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I've entered the Mille Pennies
1000km in 75 hours? That's easy surely? I's not even 10mph........
Ohhh, the clock doesn't stop while you're eating, sleeping, defecating, faffing, applying liberal amounts of bum butter .....
And there's 13850m of climbing.
And I'm 38 and about the least fit I've ever been.
Just thought I'd start a thread where moan about my FTP never changing however many hours I spend on the turbo, try to lose 4 stone and you all tell me to do even more Z2 miles. It'll be fun ........ right?
1000km in 75 hours?
Well, 1001km apparently. So three days of 200+ miles a day. Sod that, good luck to you and your arse 🙂
That's quite hilly, too. I'd book your physio appointments now.
Buy shares in Bum Butter now.
Do what I did on the 3-peaks CX. Break your only bike after 2 peaks, terminally ?
The Village Store in Muker just off the route at the start of day 2 sells amazing flapjack
Thirteen thousand metres of climbing?!
gulp
Only 9 and a bit times more climbing than the London - Edinburgh - London
Sounds incredibly painful unless you are used to these distances. I did the Mad Manc in May, 205km, and to do that 3 days on a row, no thank you !
And, if the weather is bad...
See I like the idea of some of those Audax events but I invariably find bits of the route that I just think "Nope!"
The main road between Staveley and Windermere (OK, there's an adequate cycle lane alongside some of it), the main road up to Thirlmere, the unnecessary jaunt up to Lockerbie and back....
I did the Mad Manc in May, 205km, and to do that 3 days on a row, no thank you !
Actually 50% more each day than that.
Only 9 and a bit times more climbing than the London – Edinburgh – London
Eh? Total climbing is about 15,000m for LEL. Obviously Mille Pennines is packing it into a shorter distance.
the unnecessary jaunt up to Lockerbie and back….
I was looking forward to that bit, northern Cumbria is relatively flat.
I did the Mad Manc in May, 205km, and to do that 3 days on a row, no thank you !
Actually 50% more each day than that.
Actually more like a 50 mile hilly ride, a Fred Whitton, then another 50miles, for three days, and a nice 50mile hilly recovery ride on day 4.
The main road between Staveley and Windermere (OK, there’s an adequate cycle lane alongside some of it), the main road up to Thirlmere, then unecessary jaunt up to Lockerbie and back….
Much depends on when you ride the main roads. Well designed routes often use A roads in the middle of the night, and quieter lanes during the day.
Good luck, you might need some training 😉
I've signed up for LWL and hopefully will get on LEL so am in the silly distance club too.
I'll probably ride Brevet Cymru and LEL. Thinking about the Pennine 600 as I can't do the Bryan Chapman next year.
Eh? Total climbing is about 15,000m for LEL. Obviously Mille Pennines is packing it into a shorter distance.
I stand corrected, I thought it looked low when I googled it even for a route that avoids excessive hills by sticking East as far as possible in the Southern part.
I’ve signed up for LWL and hopefully will get on LEL so am in the silly distance club too.
I fancied the LWL, but it was already full.
There's a flat 600 in Essex that I might do as shakedown instead, and if I'm doing a 1000 I'm getting my goddam Super Randoneur 2500 badge!
Good call.. Saw an article about it a while back and was tempted but also a bit wary. July '25 .. you have time.
FWIW the first TINAT was 600km and ~10,000m elevation so in a way this has less elevation per km, but it still does look like a rather big ride on distance alone never mind the hills.
The main road between Staveley and Windermere (OK, there’s an adequate cycle lane alongside some of it), the main road up to Thirlmere, the unnecessary jaunt up to Lockerbie and back….
To be fair if you're on pace you should/ideally get those A-road bits at very quiet times at night when you've lights on so they can feel much safer than daytime use. I've also been on some of them in the daytime and would never do them again.
Fair play, entering that takes some balls.
I've done all sorts of tough sporting things and the only one I've ever quit part way through was a London to Edinburgh ride. I got to the camping point at York on day one (215 miles, 14.5 hours), then got the train home the next morning instead of doing day 2.
Piece of cake, double the distance of the Xmas Rapha 500 in half the time. 😮
Sounds painful. Very, for that distance.
July ’25 .. you have time.
Yea, I'm trying to ignore the "training for 1000km" bit and remember it's "just" 3x 300's and a ride back to the coast. I've done 200's with similar climbing per km without training, so a 300 should be doable?
Piece of cake, double the distance of the Xmas Rapha 500 in half the time. ?
I've never completed a Festive 500, ohh well ?
Maybe I'll use it as an excuse to escape the in-laws.
Fair play, entering that takes some balls.
If I have massive cojones it'll just be because of the swelling from spending 75h on the bike.
Following with interest as someone who hasn't done a 200 for 10 years.....
I’d be reluctant to drive that you madman or madwoman.
It'd be good to keep this thread going as we work towards our long distance goals. So we can support or take the piss as appropriate.
I'm doing the Moonrakers and Sunseekers 300 next weekend. It was minus 4 last year and my bottles froze, I really can't explain why I've entered it again.
Following with interest as someone who hasn’t done a 200 for 10 years…..
If I'm motivated enough* I'll keep the thread updated with the training plan and progress.
Up until Christmas at least it's looking something like:
M - Turbo MyWhoosh FTP plan*
T - Velodrome, essentially a ~60min bunch ride / TTT
W -Rest / Gym work
T - Evening clubrun, 40miles by the time I get home again.
F - Turbo MyWhoosh FTP plan*
S - Rest / Gym work
S - Clubrun
Plus commuting (it's a short commute so I'll have to escalate the detouring to start getting Z2 miles in) , plus join a pool to keep me moving on rest days.
*The plan has 4-5 structured sessions a week, I'm aiming for 2 and just spreading it out.
Current Weight 99kg
Current FTP - 200W on a seated ramp test (I think that's optimistic, 185W might be closer).
I’m doing the Moonrakers and Sunseekers 300 next weekend. It was minus 4 last year and my bottles froze, I really can’t explain why I’ve entered it again.
Good luck, I was tempted to sign up and ride the first half, then decide if I'm bailing and riding back to Reading or carrying on. But suspected even the bailing option might be optimistic.
mille pennies? is that £10.00 ?
Dammit, I was duped it was £68 ?
It’d be good to keep this thread going as we work towards our long distance goals. So we can support or take the piss as appropriate.
Every once in a while - and usually fairly spur of the moment - I'll do a long-distance thing. Rode down to London last year (helped greatly by the fact I have family there so free accommodation and I keep some basic clothes down there too so nothing to carry) but I only decided to do it about 3 days in advance. Basically chose a day with a tailwind, decent weather and just enough daylight hours. 230 miles.
And a couple of months ago I did Way of the Roses coast to coast ride in a day (177 miles plus another 15 miles of riding up to the station at 3.30am to get the first train of the day out to Lancaster). Did 75 miles the following day in an extended ride back to York station for the train home.
About 4 years ago I talked a mate into a massive loop of the Lake District - about 144 (very hilly) miles but actually it turned out to be an amazing day on the bike.
However that's me choosing things on my own terms. The extra pressure of an audax and the forced nature of being quite uncomfortable with snatched segments of sleep in random village halls surrounded by snoring blokes somehow carries less appeal.
that is brilliant...... good on you and good luck.
longest audax i have done is a 300km. and it was pretty tough.
i would love to enter one of the long ones, with nothing to concentrate on other than riding and eating, and no time limit.
a challenge to myself rather than getting the clothe badge.
and if i ever get round to it....... i would ride a recumbent of some kind... to save my bum and wrists.
The extra pressure of an audax and the forced nature of being quite uncomfortable with snatched segments of sleep in random village halls surrounded by snoring blokes somehow carries less appeal.
If you don't go straight to sleep, you haven't ridden far enough. Though I was tripping my tits off on PBP, trying to make 600km before sleeping was not one of my better ideas
might be worth doing 1 day of 200 miles amd 5000m of climbing. I don't think I'd fancy doing a second afterwards
Impressive! Will be following your progress OP.
Burning question is "flat bars or drops"
Drops, I once did 300miles over a long weekend on flats and couldn’t feel my palms for over a month!
I get numbness on the outside of my palms and up my fingers on longer rides, 400km plus. It's the ulnar nerve, which takes a long time to regrow. Seasoned audaxers tell me tribars help, as you can get weight off of your hands.
Hat off to you! I think sometimes you have to have the confidence to put yourself forward for challenging events and push yourself.
As long as you can get over the climbs then hopefully you can pace yourself through the distance.
I have done the Fred whitton multiple times but of course that is not on par with this challenge. I'm not sure if I could have got back on the bike and gone again the next day but I was always pretty out of shape when doing it.
Will keep an eye on the thread and best of luck!
Seasoned audaxers tell me tribars help, as you can get weight off of your hands.
Yea, there's a few long drags hidden in amongst all the hills so I think aero bars will be something I'll have to get used to again.
I think sometimes you have to have the <s>confidence</s> stupidity to put yourself forward for challenging events and push yourself.
TBH I'm more looking forward to the shorter (relatively) training rides, the event itself is just a painful kick up the arse to get me back out on the bike again regularly.
There's something very terrifying about the idea that it's only ~30 Sunday club rides away ?
snatched segments of sleep in random village halls
If only, there's a reason bus shelters are referred to Audax Hiltons!
Yea, I’m trying to ignore the “training for 1000km” bit and remember it’s “just” 3x 300’s and a ride back to the coast. I’ve done 200’s with similar climbing per km without training, so a 300 should be doable?
I did a 300k (and +3,000m) early this year, only my 4th ride at 100 miles or more (in my life).
Not doing another 300k but did do a 200k a month later - happy with 200k.
If you can't do 3x200k (or 100miles) over a long weekend beforehand, you shouldn't be doing the 1000k would be my 'advice'.
And 99kg - you're not that tall if I remember (although this was +15 years ago at a Gorrick), you'll make it easier for yourself every kilo you lose.
And 99kg – you’re not that tall if I remember (although this was +15 years ago at a Gorrick), you’ll make it easier for yourself every kilo you lose.
That's the plan, I'm 6ft but carry a fair bit of muscle so won't realistically get below 85-82kg without exhausting myself.
If you can’t do 3x200k (or 100miles) over a long weekend beforehand, you shouldn’t be doing the 1000k would be my ‘advice’.
That's pretty much the plan:
The Flatlands 600 in May as an overnight / 2-day test.
The Rural South 300 in late June which has comparable amounts of climbing per km (albeit in hills rather than Lakeland passes) which I can probably muster a group for a 200 ish clubrun the day after which will be a good test of climbing on knackered legs.
And there's off-roads options locally SDW double in a weekend, Ridgeway double in a day, KAW in 36h locally to test myself on.
I'm planning to do this next year: https://midnightsunrandonnee.se/
Although having started looking into travel to/from the start/finish I've realised it will be a logistical nightmare (basically need to add on 2 days for travel at each end).
Tempted to put that one aside until the children are a bit older and sign up to Mille Pennines instead...
The Flatlands 600 in May as an overnight / 2-day test.
Yeah, that's the test: can you get up after minimal sleep and do it all over again.
If you're after a 3 x 200 long weekend, the Pauline Porter Populaire runs alongside the Bryan Chapman Memorial, 6th June I think. I was volunteering this year and the riders were raving about it. The BCM is a great 600, loads of TLC and the climbs are mostly a steady gradient.
If you’re after a 3 x 200 long weekend, the Pauline Porter Populaire
Looks good, similar profile to the MP1K but with a couple of hours extra sleep!
Which only leaves a 400 which unless you're fast enough to knock it out as a chaingang at the max speed is likely to end up an almost 24h effort and that's the one thing that doesn't appeal.
Righty, well that's the A Tale Of Two Beauties 100km ticked off.
As expected I suffered on the hills so opted to sit in the group for most of the flatter first half and make good time to the halfway commercial control. Had a couple of minor mechanicals with my rear mudguard cracking completely through a few inches behind the brake caliper, must have caught a twig or something, then dropping the chain on a small climb meaning I had to ride the last 15k or so solo.
Deciding to turn that into a positive and get used to a long ride without a rest I grabbed a can of beer for later, got my receipt and headed straight out again ahead of the main group.
The 2nd half was fairly uneventful, I got caught on the hills then hung on ok the flats for a rest as each small group came past. Before running out of legs at the top of the last big hill. Thankfully it was (a painfully steep and unrewarding of the effort put into getting up there) downhill from Bix into Henley then the slippery climb back up Hambleden valley and the road that seems to go on forever because you know it's 'almost' home skirting around the north of Caversham.
Things to do better next time, sort myself a new Garmin computer, the epix is great for a pseudo digital-detox way of riding but I missed one info control because I wasn't paying attention to the km's. And I got the fueling/hydration wrong. Despite sticking to my plan of a banana or cereal bar roughly every 40min I realised I'd not taken a sip of water untill almost 70k. Next time I'll take something sweet to drink (I prefer OJ to SiS) and some sweets which should add some simple carbs to the mix. Not much I could have done about the mechanicals, I think whatever took the mudguard out probably jolted the QR (sks raceblade) which tweaked the wheel alignment.
100k in 5h22min. Not exactly impressive but not bad.
Total this week: 206miles split between 10mile Z1/2 recovery commutes and 15/40/80mile rides and a slightly harder pace (Z2, edging into 3+ on short hills).
Sticking to the plan of doing roughly that each week for the first 16weeks untill the end of February. Then making an assessment over whether to continue with that unstructured base riding if it's working well, or focusing more on polarising it with more sweet spot and hill work once the Audax season starts properly.
I set my Wahoo to prompt me to have a drink every 15 minutes, think Garmin do the same
Probably just a time of year thing with it being colder and probably longer than I'm used to at this time. I'm pretty good with hydration in the summer and most winter rides I get around without actually needing anything more than the cafe stop.
What I really needed was an 'audax mode' to flag up a warning when approaching the controls ?. Anyone know if there's a way of setting a hard waypoint that it won't let you navigate past untill you've acknowledged the message? Needs to be something more than the pothole alarm but less of a faff than fully chopping the route up into different courses and having to load each one up as you pass controls.
I was supposed to be riding the Moonrakers and Sunseekers 300 this weekend, but COVID has struck. Gah.
I have a feeling there's a way but not sure how.
There are several really good audax groups on Facebook - one is event specific, the other is focused on tech and kit. Worth asking/searching on there.
Maybe alter the route so it heads up a side street 50m, and then u turns back down onto the actual route? Should be enough of a prompt
Holy thread resurrection...
It's LWL this weekend - anybody else got a place?
I'll see you at flatlands in a few weeks if you're still going, Titanium Sonder, aero bars & tailfin 🙂
I got a spot on LEL and it's getting nearer...
What I really needed was an 'audax mode' to flag up a warning when approaching the controls ?.
If you've got a Garmin, and the Audax has e-brevet, there's a Garmin IQ field that tells you how far away you are.
How are you getting on, TINAS? I've entered LEL and am lying on the sofa today after a brutal 600 this weekend.