[Closed] 500 miles in 5 days. Can I do it?

That's an epic goal. 100 miles a day on a road bike is achievable I'm sure but on an Mtb bikepacking 5 days in a row? I recon 70 miles a day.

Tour dividers do longer days back to back on mtbs and survive.

Sure you can do it, don’t listen to the haters.

It might be tough, but as long as you have the fitness and mindset to do it, you will be fine.

I assume you are somewhere peaks/Yorkshire? Pennie bridleway is quite tough going on places and doesn’t give as easy miles as some sustrans stuff, had many a trip cut short cos I couldn’t maintain the pace I wanted to on it.

I have a longitude that I have set up as a 29+. Rolls really sweet on the sorts of trails you are talking about. I use wtb ranger 3.0’s and it’s ace.

June.
Country Lanes.
You'll be fine.
It wont be easy, but you can do it, good luck!
My advice would be not to do 5x100miles, maybe more like 130,100,100,90,80, something like that, get the bigger miles in while you are fresh.

The hardest part will be getting a comfy sleep so you can recover tbh
I assume you have a plan for clean shorts every day, you don’t need sweaty bollox.
Faster rolling tyres are only faster if you don’t need to stop for a flat.
Actually doing the miles will be ok, it’s the recovery that will be harder.
Remember that in June it gets light at death o clock, and the birds will be awake at 4am at the latest.
Plan meticulously, it’ll be great!!

Yes but it will be tough. 500 miles is 50 hours at a pootleing pace. 10 hours riding a day.
100 miles in 4 hours is really tough. In 10 its easy so long as your backside holds out

too much for me tho - I like to have picnics and to stop and stare

You've done a great job of training for it and I think it's doable but I'd build in a bit of time in the middle just so you can appreciate it and have a bit of time to rest, refuel and maybe wash some of your kit. You could do this if you booked a B&B or hostel. No need to make it too much a chore unless that's your plan.

I'm pretty envious of you 👍

I like andrewh's idea. You could tweak this to how you're feeling on the bike and the weather.

It's the little things that can make the biggest difference kit wise. A buff is one of the greatest bike packing bits of kit (even more so in these facemask wearing times), they're great as sleep masks. Test out your kit even if it's in the back garden.

One tip given to me that I thought was great as it saves time and faff when you're tired was to have your sleep kit prepped (liner already inserted inside your sleeping bag and this already inserted into your bivvy bag, even put your sleep clothes in there too).

Also pack smart, have all the kit items that are needed to be at hand packed last with the items you'll seldom use (like spare shorts etc) packed first.

Another big decision is whether to take a stove. I'd not bother if you can access the odd cafe and shop but to some this is an essential bit of kit. Can be weighty and a faff.

Definitely doable with training. I did HT550 a couple of times and just trained well and ate loads. First time (2014) I was slow at 7 days but dropped over a day off in 2017. I wasn’t that much quicker pedalling but was much more efficient overall.

Don’t bother with campsites. Any time stopped is time not moving. A campsite is a diversion and has too many luxuries. Minimise your stops, and maximise the value of them. Stopping to change a layer, eat, refill water bottles and pee can be done in one go.

Go light and be smart with your kit. I take an inflatable pillow because it means I don’t need to stuff spare clothes in a drybag. That means I wear my down jacket as part of my sleep system, so my sleeping bag can be lighter.

Make hay. If the going is good, keep going. A mile today is one you don’t have to do tomorrow. Don’t bother looking for a camping spot until it’s getting dark, otherwise you’ll be waiting to fall asleep.

I'd say yes.

I went touring round youth hostels in my 20's.
It didn't occur to me they would be booked out in summer at the weekends! That lead to a couple of 150 mile fast back to back because I couldn't afford hotels.

One reception desk closed at 5pm, it was a very early start that day!

It's amazing how far you can get if you really want to 🙂

I would say you can do it, but it very much depends on the weather. If you are flexible and can pick the week thats dry - I think the only thing stopping you will be your ass and lack of comfy sleep.

Its just basically hours on the bike. 10hrs a day may get boring as well as hard after a while.

^ Agree with Trimix

Tyre suggestion: I’ve been using 2.2 Race King ProTection both ends of a 29er Longitude for similar (summer) terrain. I find they’re quick and the volume is good for a 2.2

https://www.continental-tires.com/bicycle/tires/mountainbike-tires/race-king-protection

as your backside holds out

This is the key bit for me.

Even when mega fit hooking up back to back to back long days in the saddle was hard. Especially if you get wet or are starting in wet kit. I was putting in 200 miles a week training back then and had been doing so for what felt like ever but even so 3-4 long days in a row hurt like hell. Training your arse with multiple long days in a row from home to cope helps though.

As TJ says though 10 hours riding in a day when you are camping and the days are long is relatively easy when the pressures of getting home and family commitments etc are removed. Eat, sleep, ride, repeat.

You'll be fine. I'd probably plan a few bail-out/cutting the corner options or adapt the route to include possible camping spots if you need to adjust the mileage on a particular day.

I guess my focus would be on five great days of riding rather than beating myself up if I couldn't manage a century a day. What's the advantage of the extra 100 miles?

Good shorts and keep your undercarriage clean (and allow to breathe overnight). You'll be fine as long as you don't push too hard.

As noted above it's a case of "ride, eat, sleep, repeat". Depending on weather, you've fifteen to eighteen hours of usable light during June. Allow a couple of hours for stops and that becomes say twelve to fifteen hours for riding. Just ride until you find somewhere sheltered to kip, doesn't matter if it's 90 miles or 130.

If you are averaging 19kmh for 80km on a loaded bike then you are better than me! I did a tempo ride yesterday and averaged 18kmh over 52km on an unloaded bike.

I did the HT550 in just over five days, looking at my Strava files and doing the maths I was riding/moving for 80hrs and stationary for 44hrs. The pacing I felt was about right, I could chat to those who happened to be around me (whether they listened is another matter!), so it was definitely sustainable. Bizarrely the worst night's sleep I had was when I stopped at the Oykel Bridge Hotel - just couldn't get comfortable so was up and away at 4am.

I don't bother with water supplements, just eat proper food and you'll be fine. If you are really concerned just add plain table salt - the amount needed won't be noticeable to taste - might not be as "ideal" as commercial offerings but it works.

Knowing the opening hours of shops, cafés, etc. is useful: no need to rush if you can't make it in time.

Does sound epic and you seem to be pragmatic about training. 10 hours a day in the saddle at a comfortable pace "sounds" realistic, use the other 14 hours a day wisely to recover and refuel.

In June, it will only be dark 5 hours a night, which may impact sleep. Hydration will be key.

I've got addicted to ultra riding videos on YouTube this lockdown, I'm sure you are already searching tjosevand looking at blogs to pick up tips

What’s the advantage of the extra 100 miles?

Horses for courses? I used to do fully-loaded hill-fest >centuries in a day before (unrelated) injury put a stop to it. Some summer nights wouldn’t even bother with tent or bivi, just sleeping bag on straw in a barn or short grass on a hill. Wash in streams/rivers at 4am and then off again, Eat at village stores and service stations. It can become became addictive.

More recently instead enjoyed smelling the roses and halving that on a good day, with equal focus on enjoying the camping side of it. I got the Longitude as a motivator with a view to such mini-epic bike-packing once I get the injury fixed up. It’s a good companion in a rugged, do-it-all gravel-beast kind of way.

Would I now do as OP if I could? Very much yes! The drive of reaching the goal at the end of a long day in the saddle. It’s quite the feeling to have blown through the miles before stretches & bed.

Love reading these posts, it kicks my arse to focus on raising surgery-fees. No envy here, just 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 go OP!

I think it'd be fairly easy tbh, assuming you're not smashing giant hills every day.

You'd make it easier for yourself by being on a road/gravel bike if you're not intending on actual off-road, but should be pretty okay on whatever.

Thanks folks, some positive responses which is what I needed. Every mate I've spoken to about it has pretty much said it'll never be achievable. Kind of pi55ed me off!

The route is from Hampshire to E Ayrshire. The first couple of days should be fairly straight forward with about <1500m climbing per day. Once north of matlock this goes up to 2200m a day but I've dropped the mileage for those days. If things are going well, or I fancy using an extra day, I've planned an off road route section north of sedburgh. Its a highly recommended valley descent but the climb up looks like torture!

As for clothing, I was planning on a wet/dry routine with an extra pair of cycling shorts in reserve. And lots of vasaline.😀

I’ve planned an off road route section north of sedburgh. Its a highly recommended valley descent but the climb up looks like torture!

If it's what I think it is (bowderdale), you will probably deeply regret that one with a fully loaded bike. The climb up will indeed be torture, but the descent will be a bit of a stop/start thing as well. Also, if you're coming into Sedbergh from Dentdale, the BW from Lenacre to Millthrop is the one you want.

You haven't done the basic thing yet, now is not the time to be adding in extra bits 🙂

Bowderdale, thats it! Oh well, maybe another time.😁

I see that bridleway you mean. The route so far stays on sustrans route 68 but i'll add a note. Thanks for the tip!

The first couple of days should be fairly straight forward with about <1500m climbing per day

Out of saddle climbing/honking is good if you can winch at a sedate pace. If need to walk a distance to the crests then get off and push. A hero today can create a casualty tomorrow then a whole day lost or worse.

Honking and/or walking keeps the perineum free of pressure. If you look after your bonch throughout then the likelihood of covering the target distance increases.

Something I’ve noticed - that on my drop-bar tourer my weight is distributed very nicely between hands and feet/bars and pedals. So much so that most of the time the undercarriage hardly pushes on the saddle even if it looks like I’m seated.

ie, so-weighted it’s the most trivial thing/minor-flex to relieve saddle-pressure in motion, and over time just became an unconscious reflex. Now whether or not I’ve not setup my MTBs properly may be key, but I’ve never felt so comfortable/painless doing long-distances on an MTB (or flat bar ATB) as more punishing pitchforks seem over distance to be directed towards Count Von Crotchula

For long distance I have a layback seatpost and 110mm stem on the Longitude, with bar ends. All of which seem to help distribute touring-weight more effectively than the sitting up and begging style. Not yet approaching the long-distance comfort I get on the road-tourer, but closer (the same saddle gets switched between bikes)

In short - would recommend setup to sit lightly.

Yes you can.

Have fun and enjoy!

Thanks folks, some positive responses which is what I needed. Every mate I’ve spoken to about it has pretty much said it’ll never be achievable. Kind of pi55ed me off!

The route is from Hampshire to E Ayrshire.

I kinda reckon if you properly went for it, you could do the round trip in 5 days...

Don’t bother looking for a camping spot until it’s getting dark, otherwise you’ll be waiting to fall asleep.

In June that's giving you 17+ hrs in the saddle! It also ignores that setting up camp (even a bivy), cooking when exhausted, and washing/drying kit or bits is likely to be rushed and ineffective when its dark and starting to get cold.

The crossmarks are pretty fast rolling but i’m open to suggestions for any faster rolling tubeless 29ers that offer good protection

if it were me, for the type of terrain you are planning, I'd be looking for something that was more "commuting"/"hybrid" style than MTB... and pump them up HARD. What do you need "good protection" from?

If the weather is good it sounds like it would be great, but if it's blowing a hoolie, pishing with rain or unbearably hot for 5 days it would be hell!

I’m sure you are already searching tjosevand looking at blogs to pick up tips

I very nearly did the search - expecting some Nordic adventures.

Then I remembered just how bad I am, myself, at typing on a smartphone keyboard 😉

For anyone doubting the distance, the London-Edinburgh-London (thevtoute does exactly what it says) audax is usually a 4-5 day event.

I'm aiming for 300 miles in a day in July, so will be watching your progress and wishing you well in equal measure!

Before it was called bikepacking I did the Camino De Santiago in three nights and four full days. It was September so still hot - midday was too hot to ride in, but still got the miles in. Sleeping in a Terranova bivvy, didn’t want to be messing around with hostels. It’s mostly gentle off road, lot of climbing, but I wrecked my bike on day one so had to hire a shopping bike to finish. 840km if I remember rightly.

@daffy nice! How are you specifically training for that? I’m planning to ride 260miles/20000ft over two days but coming from a low baseline of not much.

Thanks folks, some positive responses which is what I needed. Every mate I’ve spoken to about it has pretty much said it’ll never be achievable. Kind of pi55ed me off!

Yeah but most people, especially non-cyclists, simply have no idea of what is involved.

My neighbour thinks I'm hardcore for cycling 12 miles to work, plenty of my co-workers seem astonished that such distances are do-able. You tell them you've done LEJOG etc and (to them) that is a near-impossible feat of super-human athleticism. It blew their minds when I mentioned that I'd ridden from Manchester to London... Yes, in ONE day! Imagine that... 😲

It's usually not the riding that's the problem, it's the surrounding logistics. Finding and carrying food/water, getting a decent night's sleep and ensuring that you're properly fuelled, washing kit, keeping GPS/phone charged etc.

I would have thought it was eminently achievable. I did a London to Paris bike ride over 3 days which was something like 80 miles, 100 miles, 90 miles as an organised charity thing and there were a fair few non-cyclists attempting it on 26" mountain bike type things, non-clipless pedals etc and everyone made it.

So, for someone who has put the training in and is on a suitable machine I don't see why not but it does depend a little bit on the ratio of decent surfaces to more true off-road type tracks. As others have said you can pootle along in June given the long days and take it steady and just while away time as the miles tick by - you won't be in any rush time-wise.

For anyone doubting the distance, the London-Edinburgh-London (thevtoute does exactly what it says) audax is usually a 4-5 day event.

Sure but that's all on-road, fully catered, bag drops and sleeping facilities.

In terms of feasibility I think it can be done, but only if the OP really wants it. Beyond a certain level of fitness the challenge will mostly be mental.

Sure but that’s all on-road, fully catered, bag drops and sleeping facilities.

But it's still *double* the distance, in less time.

In terms of feasibility I think it can be done, but only if the OP really wants it.

... so I think it's *way* more feasible than that.

I reckon you can. I like breaking up long days into thirds - early to lunch, after lunch to early evening/dinner then the late shift. I try to get in the same distance in each block, distance varies with terrain or hills. If one block doesn't go too well just move on and reset for the next.

If you aimed at 35 miles per block it'd start to look quite achievable with long summer days on your side and no-one else to rely on.

Camino De Santiago in three nights and four full days.

Good effort. I've ridden it on a more casual tour, 6 or 7 days, and it's not particularly easy terrain for long days. Beautiful ride I thought.

You tell them you’ve done LEJOG etc and (to them) that is a near-impossible feat of super-human athleticism. It blew their minds when I mentioned that I’d ridden from Manchester to London… Yes, in ONE day!

It's funny though, beyond a certain point, to non-cyclists, all distances just fall into the "hard" category.

I am worried about the amount of day light hours and sleep. I've got a buff that I usually pull down over my eyes but I'm going to need good recovery time.

I used to love my continental double fighters for commuting. Seriously fast on road and grippy on canal paths but they don't come in tubeless.

I'd say doable as well but as above I would have more semi slick / commuting tyre on. If the terrain is not technical then no need for MTB tyres, go with some nice fast tyres for the road / gravel.

For road/sustrans, I'd just go with road slicks.

Comfort will be key, test all contact point kit as much as possible.

Any recommendations for 29er, tubeless semi slicks? Schwalbe marathons seem to get good write ups.

Like any ultra event, you can't finish/win it on the early phases. But you can sure throw it away... Pushing too hard on the first day is your enemy, keeping a modest, steady pace as it's not a sprint race is hard to achieve in the 'big event' scenario. With excitement, adrenalin and so on, keeping a lid on this throughout days one and two will leave you in a position to press on harder as you settle into the rythmn and the long days of harder effort.
Tyres? There's no perfect solution and every day you will find reasons to curse your selection and other reasons to delight in it!! Any new tyres with fresh gloop in them are going to be more resistant to punctures than those old friends that you bought last year..
Never used them yet, but I hear good things on Schwalbe Thunderburts in 2.2 for this sort of riding. I tend to normally go a bit chunkier on longest rides and would choose 2.4 WTB Rangers but many folk would say they are too heavy and more toothy than required.

Any recommendations for 29er, tubeless semi slicks? Schwalbe marathons seem to get good write ups.

Marathons are heavy/slow. G-Ones in 2.0 or 2.35 are really fast though. If you want a bit of off-road tread then Conti Speed Kings are fast, easy-rolling tyres on tarmac or hardpack trails.
WTB Nanos or Vittoria Saguaro and Mezcals all good road and XC mix tyres.

Easily achievable if you put your mind to it.
However, I'd do things slightly different to most... I would use campsites. Also, I'd take a light tent rather than a bivvy + tarp.

Why?
I sleep better in a tent, so would actually have a chance of enjoying the trip. A tent means you get away with a much lighter sleeping bag. A campsite = a clean arse and clean kit. Usually a cafe or shop in vicinity too. IMHO, it would be a more enjoyable trip.

On the other hand, if you really want to set the new A to B record, then travel as light as possible and don't stop very often.

Do you want Type 1 fun, or Type 2 fun?

Marathons are heavy/slow. G-Ones in 2.0 or 2.35 are really fast though.

Yeah, I'd go G-Ones if you're insistent on not-slicks. Allrounds are a good balance - I'm happy enough on singletrack with them if it's not too sloppy. Speeds would probably be better for you. Bites if you really wanted a bit more grip.

Do it!!! You'll be fine - a mate managed to complete the French Divide after a reasonably simple amount of training (certainly not many 100 milers). And now you've had people telling you that you can't do it, what more motivation do you need?! 🙂

Have you tried the Maxxis Crossmark tyres? I ran a Kenda Small Block on the rear most of last summer (a wonder tyre - and made my technique way better), and it was great until the ground started to turn soggy around November. I then switched back to a Crossmark. Another great thing about these tyres is they're cheap.

Do you want Type 1 fun, or Type 2 fun?

Type 1 fun to me is packing super-light, stopping wherever I like and not worrying about being clean or not for a few days. I don't bother with padded shorts which makes things easier in that area ime. Sleep better the further away from other people I am too so campsites are out.

Not for everyone I know, not saying you're wrong either, just another way to do it. Can be fun.

Halo twin rail tyres are tough, fast, comfortable and surprisingly grippy. I commuted on them for year (mine were the 38mm ones but you can get them in 29er too)

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Halo-Twin-Rail-2-29-Tyre_42195.htm

But it’s still *double* the distance, in less time.

In very different conditions,so not really comparable IMO. Easier and harder in different ways.

Bike radar

Article about riding 420km over a couple of days on bike radar. Sounds loads as it's in km. It's only 130m a day

In very different conditions,so not really comparable IMO. Easier and harder in different ways.

Whichever way you cut it, 1400km in 5 days is harder than 800km.

Whichever way you cut it, 1400km in 5 days is harder than 800km.

800km off-road is harder than 1400km on-road IMO.

So I'm doing it. Leave has been confirmed and wee Nicola is letting me in.

Doing it over 6 days instead as I felt with the climbing involved through the peak district would make 100 miles days unachievable.

Anyways, I'm doing it to raise money for transplant sport UK. Here's a link to the page if you fancy a look.

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?pageId=1276135

Yea easily doable. I did similar on the way too/from SSUK 2019.

My learning from that is:
1) Singlespeeding and bikepacking together is exponentially harder as every off road gradient becomes a push.
2) Pack light. Then throw out half of it, and spend money shedding weight on the remaining half. There's a big gulf between the normal 30miles in an evening bikepacking then ride back for breakfast and 2+ days of 100+ miles. What's rideable at 30 miles isn't at 90 miles. In the end I regretted almost every bit of kit at least at some point (sleeping bag was too warm/heavy, mat wasn't expensive/light, bivi bag could have been more compact, didn't take a tarp (could have compromised with a thinner bivi bag if I had and not taken more weight and been sheltered), carried way too much food you only need 1 meal ahead.

Average speed becomes fairly meaningless. You've got 16+ hours of daylight to ride it. Distances do matter, know where lunch is! Other meals I just had whenever I fancied, just concentrate on fueling with snacks.

I didn't think I was that fit, I never otherwise do 100 mile back to back days, even on the road bike. Just eat and pedal and it doesn't feel bad at all.

I did the Kattegatt trail in 3 days last summer Which was about 300miles from home. I took too much stuff and my Achilles heel tendons got really inflamed. Got a bit bored as I did it by myself. Nice idea but it became a bit of a slog

I'm enjoying the eating bit to be fair!

I've been working on my mind set when it comes to hills. I've always attacked them, now I'm focusing on listening to me legs. Trying to be as gentle as possible on them.

I'm comfortable with big mile days but its the back to back days that'll be new to me. For that reason I've invested in very light but very good sleeping system. Been testing it in the garden and getting some good zzzzz's. That should help with recovery.

First 2 days will be 100 mile a piece, then subsequent days will be around the 75 mark as they will have more climbing.

I’ve done very similar throughout Europe when younger and more recently similar mileage but with my bank card for B&B’s. I’ve gone soft in my old age.

The only thing different i would add is navigation, make sure you know how to navigate. I’ve had many a stress when I’ve tricked myself I’ve gone 50 miles in the wrong direction. I then end up with a brain that won’t let me sleep as I try to work out where I went wrong.....that was in the days of paper maps, but it’s still in my mind now so is always something I’m very conscious of when planning trips.

I would also probably stay in a camp site midway through the trip if feasible. A shower and a beer might be a good moral booster.

I did a long trip through Spain once. Agreed to meet the missus in Gibraltar, big mistake. Added stress to make sure I was there on the agreed date, plus I just wanted to shower, eat fish and chips, drink Coke and sleep. She wanted to go exploring, go to nice restaurants etc.
Very envious. Would love to be in the position to undertake a trip like this. Unfortunately I wouldn’t get a pass to do it these days.