Advice for going looooong (Double Century Rookie)

[doomridesout]

Things I learned dabbling in this world (before having a kid):

As long as your stomach doesn't bother you, eating more calories and drinking more water than you think you need helps keep everything on the level. Eat real foods, including savory stuff and protein. Ensure or Slimfast is very helpful, IMO.

Don't blow up. Make sure your bike is geared so you don't have to go in the red, ever.

Working on your lactate threshold will pay the biggest dividends in training for this kind of thing. As in, shaving hours off how long it takes.

Low rolling resistance tires and fast equipment are really helpful.

Finding people who want to turn over a brisk but not suicidal pace is also extremely helpful. A draft can be make-or-break, particularly while everyone is fresh.

Good luck! IMO, starting at night solo adds a lot of difficulty. The nervousness of riding in the dark on roads shared with car traffic, alone, would really fatigue me.

[Drmojo]

First double was SoCal
Grand Tour started ca. 1960
Second was Hemet
Third Davis
A pal of mine has ridden over 200 doubles!
Smead here and Pete B have done many
fixed doubles and tandem doubles—as have I
Alas “only” 37
If you hydrate and eat, and can finish 100
strong— you can ride a double. Just find
a rider or group that is near your level.
AND
go easy for first 50-70 miles, do NOT hammer
or get carried away. Prepare for wild mood swings, and
above all enjoy your self!
No flats no crashes is a perfect ride
But prepare for both!
Enjoy
mojo

[Peter B]

CONSISTENT calories and hydration--its just like medicine.
The timer idea is sound advice.
Add some electrolytes if its hot.
Pace yourself early--off the front, off the back, off the bike.

Service your machine.
Charge your batteries.
Rest well beforehand.
Keep moving; the clock never stops.
Vary your position and remember to relax.
Maintain your friction zone.

Enjoy the ride!

[doomridesout]

Originally Posted by Drmojo

go easy for first 50-70 miles, do NOT hammer
or get carried away.

Quoted for emphasis. The first 1/3 should feel just a bit too easy. Ride in a group at your sustainable solo pace.

[19wisconsin64]

Hi, I suggest riding in a place where there is a dedicated bike lane that is separated from the road, like in Denmark. The reason is this - riding long periods at night exposes you to getting killed by a drunk / sleepy drivers.

Since the 70's I've been running and cycling, and though it can be very quiet and cool and different to be out at night, that is when no matter how far off to the side of the road, or how many lights, or whatever you do.... well, you get the point.

Not trying to be a killjoy, just trying to be reasonable here, even though it's not a "popular" opinion in this thread. For 25 years I called the Boston area home, and know how the drivers are....they won't see you when they hit you, or maybe they will the fraction of a second before their car crushes you. Can I say this on this forum, or will it get banned?

At one point I was lucky enough to live in what I considered a "cycling town" of Dover, MA, after living in Boston, and Brookline forever. Right down the road from me, several times, in several places, cyclists were squished by cars.

So, so many tales of long-distance ultra-marathon participants, both running and cycling, getting all of their bones smashed while they die under a car. Hope this isn't too graphic, it's a reality if you do this on public roads, it's simply too risky no matter how prepared you are.

Denmark, or similar country with cycling lanes that are dedicated and separated by physical dividers. 200 miles, go for it, just don't risk dying for the challenge here in the states. Maybe do it over two days, or on a closed car-less loop? Or maybe the Pan-Mass Challenge (if you haven't already).....just be safe.

It's not a matter of being brave, or being strong, or reaching a goal, it's a matter of cycling the next day and the next.

[R3awak3n]

Impressive to do 100 miles and then do 100 D2R2 miles which are as tough as they come. No advice from me as I never have done more than a normal century but I agree with if you have done 150 you can do 200, specially because you are used to elevation.

[spoonrobot]

Originally Posted by 19wisconsin64

Hi, I suggest riding in a place where there is a dedicated bike lane that is separated from the road, like in Denmark. The reason is this - riding long periods at night exposes you to getting killed by a drunk / sleepy drivers.

This may be the least helpful post I've ever seen on a forum. Truly an achievement.

[jcs7282]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

This may be the least helpful post I've ever seen on a forum. Truly an achievement.

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...

[prototoast]

I'm also considering doing my first double, and I'm confident my legs could handle it, but I'm worried about pain in contact points (mostly feet and butt), which are usually fine up until 100 miles or so, but really start bothering me after that. Is this just another level of acclimation I need to develop, or does riding doubles (or longer) require fundamentally different shoes / saddle than shorter distances?

[93KgBike]

Originally Posted by jcs7282

The point is to get in a double century. Sort of a "two birds, one stone" opportunity for me. I've got young kids so getting chances to do stuff like ride 200 (or 100, for that matter) are few and far between.

Normally I'd camp the night before and hang out, but I'm trying not to miss any bedtimes for the kiddos this year. So, although I'll leave in the middle of the night, it doesn't count against me since they'll be sleeping by then!

Perhaps we'll cross paths on the 160k route. I'll be the guy on a blue Zank with red wheels, you'll see me from a mile away.
John

I am pretty much in awe of you. The way we are organized, right now, there are zero chances to do that, because I feel like I can't afford to be that spun out anymore, ever. (I had to carry my son on my shoulders for 10 hours at Disney a few years ago and swore off recovery days after that.)

We all commute together by bike in the AM/PM, which is great!, but the longest ride I've done in the last year was 70 miles on zwift; outside I did 50 miles on a cargo bike... But my 5 y/o can ride our 10mile 'climbing' route so the trade-off has been worth it.

We love watching the videos of the starers/finishers. Good luck! We'll be pulling for you, and all the participants!

[benb]

The point of the whole Denmark/bike path thing is just to be hyper aware of sleep deprivation & night time dangers if you're going to be pulling super long hours overnight.

You hear lots of stories about ultramarathon riders getting tired and drifting into traffic. And it doesn't take a car, you could be on some utopian European dedicated bike path really far from the cars and still have an accident all by yourself and crash into a tree or something cause you're tired and it's dark.

Just be extra careful. It's a big enough issue we've all seen the rules of some of the Ultramarathon races change to try and get the riders to sleep.

[benb]

Originally Posted by 93KgBike

I am pretty much in awe of you. The way we are organized, right now, there are zero chances to do that, because I feel like I can't afford to be that spun out anymore, ever. (I had to carry my son on my shoulders for 10 hours at Disney a few years ago and swore off recovery days after that.)

We all commute together by bike in the AM/PM, which is great!, but the longest ride I've done in the last year was 70 miles on zwift; outside I did 50 miles on a cargo bike... But my 5 y/o can ride our 10mile 'climbing' route so the trade-off has been worth it.

No harm in this, it just takes awareness to realize what is going on. Once you've got a family to take care of some of this cycling stuff just looks super indulgent.

Sign up for one of these huge rides and you need to do a lot of other huge rides to prepare. Most of the people on the ride are single or don't have kids and have 0 time restraints. You're out riding 100 miles and it's just a training ride, not even the actual big ride, and they have nothing to get back to. So if it's a relaxed ride no problem taking extra stops that add hours to the clock time. Let's stop for another cappucino, let's stop for a fancy lunch. It gets really hard to make that work when you're the one with a partner & kid(s) back home and they're all going nuts cause you're gone. And then when you get home you're shelled and there is still housework or yard work or something to do that requires energy. And then if you have a little kid they wake you up in the middle of the night and your recovery is destroyed and you're a mess for days. It wrecks your training and annoys everyone else in the house that you're not on point.

There are other ways to stay in shape that can integrate a heck of a lot better with the family. It kind of sucks, it was really hard for me to admit it.

First time I did B2VT I was at Disney during prep for the ride.. I had rented a bike on vacation. Had that experience of going out and riding hard and then having to trek around Disney for 12 hours on the "recovery day".

[verticaldoug]

Since you are meeting friends at the start, give them a change of kit for you.
Fresh kit, fresh chamois cream (lots) will feel good. Wash your face, and wipe yourself down. You just start the second half feeling refreshed. I can think of easier 2nd halfs than D2R2, but if your rode 140 last year, and 100mi solos are not at all challenging, you'll be fine. Just eat solid foods, and stay away from gels.

Riding at night can stink, if you have a support crew in a car to follow, you'd be better off.

[Hellgate]

Originally Posted by verticaldoug

Since you are meeting friends at the start, give them a change of kit for you.
Fresh kit, fresh chamois cream (lots) will feel good. Wash your face, and wipe yourself down. You just start the second half feeling refreshed. I can think of easier 2nd halfs than D2R2, but if your rode 140 last year, and 100mi solos are not at all challenging, you'll be fine. Just eat solid foods, and stay away from gels.

Riding at night can stink, if you have a support crew in a car to follow, you'd be better off.

Sage advice.

[jcs7282]

Originally Posted by 93KgBike

I am pretty much in awe of you. The way we are organized, right now, there are zero chances to do that, because I feel like I can't afford to be that spun out anymore, ever. (I had to carry my son on my shoulders for 10 hours at Disney a few years ago and swore off recovery days after that.)

We all commute together by bike in the AM/PM, which is great!, but the longest ride I've done in the last year was 70 miles on zwift; outside I did 50 miles on a cargo bike... But my 5 y/o can ride our 10mile 'climbing' route so the trade-off has been worth it.

We love watching the videos of the starers/finishers. Good luck! We'll be pulling for you, and all the participants!

Thank you!

In terms of fitting it in...I wake up very early (4AM) during the week to get my rides in most days. Weekends we have an agreement I can get out early and return mid/late AM, that way I usually get to squeeze a longer (60-80) ride in without missing too much family time. The other weekend day I hang with the kids most/all day and we do outdoor adventures...hikes, rail trail rides, etc. and my wife gets to do her gym stuff. It's all about balance/give-and-take.

When I get home from rides there's no downtime, just time to down a coffee & some food and it's on to the next adventure with the boys, who are 4 and 7. Some days it's a lot, but both things are important to me so I make it work. And they're both very into riding so my dream is to someday be doing longer 2 wheeled adventures with them alongside me.