The bailout option?

[Bearbonesnorm]

Sorry if I ramble a bit with this one but hopefully most of it will make sense This isn't meant to turn into a willy waving exercise either, I'm just interested in peoples mindsets and thoughts.

I remember talking to Aidan a couple of years ago, I asked him what it was that kept him going when his mind / body were telling him to stop. His answer was something along the lines of, if you've no choice but to keep going then you won't/can't stop. That makes perfect sense to me and I always try to plan a ride in such a way that it's easier to keep going than it is to quit/go home ... also, the ridicule I'd receieve at home would be unbearable, so I'd rather suffer out in the hills than back at home

Does anyone else do a similar thing or maybe the opposite, ie, include a bailout option, for when things get a worse/tougher than you expected? I'm not classing things like, detouring to a bothy or eating in a pub. They're just common sense solutions that enable you to continue, I suppose I mean a way of cutting the ride short and going home.

Don't think I'm saying one option is right and the other wrong ... I've given myself some stupid injuries by refusing to stop, not accepting a lift, etc. I've also found myself in some pretty dark places mentally and some very unpleasant, cold, wet physical ones.

See ... rambling ... as you were

[pedalhead]

Interesting topic! I'm still quite new to all this long distance riding malarkey, but I can see what both you and Aidan mean. I think you have to be extremely strong willed to pass by easy opt out points on a ride that becomes truly horrible/hard, so why not avoid them in the first place. I find riding around a course like Bristol Bikefest for 12 hrs tougher mentally than 12 hours through the countryside, partly as it just gets boring, but also because I get a bailout option every 30 minutes or so! Also, on a ride where I'm carrying sleeping kit etc then the risks aren't so great...you can always find shelter & have a snooze if necessary, so a total bailout doesn't seem so tempting. It's those long distance but travelling light routes that worry me a bit more, when the weather is bad & the risks are greater.

Perfect example of both...I'm off to the Highlands at the end of June. Doing the Cairngorms Loop ITT first, followed by a quick rest & then the Highlands Coast to Coast (maybe double). I'm not worried about the C2C at all...I'll have my bikepacking kit & won't be riding through the night so refuelling on the way shouldn't be an issue. But, the 'Loop is worrying me. To do it fast, I'd want to carry as little kit as possible...was hoping for just the bivy bag on it's own for emergency sleeping if I couldn't do the whole route in one go (it will be July after all ). But if the weather is as crap as it's been lately I could get into trouble. I'm thinking, cold & wet, which in my experience is a bad combination if you're out there for a while. Plus I'll need to carry all my food from the start, no chance to refuel if I can stick to the zero stop theory.

Nevertheless, I'm still not planning any bailout options, mainly for just the reason you mentioned. Once I get tired, that bailout would creep into my mind, I just know it would. Hopefully the bloomin midges will encourage me to keep moving anyway!

[Matt]

I'm not sure I've done anything that's been bad enough to want to bailout. Even when conditions are seriously proper sub standard I still tend to smile and be happy I'm outside on my bike.

I'm pretty good at not doing stuff though but once I do start I'm pretty stubborn

[Dyffers]

I agree with the 'don't plan bailout options' ethos.

I've ridden through too many bad patches in years of audax riding; there's always a good patch on the other side, and you get mentally stronger every time you don't bail.

I'm trying my first 24hr at Bonty 24/12 in a couple of weeks. I have the same reservations as Mark about it ie no worries with the distance, more worried that I can bailout every 30 minutes.

"Pain is temporary, quitting is forever".

[markenduro]

Not having a lift home from Wales until Monday kept me going through the wetter parts of this years WRT, that and some decent company courtesy of Taylor and co when the roadie contingency all dropped out :)

Joking apart, it's probably the stubborn barsatrd in me that says keep going, I like being out in the wilds and as long as nobody is shooting at me I'm fine, I also some sort of perverse kick from looking at a map and mentally joining up the places I have just been from/to.

[chris n]

I don't plan to bail out, but the option should always be there if needed. Like (and with) Dyffers, I've ridden through all sorts of bad patches on audaxes and it normally gets better if you just keep going. However, blindly carrying on when injured, exhausted or in atrocious weather is neither fun nor a good idea, IMO. Know your limits.

[d45yth]

I don't plan to bail out, but the option should always be there if needed. Like (and with) Dyffers, I've ridden through all sorts of bad patches on audaxes and it normally gets better if you just keep going. However, blindly carrying on when injured, exhausted or in atrocious weather is neither fun nor a good idea, IMO. Know your limits.

+1, but it's a bit of a double-edged sword. I suppose if you were in a life-threatening situation, if you didn't carry on it could be the end of you in bad conditions! I know quite a lot of folk don't carry the right gear for emergencies either.
Another thing forcing a bailout could be a serious mechanical that can't be fixed on the trail. Then there are some routes where bailing out simply isn't an option because there are no other ways out...carry on or turn back, especially if you're in a valley with mountains on both sides or are heading round a body of water.

The last time I had a bit of a panic on was one late afternoon in the Yorkshire Dales. It was the middle of winter, a foot of snow on the ground and then it started snowing heavily...we couldn't see any paths, let alone the one we were supposed to be following. The GPS just showed a blank screen because there weren't any trees, buildings or roads to go off. Luckily we could just about see where we'd come from and re-traced our steps. It could have been quite serious as we didn't have much in the way of food or warm clothing...lesson learned!

[Dusza]

Very interesting topic.
Not having a plan B(ailout) is a bit careless in my opinion. Sure if you're just having a bad time on one day then quitting might just leave you pissed off on the next sunny/nice day you might get. It's all in your psyche. Once you HAVE to quit you know it.
Things change drastically once you get in trouble (broken limbs, hypothermia etc.) and knowing your whereabouts and what/where your nearest safe option is can prove crucial.
The climate isn't particularly harsh in the UK but I imagine it can rather quickly turn evil enough to be a real threat - especially in the highlands of Scotland. I'm a bit sensible on that point, since there were cases of people freezing to death just a couple of meters from a refuge during winter in the Polish mountains. This is a bit of an exaggerated example but it shows how little can decide about coming back home safe.

Found this once on the Internet:

Rules of Quitting:
1. Never quit on a gray day
2. Never quit on a rainy day
3. Never quit on a very hot day
4. Never quit until you have that same decisive feeling for seven days in a row
5. Never quit in town!
6. Take a couple zeroes, eat lots of calories
7. Hike a few 5-mile days and see if that makes a difference
8. Your over-active brain is not always your friend on the trail
9. Never quit because people are passing you
10. Never judge any one else's decision to quit or hike on
- Borrowed from a former Thru Hiker

[DanLear]

All interesting stuff...and it does run a very real risk of descending into macho b*llox.

IMO, it all boils down to why you're out there. To me, it's about having fun. If it's no longer fun then I'll modify my plans/goals to something that will be (or has a greater likelihood of being). As I have a young family, time out on the bike (or on the crag when I'm climbing) is at a premium and I'm not going to waste it doing something that's going to make me miserable. I'd rather sack things off and come home early, safe in the knowledge that I can "bank" that time for future trips.

I recently cut short the TCW due to filthy weather and we took the decision to hammer on to Mach via the road rather than slog/push through the mud/floods. These routes aren't going anywhere, and I'd rather do them in a way I'm going to enjoy.

[Nick]

It's definately easier mentally to have no choice, which is fine until something goes wrong :)

My BB200 attempt last year was doomed to failure, we knew there was an easy bailout point nr Rhayder (although it won't be so tempting this year now I know the pubs are crap and there's no decent beer to be found), and so we didn't hurry along at all, meaning that when we got to the decision point it was obvious what we were going to do. This year I intend to turn right, not left and once at Strata Florida you might as well carry on regardless.

Tomorrow night is going to be a tough one, 45 miles on the Long Mynd and surrounding Stretton hills, with a dawn finish on top of Caer Caradoc, allegedly there are four ascents of the Long Mynd to be done before the last climb (push!) up to there. It will be very very easy to chuck it in, especially if the weather isn't great....

[pedalhead]

Enjoy Long Mynd, it's ace :D

[Dan_K]

Similar to DanLear really. I always try to have some sort of back up plan but for me I quit when i've had enough and aren't enjoying it anymore.
It's part of the reason I stopped doing century road rides. I decided that after 60 miles I tended to stop enjoying it as much and would just be counting the miles until I could finish. I'd sooner leave myself wanting more and carry that desire into the next challenge/ride/event.
That being said, I didn't enjoy day 2 of the WRT and packed early yet by the time I was in the car, I was already planning for next year....
I'm not one to quit early and jump on public transport though (maybe cos i'm tight and don't like spending money) but if i've had enough and there's a shorter route, i'll take it.

[DanLear]

Maybe it's a "Dan-thing"?

[Ian]

I wouldn't plan options for bailing out on a route in advance, but would be evaluating my situation based on weather, terrain, how I was feeling etc and whether there was a risk of me or my kit failing. WRT was a reasonable example, where I decided not to do one checkpoints because of the conditions, and missed another because of how I was feeling. No shame in that particularly - just a realistic assessment of the situation.

For more extreme stuff, you may think I can bail out at the next town but that's two days ride away, but by the time you get there you may have overcome the thing that made you want to bail out. If you're faced with a serious mechanical or injury, then you're [more] reliant on using your kit/ knowledge/ skill to get yourself out safely.

I read in one of Aidan's recent articles about his SPOT tracker, which he said it was for a bit of fun for others to see where he is. He commented that it had a SOS function, but if he pressed that button he'd be letting himself down.

[slarge]

I've bailed twice - once in a Polaris when all the options (when I was knackered) were up vertical hills, or the easy route back. I went the easy route back. That really really annoyed me, as it was only an extra 2 hours to finish the event and I was very disappointed with myself.

Then on an ITT of the TCW a couple of years ago I was travelling very light, only a days food, no extra clothing and the plan was to get to Mach before 6pm to get the train back. If I missed the train I was going to have a cold night in a bus shelter. Started off in the wrong frame of mind (the original plan was my better half was to meet me at Mach), as she had pulled out late the night before for all the wrong reasons, and I made a hasty plan to get the train. Got halfway to Mach, was falling behind time enough to miss the train, so headed back to Knighton on the road. Still did 100 miles but was very pee'd off.

I think it's fine to have a bailout plan. There are always some situations that are unplanned, and if you are not prepared for them it is sometimes best to fight another day. It's not a macho thing, but bailing can show a mental weakness, or some sense - depends on the circumstances.