Hi Jess. Have you ever thought about riding in a little group or with another person/friend. To me it makes a huge difference, not only in speed (riding behind somebody saves a lot of energy and when you take it in turns it makes you a lot faster than on when riding on your own) but also mentally. It’s such a help to have somebody to chat with or who tells you to have a drink or something to eat at times when you forget.
Unfortunately in most ultra races drafting riders is against the rules, so you need to be able to hold your own speed without relying on others! But I totally agree, when it's a more relaxed event then there's nothing better than sitting in someone's slip-stream to enjoy some free speed :)
I didn’t know the Solstice Sprint and LEL are both a race. I am aware of the no-drafting rule when it’s a race. A way around this though is to participate as a pair 😉.
I'm totally with you in this, Jess! I have a 1500km race coming this August and one of my main goals is to break my record from two years prior. While this motivates me, it also gives me anxiety because I have this preconception that you couldn't get faster with age. It sucks. That said, it's comforting to know I'm not alone in this frustration. Thanks for sharing. Best of luck with the race, break a leg!
Well said! Back in 2015 I did a ‘super randonneur’ series. One rider who would be in the 25-30kph group said a 600km was easier than a 400km. When I worked it out later I came to the same conclusion as you. I was a 20kph rider and I had a 2 hour kip and got in about an hour early. (I needed to allow for things to go wrong close to the end).
My recollection is I managed ~20kph in each ride, they did get a bit flatter.
Totally! And while yes, of course we CAN complete these crazy events in the time-limit as a 20kph rider, I definitely wouldn't say no to an extra couple of hours buffer for eating and sleeping ;)
My audax riding mate and I have this discussion all the time, we had 6 hrs in hand on this weekends 400 km audax, there are always faster riders flying past as we trundle on, but then you get to the services at 2am and there they are stuffing down a chicken and bacon sarnie and some salt and vinegar McCoy's before clipping in giving you a nod and flying off again head down checking their watts on their wahoo, I'd love to be a bit quicker, but I'm not bothered I'm 100kg and 6'5" and 52 this year so I'm never going to trouble pogi on the climbs but I'm not that bothered, I suspect he's never had a barn owl flying along beside him illuminated by the beam of an exposure light at 3am on a deserted A road or come face to face with a massive white ram on a track on Dartmoor at midnight and wondered if it was there or if I'm actually hallucinating.
Don't rush, don't faff(faffing is every riders biggest enemy) we were 15mins away from a control when my mate realised he had for forgot to get a receipt from the chip shop, all free controls on this audax😬 I didn't swear, much... Ride within yourself, don't stop for to long but stop as many times as you need to fuel up, bonking is bad!! I'm sure I heard on Mel Webb's detours podcast that female athletes endurance racing capability actually increases as they get older so your going to smash it and I'm basically knackered!! Good luck on the 1000km look for to reading about that one, and maybe see you up the road on LEL
Hi Jess. Have you ever thought about riding in a little group or with another person/friend. To me it makes a huge difference, not only in speed (riding behind somebody saves a lot of energy and when you take it in turns it makes you a lot faster than on when riding on your own) but also mentally. It’s such a help to have somebody to chat with or who tells you to have a drink or something to eat at times when you forget.
Unfortunately in most ultra races drafting riders is against the rules, so you need to be able to hold your own speed without relying on others! But I totally agree, when it's a more relaxed event then there's nothing better than sitting in someone's slip-stream to enjoy some free speed :)
I didn’t know the Solstice Sprint and LEL are both a race. I am aware of the no-drafting rule when it’s a race. A way around this though is to participate as a pair 😉.
LEL isn't a race, but Solstice Sprint is....which I'm most worried about!
What’s the cut off for LEL and Solstice Sprint?
I'm totally with you in this, Jess! I have a 1500km race coming this August and one of my main goals is to break my record from two years prior. While this motivates me, it also gives me anxiety because I have this preconception that you couldn't get faster with age. It sucks. That said, it's comforting to know I'm not alone in this frustration. Thanks for sharing. Best of luck with the race, break a leg!
Back at you, Citra!
Well said! Back in 2015 I did a ‘super randonneur’ series. One rider who would be in the 25-30kph group said a 600km was easier than a 400km. When I worked it out later I came to the same conclusion as you. I was a 20kph rider and I had a 2 hour kip and got in about an hour early. (I needed to allow for things to go wrong close to the end).
My recollection is I managed ~20kph in each ride, they did get a bit flatter.
Totally! And while yes, of course we CAN complete these crazy events in the time-limit as a 20kph rider, I definitely wouldn't say no to an extra couple of hours buffer for eating and sleeping ;)
My audax riding mate and I have this discussion all the time, we had 6 hrs in hand on this weekends 400 km audax, there are always faster riders flying past as we trundle on, but then you get to the services at 2am and there they are stuffing down a chicken and bacon sarnie and some salt and vinegar McCoy's before clipping in giving you a nod and flying off again head down checking their watts on their wahoo, I'd love to be a bit quicker, but I'm not bothered I'm 100kg and 6'5" and 52 this year so I'm never going to trouble pogi on the climbs but I'm not that bothered, I suspect he's never had a barn owl flying along beside him illuminated by the beam of an exposure light at 3am on a deserted A road or come face to face with a massive white ram on a track on Dartmoor at midnight and wondered if it was there or if I'm actually hallucinating.
Don't rush, don't faff(faffing is every riders biggest enemy) we were 15mins away from a control when my mate realised he had for forgot to get a receipt from the chip shop, all free controls on this audax😬 I didn't swear, much... Ride within yourself, don't stop for to long but stop as many times as you need to fuel up, bonking is bad!! I'm sure I heard on Mel Webb's detours podcast that female athletes endurance racing capability actually increases as they get older so your going to smash it and I'm basically knackered!! Good luck on the 1000km look for to reading about that one, and maybe see you up the road on LEL