Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - 400k--lessons learned

This was the longest distance I ever attempted(yesterday), and the first time I faced serious hills; a real roller coaster for most of the ride. I finished in 23 hours with no rest. There were rough spots, but I felt good at the end.

Never give up!---After a long set of big hills (Sugarloaf Mountain), 4 people dropped out. I was hurting, too, but 80 miles later, I rode the same hills much stronger; go figure. They might have recovered, too, if they kept trying.

Get a granny gear(I don't have one yet)---I needed 8 to 9 mph to get a decent cadence, which meant I was suffering, grinding and standing at 4mph., when I could have been spinning up the hills at the same speed (I think; true?).

Pack smart---I needed both inner tubes, and my back-up headlight, and the thermos of coffee sure hit the spot on top of the mountain.

If you are about to fall asleep, speed up---I was ready to fall off the bike with 25 miles to go. I took a shot, and spun hard for a couple miles, and the grogginess went away. Anyone else find this to be true?

Stay at the host hotel, and arrive early the day before. It gives you time to shop, pack the bike, buy breakfast for the next day... Saturday, just roll the bike through the lobby for inspection.

Eat and drink like clockwork--I managed to take in over 5000 calories without any indigestion; a big breakfast and 200 calories on the hour during the ride.

Now, does anyone have some lessons learned from a 600k, before I learn them the hard way? I am most interested on how much sleep you try to get, and how you get rolling the second day. We will be at the hotel at the 400k mark.

Lessons learned from 600k's:

Sleep in whatever time lengths work for you--for me, 1.5 hrs or 3 hrs work great. 3 is better, but I haven't always had that much time available.

Sleep during the 2-5 am time frame--I'm sleepy and ride very slowly during that time anyway.

Have a hotel room at that time (course dependent)--a meal, a shower, and a bed, then another meal are great pick-me-ups.

Have a variety of food available--what tastes great at the start may taste like crap or sawdust at the end

Electrolytes and water--don't get behind on either, it's hard to catch up

Be adaptive--a very hot, very cold, mountainous, etc., 600k makes you adapt to what's feasible. Don't get disappointed if you're behind schedule, just keep riding at a pace you can maintain. Our 400k a couple of weeks ago had 35 mph headwinds for 125 miles--we just slowed way down, cursed a bit, and kept going.

Have bag balm or lantiseptic skin protectant available--your bottom may thank you

Try to keep going even if something hurts (within reason, of course)--I frequently have moderate back pain around 120 miles. 25 miles later it is usually gone without my noticing it.

Ride between controls--focus on getting to the next control, it's too much if you get to the first control and think, "I have 325 miles to go."

Mark W

Nice job on the 400k! (I'll be taking a go at one in the fall.)

Good going! Congrats!

The route, your speed over the route and the distance to the next control will dictate how much sleep you can afford on the 600.

This was the longest distance I ever attempted(yesterday), and the first time I faced serious hills; a real roller coaster for most of the ride. I finished in 23 hours with no rest. There were rough spots, but I felt good at the end. congrats!



If you are about to fall asleep, speed up---I was ready to fall off the bike with 25 miles to go. I took a shot, and spun hard for a couple miles, and the grogginess went away. Anyone else find this to be true?


well, partially true for me. I've had moments where I've been really sleepy and a short, hard sprint helps keep me awake, but I'd say only about half the time, the sprint is enough to keep me awake for the next couple of hours or so, but the other half the sleepiness creeps right back in as soon as I stop sprinting.

conversely, if I am tired and I wind up just spinning lightly or coasting on the bike, then I will definitely get sleepy if I let my heart rate drop, so there's definitely something to aerobic activity and staying awake, but it's unfortunately not just as simple as keep your heart rate above x number and you'll stay awake.

other things that have helped me wake up:

talking to other riders

singing if alone

eating something sugary

becoming scared (ie. get lost, drift into an opposite lane of traffic while half-asleep and wake up when a car honks at you, pass by dark houses with unseen dogs barking at you menacingly)

note: the last one isn't particularly recommended ;)


Now, does anyone have some lessons learned from a 600k, before I learn them the hard way? I am most interested on how much sleep you try to get, and how you get rolling the second day. We will be at the hotel at the 400k mark.

recovery meal. as soon as you get to the rest point, before you shower, change or do anything else, sit down and eat something. your body has an optimum window for taking in calories and protein shortly after a long, hard effort like a 400k, and having a good, protein-rich recovery meal as soon as possible will help you feel better after your sleep.

(for what it's worth, you will still likely wake up feeling like someone beat you with stuffed socks in your sleep ... recovery meals and sleep help but they don't work miracles ;) ... no matter how poorly you feel, so long as there isn't any actual pain, get back on your bike. You'll feel better once you've been on the road for 15 minutes and have warmed back up again)

to add to Mark's tip -- sleep within your REM cycle. the typical deep sleep cycle is about 90 minutes long, so the divisions of 1.5 hours is the rule of thumb. If you cannot sleep within that cycle, it is better to only catnap and not have your cycle start than to be woken up from deep sleep. Basically, if you don't have time to sleep for 90 minutes, it's better to catch four 15-minute catnaps along your route than to just try to sleep for one hour in one stretch.

400k is a long way to go before a sleep stop on a 600. I would advise you to keep your control stops on the first day short and efficient to maximize your rest time, and try to finish the 400k leg in less than 23 hours. Dilly-dally all you like on the second day, but keep it snappy on the first.

becoming scared (ie. get lost, drift into an opposite lane of traffic while half-asleep and wake up when a car honks at you, pass by dark houses with unseen dogs barking at you menacingly)

note: the last one isn't particularly recommended ;)





Ha! I just did my first 300k, and that was the worst part for me. I had been chased a few times in daylight, but hearing the barking and approaching gnashing teeth in the dark, unseen, freaked me out. My lesson learned - a powerful helmet light is crucial. It was fun to see the heartrate spike on my monitor because I sprinted long after they were probably chasing me...