RadS

Hi all,

I'm thinking about raising the bar for 2017 and joining a 200km brevet this year.

• I have no trouble doing a 120km bike ride on flat terrain (at an average speed of ~25 km/h), and I feel like I could do more (feel fully recovered the next day). Tbh, I've never tried pushing myself to the limit.
• I've cycled fairly regularly over the past 5 years, but without a training plan (just for fitness).
• I have a hybrid bike with semi-slick tyres which probably weights some 16kg...

What do you think? Is it too early to join an event and attempt 200km? Will I make a fool out of myself without additional serious training and by running against full carbon road bikes?

Machka 

Full carbon road bikes?? Randonneuring isn't racing!

Go out and ride a 140 km ride this coming weekend, and a 160 km ride a couple weeks from now ... and then you'll be ready for a 200K a couple weeks after that.

rando_couche

What she said. At least here in Oregon, it ain't about getting there first. It's about getting there. IME, if you can ride 160k (100mi) comfortably, there's no limit to how far you go as long as you stay fueled and hydrated and ride a comfortable pace.


So go out and do that 200. Just be warned: this rando stuff can be addictive!


SP
OC, OR
RUSA #3481

seajaye

If you're only used to flat terrain, do some homework on the typical elevation for your local 200k's. Try and get those 140 and 160km rides in to gauge how you do. A great metric is elapsed time....

As for the bike, run what you brung!

gl98115

Go for it.

RadS

Thanks for being so encouraging Did I mention the event I'm thinking about is in 2,5 weeks? That's even more of a challenge, but it sounds exciting and I think I'll give it a try!

140km is the plan for this weekend. That was supposed to be my goal for 2017, but it doesn't seem ambitious enough now.

Same here, the time limit for 200K is 13,5 hours including breaks. Right now I need about 5 hours now to ride 100km at a comfortable pace, including breaks.

The 200K I'm thinking about has a total elevation gain of 600m, so it's quite flat. I looked at some photos from this event in previous years and it seems like there are always a few people riding MTBs and even regular trekking/city bikes.

Chesterton

I'm in something of the same point. I'm intending to ride my first brevet (a 200K) in two and a half weeks, though I haven't completely committed to it yet. Last August I rode an organized imperial century ride (actually 111 miles). 200K is only another hour or so of riding beyond that, how hard could it be? Problem is I haven't done any long rides on my road bike since November, so my window for "training" is rapidly shrinking. Although I did ride 10 miles every day for commuting, right through the winter, so hopefully I haven't completely lost my legs.

600 meters of climbing in 200K is very flat. The one I'm doing has about 3000' and is billed as a very "mild-mannered" route.

The only thing that gives me pause about your situation is the hybrid bike (with flat, MTB style bars?). I personally wouldn't want to ride this distance without drop bars, but if you are comfortable with 120 km on that bike I think you should be OK.

Good luck!

SCRcat6

How did it go Chesterton?

Chesterton

I didn't end up going - my friends that I was going to ride (and carpool) with all bailed for various reasons. I'll do an official 200K brevet in September. Two friends and I did ride 73 miles last Sunday that included 3,500' of climbing - the hilliest ride I've yet done. That went well: no mechanical problems and afterwards I wasn't even uncomfortably exhausted, just sort of spaced out with a warm endorphin glow for the rest of the day. ;-)

DXchulo

Go for it. What do you have to lose?


You'll be surprised what you can do if you don't give up.

clasher

Don't worry about the kind of bike you're riding. Last year someone did a 200k on a fat bike and they were way faster than me on my carbon bike! Folks ride touring bikes, I've done a few brevets on old steel road bikes. If you can still walk around and nothing hurts after riding 120km I think you probably have a 200km in you right now. I'd do a 150km or 160km if you can sneak it in and then make sure you get a few easy days riding the week leading up to the ride and get extra sleep that week too. Have fun!

Carbonfiberboy 

My usual training before a 200k was a weekly ~60 mile ride with ~3000' of climbing, ridden all out. Plus additional riding totaling maybe 120 miles/week for a few weeks prior. I had the nutrition and hydration issues at least somewhat nailed. That was also my training for the longer brevets, with of course the usual progression in brevet distances.

unterhausen

for my first 200k this year, I hadn't ridden over 50 miles since last June. However, I was working really hard on my trainer over the winter. On my 200k, I was pretty fast until I pushed myself too hard and wore my lower back muscles out at about 100 miles, and I was a little slow over the final 40km. I didn't ride the 300k as fast as I wanted, so that was a disappointment. I think I pushed myself too hard training. I'm trying to get in 100k+ rides in before the 400k. Don't think I'll do any more 200k's until then though.

My point being that there is only so much distance needed in training for a distance event. I think the most common recommended training distance is about 100km. The benefit of knowing that you have ridden 100km and it's only 100km more is pretty profound. I remember thinking something similar on my first 300k, when I got to the 200km mark, I realized it was only 100km, and I felt good, and I knew I could do it. In fact, I realized that I could ride as far as I wanted. That was a pretty powerful realization.