24hr event advice

[JezS]

I have ended up with a late-notice place in the Solo category of the Mountain Mayhem 24hr MTB race/event/thing at the weekend.

I've done this before as part of a 4 person relay team, but never solo, so I'm trying to figure out a good "sleep/rest strategy" for the event.

Clearly I need to be super efficient at eating etc, so i'll probably try and do as much eating as possible on the move - but what about sleep? the event runs from midday saturday to midday sunday - is it better to get several 30min catnaps rather than trying to get my head down for a couple of hours over night??

welcome advice from anyone who's done this kind of thing before

thanks
Jez

[cyclingtiger]

Never done a 24hr race but, from audaxing experience, this works for me.

Make sure you get good nights sleep between now and then choose one of the following.

1) Blast through the night and get about 15-30 minutes nap somewhere around when dawn is breaking. There will be a couple of hours of grinding it out in the first few hours of daylight and then you'll settle back to it.
2) Try and get a solid hour around 1am and then get that 15 min dawn nap in. Hopefully less grinding. The trick is knowing whether that 1 hour nap will mean you can ride fast enough to make up the loss and give you enough mental power to chase people sensibly.

My suggestion would be to try option 1) and see how you cope in a 24hr. Sleep strategies vary between people and are usually the product of trial, error and bitter experience.

[voodoo_simon]

Don't think the solo riders sleep!

Worse part is getting out of the pits in the early hours of the morning (relating it to previous races with checkpoints)

[cyclingtiger]

I suspect the good solo riders don't need to sleep. Whether not other should is a different matter. If it's getting to you then a daybreak nap can be a good way to reset the brain. I reckon it wouldn't be too hard to overhaul a 15min loss if you're feeling a bit fresher.

[whitestone]

Not done a 24hr bike event but have done the Bob Graham Round which is similar in terms of sleep deprivation (IanFitz has also done this). Generally you can get away with missing a night's sleep, sure you aren't going to be the brightest pebble on the beach afterwards but that's not important as you've got time to recover.

As cyclingtiger says, get decent rest between now and the event; do all your prep a couple of days in advance, try and chill out the day before; ideally take the day off work so you don't have the stress of commuting, work, etc.

When I did my BG I was up for a total of 42hrs, still functioning OK at the end of that.

[JezS]

Thanks folks - a very quick consensus there - keep going as long as possible + optional short nap at dusk.

I have no illusions about being up there with the "good solo racers" but you get out what you put in so I want to do as much as possible.

Go slow and keep going will be my approach I think!

cheers

[Richard G]

I think I'd have to be feeling completely wrecked to try and sleep on a 24 hour event. I'd probably be reasonably happy to go up to 30 hours before it would become a consideration.

[jay91]

Didn't sleep on the bb200 just eat and keep going I went to work on the Monday worse ever

[Ian]

Long time since I've done any, by my 2 cents;

I'd try and avoid sleep (I did when I raced 24hr solo). You'd feel terrible after a nap. Just keep the body ticking over, nice pace, regular and varied food, plenty of fluids to keep your gastric system running well.
If you get stomach pains, increase water intake and decrease food and it should pass.
If you ride through, you'll be craving that first light of dawn, but it's worth it.
After 18 hours everyone is tired, so that's the best time to open it up and work your way through the field
If it's wet, just keep riding steady. Others won't, and you can make up a lot of ground this way.
Try not to actually go into the pits unless you have to. If you've got a helper, get food handed over the barrier.
Good luck!

[slarge]

Prepare your bike so there are no niggles and the gears work perfectly. Prepare food and lots of drink bottles. Take spare biking clothes if it's wet - fresh shorts and gloves can give you a boost at 3 in the morning if it's wet. Mudguards if the weather is bad.
When you are riding, if you're sweating you are going too hard, ease back and just keep riding - by not stopping you will pick up places from those who stop with mechanicals or sleep.
Good luck!

[ddraver]

From my experience the hardest things are things like what to drink and eat, which being of this parish I assume you know all about anyway.

Slarge's points about pre-preparing your food, and bottles in particular, is very good though. Making up my sodding bottles turned into the biggest chore of the race last time (which is ridiculous)

[Mart]

Didn't sleep on the bb200 just eat and keep going I went to work on the Monday worse ever

Ha Ha I remember your photo

[jay91]

I felt terrible for a week

[Richard G]

On the subject of 24hr prep...



EMBRACE THE CAFFEINE

[JezS]

^ Oh Yes!!

thanks for all the tips folks - not sure whether or not they have calmed my nerves, but have certainly helped me to formulate a mental plan (of sorts) for the weekend.

now i just need to start planning the pie rations!

i'll report back when i've woken up - sometime on wednesday
Jez

[cyclingtiger]

Now is probably as good a time as ever to recount the Ballad of Larrington.

Dave Larrington was an accomplished audax rider and also quite fond of the occasional beer, particularly if the occasion was now. In 2007 he set off for the Paris-Brest-Paris ride and, having pottered his way down to the campsite near the start, propped himself up at the campsite bar. Being accomplished as he was, he knew a lot of the British contingent of the ride, including many of those also staying at the campsite. It didn't matter that new arrivals would soon desert him for some last minute fettling and a good night's sleep, there was always someone new just turning up for more greetings, swapping of tales and another round.

At some small hour, a lot closer to sparrowfart than most of us see on a weekday, Dave finally downed his last and toddled off to bed for a drunken and not entirely restful slumber. Not exactly the best prep when your challenge is 1200k with an 80h time limit. So in the morning, Dave turns to that trusty remedy, Ibuprofen and a couple of Pro-Plus. And then there's the espresso in ready supply all around the start line. By the time Dave has made it to the actual start line he's had a few more Ibuprofen and Pro Plus to try and knock out the last of the hangover and has lost count of the espressos he's chugged between getting up and early evening.

The flag drops, the lead out motorbikes set off and try to keep a comfortable gap while the peleton tries it's best to keep in contact for a sneaky advantage for the first 30k until they peel off. Buoyed by the excitement, Dave sticks the hammer down and goes with them. As dusk falls and still not feeling tip top, Dave stops for a couple more coffees to see him through the night. He alleges that at least one of them was regular British strength. At Mortagne au Perche, like everyone else, he's tapped out a PB for 200k. However, in the small hours again the weather has changed and the rain starts. Descending out of the control at the top of town, Dave starts to come over a bit queer. Towards the bottom of the hill he becomes convinced his bike is talking too him and doesn't like what it has to say.

Dave takes extreme umbrage at this and, Chris Boardman style, tosses his bike over a hedge. No mean feat given that this is no skinny carbon iron horse but a fairly weighty recumbent. He then proceeds to march back up the hill in a huff in search of redress and back at the control attempts, in some semblance of French, to demand satisfaction as he is clearly the mayor of Mortagne au Perche. Volunteers and riders alike stare at Dave agog, Dave keels over.

The next thing Dave knows he wakes up in a nice clean bed hooked up to a machine that goes PING. The ride has long since left him behind and the proper fast riders are nearly back. Fortunately for Dave a group of volunteers have retrieved his bike from a field and it now resides for safe keeping at the home of the mayor of Mortagne au Perche. The real mayor, not some dehydrated, caffeine addled British upstart.

Mind how you go with the coffee beans, they can swiftly turn from aid to enemy.

[Richard G]

I tend to avoid getting screwed up before I've even started...

[Pat]

It's good sub standard, that coffee stuff!