claire

So I'm starting to think about doing a 1000 this summer and there is a choice of three around where I live. They all have different starting times:
- 4am start for a 7am finish
- 3pm start for a 6pm finish
- 6 pm start for a 9pm finish
I like being able to sleep quite a bit during the night (like 4 hours or so) so I was thinking that the 4am start would be good because I would be able to ride about 330 km per day and still stop for a decent sleep and make the intermediate times.
Any advice on that? The 1000 scares me a bit and seems quite harder than PBP because there won't be any crowd support...

LWaB

Most 1000s require you to do 600 km in 40 hours and give you 35 hours to do the remaining 400 km. Accordingly, I tend to crank out a long first day and cruise the rest. YMMV

Most first-timers take around 65-72 hours to finish a 1000, so how do those finish time fit in with your personal sleep patterns? Are you intending to ride with clubmates and what are their preferences?

The Octopus 

I have only done one 1000K and I treated it as three separate rides: a 400K and two 300Ks. I got decent sleep each night and found the ride to be quite a bit easier than the 1200Ks I've done, even though the route was quite a bit more challenging than PBP.

As LWaB points out, you get a "time bonus" later in the ride due to the drop in the minimum km/h that you have to maintain, so how to take best advantage of that "bonus" and which ride or start time to take would depend on your riding speed and style and the availability of overnights or other places to rest.

I've personally never liked start times other than in the morning -- I'd be a 4am guy. Call me crazy, but I like to get a good night's sleep before setting off on a multi-day ride!

bobbycorno

After having done a 1200 with a 10pm start, I'd avoid the 3pm or 6pm starts, since you'd be looking at 24+ hours before a sleep break. With the 10pm start, I made the first overnight in 22 1/2 hours which is plenty long enough.

SP