Is 169 miles in one day realistic!?

[vickster]

140 miles...225km!!

 

[DooDah]

Nice one Pedro, but after all what is 140km between friends

Sorry still on French time

 

[maxap]

If you train over winter and build up gradually it is not bad as it sounds. I managed longer distances this year on my tourer. You have to get used to long hours in the saddle and also making sure you eat and drink a lot.
As a warning though, I also managed to injure my knee pretty badly this year, due to a new saddle which messed up my bike setup somehow. It wouldn't have been too bad on a shorter ride, but I was on a 500km ride and as a result I am off the bike at present. Crossed fingers that it'll be alright for next year.

 

[DooDah]

If you train over winter and build up gradually it is not bad as it sounds. I managed longer distances this year on my tourer. You have to get used to long hours in the saddle and also making sure you eat and drink a lot.
As a warning though, I also managed to injure my knee pretty badly this year, due to a new saddle which messed up my bike setup somehow. It wouldn't have been too bad on a shorter ride, but I was on a 500km ride and as a result I am off the bike at present. Crossed fingers that it'll be alright for next year.

Chapeau sir for doing those kinds of distances and get well soon. Welcome BTW

 

[steveindenmark]

Yes you can do it and you can do it without any training at all.

As long as you realise that there are 24 hours in a day and not 13.5 hours.

Steve

 

[arallsopp]

Cheers colly, some of the guys are talking about doing a ride24 which seems to be riding from one destination to another within 24hours. Oh and it's 300miles!!!

Now i am pretty sure that would hurt like hell. I mean i really enjoyed riding the 160+ miles but i had no desire to ride another 140 miles in the dark! Plus my rear end may never recover from such an experience.

Peer pressure is a bitch.

Am pretty sure you can do it. Given the speed you're maintaining throughout that ride, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to pick up the 300 inside of 24 hours. You could drop a third off your speed and still make it. There are plenty here who can (and given the opportunity, will) rip my legs off on a hundred miler, but even I can blag the 300 if need be.

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/830181

On reflection, I find my distance work seems to affect me as follows.:

First attempt at Distance vs. Incremental Effort over previous row
0 miles N/A
10 miles 1000%
25 miles 50%
50 miles 25%
100 miles 25%
180 miles 50%
250 miles 50%
300 miles 50%

I'll let the big hitters tell you what happens after that. Broadly, nothing is as big a jump as the first ten miler. It quickly gets easier until the 180 mile mark, when (for me) it starts getting hard again. Then it gets incrementally problematic for every mile after that. If you sleep, it resets, so these figures don't apply to multi-day tours. Fortunately

 

[marcusjb]

Following on from arallsop's comments on riding 300 miles in 24 hours and your Garmin connect ride.

You've got no worries with speed! But you spent 4 hours in 13:15 off the bike - that's a fair bit. Dropping the pace, spending less time off the bike, and you're probably going to be quicker than riding at 28kph average.

My typical average moving pace on a not-very-hilly, summer, 200-300km (125 miles) is in the 24-26 kph range. On longer multi-day stuff this will drop (LEL was 23.4kph average moving). Really hilly stuff and it can drop to 20-22 ish.

300 miles in 24 hours is very achievable, but far from easy - from what I understand, the Ride24 organisation is very good and they'll do everything they can to get you to the end.

An average of 24kph gives you 20 hours on the bike, 4 off (plenty!).

It sounds like you need to work on pacing and then discipline off the bike - and a little on comfort/position (which really becomes an issue around the 180miles/300km area where every little stress on your body is going to start having impact).

Good luck!

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

Am pretty sure you can do it. Given the speed you're maintaining throughout that ride, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to pick up the 300 inside of 24 hours. You could drop a third off your speed and still make it. There are plenty here who can (and given the opportunity, will) rip my legs off on a hundred miler, but even I can blag the 300 if need be.

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/830181

On reflection, I find my distance work seems to affect me as follows.:

First attempt at Distance vs. Incremental Effort over previous row
0 miles N/A
10 miles 1000%
25 miles 50%
50 miles 25%
100 miles 25%
180 miles 50%
250 miles 50%
300 miles 50%

I'll let the big hitters tell you what happens after that. Broadly, nothing is as big a jump as the first ten miler. It quickly gets easier until the 180 mile mark, when (for me) it starts getting hard again. Then it gets incrementally problematic for every mile after that. If you sleep, it resets, so these figures don't apply to multi-day tours. Fortunately

Thanks for the input, i wasn't expecting any replies to my contribution so a nice surprise.

Yeh i am pretty sure i can do the 300 in 24 hours. My body certainly won't have any fitness issues with the challenge and i think mentally one would just have to knuckle down and endure the discomfort from the half way point onward. I don't know many riders that are comfy on a bike after 150 miles though a few days recovery should see all well afterward. With good company i am sure the pace would be quite fast and the load shared. Latest i heard of it was London to Paris but there are other ideas floating about too.

As for multi day tours, well i can't see that in the near future. It will no doubt be something on my to do list though for the future.

 

[martint235]

While I have no doubt that you can do it, l 'd advise against underestimating the mental challenge involved. Good luck though

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

Following on from arallsop's comments on riding 300 miles in 24 hours and your Garmin connect ride.

You've got no worries with speed! But you spent 4 hours in 13:15 off the bike - that's a fair bit. Dropping the pace, spending less time off the bike, and you're probably going to be quicker than riding at 28kph average.

My typical average moving pace on a not-very-hilly, summer, 200-300km (125 miles) is in the 24-26 kph range. On longer multi-day stuff this will drop (LEL was 23.4kph average moving). Really hilly stuff and it can drop to 20-22 ish.

300 miles in 24 hours is very achievable, but far from easy - from what I understand, the Ride24 organisation is very good and they'll do everything they can to get you to the end.

An average of 24kph gives you 20 hours on the bike, 4 off (plenty!).

It sounds like you need to work on pacing and then discipline off the bike - and a little on comfort/position (which really becomes an issue around the 180miles/300km area where every little stress on your body is going to start having impact).

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply.

Yeh the 4 hours not moving was due to several nasty mechanicals and 2 or 3 food/beverage stops. I wasn't too happy to be stopping as i find the more i stop the more my body resents restarting again. The ride itself wasn't really a race either. Some sections were ridden fast but that was more just banter between a few competitive riders.

So the nitty gritty is that it could have been done with zero stops (barring mechanicals) if it was deemed essential. The fact is though that it was for the sheer (ahem) pleasure of riding that route. We were also blessed with a full day of glorious sunshine. How things could have changed in the pouring rain - another factor hard to bypass in Scotland.

IMO the major PITA regarding riding 300 miles in 24 hours would be just that, the pain in the arse!! There is no doubting that 20+ hours spent in the saddle is going to create a little unwanted friction, even with the best chamois cream money can buy. Again though i am pretty sure it's just a case of knuckling down and dealing with any sores and recovery after completion.

Mind over matter. That's what mental blocks are for.

 

[bianchi1]

I was talked into doing a 12 hour tt a couple of years back. I was just going to do it on my road bike, but opted to put on a pair of tri bars (set quite high). I found that the 'resting on the arms position' was far more comfortable on my hands an wrists and the position did help with the wind resistance.

Not the most enjoyable 12 hours of my life! In fact the overwhelming memory is that of boredom that is only punctuated with pain and hunger.

 

[arallsopp]

Thanks for the reply.
So the nitty gritty is that it could have been done with zero stops (barring mechanicals) if it was deemed essential.

Ah... the things that could be done, barring mechanicals

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

Ah... the things that could be done, barring mechanicals

Absolutely. If memory serves right there was a broken chain, buckled wheel and 2 punctures all within 3 miles!!! All on different bikes!!

 

[ColinJ]

He hasn't logged in since asking the question! (I suppose he may have been following the thread without logging in, but that would be a bit odd.)

 

[Pico Triano]

Did my first century 103 miles on an overloaded bike with inadequate training. The following day I did another 98 miles. 169 miles without a load might be doable. I'd never recommend it though.