Getting cold feet about tomorrow's audax

[oreo_muncher]

It's a shame you didn't manage to complete it, but no shame in not doing it. 173km is a good effort in anyone's book I tried 3 or 4 times to do a 100 miles & quit around 80-85 miles, eventually I did make the 100 mile ride, but was dragged round the last 10 miles or so by a couple of the good folk off here I'm sure you would have regret it more if you had not even attempted it, I know I would, there's always next time 🤞

Haha it was not intentional, I had no choice, I had no other way of getting home.😅 If the trains from Oakham were working I would have gotten the train back to Notts. I guess I tried which counts. What's your furthest cycled distance now?

 

[PMarkey]

You were audacious so you might not have ridden the official audax but so what ? at the end of the day it's just a bike ride
as for food try nuts I did a 200 yesterday and the days intake consisted of a sausage sandwich and coffee at the second control and two packets of Lidl nut snack packs plus a frijj milkshake also get yourself some sort of saddle bag so you don't have to load up your jersey pockets .

 

[oreo_muncher]

Re back packs - don't.
Always make the bike carry the weight. When it's on your back, every time you get out of the saddle or move your back up/down, you are lifting extra weight.

How do I carry my bike tools(which I don't know how to use myself but carry incase anyway) , that extra 1l,i have one bottle cage but can't fit on another because my frame size is small (50). Also extra food that my jersey did not fit? I had plastic lunchbox with 2 sandwiches inside in my backpack as well.

 

[cougie uk]

Nice work on the distance. That's a longer ride than I've done this year and I've been riding about 40 years !

As you've discovered back packs are a no no.

Look at what other cyclists do.

You can pick up bar bags and top tube bags for not much money at all.

You'll pare down the stuff you need as you learn more.

Joining a club or getting your mates into cycling would help you as well.

I did a 100 miler the other week with two cake stops (there is vegan cake) and an energy bar. It's all about the cake.

Keep up the good work. I'd never have attempted that distance after such a short time so you're doing well.

 

[Beebo]

How do I carry my bike tools(which I don't know how to use myself but carry incase anyway) , that extra 1l,i have one bottle cage but can't fit on another because my frame size is small (50). Also extra food that my jersey did not fit? I had plastic lunchbox with 2 sandwiches inside in my backpack as well.

Carradice saddle bag is one option for storage, or even just a rack bag.
If you had made the start on time you would have seen what the old timers use.
Also adding a 50km ride on to the start of an event which you are already worrying about is pretty ballsy.

 

[oreo_muncher]

Don't be daft - that was a great first attempt!

Give yourself some time to think about it and plan your next outing. Maybe you are running out of daylight hours and warm weather to want to try another this year, but keep riding and work up to doing one next spring perhaps?

There are ways that you could carry more water on the bike.

I would think about getting a dedicated GPS device for the bike if you can afford a suitable one.

Thanks 😅

Need to find solutions to some of my problems definitely. I just don't know how to get rid of those energy dips where doing 10km/h is even hard and I need to stop, I eat and drink often. Not sure how to continue in terms of training now. I just ride my bike but think I need something structured and specific to actually improve. I do not think I'm doing another one till next year, should I just try another 100km-ish one or try a longer distance?

My frame size is only a 50, the guy at the bike shop said he wouldn't be able to fit another bottle on there (I have a 1l one)

Which GPS devices would you recommend?

 

[Sharky]

Handlebar bags are good. Also topeak beam racks which have qr fittings.
You can always get water refills on the journey either from shops, or just ask any member of the public standing in their front garden. They can only say no, but most will help.

 

[oreo_muncher]

You were audacious so you might not have ridden the official audax but so what ? at the end of the day it's just a bike ride
as for food try nuts I did a 200 yesterday and the days intake consisted of a sausage sandwich and coffee at the second control and two packets of Lidl nut snack packs plus a frijj milkshake also get yourself some sort of saddle bag so you don't have to load up your jersey pockets .

Thanks Think I'll make myself a veggie sausage sandwich for next bike ride, think Im put off sugary top up foods, my mouth was so sugary from the whole day that I could feel my teeth erroding. Might try nuts, some crisps, haha and if there is a mccdonald's I would go for some fries Any other savoury food recommendations are welcomed! How much can saddle bags fit?Any recommendations?

 

[Soltydog]

Haha it was not intentional, I had no choice, I had no other way of getting home.😅 If the trains from Oakham were working I would have gotten the train back to Notts. I guess I tried which counts. What's your furthest cycled distance now?

Having no other option to get home is a great incentive I always gave myself a 'get out of jail option' & sometimes it's too easy to use it. My first century ride was probably 12-13 years ago on a cold January day, I did my first solo century ride in the February & being solo that was just as tough, but once you have done a few, they do seem to become easier. Think I've done over 100 miles on over 90 days now, my longest ride was a few weeks ago, I rode to my parents & back, just over 184 miles. Was hoping to do 200+ mile ride this year, but Covid kind of put a stop to that earlier in the year Maybe next year

 

[oreo_muncher]

Nice work on the distance. That's a longer ride than I've done this year and I've been riding about 40 years !

As you've discovered back packs are a no no.

Look at what other cyclists do.

You can pick up bar bags and top tube bags for not much money at all.

You'll pare down the stuff you need as you learn more.

Joining a club or getting your mates into cycling would help you as well.

I did a 100 miler the other week with two cake stops (there is vegan cake) and an energy bar. It's all about the cake.

Keep up the good work. I'd never have attempted that distance after such a short time so you're doing well.

What's your longest ever distance in a day?

I don't know because I was late about 40 minutes to the event so didn't see them...

I can't fit anything else on my handle bars anymore- I have lights,bell,quadlock and bike computer... Top tube bikes-I'll look into that, thank you

My sister is a road bike cyclist- but she's in a different city than me for uni We cycled together during the summer though when we were both at home, a highly recommended way to get away from your parents.. I'm meant to join the uni cycling club but not sure how things will work with covid. Wanted to join OVB (cycling club in Notts) but wouldn't make the cut, Im too new for them most likely.

I love cake. But a bit put off sweets after yesterday, felt like my teeth were erroding by the end, with energy gels, gummies, citrus flavoured sports mix dissolved in my water, oreos, flapjack, pbj sandwich... I don't know how you did it on so little food!!!!!

What should I do next, since Im not doing another audax anytime soon? How do I progress from here? What goals should I set myself?

 

[oreo_muncher]

Carradice saddle bag is one option for storage, or even just a rack bag.
If you had made the start on time you would have seen what the old timers use.
Also adding a 50km ride on to the start of an event which you are already worrying about is pretty ballsy.

Thanks for the recommendation, just looked it up and it looks promising! Haha maybe that's where it went wrong, being too ballsy.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I technically rode longer than the actual distance of the audax but feel bad about not completing the audax itself. It was a nice route,some hilly bits though or maybe I'm a big cry baby about hills still. What are some of your reasons for not completing an audax,do you have any good stories? I leant to actually be on time, sleep 8 hours before one and not miss checkpoints...i missed all of them somehow (3). I hurt my back and shoulders from my backpack, any idea how to not let that happen next time ? Also don't know what do about phone battery lasting long enough to use the map, I only got back to notts because I was on the A606 and just followed that the whole time . Also pack some non sugary food, my mouth was sickly sweet by the end of it.... I don't know what will be the next time I attempt an audax.

Reasons for DNF

Being complacent about fitness and preparation having completed what I thought were harder audaxes the year before. Never underestimate your current challenge no matter your past history. Always prepare, you are only as good as your current preparations and fitness.

Physical deterioration (not an accident ) that made it impossible to continue riding safely after so many hours in the saddle.

Heat Exhaustion / dehydration. I’m not great in the heat and didn’t do enough to combat and keep on top of it.

Stomach issues meaning I couldn’t eat any more and grinding to a halt with lack of energy, with a long remote section ahead. Balancing safety against the desire to finish. Needed a good sleep, then gradual reintroduction of food to recover.

You examine the reasons these things occurred then try and make changes to avoid. Sometimes changes take a while to find the solution. But you try again if you like audax. Not finishing, now and again, just becomes part of your audax experiences. At long as the ratio of finishes to not finishing is right for you, and you enjoy the rides, you keep returning.

 

[oreo_muncher]

Having no other option to get home is a great incentive I always gave myself a 'get out of jail option' & sometimes it's too easy to use it. My first century ride was probably 12-13 years ago on a cold January day, I did my first solo century ride in the February & being solo that was just as tough, but once you have done a few, they do seem to become easier. Think I've done over 100 miles on over 90 days now, my longest ride was a few weeks ago, I rode to my parents & back, just over 184 miles. Was hoping to do 200+ mile ride this year, but Covid kind of put a stop to that earlier in the year Maybe next year

Wowwwww, that is kind of insane! Well done! Haha, I had no get out of jail card. How did you do such a long ride?! How long did it take? You must be in really good shape, like one of those people down in Richmond Park with very strong muscular legs! Let me know if you ever do that 200 mile ride!

 

[oreo_muncher]

Reasons for DNF

Being complacent about fitness and preparation having completed what I thought were harder audaxes the year before. Never underestimate your current challenge no matter your past history. Always prepare, you are only as good as your current preparations and fitness.

Physical deterioration (not an accident ) that made it impossible to continue riding safely after so many hours in the saddle.

Heat Exhaustion / dehydration. I’m not great in the heat and didn’t do enough to combat and keep on top of it.

Stomach issues meaning I couldn’t eat any more and grinding to a halt with lack of energy, with a long remote section ahead. Balancing safety against the desire to finish. Needed a good sleep, then gradual reintroduction of food to recover.

You examine the reasons these things occurred then try and make changes to avoid. Sometimes changes take a while to find the solution. But you try again if you like audax and not finishing just becomes part of your audax experiences. At long as the ratio of finishes to not finishing is right for you, and you enjoy the rides, you keep returning.

Wise words

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The other thing I should mention is that with experience you catch problems much earlier and tackle them before they bring you to a halt. If there’s something not quite right try and deal with it sooner rather than later.