Originally Posted by jbierling
I hope to average between 18-20 mph for the 24 hours. The first loop in the morning should be significantly faster than that. I've never ridden longer than 9 hours though so I don't have a great idea of what I'll be able to do for 24.
Expect the leaders to average 22-23mph for the 127-mile loop if the weather is good (as it was in '05). We had a nearly 24mph average going into the first checkpoint that year. Note that the 7-mile night loop has an annoying climb on it that by the end of the ride will only succumb to my 39x23. If you're riding over 400 miles, you'll see this climb more than 20 times! Consider ditching the disc at night.
You didn't ask, but I'll give some unsolicited advice anyway. Really resist the urge to hit the jets early in the ride. Let the big boys and girls go up the road. There will be lots of pacelines at lower speeds and your odds of riding all day increase dramatically if you don't burn up all your matches in the first dozen or so hours. Now if I can only get myself to take my own advice, I'd be much more effective at 24-hour races!
That said, the avgerage pace you identify above is enough to win the race in many years (although I know some folks who are shooting at 500 miles this year). If you can do that, you definitely don't need my advice, and I look forward to you lapping me repeatedly! You also won't want to let the big boys get up the road. My understanding is that the winner of the event always comes out of the lead group from the 127-mile loop.
I also wonder if the fact that very few people are using aero equipment could be that very few of the people doing the race own the equipment.
I think many folks who race ultras own aero gear (I personally do not), but don't typically race with it in ultra events for a few reasons. One is comfort (TT bike, helmet, skin suits, etc.). With respect to disc wheels, most folks aren't fast enough over 24 hours to take advantage of the aerodynamics. There's also a durability issue. The Michigan course is pretty clean, but the roads at some of these events can suck. Whacking a pothole in the middle of the night with your 808s could be heartbreaking. That said, a lot of the Bachetta recumbent guys are riding a Renn disc these days. I think the majority of the Killer Bs had discs at Calvin's this year. Since they ruled the roost at that ride, it'll be interested if we see more discs among the diamond-frame ultra racers in future events.