# I want a big challenge!!!!!



## Heather (19 Jul 2011)

In my previous life (i.e. for several years until this year) I was an ultra marathon runner. I am cycling now as I am waiting for surgery on my plantar fascia but it doesnt affect the bike.

I've been doing 100 mile or a bit longer sportive events every weekend, but I want more challenges, kinda like, ultra cycling!!

I can see there are some long AUDAX events- I'm a little scared of the navigation in them, but they might be the only things?

I'm doing LEJOG in October, but I'd like something I can get my teeth into. Anyone know anything? I'd rather do something that 'went somewhere' than a 24 hour event........


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## Angelfishsolo (19 Jul 2011)

How about the Trans Wales MTB Event?

GORE BIKE WEAR™ TransWales ’2011 (powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport) The 7 day MTB stage challenge 13th – 20th August 2011.

After weeks of putting our plans for the 2011 season together we have now the details for the 2011 TransUK event – the GORE BIKE WEAR™ TransWales (powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport) – and it’s up on our website: www.mtbtransuk.co.uk.

The GORE BIKE WEAR™ TransWales is a mixture of linking stages (un-timed) and special stages (timed) and can be tackled in either pairs or as solo riders. The available categories are Open Pairs (18-39yrs), Vets Pairs (40yrs +), Mixed Pairs, Open Solo (18-39yrs) and Vets Solo (40yrs +). Not just endurance but also tactics, the right equipment and an ability to pace yourself will be key to enjoying as well as to winning this event.

We will carry on with running of specific hill climbing, descending and general trail riding stages – so that we can really find out who the best all-rounders are. We will keep the excitement up to the very last minute by running the final special stage on the last Saturday.

Launched last summer we are now adding the Mini GORE BIKE WEAR™ TransWales to the line-up from the very beginning – So if you can’t find the time for a full 7 day stage event or are watching the pennies the three or four day version of the only UK mountain bike stage event might be just the ticket.

The MINI TransWales can be ridden over two durations. You can either join the event from the 13th to the 16th August or from the 17th to the 20th August.


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## Heather (19 Jul 2011)

Thanks, but I should have added it absolutely definitely has to be road. I hate MTBing!!!!!!


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## Moodyman (19 Jul 2011)

*Beware:* with a female name and a 'I want a big' in your title you might get some weird offers.

Paris-Brest-Paris is quite a challenge. I get tired just reading about it.


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## Angelfishsolo (19 Jul 2011)

Heather said:


> Thanks, but I should have added it absolutely definitely has to be road. I hate MTBing!!!!!!



OK no worries 

How about going Around the world?


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## Angelfishsolo (19 Jul 2011)

Moodyman said:


> *Beware:* with a female name and a 'I want a big' in your title you might get some weird offers.
> 
> Paris-Brest-Paris is quite a challenge. I get tired just reading about it.



LMAO


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## Hilldodger (19 Jul 2011)

If you think you're hard enough


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## zigzag (19 Jul 2011)

if you are aiming very high, probably the toughest bike races are race across america and race across europe. they are both complex and costly and are more of a lifetime challenge. there are audax events which are simple and cheap and can be challenging if you push yourself. there will be london-edinburgh-london ride in 2013, there is a long thread on this board. navigation is not a problem these days and can be aided by bike-friendly gps devices. maybe you want to try out bike racing? if you were good at endurance running, you can probably be a successful bike racer or triathlete/iron(wo)man? there are plenty of challenges around, just be ready for them!


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## oliglynn (19 Jul 2011)

Mark Beaumont cycled over 13000 miles from Alaska to the tip of Argentina the other year, and as that wasn't enough for him he also took on climbing the highest mountains in both North and South America near the beginning and end of his journey.

Would that be tough enough for ya?


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## Angelfishsolo (19 Jul 2011)

oliglynn said:


> Mark Beaumont cycled over 13000 miles from Alaska to the tip of Argentina the other year, and as that wasn't enough for him he also took on climbing the highest mountains in both North and South America near the beginning and end of his journey.
> 
> Would that be tough enough for ya?



He also held The "around the world" record for a while IIRC


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## Moodyman (19 Jul 2011)

Angelfishsolo said:


> He also held The "around the world" record for a while IIRC



Indeed he did.

Cycling organisations were very loud about his achievements, until he said that he wasn't a cyclist nor an ambassador for cycling. He just used a bike to complete his challenge. 

He got no more more coverage in cycling circles.


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## Angelfishsolo (19 Jul 2011)

Moodyman said:


> Indeed he did.
> 
> Cycling organisations very loud about his achievements, until he said that he wasn't a cyclist nor an ambassador for cycling. He just used a bike to complete his challenge.
> 
> He got no more more coverage in cycling circles.



That is a shame. He beat the previous record presumably set by a cyclist. I clearly rides a bike a lot so why not class him as a cyclist?


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## Banjo (19 Jul 2011)

Heather said:


> In my previous life (i.e. for several years until this year) I was an ultra marathon runner. I am cycling now as I am waiting for surgery on my plantar fascia but it doesnt affect the bike.
> 
> I've been doing 100 mile or a bit longer sportive events every weekend, but I want more challenges, kinda like, ultra cycling!!
> 
> ...



Have a go at a shorter Audax to get a feel for it (most of the long rides are in midsummer so generally 300 or less ones now) . The navigation isnt really an issue. The route card gives you a turn by turn set of directions. I normally plot the route on a photocopied bit of road atlas as well but rarely need to look at it.

Link to AUK callendar

You dont need to join Audax UK to ride just send off a cheque some SAEs and the completed entry form downloadable from the site. Some rides allow entry online by paypal

Good Luck on the LE Jog


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## Scoosh (19 Jul 2011)

Heather said:


> In my previous life (i.e. for several years until this year) I was an ultra marathon runner. I am cycling now as I am waiting for surgery on my plantar fascia but it doesnt affect the bike.
> 
> I've been doing 100 mile or a bit longer sportive events every weekend, but I want more challenges, kinda like, ultra cycling!!
> 
> ...



Audax rides will be a good challenge for you ! If you are


> a little scared of the navigation in them


... there's your challenge !






Not all challenges are physical, as you will already know - so you will be able to improve your skill-set for future events in any discipline ... or something





It's much easier to walk/ run/ ride a signed route. Doing your own navigation adds spice to it



and to the sense of achievement at the end


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## Falwheeler (19 Jul 2011)

What about an Audax Super Randonneur series. That's a 200, 300, 400 and 600km ride in one season


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## Fiona N (19 Jul 2011)

You say you're doing LEJOG but how? 

Done without back up, carrying your own stuff, that can be a great challenge if you go for the Audax Randonneur 5 day (116 hours) version. No organisation, you have to do it all yourself including choosing your route. Depending on the route, it works out at a little under 300km each day. 

Great stuff. 

My version included 6 nights in rather nice hotels including a lovely restaurant with rooms before the start (the owner brought me breakfast to a layby on the way to Plymouth as I left to early for the official one, the bridal suite at a hotel outside Kidderminster so I could bring my trike indoors and a small hotel in Penicuik where the proprietor got up at 5 am to make proper porridge for my breakfast ahead of the usual hours.


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## Dayvo (19 Jul 2011)

I you can get across to Norway - http://www.styrkeproven.no/en

or Sweden - http://www.vatternrundan.se/Default.aspx?module=4&content=12&lang=SV&fwsite=2

and - http://www.visitsweden.com/sweden/Attractions/Outdoor-activities/Biking/Cycling-the-Gota-Canal/


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## Chris.IOW (19 Jul 2011)

I think this would qualify as a big challenge to most people!

http://www.hauteroute.org/en/


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## frank9755 (19 Jul 2011)

You're too late to qualify for PBP but there are two things that I'd like to do, one day:
- 1000 du sud: 1,000 km of glorious southern French riding in September. 43,000 feet of climbing and you can enter on the line for €5!
- Calais-Brindisi - the classic European diagonal audax route. 

However, either of these is likely to put your LEJoG in the shade a bit. 


As others have said, start with shorter audaxes and work up. Navigation is not an issue.

Some people get excited by Round The Year Randonneur - doing a 200+km ride in 12 successive months.


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## ian_oli (20 Jul 2011)

Heather said:


> In my previous life (i.e. for several years until this year) I was an ultra marathon runner. I am cycling now as I am waiting for surgery on my plantar fascia but it doesnt affect the bike.
> 
> I've been doing 100 mile or a bit longer sportive events every weekend, but I want more challenges, kinda like, ultra cycling!!
> 
> ...



I am running 300km and 230km Audaxes on Saturday 30th July from Baldock, north of London, aimed at people doing this year's big Ultra Audax, Paris-Brest-Paris, as practice and equipment shakedown. Navigation is fairly simple on most of the route and there is a spread of entrants from almost the fastest likely UK PBP finisher to people who will just do it in time, so you should find some company matching your pace. So if Baldock is within reach look at http://iansaudax.blogspot.com/ and give it go!


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## Philip Whiteman (20 Jul 2011)

Heather, it is great to hear about some one with a burning cycling ambition for endurance.

You will find that sportives are fine in the first instance and will provide an initial challenge but they have their limits and you may wish to start off at that level. Sportives can be credited for introducing many cyclists to difficult routes but for endurance riders they did not really register. 

For someone who is used to ultra-marathons, the only real option is a randonee audax. In fact a 200km audax is probably the cycling equivalent of a marathon - and an experience you will not generally gain from a bog standard sportive. 

I would not worry to much about the navigational issue with audaxes. Most organisers now make downloads available for GPS users. Audaxes are also a true test of an endurance cyclist's ability through self reliance, if anything goes wrong then you will need the cyclist's where with all to get of it (or cadge some help!).

Pleased to see that you are riding LEJOG in October. That will of course be a true tester especially with the onset of the Scottish winter/autumn, so I take my hat off to you. I am attempting to pluck up the courage to ride LEJOG as an audax in 4days 20hrs. 

You could always give this one some thought as a target in two years time:

http://www.londonedinburghlondon.com/

Depending upon where you are located, I am sure that others could give advise on events specific to your home location


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## Heather (20 Jul 2011)

Wow, thanks for all the responses!!

I am not the richest in the world, so things in US/scandinavia probably won't be doable. I do like the sound of the PBP though.

For those who asked, i'm doing LEJOG unsupported, carrying my own stuff.

I have found a good event- Great Barrow Challenge in September, 4 consecutive days near Bury St Edmunds of 125 miles a day. Its a good start, but looking to hear about lots more 

I'm based in Berkshire. Been doing 100 mile sportives each week since April, and they are fun and all that, but I want something a bit, more......


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## Angelfishsolo (20 Jul 2011)

Heather said:


> Wow, thanks for all the responses!!
> 
> I am not the richest in the world, so things in US/scandinavia probably won't be doable. I do like the sound of the PBP though.
> 
> ...



Oh were in Berkshire. I used to live in Reading for a few years in the late 1990's


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## yello (20 Jul 2011)

frank9755 said:


> - 1000 du sud: 1,000 km of glorious southern French riding in September. 43,000 feet of climbing and you can enter on the line for €5!



I like the sound of that! I'll stick that on the calendar for next year!


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (20 Jul 2011)

how about ALL of the british canals. +2200 miles of them?


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## ready for the off (25 Jul 2011)

330 km and 8,000 m of ascent. Tour de Mont Blanc. You have exactly one year to train for it. Try Marmotte first to break your legs in!!! Good luck. See you there.


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