How stupid an idea is this?

[srw]

Thank you all, once again. I've "socialised" the idea (to use the horrible current phrase) with a couple of my team, and someone has jumped forward to help - and has gone out to encourage the rest of the team. I've also shown her this thread, and she's impressed by the encouragement.

To answer some questions and comments...

Make sure you take some change to go across the Severn Bridge.

It's free for bikes - and they take credit cards in the car now.

I believe that I'm riding on Saturday night with two of the Fridays' most experienced randonneurs. I think I shall pick some brains.

In fact it was only one - and (@mmmmartin) I never got around to asking, even over ondbijt copius. But I did also get some useful input from @StuAff, who basically said (and I summarise because by 7am I wasn't at my best, so may have misunderstood) "Just get out and ride for a long time".

Fast but crap. I'd be happy to help with nicer routes between Reading and the Severn Bridge. You've no need to use the Bristol-Bath path to get to the bridge.

Edited to add: I did a nice route last time I rode from Bristol to Cardiff, for the FNRttC. I probably have the GPX track somewhere.

I (or my representative on earth) will be in touch - thank you. At the back of my mind is the thought that we have offices in central Bristol and in Aztec West, as well as in Cardiff - but I suspect that I'll be passing through at a really inopportune time. (Google reckons we've also got one on the Bristol-Bath path, but it's wrong).

Sorry - I should add that I'm an overweight trundler who is riding 80-idd miles this weekend and 100 at Ride London. I'm used to long distances, but not super-long

This weekend turned out to be over 90 miles. My legs were fine, but my arms and wrists were completely mashed by 40-odd miles. I don't know whether that's because the tandem gives me a slightly odd position, or whether I've ridden so little over the winter that I've lost the upper-body conditioning I had.

If you're doing 5-10 miles a day cycle commuting in London every day, that's a good start,

I'm not. These days I'm in London twice a week at most. But that's a useful prod to find a 10-15 mile loop in Guildford so that I can turn my 20-minute walk into a longer ride.

Looks like a formidable but achievable challenge.
I've always found that I'm knackered after a tour, rather than bike fit but we're all different. If I were running a marathon I'd have had almost a complete week off prior to the event. Just a thought.

I thought it was called a snickers these days. More seriously, it feels as if trundling around on two legs could be a useful bit of cross-training for trundling around on two wheels. That's something I need to explore.

Looking at my diary, the earliest plausible date is about 30th September, which is a Friday. The Fridays' tour is a fortnight earlier, so that could actually work quite well.

 

[StuAff]

But I did also get some useful input from @StuAff, who basically said (and I summarise because by 7am I wasn't at my best, so may have misunderstood) "Just get out and ride for a long time".

For absolute clarity, I'll do you a slightly longer summary:
Miles=good. There is no such thing as 'junk miles' for most people, most of the time- and this includes your good self, now. Pro riders need a training plan, serious amateurs need a training plan. Your plan is much more simple. Ride your bike. Ride your bike. Ride your bike....Every bit of riding you do will help. I recommended, and I still would, organising some social/training rides. The 'rides for food' (RIP) I did were of immense benefit in boosting my mileage & stamina, because I was riding with people who pushed me harder than I could/would push myself, both in speed and endurance, but knew how hard to push without reducing me to a quivering wreck (been there, done that, not doing it again). You need to know what your limits are now, and what they'll need to be to get the job done on the day (without setting yourself impossible targets). Your aim both in training and on the day should be a sustained pace, working hard but certainly not to exhaustion. As the saying goes, it's a marathon not a sprint. The speed and endurance aren't mutually exclusive, and it'll certainly be an easier day if you can sustain a higher average speed. You want to start strongly, and stay at that level all day. You will get it wrong from time to time- most of the century a month brigade, myself included, still do from time to time- but treat it as a learning experience, not a setback.

 

[mcshroom]

Make sure your bike is fitted as well as you can. What you can handle for 40/80/100 miles might cause you agony by the end of a 200+ mile ride. Also make sure you drink enouh while you are riding. That's my main problem. I can ride a 200km fine with not enough water, but it comes back to bite later on which I found to my cost on LEL.

Otherwise it's just a long bike ride. Like any other ride, break it up into chunks rather than concentrating on the whole distance to go, keep the food/drink going in frequently enough and hope for a nice day. I managed a 418km (260 mi) ride back in 2013 in around 26 hours, and a 300km (186 mi) last Saturday in around 18 hours (both include stops). They weren't fast, but with a bit of determination and confidence they were possible for a trundler like me. Maybe see if you can stick in a few centuries and at least one 150 mile ride to give you an idea of how you feel.

Good luck

 

[mmmmartin]

You can do this. It will take a bit of planning and the logistics will be key. But you have the night time experience and you can eat in the wee small hours and not get sick. This is important.
Route planning will be important. Let me have a think about it. I'm only just into bed after riding from ghent to dunkirk and then halfway across kent, because buses replace trains at Dover and I live bloody miles away. I might not get back to you tomoz. But you can do it.not everyone can, but I reckon you

 

[srw]

. But you can do it.not everyone can, but I reckon you

...can do it without falling asleep in the middle of a sentence?