Mountain Biking - So how stupid is this?

It's been years since I've ridden anything remotely considered a long ride (road or mtb). Here on Kodiak Island we are having the first ever 24 Hours of Kodiak mtb race. It's an easy 3.8 mile loop course, takes about 20-25 mins to ride on lap, no big hills, nothing too technical - just a fun ride with a bunch of people.

Is it suicide for me to do this ride solo, considering I haven't trained for it? It's in 5 weeks. I don't expect, or want, to be competetive, just want to have fun with the first ever race of it's kind on Kodiak.

So whaddya think - am I killing myself? Anyone else done anything this stupid?!

It's been years since I've ridden anything remotely considered a long ride (road or mtb). Here on Kodiak Island we are having the first ever 24 Hours of Kodiak mtb race. It's an easy 3.8 mile loop course, takes about 20-25 mins to ride on lap, no big hills, nothing too technical - just a fun ride with a bunch of people.

Is it suicide for me to do this ride solo, considering I haven't trained for it? It's in 5 weeks. I don't expect, or want, to be competetive, just want to have fun with the first ever race of it's kind on Kodiak.

So whaddya think - am I killing myself? Anyone else done anything this stupid?!Don't waste your time doing it solo if you haven't been doing longer rides. I can almost guarantee you won't finish and you'd potentially take a spot from someone who would finish. Five weeks isn't enough time to go from couch potato to 24 hr rider (notice I didn't say racer)

A bit off ttopic, but...

Some guy in Sydney did a 24 Hr race and came first in his division on A Stab Primo built up as a DH race rig. He didn't do any specific training for the 24 hour race (which had a couple of big hills in the loop)

Then again, alot of proper DH riders are very fit, some of the Aussie DHers went to the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) and broke records for power and endurance that roadies set.

...just watch out for the bears.

How old are you? Pushing yourself for 24 hours is physically risky, don't forget to keep drinking and eating during the event. You will probably have a major league bonk no matter what you do. But, yeah, I'd do it too....

Definately do it! Yeah, you probably won't finish, but it will be interesting to see how hard you can push yourself, and the endorphins you produce will be a killer high.

BTW...I visited my sis- and bro-in-law on Kodiak two summers ago, and had a great time hiking Barometer and fishing the Buskin River. Where is the race held?
Kodiak is so green it's definately the 'Emerald Isle'; from the air, it looks like freakin' Hawaii. Have a great time!

And don't listen to Raiyn...from what I can tell, (s)he spends a lot of time talking downt to people and raining on everybody's parade, rather than providing helpful advice. Well, maybe some of that, too...

Definately do it! Yeah, you probably won't finish, but it will be interesting to see how hard you can push yourself, and the endorphins you produce will be a killer high.

BTW...I visited my sis- and bro-in-law on Kodiak two summers ago, and had a great time hiking Barometer and fishing the Buskin River. Where is the race held?
Kodiak is so green it's definately the 'Emerald Isle'; from the air, it looks like freakin' Hawaii. Have a great time!

And don't listen to Raiyn...from what I can tell, (s)he spends a lot of time talking downt to people and raining on everybody's parade, rather than providing helpful advice. Well, maybe some of that, too...You haven't been around long enough to judge anyone newbie. Also my brother-in-law who is a certified personal trainer and has done 12 centuries in the last 6 months (with best time of 4hrs 30 min) agrees with me completly. He would have to eat sleep and do nothing but train for the full five weeks to FINISH a 12 hour Race

I think that the race would be no fun by yourself. If you want to just have fun save the entry fee and just go ride.

i could do 24 hours, as long its not a race, and there are no big hills. I find biking actually pretty easy. I've biked for years. my calves are literally the size of a NFL football. i could bike 50 times longer then i could run.

good luck with that

Thanks to everyone for your replies, I really appreciate it.

I should have been a bit more specific - we are talking about a race that will have 3-5 5 person teams, and 3 solo riders. It's NOT a huge event like the 24 hours of snowshoe or ANYTHING like that - not at all.

Geoduck - the race is being held at Cliff Point, which is opposite the Coast Guard base across from Women's Bay.

Yup, bears are a real threat, no kidding. Hopefully they'll be enough noise and commotion to ward them off, however.

Thanks to everyone for the replies - I'm still considering it!
Andy

do it anyways. it would look good to list on a resume or something even if you didnt win.

You haven't been around long enough to judge anyone newbie. Also my brother-in-law who is a certified personal trainer and has done 12 centuries in the last 6 months (with best time of 4hrs 30 min) agrees with me completly. He would have to eat sleep and do nothing but train for the full five weeks to FINISH a 12 hour Race

That's silly, and I've been around long enough. A person in reasonable condition can finish a 24 hour, it would just hurt a lot. They've got to be ready for that pain. I trained and finished a 36 hour event on 4 weeks of training (20 hours per week), but it hurt. I was in reasonable condition in the beginning, but not great shape compared to the other 12 finishers of 77 entrants.

Oh yeah, one more thing I failed to mention. I'm no couch potato - I workout 4x a week at the gym, hike the mountains here 2-3x a week, and run some, too. I'm active duty Coast Guard, so it's not like I'm some 300# slug that never moves...!

Can be done, but don't take the risk though.

go for it!!!!

Andy, figured you might be Coastie. Any chance you know my bro-in-law, Chris Burke? He's a loadmaster for the C-130 fleet, and he's shipping out for Hawaii in 2-4 weeks or something. Lucky b**tard, from one Emerald Isle to another! :p

You haven't been around long enough to judge anyone newbie. Also my brother-in-law who is a certified personal trainer and has done 12 centuries in the last 6 months (with best time of 4hrs 30 min) agrees with me completly. He would have to eat sleep and do nothing but train for the full five weeks to FINISH a 12 hour Race

Well, since you and your brother-in-law agree, I guess the case is closed. No endurance rides for non-professionals! :rolleyes:

Well, since you and your brother-in-law agree, I guess the case is closed. No endurance rides for non-professionals! :rolleyes:
No 24 hour endurance rides for people who only have five weeks to go from zero riding to riding 24 hours straight. Nowhere did I say "professional"

How fast are we going? I kept up 6 hours of 20 kmph rdiing no problem.

How fast are we going? I kept up 6 hours of 20 kmph rdiing no problem.

Thats because 20kph is 12 mph......and 12mph is SLOW.

I say go for it, especially if you're on a team. If your attitude is right and you don't get caught up in the "gotta win" type mentality, you'll have a blast.

I've done several 12-hour races and a 50 mile mtn bike ride. The 50 miler was worse than the 12-hour because with teammates, you rest in between laps.

Yes, you will be exhausted. Yes, you WILL have fun.

If you're reasonably fit to begin with, you'll do alright. The biggest issue you'll have is a sore butt. If you've got only 5 weeks, you need to start riding your bike as much as possible to build your butt calouses. Actually it's not a calouse, but muscle tone. You need to get "used" to sitting on a bike saddle.

If you barely ride, then start with 30 mins to an hour each day. Make yourself ride EVERY day. Repitition is better that a single time.

Get to the point where you can tolerate 3 hrs on your bike w/o too much discomfort and you'll be fine for a relay race.

Good Luck, stay hydrated and FED, get good lights!

L8R

I say go for it, especially if you're on a team. If your attitude is right and you don't get caught up in the "gotta win" type mentality, you'll have a blast.

I've done several 12-hour races and a 50 mile mtn bike ride. The 50 miler was worse than the 12-hour because with teammates, you rest in between laps.

Yes, you will be exhausted. Yes, you WILL have fun.

If you're reasonably fit to begin with, you'll do alright. The biggest issue you'll have is a sore butt. If you've got only 5 weeks, you need to start riding your bike as much as possible to build your butt calouses. Actually it's not a calouse, but muscle tone. You need to get "used" to sitting on a bike saddle.

If you barely ride, then start with 30 mins to an hour each day. Make yourself ride EVERY day. Repitition is better that a single time.

Get to the point where you can tolerate 3 hrs on your bike w/o too much discomfort and you'll be fine for a relay race.

Good Luck, stay hydrated and FED, get good lights!

L8R
He said he wanted to do it SOLO

Ooops missed that!

Yeah, 5 weeks for a solo endeavor is crazy!

L8R

I like that a2, it's like yes do it, it will be cool. Then a flat out NO!

Going solo is a WHOLE different situation. The guys I've seen race solo are a strange breed. You've really got to have a bit of a masochistics tendency to do a 24 hour event solo.

To do it without training, you are friggin NUTS!!!!!!!

Unless of course you only commit to 5 or 6 hours and that's all you're going to do. (And that's being generous with only 5 weeks of training)

If you go as a team, it's a whole different experience. You have time to rest, there are plenty of people to be support and back-up. Your teammates provide motivation and humor....etc.

L8R

Dude if you want to do it, then go do it! It's not like you're obligated to finish the whole race. You aren't obligated to "PUSH YOURSELF TO THE EDGES OF HUMAN ENDURANCE", it's a bike ride after all. Yeah it's a long bike ride, but like I said if you run out of gas, then call it a day and go get a burrito. As far as possibly bumping someone who would perform better than you in the race, I say tough. They should have signed up sooner than you did. First come first served after all.

Going solo is a WHOLE different situation. The guys I've seen race solo are a strange breed. You've really got to have a bit of a masochistics tendency to do a 24 hour event solo.

To do it without training, you are friggin NUTS!!!!!!!

Unless of course you only commit to 5 or 6 hours and that's all you're going to do. (And that's being generous with only 5 weeks of training)

If you go as a team, it's a whole different experience. You have time to rest, there are plenty of people to be support and back-up. Your teammates provide motivation and humor....etc.

L8R

You failed to mention screaming for your team-mate when you finish your night lap, 10 minutes ahead of time.... "346.....?!! 3-4-6....??!?!?! Dave....!?!??! Where the *@#! are you?!?!?!?"
reply... " He's still sleeping!! HA HA HA!"

Like I stated earlier. If you go alone for a 24 hour race on a light XC bike you are strange, but think about the guy I mentioned, riding a Stab Primo setup for DH/FR solo in a 24 hour race... and winning it.