400km in 24hrs.

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Jamesh
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400km in 24hrs.

Post by Jamesh »

Has anyone done 400k in 24hrs?

How was it?
What did they do for sleep?
When did you start?
How did you fuel?
I fancy riding from Bradford w York's to doset to visit my parents.
If I left at about 6pm that would give me most of the next day in daylight.
Also I have the option if a few hours kip in shepshed with the in-laws. Say 12-6am I'm thinking I could do 100 in evening and then remaining 150 next day which is what I did on days 2-3 of lejog.
Don't need to do it under 24hrs but would be nice :D :D

Thoughts

Cheers James
PH
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Re: 400km in 24hrs.

Post by PH »

It's a pretty standard Audax distance, one of my favourites though I only do a couple of 400's a year. Some sleep for a few hours, but I tend to ride through over around 23 - 25 hours of which 20 - 23 will have been on the bike. Most start early morning, but I prefer those that start in the evening. If you're not tied to a schedule it makes no sense to wait around to start just extending the time you're awake. I'd maybe have a lay in and leave around lunchtime. Food - I tend to eat what I normally eat, though take some treats to look forward to in the night section.
If you're comfortable on the bike I doubt you'll struggle with it, the only possible issue is what you need to be doing at the other end, it can leave me a bit groggy for a couple of days.
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gaz
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Re: 400km in 24hrs.

Post by gaz »

I've tried twice, succeeded once. Both 400k audax events back in the route sheet, map and 3W halogen front lamp era.

IIRC June 1989 and June 1997 respectively, starting around 2pm. On the first I started with a group of novice riders, determined to set an even 24 hourish pace. There was one experienced rider with us, he cautioned against this approach favouring getting the miles in before dark and left us to it very early on.

We were reaching every check towards the end of it's opening time but were in good spirits as night began. Chit-chat and banter helped us stay awake but a navigational error added in some extra distance in the dark and a nagging doubt that I may have missed a 'secret' control began playing on my mind.

We left the half-way check as dawn was breaking. Somehow I'd got it into my head that we were behind on time and needed to up the pace considerably to reach the next check in time. Confused, tired and with the unfamiliar part of the course ahead it wasn't long after that I threw in the towel. I made my way back to the previous check at a village hall and crashed out on the floor for a few hours.

The second attempt started similarly except this time round I was riding solo as nobody else liked my gameplan. I caught up to a couple of friends at a late evening check, perhaps 130k. We stayed together for the remainder of the ride, sometimes with a few others although for the most part only for short stretches. Again chit-chat and banter helped with staying awake, the only navigational error was spotted within 100 yards and corrected without fuss.

Once dawn broke familiar roads lay ahead and it was clear we would succeed. Psychological barriers overcome only physical tiredness remained. When others riding with me cautioned a more modest pace I was happy to agree, even so I think we came in around the 20 hour mark.

Fuel was simply what was available at checkpoints, a mix of cafes, village halls and 24hr service stations. Homemade flapjacks, jacket potato, chocolate bars probably supplemented with some on bike snacks in between. Standard fodder, just more of it.

Knees ached a bit for a couple of days afterwards.


If you feel up to it make sure your lights will go the distance and give it a go. Know your planned route well and what services/shops are available outside regular hours (11pm-8am) either on it or nearby. Have a plan for abandonment/recovery even if it is nothing more than kipping down as best you can in a bus shelter.
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Cyril Haearn
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Re: 400km in 24hrs.

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Gaz mentions eating, what about drinking?
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tatanab
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Re: 400km in 24hrs.

Post by tatanab »

400km, that's 250 British miles. Several CTC DAs (before CUk member groups) had standard rides of 240 miles in 24 hours. In answer to the questions - no sleep, or a couple of hours in a bus shelter; eat and drink normally.
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Audax67
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Re: 400km in 24hrs.

Post by Audax67 »

Last one I did took 23h17 in toto whereof 5 hours stopped. No sleep, just a couple of food stops. I'm not sure I actually enjoyed any of it.
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Jamesh
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Re: 400km in 24hrs.

Post by Jamesh »

Thanks that's great help.

Think I might kip a few hours to take the edge off the night, leave shepshed at day break.

Cheers James
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Paulatic
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Re: 400km in 24hrs.

Post by Paulatic »

I’ve done 5 x400 s all times around the 24 hr
3 started at 6 am and I soon learnt that after midnight I’d get tired and between 2am and 4 or 5 I produced very few miles and I was just as well sleeping somewhere. In May it was very cold around those hours.
2 started at 2 pm ( a National 400 and Humber Bridge 400) a totally different experience. No getting up early and a nice relaxed start after lunch. That’s where the pleasure ended for me on those rides. Looking at the Brevet cards I made great time in the first 2-300k. On both rides I’d opportunities to have a nap around 2 am but I was still buzzing, not tired enough, and feeling good I’d set off into the dark. On both of those rides I hit a wall around 9 am. The rest of the day was hard I recall riding from Lincoln back to the bridge in the pouring rain and on two occasions found somewhere dry to close my eyes but it just couldn’t happen wrong time of day.
So I’d advise if doing it as a oner set off early. Doing as you propose It should be easily achievable with 6 hrs sleep its like doing two rides back to back.
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PH
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Re: 400km in 24hrs.

Post by PH »

Jamesh wrote:Thanks that's great help.
Think I might kip a few hours to take the edge off the night, leave shepshed at day break.
Cheers James

Whatever works for you, I saw your Strava of the Derbyshire ride, you're a good bit quicker than me. The faster Audax riders might average 25 kph+, get a full nights sleep and finish around the same time as me. For me any sleep would be short, experience tells me that I feel worse afterwards and I'm then left clock watching the rest of the ride. The only 400 I failed, I was tiered before I started, got half way, convinced myself I couldn't finish, had a kip, cut the corner and controls and rode back to the start where I'd left a bag - Except the failure was mental rather than physical, the corner didn't cut as much as I thought and I arrived back having ridden 370 km with three hours to spare :?
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The utility cyclist
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Re: 400km in 24hrs.

Post by The utility cyclist »

IMO trying to do as many miles on roads near you/that you know better whilst in the dickie dark and you're fresh of mind and body is the best way to go, so agree with starting early evening thinking, you could go off much later during the longer days in June.

Personally I think getting a good 2 hour sleep plus even solid 30 min power nap later on is better overall than riding straight through without shutting your eyes. Having the sleep (post eating something half decent is my preference) mid to 2/3 through a really long ride enables you to maintain a higher average moving speed and believe can help reduce risks toward the back end of the ride due to fatigue both physical and mental.

That still gives you a good 19-20 hours at 12-13mph moving, so enough time for food/drink and pee breaks on top, I've never been one to dither about at controls/stops, it also helps mentally for me to think of it as shorter journeys, as soon as you hit another point you just think, only another 40 miles and I'm there, rinse and repeat, it's deffo as much mental as it is physical.

I haven't ridden a long long way for many years but my body getting better though still miles off despite having a much superior and efficient steed, so this year one of my goals is to get past a hundred miles again and do a 150+. The route is fairly easy (home to city of birth) but with only 3400ft elevation as most of it is through Cambs/Lincs.

Good luck to you James, do report back and let us know how you got on :D
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TrevA
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Re: 400km in 24hrs.

Post by TrevA »

Cyril Haearn wrote:Gaz mentions eating, what about drinking?


Take 2 bottles and fill them up every time you stop for food. I usually have one of plain water and one of electrolyte replacement such as a High 5 Zero.
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andrewwillans49
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Re: 400km in 24hrs.

Post by andrewwillans49 »

I cycled Asparagus and Strawberries a 400 km audax. It follows a circuitous route around East Anglia and was relatively flat. I was fit enough to cover 200 km comfortably but not 400 km. My wrists, neck and undercarriage was a bit sore and it was lack of adaptation rather than fitness. I recovered after a few days.
My advice would be to get as much time in the saddle as you can. Don't worry about speed or take it to seriously. Aim to enjoy the different times of the day, particularly sunset and sunrise. As it happens, around 1am on the above ride we were between Barton Mills and Newmarket and heard nightingales singing. I confirmed this by playing a YouTube recording.
Finally enjoy it. Good luck.
andrewwillans49
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Re: 400km in 24hrs.

Post by andrewwillans49 »

I forgot to mention, I didn't sleep, nor did I feel tired. Only when I stopped, then I ate two mars bars and drank a pint of milk then kipped on the back seat of my car for an hour. Ha ppy days.
Marcus Aurelius
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Re: 400km in 24hrs.

Post by Marcus Aurelius »

Get a bobble hat, some mudguards, don’t forget a Brooks saddle, and you’re good to go.
pwa
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Re: 400km in 24hrs.

Post by pwa »

Jamesh wrote:Has anyone done 400k in 24hrs?

How was it?
What did they do for sleep?
When did you start?
How did you fuel?
I fancy riding from Bradford w York's to doset to visit my parents.
If I left at about 6pm that would give me most of the next day in daylight.
Also I have the option if a few hours kip in shepshed with the in-laws. Say 12-6am I'm thinking I could do 100 in evening and then remaining 150 next day which is what I did on days 2-3 of lejog.
Don't need to do it under 24hrs but would be nice :D :D

Thoughts

Cheers James

I have done 400k in less than 24 hours several times on Audax rides, and usually on hilly routes in Wales. So it is definitely do-able. I have never slept on rides of that length. I just made sure I had the next day off work. And possibly the one after that.

At points during a ride of that length you will have low points where you lose motivation, you ache and you seem to be going slow. But with a bit of luck you perk up again and regain your energy.

If I were making up my own route I would try to put hilly sections in the early parts and have some flatter sections later. And if you are going through the night it is worth noting that some roads that are very busy in daytime can become very quiet at night. Even busy A roads, if they are wide, can feel okay at 3am. And they tend to be flatter and faster than unclassified lanes.

You will feel tired and you will be uncomfortable, but it is only for a day. The rest day afterwards will be bliss.
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