myself another challenge. If you can recommend sites that offer alternatives I'm more than happy to have a look at those too.

 

[frank9755]

This particular event....none. Just a desire to give myself another challenge. If you can recommend sites that offer alternatives I'm more than happy to have a look at those too.

If you want long distance rides, this is where you find them all. Unlike that Moonrider one, every ride will be organised by people who know what they are doing and who can help you to achieve all that you want and are capable of - rather than someone looking to make a few quid. (Almost) everyone who rides them started off at the shorter distances and worked their way up as they got comfortable with them.

For specific recommendations, if you are in the North-East, then this one is excellent. I can also really recommend the rides in Scotland - the empty roads when the daylight starts at 2am are magical - and this one will be great: I really want to fit it in. This is the classic that all UK long-distance rides are measured against. And if you really want a challenge, there is LEL next year - see separate thread.

 

[SquareDaff]

If you want long distance rides, this is where you find them all. Unlike that Moonrider one, every ride will be organised by people who know what they are doing and who can help you to achieve all that you want and are capable of - rather than someone looking to make a few quid. (Almost) everyone who rides them started off at the shorter distances and worked their way up as they got comfortable with them.

For specific recommendations, if you are in the North-East, then this one is excellent. I can also really recommend the rides in Scotland - the empty roads when the daylight starts at 2am are magical - and this one will be great: I really want to fit it in. This is the classic that all UK long-distance rides are measured against. And if you really want a challenge, there is LEL next year - see separate thread.

Thanks for these - a bit of lunchtime reading. Cheers.

 

[PpPete]

Thanks for these - a bit of lunchtime reading. Cheers.

Agree with Frank .... if you want to challenge yourself Audax has almost infinite possibilities. The Bryan Chapman is indeed a classic, was lucky to have almost ideal conditions for it last year, and scraped in with half an hour to spare. For seriously inspirational (and very funny) reading on the subject try this.

 

[DCLane]

@SquareDaff - if you want an early Audax next year, have a look at the 200k North-West Passage on the 16th of Feb: http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/13-48/ I'm currently planning to do it.