johngwheeler

I may ride my first Imperial Century this weekend on a registered Audax. There are 3 distances (100km, c. 160km and 200km) but nearly all of the riders are doing the 200km, so it's quite likely that I could find myself alone after the point where the 200km riders diverge.

Although I generally ride alone, this is in populated areas that go on a lot of MUPs or bike paths, so there are nearly always other riders or pedestrians around. The proposed ride is in the countryside and it's quite possible that I will completely alone apart from car traffic.

I'm wondering if this is likely to be a mental challenge maintaining motivation and pace without other riders around?

Can anyone give any advice for the long-distance solo rider?

Thanks!

John

pdlamb

Most multi-distance rides I've done have substantial overlap, especially amongst the longer distances. So, for instance, you may be riding with the 200k group for the first 40-50 miles. After that, you're just out for a lovely 50 mile ride in the country. Enjoy it!

Machka 

A large number of my centuries and longer rides have been solo ... it's nice. Gives me time to think. Ride and enjoy!

derath

With the rest of my life being busy (running a business, family, etc) I'm a very antisocial rider. My time on a bike is "my" time and I actually prefer being on my own. It's my time to be in my thoughts, enjoy the scenery etc and not have to deal with anyone else.

johngwheeler

Thanks for the encouragement and positive take on riding solo.

I will have to work out a strategy to set and maintain my own pace, and I obviously won't have the advantage of being able to draft other riders, but I'm sure it's doable.

As others have mentioned, the first part of the ride is common with the longer distance group, so I should have a bit of company for the first part which should help me find my stride. (Unless they all take off at 35km/h average from the start....)

Cyclist0108

--- Jean Paul Sartre

johngwheeler

I must remember to take my pipe and black poloneck for the ride.....

unterhausen

nice quote. Seriously, I'm often just as happy to ride with myself as other randonneurs. I almost always can socialize with them at control stops. I think the issue with riding with others is that it's easy to ride above your fitness level. I think it will be good for you to ride by yourself for a while and learn your own limits. Note that 50-100 miles is often tough for people because it's easy to get behind on calories in the first 50 miles, but you don't really notice it until you deplete your stores.

Rowan

There is an old saying in LD cycling: "Ride your own ride". It means, don't light all your matches early on trying to keep up with others. It means taking time to eat and drink adequately.

Another trick I use, particularly later in an event, but it is just as effective throughout from the start: Relate distinct distances on this ride to those shorter ones you ride normally. For example, when I get to 40km to go, I relate that to an out-and-back ride I know is easy peasy, even though it includes several 5 or 6% grades.

In other words, break the ride down into manageable units, whether that is three 50km ones, five 30km ones, or some other combination.

Relax. Get into a bit of a routine -- for example, drink every 20 minutes, eat every hour...

Build a bit of a time bank early on. If you can ride at an elapsed average of 20km/h, you will be an hour ahead of the minimum average of 15km/h in three hours. That helps if you have a puncture or some other malfunction. Or you can take a break with a coffee or similar at the half-way checkpoint.

From what I have read, century newbies usually go through a tough period about 125km into the ride. A lot of that relates to how well they have managed (a) rehydration, (b) refuelling and (c) intensity. If you keep on top of the first two, and moderate the third, you will have no trouble. Ride to finish. Enjoy the scenery. It's sort of a fast tour. That's really what it's all about in randonneuring/Audax.

PS: If Brian Hornby is there, say hello to him from us (me and Machka).

Drew Eckhardt 

No.

Ride at your own sustainable pace.

Don't eat too little or too much. I like 10-15 Calories/mile. Eat small amounts frequently.

Don't drink too much or too little. You should weigh the same before and after.

Bring enough water you don't need to stop too often to get more. I like 2 25oz bottles every 40-50 miles in temperate weather and add a 1 liter platypus for heat, mountains, etc.

Don't stop for more time than you need to relieve yourself and refill your water bottles.

johngwheeler

I rode my first "Imperial" century yesterday. It was tough, but I got though it! I've posted a detailed description of the experience and my learnings here:

https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cy...l#post19754330

Carbonfiberboy 

In my rando club it is common for almost all riders to ride alone. I have slowly overtaken many a rando, offered them my wheel, and then seen them completely ignore me and slowly disappear behind me. I am not that fastidious and will take most any available wheel if the speed difference is <2 mph.

I don't see other riders as motivational. I am my own motivation. On a brevet, I'm not racing anyone other than myself. I try to finish in minimal time, so for me a brevet is simply a very long TT and I ride it like a TT, brevet rules not prohibiting drafting. The trick is to know how to titrate the pain. No other rider will have exactly your identical response to all the various portions of the route.

BTW, go ahead and ride the 200. The 160 is enough shorter to be an entirely different ride IMO, not really rando distance. You'll learn more from the 200.

johngwheeler

I can see pros and cons of riding alone, and I imagine in part, in depends on how you feel on the day. If you are riding to "escape" a busy life surrounded by other people, then perhasp you will crave solitude. If you fancy a sociable outing, will a group goal, then riding in a bunch can make you feel ""part of something".

One advantage of going solo is that you can stop when you like! But there is a mental game to play in how you manage pace and pain without any encouragement from others. (I imagine the TdF riders do get some boost from the spectators, much like other sports).

I found it to be a hard slog doing 90km alone after pushing too hard for the first half and not something I particularly enjoyed; I was glad to finish. Doing another 40km to do a 200km ride would be a step up I agree, and I would need to be stronger before attempting this.

I also don't have the time to dedicate to nearly a full day of riding as a regular thing, so I think I will focus on sub-100km rides this year.

Rowan

One of the things you will find about the shorter rando distances -- up to and including 200s -- is that they attract quite the contingent of racers at this time of the year (winter into spring in Australia). They are looking to put some distance into their legs and usually ride fast, and together as a group (if there is more than one of them).

After the 200s are out of the way, and the racing season starts, the number of racers turning up to events thins... right down to zero at 400 upwards.

So unless you connect with a regular randonneur, or with someone who is just starting out like you, the chances are that you will spend quite a lot of time riding by yourself.

It's not a sport for everyone and frankly, you have to have something special to be able to go beyond the simple 12-hour day rides. But for those who stick with it, the effort sure builds resilience, self-sufficiency and attention to detail which can be applied to other parts of their lives.

Machka 

Yes, doing randonneuring events is a mental game. It's a challenge of both physical and mental strength.

johngwheeler

Thanks for the feedback! I think these guys were regular Audax'ers, not racers, but they were clearly tougher than I am :-) . I think most of them had done a 600km or 1200km Audax....which sounds like an almost unimaginable distance to me.

Yes, I'm starting to appreciate this. I can see that this would be more fun with a decent level of fitness, but I found it quite challenging. My legs felt like jelly after all those climbs, and I started to dread each climb when I saw it coming. I kept going though, and just adapted my pace to something I could manage - often very slow. Maybe that's the secret...just keep moving.

I'm not yet convinced that the really long distances are going to be for me - I need to find some enjoyment in the journey, and not just in the destination. Otherwise it's a long time to spend in discomfort.

That said, it has pushed my boundaries somewhat, and I have a better idea of what I am capable of, so this is no bad thing.

Rowan

Just keep moving... it's certainly one of the secrets of randonneuring. The longer you stop, the more time you have to make up (or the less time you have to play with should you have to fix something such as a puncture, or need to sleep on the longer rides).

Even on one of the Queensland rides I did last year, I suffered from leg cramps, but kept riding as much as I could by altering how I was pedalling by standing for extended periods. I did have to stop occasionally for 30 seconds to a minute, but basically I rode through it. It was a tough day, in high temperatures and up over the hills around Mt Mee and into the Glasshouse Mountains; legs-like-jelly weren't unusual on that ride.

Also, if you are in discomfort, then you (a) need to ride some more at shorter distances to "condition" your body and (b) continually fine tune the fit on your bike. This might even include lifting or dropping your seat post depending on the shoes you are wearing. I recently narrowed down the handlebars on my main rando bike to relieve numbness in my left hand, and this was after riding for years with a particular width. Choice of bike shorts, and stuff you wouldn't even think of, such as the angle of your cleat,s can be major influences on comfort.

Pushing boundaries is what it's all about.

Carbonfiberboy 

Well, randonneuring is not called The Dark Side of cycling for nothing. It's all about the mental game. As you found out, pacing is everything. The problem I have with others is that they are not me. They don't climb like me, don't descend like me, don't ride the rollers like me, etc. On short rides up to maybe imperial centuries, I can put up with that just to keep my nose out of the wind. If I'm well trained, it's pretty hard to blow out my glycogen that quickly. Over that, it's a different game.

On the 154 mile event ride I just did, a paceline dropped me on a hill about 20 miles from the finish. I don't climb all that fast anymore. From there I just rode my hard steady pace and had them back after 10 miles of using my own skills, then just sat a wheel to the finish.

Stopping where you want is not a rando thing. One stops briefly at controls. "There is no slower speed than stopped." Brief stops mean one can ride more within oneself which cuts down on the pain. That said, I'm fast enough to be able to stop a lot and still make the cutoffs. I've often considered riding a start/stop pace which would use up all the available time, but never done it. I don't particularly like riding in the dark. In the PNW there's little necessity to ride in the dark if one is fast enough and makes short stops. So that's what I've done.

On every rando ride I've done, I was very glad to arrive at the finish.

It's not necessary to be particularly strong to rando. The average speed to make the cutoff is quite low. It is necessary to be mentally strong and to know one's own body and mind. A fun thing which I enjoy is that rando is all about problem solving. There are always problems, which except for severe mechanicals, almost always have a solution if one can only find it.

Training for rando, I almost never rode more than 60 miles on a day ride. However I always rode that ride as hard as I could, especially working on holding lactate threshold on longer hills and going anaerobic on short hills. Mid-week it's recovery and endurance rides of an hour or two, and a ride or two of speed work or hill repeats. Going hard is better training than going long.

Carbonfiberboy 

This is the essence.

Flounce

Advice on motivation?

Maintain your mental reserve capacity and composure by keeping the appropriate pace and no faster; staying on top of nutrition and hydration; and using the restroom when the urge arises. When you start to run ragged, that is the beginning of the end when you convince yourself to end the ride early.

When it starts to get tough, don't think about all the miles that remain, it is too daunting mentally: live in the moment, say to yourself "I'm doing okay" and tell yourself you can make it to the next planned stop (usually dictated by how much water you have left). Reset the clock in your mind with each planned stop and just make it to the next stop (usually 2-3 hours if you have 2-3 water bottles). It's easier to make it through the end of a difficult long ride by mentally digesting it in two hour chunks.

79pmooney

Two tricks to prevent going to fast early: monitor your heart rate or observe your breathing. HR is easy. Wear a chest strap. Do your homework so you know what HR will keep you from dipping into reserves. (It will feel very slow.) Breath takes more self knowledge but has the advantage of no equipment being needed. First hour - if you can't converse easily- slow down!

I did a century with a major climb mid-ride and several hard climbs gefore it. My mid-50s. I was in good shape. I kept my HR under 155 the best I could for the early climbs (and let a lot of riders go). Rode the big one at 164, holding a much younger rider at his limit until he faded w/ a mile to go. Paid no attention to the monitor the rest of the ride but passed many fried riders who left me on the early hills. (Didn't have to pat attention to the monitor those late miles. My legs were the limiting factor.) I enjoyed the entire century but especially that long climb. (The old Oregon Trail one lane ex-wagon road to Lolo Pass, going up the trail the wagons came down.)

Ben

unterhausen

usually, my motivation when I'm not feelin' it is that I have to ride back or wait hours for a ride. It's always faster just to keep riding.

johngwheeler

I like this advice! I think most people are better equipped for a series of "do-able" efforts, rather than contemplating one big one. Even if you break it down to really immediate challenges, e.g. "Must get up this hill - that is my only goal", and then I set the next one....must get up this hill....ad infinitum :-)

unterhausen

Yes, that's really good advice. I have found thinking things like, "oh, 225 miles until this is over" is counter-productive. I really like it when I'm the distance of one of my commutes away from a landmark.

johngwheeler

I did the same thing on my ride. "Only the same distance as a trip to work and back - I do that every day - it's easy!"