# Preparing for a monster charity ride.



## GrahamG (24 Sep 2008)

So, I've signed up for a ride in September/October 2010. It's called 'clock2rock' i.e. from Big Ben to Gibralter in 14 days (1700 odd miles). Basically we need to average 130 miles a day, even through the Pyrenees.

How would you go about building up to these distances? I've been off the bike for 3 months after fracturing my ankle and can't ride seriously for another month once the physio has built everything back up sufficiently. So despite the fact that I'd done my first 100 miler in June, I'm probably 'back to square one' now.

I was thinking that I needed to get up to doing regular 60-100 mile rides over winter after having November/December to get back into the swing of things. 
Then I was thinking of signing up for some sportives with the other people doing the ride as well as doing Audaxes throughout 2009 - was thinking this would be a good way of avoiding boredom with a nice range of routes in different areas.

I can't bring myself to think of what I need to be doing in 2010 in the run up - one idea was a one week JOGLE a couple of months before with plenty of weekends doing 100+ miles on both Saturday and Sunday.


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## HLaB (24 Sep 2008)

I've no experience of doing that distance repeatedly for so many days, I just wanted to say good luck.


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## cisamcgu (24 Sep 2008)

I have no advice to offer, except the fact that the Tour is approx 2,200 miles in 21 days. This is _only _110 miles per day

This really is a monster ride you have signed up for !!



Andrew


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## GrahamG (24 Sep 2008)

cisamcgu said:


> I have no advice to offer, except the fact that the Tour is approx 2,200 miles in 21 days. This is _only _110 miles per day
> 
> This really is a monster ride you have signed up for !!
> 
> ...



I know - hence training starting two years ahead! 
Mind you, we won't be racing at all - the daft bugger who's organising is talking about doing 17-18mph average. He lives in London though and is a stranger to hills 

I reckon about 8-9 hours in the saddle for non-mountain days and probably 12 hour murderous ones in the pyrenees.

I have a triple


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## Kirstie (24 Sep 2008)

All I would say is get used to riding that distance/duration regularly. As you said you'll be doing 8 - 9 hrs per day, sometimes longer, so get to a point where you can ride 8 - 9 hrs per day, and get up the next day with no ill effects ie aching legs, back ache, arse ache etc. This was my approach to lejog and it worked perfectly. As we would be doing 75 miles per day on loaded tourers (works out at 7 - 8 hours per day, averaging 10mph), we spent the five months before the tour riding at least one day per weekend for that time, as well as shorter sessions in the week. At first, we couldn't hardly speak after the ride, but it gradually got easier and easier as time passed. Didn't stop us getting a caning on the ride itself, but we coped with it much better, and were only hitting the recovery drinks on day 12 (out of 14).


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## Scoosh (24 Sep 2008)

GrahamG said:


> Mind you, we won't be racing at all - *the daft bugger who's organising* is talking about doing 17-18mph average. He lives in London though and is a stranger to hills
> 
> I reckon about 8-9 hours in the saddle for non-mountain days and probably 12 hour murderous ones in the pyrenees.


Has he done anything like this himself ?
Does he know what it is like to ride the TdF/Vuelta ? 

I sincerely hope it is 'fully supported' 


HOW MANY ??? (jars before it seemed like a 'good idea'  ??)


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## GrahamG (24 Sep 2008)

It was indeed a pub idea, and yes it will be 'fully supported'. He's done a fair bit of riding before and, more importantly, is absolutely fantastic at making all sorts of corporate/media contacts to ensure that the charity element sees as much publicity as possible to maximise fund raising.


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## Greenbank (24 Sep 2008)

A few of the wizened gristly Audaxers might be able to help you. There are a couple of long permanents of similar distances and timescales that some mad people have done.

Calais-Brindisi is a 2600km permanent Audax. (Abraham Cohen did it last month. I haven't seen a write up of it yet.)

Trafalgar-Trafalgar (Trafalgar Square, London to Cape Trafalgar, Spain) is 3100km Audax and not far off the same start/finish locations.

Stephen Poulton's write up of his T-T is here:-

http://www.aukweb.net/mag/I15NGgAg__StevePoulton_Sun_Sep_14_15_15_16_2003.pdf

For any Audax over 2500km the minimum speed is just 200km a day, so not far off your plans. And, since these are Audaxes, they're unsupported.


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## GrahamG (24 Sep 2008)

Greenbank said:


> A few of the wizened gristly Audaxers might be able to help you. There are a couple of long permanents of similar distances and timescales that some mad people have done.
> 
> Calais-Brindisi is a 2600km permanent Audax. (Abraham Cohen did it last month. I haven't seen a write up of it yet.)
> 
> ...



Much appreciated, Greenbank - there's always the 'well hard' contingent, I bet it's even been done on fixed!


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## Greenbank (24 Sep 2008)

GrahamG said:


> Much appreciated, Greenbank - there's always the 'well hard' contingent, I bet it's even been done on fixed!



That reminds me...

You might get some use out of considering doing some Audaxes. They'll teach you a thing or two about long distance riding and how you adjust to it and deal with bad patches you'll inevitably get out on the road. There's a distinct advantage to doing these rides with other people (i.e. encouragement) rather than solitary training rides where it's easier to give up.

If you've done a few of the the long+hilly events (like the 300km Elenith) you'll find a 200km hilly ride much easier.

Good luck with it.


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## punkypossum (24 Sep 2008)

That is just plain scary!!!!


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## bof (29 Sep 2008)

There was a very good article by someone who did last years Paris-Brest-Paris (1250km) in Audax UK's house magazine, Arrivee, describing how he trained for it. The guy was called Colin Bezant and he took around 70 hours. I think the article is around a year old (i.e. the last Arrivee of 2007). It would be very pertinent to what you are doing. 

Unfortunately I dont have a copy any more, but I think if you join Audax UK you can buy back copies.

I'd back up the others who have said do Audaxes.


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## wlc1 (29 Sep 2008)

Please excuse the language but your ****ing mental.

Is it for charity cos I'd be happy to thrown some cash your way.


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## wlc1 (29 Sep 2008)

And I've just noticed there is a swear filter on this forum - how crap is that.

Bollocks

fiddle

crap

sorry being silly now.


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## wlc1 (29 Sep 2008)

LOL

Obviously not those words.

You have my utmost respect... totally mad


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## Greenbank (30 Sep 2008)

User76 said:


> Surely then, the obvious training would be to do the tour route next year, using the tour timetable



You'll be wanting Le Tour Ultime then. The whole TdF route in one non-stop (well, stop whenever you like but the clock doesn't stop) stage.

Isn't running this year though.


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## GrahamG (1 Oct 2008)

It is a charity ride, but I'm not sure if we've got charities selected yet.


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## jonathan ellis (4 Oct 2008)

err dont google (Uk) "clock to rock"

No really don't...


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## Sminamus (6 Oct 2008)

I've been reading this post with interest as i am indeed the 'daft bugger' whose organising it (thanks graham, you can always rely on your team mates eh?  )

the main reason behind the event itself is to encourage kids to 'get on their bikes' and to encourage a more active lifestyle away from their playstations. i can't remember the last time i saw a bunch of kids ride past wearing their coats as capes by putting the hood over their head. all i ever see is obese kids walking round holding bags of chips in their podgy little hands.

it's true that the event was thought up in a pub, as all the best ideas are i'm sure. i, however am incredibly stubborn and prepared to see it though though. it's exactly the same way i found myself seeing exactly how long it is to Tipperary last September.

I'm no stranger to long distances and despite living London am a reasonably good hill climber, much better than i am at sprints anyway. Like Graham said we are planning on training as a team and at present we meet once a month to go out together and rack the miles up. the fact that the team is spread all over the country does hinder this somewhat but it certainly won't stop us. A trip to the Peak District is looming.

Like I said the goal is to encourage kids to be more active so one side we are trying to raise money for charity - £500,000 for the Variety Club to be exact but we are also aiming to work with Local Councils and Youth Groups to set up localised cycling schemes and generally just get kids to use their bikes - things like, most high school students live within 5miles of their highschool. i want to address the reasons or 'excuses' in some cases, as to why only in some cases 5% of kids cycle to and from school. i think this approach rather than just throwing a bag of cash at it is much better in the long run.

as Graham said we will be a fully supported tour i really don't fancy the idea of lugging all my kit up the Pyrenees. as a result i've been speaking to the woodland trust for some trees to be planted to offset the carbon - you can't really preach about cycling being sustainable if you negate it by driving 3 50ft RV's through Western Europe, each with a 10 litre V10 engine, for 14 days - might be a couple more than a few trees actually. 

anyway, hopefully the website will be up and running soon so you lot can all check on our progress, and untimitley donate some cash. 

we're also looking at making the first leg London to Folkstone a kind of London to Brighton Dealy so keep checking the website for details of that.

website is www.clock2rock.com

oh and keep giving Graham support, if he's happy then it gets passed on to the rest of the team.

cheers, Pete


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## GrahamG (9 Oct 2008)

Collared!

That post wasn't in work time, Pete. Honest :?:


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## Sminamus (31 Oct 2008)

you got me it was in my own time.
Clock2Rock has consumed my life by the looks of it. I'm no longer a human being just a fundraising machine.


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