300km one day???

BrookieD

Hi Guys
OK bit of a biggie this but looking for a bit of advice. I am looking to achieve something massive this year.

I am looking to cycle 300km from Ashbourne to Achill Island in one day. :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

This is an idea i have had for a while and i think it could be done with the right training and preparation.
At the moment i am wondering what sort of training will i need to undertake in order to make this happen before the end of the year? I was looking at September / October to compelte this task.

The reason - raise money for Our Lady's Hospice Harolds Cross and Barretstown.

So what do i need to consider?
i have so far:-
Backup team for the cycle (cycle fixes etc..)
medical team
food/drink
a cycle team? - (If anyone is interested in taking part with me your more than welcome as i have not got a clue and the company would be welcome. )


Any and all advise welcome

manwithaplan

Do you really need a backup team and a medical team? Cycling 300k (particularly solo) is a decent achievement but it's not incredibly "out there". Just bring stuff for fixing punctures, a couple of allen keys, a chain tool and a power link. A mobile phone should be all the medical assistance you require.

The training is just lots of cycling, building up from wherever you are now to 200k or thereabouts a couple of weeks before the off. You will be focusing on getting the miles in but the speed should come also. You probably don't want to be spending much more than 14 hours in the saddle on the day, ideally less.

You know the chances are that you will be cycling into a headwind? It is likely to be easier in the other direction. Best of luck with it.

seamus

It can definitely be done with training and preparation. A reasonably fit cyclist should be able to cover those relatively flat KM in around 12 hours.

In terms of training, what you need to do between now and then is get used to spending long amounts of time in the saddle. Forget about speed and strength, just get used to sitting on the saddle. End of September gives you six months.

In terms of non-training things that you need, you don't really need a backup "team". A single support vehicle should be more than enough, driven by someone who knows how to repair a bike. They don't need to follow you either, just drive to the next town and then meet you there before heading on. They can also carry food and water, and rainjackets and such so you don't have to carry much. You carry a phone so if you need assistance, you ring them to come help.

If you have a support vehicle I would also be inclined to arrange for a spare bike to be carried by them. Chances are your bike will make the 300km without so much as a puncture, but a spare bike would allow you to continue on quickly - your support vehicle can fix your bike while you keep cycling the spare.

You don't need a medical team. Get a map, use a red marker to circle the location of hospitals en route just in case you end up in a serious accident. You won't

By far the most useful thing would be a few more cyclists as this will keep your spirits up.

Inquitus

seamus wrote: »

By far the most useful thing would be a few more cyclists as this will keep your spirits up.

Is that code for get a really big guy you can wheel suck?

lennymc

food and drink and enjoying your own company are important. good luck with it.

Rob A. Bank

There are a large group of cyclists cycling the 200 km from Maynooth to Galway this weekend. Some will also cycle back (eg. 400km)

Their training plan, which may help you, is here :- http://www.galwaycycle.ie/galway-cycle-2012-training-plan

That is a gradual increase in cycling distances and time in the saddle in the months prior to the event.

They advise to sip drinks every 15 minutes and eat every 20 minutes during the cycle and plan a rest stop every 40 km.


Good luck with the cycle !

Lumen

If you're the sort of cyclist who has to eat and drink every 20 minutes there's no way you'll do 300km in one ride.

Lusk Doyle

Lumen wrote: »

If you're the sort of cyclist who has to eat and drink every 20 minutes there's no way you'll do 300km in one ride.

Challenge accepted! Dun, dun, duuuuuuuuun! I'm going to make you eat or drink your words!

chakattack

Loads of time to prepare. Progressively build up the miles - use sportives and audax events as preparation.

Don't bother with support cars etc.

Learn how to fix a puncture, slashed tyre and broken chain. Travel light and get food and drink at shops, make sure there is one every 2 hrs or so along the route

I'd do it in late July/August before the weather declines.

kincsem

Years ago Planet X did Blackrock to Ballina, and the return trip a few days later. He was in his 20s then.

You would need a road bike, good bibshorts, cycling jersey, and gloves. Aerobars would be good if you could use them. I suggest you do it in June when (1) longer daylight (2) slightly cooler. You could set out at 4 am to get a nice cool start and miss all the traffic. Do not have a fixed start date but wait until there is no headwind. There are plenty of shops and petrol stations on the way for food and drink.

kincsem

I drove from Dublin to Castlebar at the start of the month. I think the only hills on your route are the far side of Ballaghdreen, and they are not bad. Its flattish most of the way. You could plot the route on bikeroutetoaster.com.

Inquitus

The biggest difficulty all things being equal you can face on a one way cycle of 300km is the wind, if its blowing in your face at the start it will likely continue to do so all day long and make the ride bucketloads tougher than if it was still or at your back.

kincsem

Wind direction is favourable from 07:00 tomorrow.

http://www.windfinder.com/weatherforecast/mullingar

alexanderomahon

Good luck with this Brookie. It will be a real achievement when you complete it. then you can start planning for your 400k trip!!!

12 sprocket

THe prevailing wind favours doing the cycle from Achill to Ashbourne, you should strongly consider doing the cycle from that direction.. cycling into a westerly wind for 300 kms will not be much fun

Murph100

Its actually a lot easier than you think, especially if you have a few other cyclists with you. 16 of us in Tralee BC cycled from Tralee to Dublin last year for a charity. There were only about 5 of us actually putting in the work at the front, but it was very doable.

The 300km took 9hrs 11 mins moving time, with two 30 mins stops for food and a stretch/nature.

So if you can get a few more to cycle it with you and share the workload, its not hard at all. Just a couple of things :

Keep the stops to Two if you can, obviously around 100km & 200km and also make those stops as short as possible, we're going to be cutting ours back to 20mins max this year, guys get stiff and it takes a while to get the pace back up again.

Try & cut out p!ss stops in between if at all possible, it wrecks the pace, or keep it to 1 max between the food stops.

No need for medical team, its not a race, and everyone should be able to handle decent distances before signing up to this.

See if someone will sponsor a coach or minibus to follow you, instead of a few cars. You can use it for the food stops if its raining, and also if someone is suffering and pulling the pace down, you can feck them on the bus to recover a bit whilst the rest keep cycling.

Best of luck !


+1 on the wind, Achill to Ashbourne makes a LOT more sense unless there's an Easterly

BrookieD

Guys
Many thanks for the replies, I need to ask around as i dont know anyone else with a bike (apart from one and they will back out at some stage) so throwing an invite out if anyone wants to join me.

Going to start upping the time in the saddle and not approach this as a race. Its a marathon and will treat as such.

For the eating a drinking my stamina is good and sipping a drink every 15/20 mins and small rest after 50km or so would be a good idea.

Medical back up advice taken. will organise a small vehicle to follow or go ahead with supplies etc..

i know its not a massive distance for veteran bikers but this is a massive distance for me so i please excuse my naive comments etc... :-)

Now onto step one of training getting on the bloody bike
step two i think a change in handlebars to make it easier to crouch down.

Cheers
Darren

Lumen

There is a rule of thumb that you can do in one day what you do every week.

So if you cycle 300km EVERY week you can do 300km in one day.

I would modify this slightly from personal experience and say that you can comfortably do in one day half of what you do every week.

For example, I've done around 300km a week for the last couple of months and comfortably completed a 180km flattish cycle last Saturday in about six hours including stops.

By contrast, when I was only doing 150km a week, I would start suffering and moaning at the 100km mark of the few long cycles I did.

Cycling is a group is a very different prospect due to the huge effects of drafting.

As far as training is concerned I don't think it much matters how you distribute the distance through the week, just fit it around your life as best you can.

Don't underestimate what you're proposing to do. There's no point succeeding but crippling yourself in the process.