Umm..I want to join the nut brigade

[crazycanuck]

Umm..Please help me :o

I've decide i'm going to do a ride with the Perth Audax group...200km..on the 2nd June..Please tell me i'm not nuts.

It goes through some wild :rolleyes: towns in WA-Meckering & Malebelling. I'm sitting here giggling about it already.

Now that i've made the decision can I ask if i'm already on the right track with my riding during the week. This is how my normal week looks:
Mon-Swim Am, pilates PM
Tues/Wed-ride 20km am to work,50km+ after (wed pm may change to shorter distance due to running)
Thurs-Swim Am
Fri-Same as tues/wed
Sat-sometimes mtn bike ride or hilly road ride
Sunday-mtn bike

So for SK, Jobob, V, MP & the other long distance ladies..is 200km that bad? 200km seems quite short when I think about it.

Would one of those rivendell bags be a good idea for this ride?

For your enjoyment, here's some info about the ride-http://www.audax.org.au/pdf/wa/D200.pdf

Thanks
C

[Trekhawk]

Umm..Please help me :o

I've decide i'm going to do a ride with the Perth Audax group...200km..on the 2nd June..Please tell me i'm not nuts.

It goes through some wild :rolleyes: towns in WA-Meckering & Malebelling. I'm sitting here giggling about it already.

Now that i've made the decision can I ask if i'm already on the right track with my riding during the week. This is how my normal week looks:
Mon-Swim Am, pilates PM
Tues/Wed-ride 20km am to work,50km+ after (wed pm may change to shorter distance due to running)
Thurs-Swim Am
Fri-Same as tues/wed
Sat-sometimes mtn bike ride or hilly road ride
Sunday-mtn bike

So for SK, Jobob, V, MP & the other long distance ladies..is 200km that bad? 200km seems quite short when I think about it.

Would one of those rivendell bags be a good idea for this ride?

For your enjoyment, here's some info about the ride-http://www.audax.org.au/pdf/wa/D200.pdf

Thanks
C

I think you will be fine. You obviously do plenty of riding through the week. My only suggestion would be that you do some longer rides on the weekend .
Not sure what your longest ride is to date but you should look at increasing your longest ride. If you have some 120km or so rides under your belt you will know you have the steam to finish the 200km. You didnt mention how much climbing it has but Im assuming its reasonably flat being WA however the wind might be another thing.

Have fun and good luck with the training and dont forget to post a ride report we would love to hear all about it.

[jobob]

Woo hoo! We reeled in another one ! :D

Oh no dear , you're not nuts but do consider the source.

Your training plan looks very good.

The only thing I would recommend is to try to get in a progressively longer road ride each week, say on Saturday. I don't know what kind of distance you're accustomed to riding right now, but ideally you should be able to comfortably ride about 150 km (~100 miles) before the brevet. I know that many believe that if you can comfortably ride 50-75% of the distance before the event, you should be able to ride the event distance fine, but I would prefer to be more at the 75% end.

You probably have the strength and stamina to handle the 200K. You need those longer rides to train your butt to deal with about 10 hours (plus or minus) in the saddle, and to train your brain to accept the concept of that much time riding. The latter is the hardest, IMHO.

Also, I find I do much better on a long ride if I don't ride at all the day before. So Friday is usually "off" day for me, and I do my long ride on Satuday. That's what works for me though, it might be different for you.

You'll defintely want to taper off some the week of your event, cut back on the rides a bit to conserve energy.

( Just don't do what I did !!! - I had a cold all this week so I didn't ride at all, but I convinced myself that I was OK to do a 200K permanent brevet on Saturday. So I did 70 miles of it in chilly damp weather, felt like crap, bailed out, and now my cold is back with a vengance :mad: That, my friend, is being an idiot. :p )

[Trekhawk]

( Just don't do what I did !!! - I had a cold all this week so I didn't ride at all, but I convinced myself that I was OK to do a 200K permanent brevet on Saturday. So I did 70 miles of it in chilly damp weather, felt like crap, bailed out, and now my cold is back with a vengance :mad: That, my friend, is being an idiot. :p )

OH my didn't you listen to what the mum said. NO RIDING IF YOU STILL FEEL SICK. NAUGHTY GIRL:mad:

[Veronica]

Jo did great in spite of feeling crummy and she was quite chipper!

My advice - figure out your nutrition plan. You have to make sure you stay fueled on your ride.

I don't like to eat solid food on a long ride. It took a while for me to figure that out and come up with what would work for me. On yesterday's 90 mile ride I only ate two bags of Cliff Bloks and two bags of Sport Beans. But I drank two full bottles of my Sustain/Gatorade concoction. If we had continued riding I would have switched to a Hammer Gel every hour, plus the beans and bloks. On a long ride I am very obsessive and regimented about my eating and drinking.

V.

[jobob]

Would one of those rivendell bags be a good idea for this ride?


It's good to have a saddlebag, or a saddlebag & handlebar bag, to carry stuff on a brevet. By stuff I mean necessary tools, spare tubes, extra clothing, food, hygiene products ...

How much stuff to carry will depend on the level of support your brevet offers, and the availability of stores along your route.

Traditionally, brevet riders are supposed to be completely self-sufficient, and carry or buy what they need from stores along the way.

That said, we have several brevet series in the SF Bay area, and the level of support among them varies considerably.

The Davis brevet series has a great deal of support, nearly as much as a regular century ride. They have a great deal of food and a variety sport drinks available at checkpoints, and roving SAG support.

The SF brevet series, on the other hand, has no support to speak of. On the 600K, which is being run as I write this, there was a food/water/bag drop stop at a very remote section of the route which most people were scheduled to go through late last night into the wee hours this morning, but that was about it in terms of support.

But bear in mind, even if your brevet has the more deluxe type of support comparable to the Davis series, the checkpoints will still probably be widely spaced apart, so you'll need to at least be able to carry enough food (and water if there's no source along the route) to get you from checkpoint to checkpoint, or rely on stores along the way. And if you have a preferred type of food or gel, you'll definitely need to carry that.

And if the weather is iffy, or if you start in the chilly morning hours and you know it's going to warm up, you'll need to be able to stow your arm/leg warmers, jacket, that sort of thing.

Rivendell bags (and bags made by Carradice and other companies) are very nice for brevets. Wallingford carries a nice selection as well, as does Velo Orange. But bear in mind, they can be a bit on the heavy side. I have a Carradice Barly bag that is great for brevets, it has a couple of side pockets for tools and spare tubes, and lots of room for stuff. It's canvas with leather trim so it's kind of heavy. It doesn't bother me any, though, I'm used to riding a Sherman Tank ;)

[jobob]

Jo did great in spite of feeling crummy and she was quite chipper! You're so sweet, V. But we were riding a tailwind for the most part. It's easy to be chipper in a tailwind. If I rode back with you, you would have been towing a whimpering whining blob of snot. :p

[SadieKate]

The power of the mind meld demonstrated half a world away . . . . :D

I'll echo some of the same questions. What is the longest ride you've done and how about the climb factor? I already had centuries under my belt with some climbing. As you may know over the last couple years, I've been incorporating more climbing into my rides and I had to learn how to eat all over again. Gel flasks (thanks, MP) and careful selection of solid food: P&B sammiches, CC fritos, Haagen-Daz bar, it has to agree with you (V-8 yuck!). Sometimes you won't know until you see it in the corner store and everyone's take on food is different. I think you just need to approach it the way you approach bumping up to each longer distance. Just come up with a plan for increasing your distance and pay attention to martialling your resources.

Depending on how much you need to carry in the way of clothing, lights, etc. (based on weather, expected riding pace vs daylight hours, support), a larger saddle bag is nice. I have a Gilles Berthoud (http://www.gillesberthoud.fr/anglais/accessoires/index.php)much like the Riv banana bag. However, I felt I lost a lot of time digging around in it for stuff. Since it is floppy and angled downward, all the small items migrated to the bottom. It's nice looking and usable but drove me nuts trying to find things.

Hubby has a Moots Tailgator (http://www.moots.com/ticomp-tailgator.php) coming. MP used one for the 400K brevet and it looked like it would solve the problem but it is expensive.

I'm thinking of a Detours High Tail (http://www.terrybicycles.com/detail.html?item_no=7740)(also available in black if pink is too girly for you:p ).

My first 200K was a supported ride and I didn't carry anything extra. My 2nd was a brevet and I added an extra tube, plus carried lights and a reflective vest in a bar bag. I could have gone without all of those but 1) I was with a group so could share tubes and 2) daylight hours were minimal so major mechanicals could have put us into dusk if not dark. You have to make your own decisions about this.

One last thing, a map case. I don't use a GPS and the Bar Map OTG (http://www.cycoactive.com/bike/default.htm) worked very well. It is both small enough and mounted far enough forward to not hit my legs when climbing. Space for your brevet card, a pencil and money. It could cover up your computer but a FSA control center extension worked great for that. Depending on your route, you may be able to memorize the entire thing and not need a route slip right in front of you.

Good luck, great goal and keep us up to date with developments.

SK

[Fredwina]

i use a Topeak Beam rack with an expandable bag. works great. sometimes it's a little small, but I'd think it makes pack smarter
I carry tow or tubes and a patch kit. Unlike NorCal, we have to put with goathead (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribulus_terrestris) thorns and Cactus spines.
Take a look at the route - does it have services? The 300K i did in March had no services on a 100K stretch.I had to laugh when I look at the Cue sheet for the Arizona 300K I'm planning on doing Saturday. The RBA (regional Brevet Administrator) had on her cue sheet "limited Services" . there's a store about every 50-60k. The San Diego series had water and stuff at their controls - You were on your own at Cayucos.
How long will it take you? and when does it start? That should tell you if you need lights and reflective stuff.
I also a have Bar Map OTG - I'm not sure if it's available "down Under". I also have light on my helmet that I use to read the map and Computer at night;
Here's my Brevet bike. I've put a different handlebar on it:
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/Fredwina_photo/Cayucos-bike.jpg
and here's my "night rider" helmet:
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/Fredwina_photo/DSCI0004.jpg

[sah]

what is a "bar map OTG"?

[Fredwina]

what is a "bar map OTG"?

http://www.sidetrak.com/GraphicFiles/barmap.jpg
actually, this is the plain ol' BarMap. the OTG "of the Gods" is a queen-sized version. Brevet routes are not marked(vs a century ride). so it's helpful to have the cue sheet in plain sight or where it get crumpled in to oblivion.

[crazycanuck]

Thanks for your replies ladies. I will have to drive to Meckering & see the route.

BTW..the drive to meckering is shall we say..exciting..so exciting it'll put you to sleep..It's country Western Australia.

If i start to fall asleep i could always stare at the water pipeline that runs from Perth to Kalgoorlie..(it runs for 600km)

More later

C

[midlife]

CC, I'm sure you can do it, but I'd suggest some training rides longer than 120km. My reason is from my experience. I did a 115km ride last year and the longest ride I did in training was probably about 80km two weeks before, the rest were 60-70kms. I found it made the day a bit harder (so did the flamin hills!) and recovery slower to not have done the distance or closer to it.

I notice a lot of friend who do IM triathlon will ride 180kms around 3 times before an Im (this is average only) and try to do about 3 rides of 120 or 150 as well. Helps get the body used to the distance.

Audax events are great, do check out what they supply as the less junk you have to carry the better. I know there was some stuff provided on the Apline Classic last year, including water.

On the 115km I did, we could order lunch, (a salad roll, bar, apple juice) but carried bars and protein bars and two bottles - one of endura the other water. I have one of those profile rear seat mount bottle holders, so had the tool kit in one and my rain jacket folded up and tucked into the other one. Wore arm warmers and a vest and tights as it was a pretty cool day. It took us about 5 hours - it was those hills and lack of training!!

[crazycanuck]

I knew that i had to come back to a thread before I went to bed :o

To answer a few q's
1-The longest ride i've done recently was approx a 100km mtn bike event (very hilly) a few months ago.

The longest road ride i've done recently is about 80km. I am unsure if i should do longer distances the following way-Bike to our group ride(25km), do the group ride (50-60km), bike home (35km) & then add some or just go off on my own & bike. I could invite a few folks from our group or drag ian along on a training ride. What about doing training rides off road? Would that make any difference? I don't want to lose any more mtn bike mojo. I can do 100km off road happily.

We've driven to meckering & it's FLAT but i might drag ian out for a drive & see the course. Most of the areas we pass through are one horse towns if you get my drift.

Sunrise on June 2nd is at 7:08am & sets at 5:20pm-Seems enough time to do 200km. Will have my back light on at all times.
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=196&month=6&year=2007&obj=sun&afl=-11&day=1

Nutrition plan-I can have someone take a look at that for me. I'll plan a long ride after the 1/2 IM next weekend.(mtb event this weekend & no i'm not doing the 1/2 IM :rolleyes: ..i'm part of the technical crew) and have a think.

I'm going to contact the Perth audax guys & find out a bit more info. I have a feeling it'll be a cozy bunch.

Off to bed kids.

C

[Trekhawk]

Audax events are great, do check out what they supply as the less junk you have to carry the better. I know there was some stuff provided on the Apline Classic last year, including water.



Hey midlife have you done the Alpine Classic??
Im going to do that one on my return to Aust and any tips would be appreciated.

[Trekhawk]

I knew that i had to come back to a thread before I went to bed :o

To answer a few q's
1-The longest ride i've done recently was approx a 100km mtn bike event (very hilly) a few months ago.

The longest road ride i've done recently is about 80km. I am unsure if i should do longer distances the following way-Bike to our group ride(25km), do the group ride (50-60km), bike home (35km) & then add some or just go off on my own & bike. I could invite a few folks from our group or drag ian along on a training ride. What about doing training rides off road? Would that make any difference? I don't want to lose any more mtn bike mojo. I can do 100km off road happily.

We've driven to meckering & it's FLAT but i might drag ian out for a drive & see the course. Most of the areas we pass through are one horse towns if you get my drift.

Sunrise on June 2nd is at 7:08am & sets at 5:20pm-Seems enough time to do 200km. Will have my back light on at all times.
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=196&month=6&year=2007&obj=sun&afl=-11&day=1

Nutrition plan-I can have someone take a look at that for me. I'll plan a long ride after the 1/2 IM next weekend.(mtb event this weekend & no i'm not doing the 1/2 IM :rolleyes: ..i'm part of the technical crew) and have a think.

I'm going to contact the Perth audax guys & find out a bit more info. I have a feeling it'll be a cozy bunch.

Off to bed kids.

C

CC - as far as your longer training rides go I think you could do both. Maybe one week do your long ride with your group adding to the beginning and end and then the following week do a long ride on your own. If you are going to be doing the brevet on your own you may be riding some or all of it by yourself and its nice to know that your comfortable with that. I was lucky to be with the wonderful Jobob and Leebob on my 200km brevet but if they had dropped me (Jobob could have done this as she is faster than me) I would have been ok as riding solo is something I do 90 percent of the time.

I would try to get some longer rides in on your road bike just so your body gets use to the feel of sitting on that bike for an extended amount of time.

Good luck with your training and let us know how you are getting on. Will you take a camera along on the brevet?? I would love to see some pics.

[maillotpois]

Between work, a visiting mother and TE outages I didn't see this thread til now!

Yay! We got another one!

You've gotten loads of great advice, CC. Definitely work on building up your long rides. 200k is a great distance to start with for a brevet, to see if you actually like it and want to ride farther. Most of it is mental. Seriously. You need a lot of practice doing long rides mostly by yourself to see how this works for you and if it drives you even crazier.

In terms of bags, I use the Tailgator as SK mentioned, and I also have a large handle bar bag, but for 200k I don't use the bar bag.

Let us know how the training goes!

[SadieKate]

I carry tow or tubes and a patch kit. Unlike NorCal, we have to put with goathead (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribulus_terrestris) thorns and Cactus spines.Whachu been smokin'?:p Goatheads all over inland northern California. And this nasty creeping vine that seems to grow mostly along bike trails and throws thorns at you as you ride by. Plenty of prickly pear but it seems to keep its thorns under control.

BTW, whoever asked. The bar map that Fredwina photo'd is actually larger than the Bar Map of the Gods. The OTG is the "queen" because it folds up and has pockets, but the profile of the folded map on your bars is smaller.

[SadieKate]

1-The longest ride i've done recently was approx a 100km mtn bike event (very hilly) a few months agoOk, you've ridden a 100k on your mtb in one day? How'd you do? Mtbiking is generally twice the work (due to rolling resistance, weight, less aero, etc., etc.) of road riding (assuming you are using a roadbike not the mtb).

Lessee, big maths coming . . . . 100k x 2 = 200k.

I think you can do this.

[midlife]

Hey midlife have you done the Alpine Classic??
Im going to do that one on my return to Aust and any tips would be appreciated.



No I haven't, but have lots of friends who have and we were up there for a birthday weekend when it was on. I'm no good at riding hills, let alone mountains!! I used to ski down some of these years ago so the thought of riding up them...:eek:

Its a brilliant event but very challenging. The year we were up there it was 40C for the three days and the bitumen was melting. Due to bushfires in the last few years there is not a lot of shade cover now either. Lots of guys we know who have done Ironman had to get off and walk frequently (not quite sure how they started peddling again either!)

We took our MTBs up and road around the fire trails etc and then rode up to the river, jerseys off and fell in the ice cold water. that was enough fun for us!

[crazycanuck]

Hey SK.

We did the 100km Great karri mtb ride earlier this year. It was mostly uphill & I was one of the slowest folks out there. It was a mixture of some sand, pea gravel, bitumen & singlegtrack.

It was hard but fun. Our coach checked my nutrition plan & what I ate worked well. I think for a 200km road ride I would eat-Vegemite sandwiches or Jam sandwiches, bananas, energy bar but would need to sit down & think about it.

In terms of doing long road rides now, that's not a problem. If i follow the bike path from my house to the city then end of the train line north it would be a 120km ride.

I could do the same off road-Srarting at John forrest to the dell & back is 100km.

Theoretically I could do both for training.

Thanks ladies.
C

[crazycanuck]

SInce today was a public holiday I decided to do a long ride. It was only 101km(i was almost at my house & my odometer said 100.4km..i went around the block to equal 101km..)

My total average speed was 22km/hr & the ride took me 4hrs 31min. I stopped a couple of times-to have my banana, get more water & go pee..


I agree it's all in the mind..

C

[maillotpois]

Hey CC -

I am sure I missed some discussion about this on one of the myriad thread drifts, and perhaps I should know, but who's the person in your avatar pic? I have been wondering.

[crazycanuck]

Roger taylor from Queen :D

[Keely]

Hey C,

You should check out the BV Forum (http://www.bv.com.au/forums/viewforum.php?f=1&sid=cfd0b20716a09d109599a9ad5493c00b). The Around the Bay in a Day discussion has lots of advice being thrown about for those already starting their training.

For those who don't know about this ride it is around Port Phillip Bay (Melbourne, Australia). There are 4 options for this ride - 50km, 100km, 210km or 250km. It is held in October and up 10,000 cyclists do the ride. Most people aim to complete the 210km ride in between 7-9 hours. One of the major challenges of this ride is the changeble weather we seem to have here in Melbourne. You generally have an awful head wind for at least half the ride! The day can start out lovely and then change to absolutely horrible - 2 years ago it was sunny in the morning and then changed to cold and wet in the afternoon. People were suffering from frostbite because they were ill-prepared for the cold change.

[crazycanuck]

I'm knackered..We drove approx 400km today to check the route out. Oh how I love my dear:) (It's 160km round trip from my house to the start of the ride) I've attached a few photos for you whilst you're eating brekkie.

It's undulating but nothing as bad as some of the hills on the 100km off road ride we did. I think my main concerns would be the following: 1-The elements-there's very little shade as with many many roads in WA. If it's windy i;ll be ingesting dust for lunch. If there's a burnoff or bus 2-Farm machinery/wide loads-you can see by the photos there's very little space! I'll be paying attention! 3-The idea of being self reliant. Apart from the checkpoint stops there's nothing except farms in between.

I have a spare weekend in may where I might just go out and do some of it for training.

Enjoy the pics as i''m def not taking my camera on the day of the ride! The first is a little bobtail(?) lizard that was sunning itself on the road..they're just too cute to pass by. The rest are just roads along the ride route.

C

[jobob]

One thing I've noticed when I drive a route - it always seems longer when I drive it than when I actually ride it.

I don't know why that is, I guess when I'm on a bike I'm not as aware of the distance. Does that make sense?

[jobob]

Looks like a neat route! Make sure you have lots of water with you.

Perhaps , since it's so remote, the brevet organizers might have a roving SAG with water, but don't assume it. It might be good to email the organizer and ask if there will be any sort of support provided. (Or it might actually say on the brevet info, I didn't look - still, would be good to double check w the origanizer).