Touring - been off for 2.5wks, 320k in Nov!

Hey team, I know this is almost like extreme touring but I thought that this would be the right forum right here.

In the end of November I plan on entering the ENDURO section of the famous Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge (11,000 riders last year or there abouts). So this is not the normal single lap starting about 7am on the Sunday. This is 2 laps starting at 1.30am! A total of 320km - a double century!

But I have been off the bike nearly 3 weeks with illness, and it will be 3 when i get back on on Thursday.
I'd like some tips and suggestions for getting my fitness up there, and can it be done? I have done a 192k event in the past so I know I can ride distance, but until lately I had only been doing up to 70k in a day. Do you think my body can handle the strain of a very hard training program to get me back into business? I will then take some rest before going intense again.

I just really want to know - Can I make that 320k in November?

www.cyclechallenge.com

Cheers,
Brendon

Ummmm .... November isn't exactly next month ... that's still 6 months away!! You could be off the bicycle for the next 2.5 MONTHS and still be in shape for that ride.

It's also only a double century ... provided the route isn't too hilly or windy, you should be done in less than 16 hours. If it is a bit hilly or windy, it might take you a bit longer.

Here ... have a read over this site: http://www.ultracycling.com/ and take a look at my website in the signature line below for more long distance tips, stories, links, etc.


And a little story ... I'm an ultra-distance cyclist, a Randonneur. My first year of Randonneuring was 2001 and I completed the Super Randonneur series (200K, 300K, 400K, and 600K) and was hooked on long distance cycling!! I had decided to ride the Rocky Mountain 1200 in 2002, and was really, really looking forward to it.

Then ... on November 1, 2001 I dropped a pot of boiling water on my left foot and burnt it to the bone. I couldn't cycle, I couldn't walk, I couldn't stand up, I couldn't even move my arms much because every time I exerted myself a teensy bit, blood would circulate into that foot and pool there causing it to swell up to twice its size and become agonizingly painful. I was off work entirely for 5 weeks, and spent the whole time sitting in a chair or lying in bed with my foot propped in front of me.

I was devistated. I began to wonder if I would ever walk again let alone cycle ... and I wanted to ride the Rocky Mountain 1200 so badly. That ride was in mid-July and I knew if I didn't start healing soon, I wouldn't be able to ride the qualifying brevets (which started in early May) and I wouldn't be in shape for a 1200K.

I started to hobble around my apartment a little bit by Christmas, and in mid-January, after 2.5 months of absolutely no exercise at all (I couldn't even workout my upper body), I rode for about 5 minutes on my trainer with my burned foot in a slipper. Very, very, very gradually I started increasing the distance a little bit at a time. I also had to go to a physiotherapist to learn to walk again ... when you haven't walked in about 3 months, you actually forget how!!

It was mid-February before I took my first, short ride outside ..... with my foot in a cycling shoe, but still bandaged.

However, May 4th, I rode my first 200K brevet of 2002 ... May 25th I rode my 300K brevet ...... And by mid-July I was able to ride the Rocky Mountain 1200.

It was the dream of riding the Rocky Mountain 1200 that kept me going through all of that!


So yes ..... from my experience, you should have no problem getting your fitness level to the point where you can do that event.

Thanks for the reassurance Machka! I am feeling better now so feeling a bit more sure about it.

The bikes you use, are they just stock road bikes?

Brendon

I dropped a pot of boiling water on my left foot and burnt it to the bone. ouchy!!!!

Wow, that's an inspirational story!

Thanks for the reassurance Machka! I am feeling better now so feeling a bit more sure about it.

The bikes you use, are they just stock road bikes?

Brendon


Randonneurs use every imaginable piece of human powered equipment out there. Road bicycles, mtn bikes, fixed gears, single speeds, tandems, recumbents, trikes, triplettes, hand cycles, unicycles, and even kick bikes. It's all up the personality of the cyclist, and the only stipulation is that it is safe (i.e. must have at least one brake, must have lights, etc.).

I ride a custom steel Marinoni Ciclo. :)

A 1200 km ride on a unicycle in 90 hours??? What an adventure! :D

OK I have a stock standard Scott Speedster S30 - It has outboard bearings so it's nice and stiff for climbing etc, but it is Aluminium so the ride is a little harsh - not too bad mind you. I did 192km of hills last year on the Cervelo road bike and this bike is smoother so I think I should be ok. Although I may yet decide to use the Cervelo (now a TT rig) for the first lap during the night as I will be in a very small group or alone. If I get tired and sore I will swap to the standard roadie for the second lap, otherwise I may stay on the Cervelo. Hmmm Decisions.

I am going to see if some 700x25c tyres will fit OK.

A 1200 km ride on a unicycle in 90 hours??? What an adventure! :D


That would be an adventure!! :eek:

However, the longest I've ever heard anyone doing on a unicycle was a double century ... the STP (Seattle to Portland).

OK I have a stock standard Scott Speedster S30 - It has outboard bearings so it's nice and stiff for climbing etc, but it is Aluminium so the ride is a little harsh - not too bad mind you. I did 192km of hills last year on the Cervelo road bike and this bike is smoother so I think I should be ok. Although I may yet decide to use the Cervelo (now a TT rig) for the first lap during the night as I will be in a very small group or alone. If I get tired and sore I will swap to the standard roadie for the second lap, otherwise I may stay on the Cervelo. Hmmm Decisions.

I am going to see if some 700x25c tyres will fit OK.

The first two years I was into Randonneuring I rode an aluminum Giant OCR3 ... I was fine and really didn't know the difference. When I got the steel Marinoni though, I discovered it was much nicer and now I have trouble riding my Giant any distance.

If I were you, I'd go with which ever one is most comfortable for you.