Advice for going looooong (Double Century Rookie)

[jemdet]

Echoing what others have said here.

My mantra is "don't try." Never go into the red. Take it easy on the hills. Take in the scenery. Bring low gears. Cruise. You won't be mad if you still have something in the tank after 200 miles.

Replace the salt that you're sweating out. Try not to overeat. Get back on the road ASAP if you do - burn some of it off. Some things are harder to digest. I love a cold chocolate milk if I'm riding at 15... but it tends to sit worse at higher speeds.

Most of all, have fun! And remember to replace some of those calories when you're done

[fmradio516]

Originally Posted by verticaldoug

Just eat solid foods, and stay away from gels.

Just curious what the reason is behind the gel thing.

[verticaldoug]

Originally Posted by fmradio516

Just curious what the reason is behind the gel thing.

Everyone is different, but too many Gels for me lead to GI distress. I rather eat lim cakes and other solids.

[cp43]

Originally Posted by jcs7282

This may be my wife posing as a forum member, trying to talk me out of it!!

Thanks for all the advice guys, I am on the fence. Leaning towards maybe saving the 200 attempt for another time. If things don't go well I don't want to wreck my D2 ride, which is like bike Christmas for me. One of the best days of the year...

IMHO, you'll be better off waiting on the 200.

Ride D2R2 this year, and have fun. Keep this idea in mind for next year, train for it, and make it happen when you're ready. It will be a great adventure, but, it will be that much better when you're well prepared.

As far as riding at night, NER does an overnight 200K each year. We've already missed this year's edition, but something to consider next year:
https://nerandonneurs.org/nersite/?p=1859

Chris

[YesNdeed]

I have not done D2R2, but based on what I have heard, it's not necessarily a road bike with roll fast road tires. I cannot imagine doing a double on anything other than a dedicated road bike, with reasonably efficient tires. A century would be no big deal, but 200+ mile rides in my experience are a challenge of shear distance alone.

This is coming from the guy that claims a race's level of difficulty has little to nothing to do with distance, and more to do with who shows up and makes you suffer. The really big rides put rides like RAAM qualifiers into perspective.

We have the New Mexico Endurance Series (NMES) here and that makes joining ridiculous rides no one should ever attempt more organized, but you can plan your own double. If you can get a dedicated crew of your best riding mates together and settle on a day to do it, that might be safer bet. But then if you top off D2R2 and total 200, you'll be top rank hard man!

[fmradio516]

Originally Posted by verticaldoug

Everyone is different, but too many Gels for me lead to GI distress. I rather eat lim cakes and other solids.

Ah ok, i thought maybe you meant to completely stay away from gels.

Im not sure what gastro distress is supposed to feel like, so maybe i dont get it

Plz dont tell me what it does because then ill actually look for it next time i have a gel.

[cp43]

Originally Posted by jcs7282

This may be my wife posing as a forum member, trying to talk me out of it!!

Thanks for all the advice guys, I am on the fence. Leaning towards maybe saving the 200 attempt for another time. If things don't go well I don't want to wreck my D2 ride, which is like bike Christmas for me. One of the best days of the year...

Did you do the ride out to Deerfield?

I was looking for you on the 160K, but didn't see you.

I hope you had a fun time either way.

Chris