Ultra Rider: In Search of the Ultimate Long Ride RSS

Biking is one thing. Bicycling 100 miles is entirely another. But what about the bicycle ride that last all day and all night? At some point, you cross a line and at that point, cycling, becomes ultracycling.

This blog chronicles the story of a guy, his bike and a strange obsession with finding the outside edge of his personal limits.

In this chapter, having broken the UMCA record, recovered from a bone-crushing crash and achieving a top 15 finish at the inimitable Furnace Creek 508 we find our hero grappling with the realities of completing a 100km foot race.

For the complete story, follow this link, and read from the back to the front. The story won't make anymore sense when you've finished, but at least you'll know as much as the rest of us.

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Getting the bicycles ready to race

Tomorrow is a big day at Ultrarider HQ.

I need to get up first thing and clean-up the bikes and get them down to the bike shop for final inspection and packing. Each of the bicycles needs cleaning, tuning and most likely repairing. I would normally break down and pack my own bikes, but I think it will be a bit easier this time around to get them professionally done.

I am taking two bikes with me - the 2007 Giant TCR Advanced 0 road bike, and the 2007 Giant TCR Composite 0 road bike. I am going to set the AO up for climbing - lighweight bars, pedals and wheels, and the C0 for fast - aerodynamic bars and wheels. The C0 will be slightly heavier than the A0, by a few pounds actually, but it will definitely be the faster of the two bikes on the flats. I’m pretty sure that I can get the A0 below 15 pounds pretty easily.

I also need to start packing for the race this weekend. I won’t be taking much down to California with me. The race is a long way from home, and I really want to keep my baggage as light as possible. I’ll be borrowing a few things we need to support the race, buying a few others - like food, and making do with a generally simpler set up than I’ve had on previous rides.

A big part of success in ultracycling comes from having a great plan and doing the right prep. As we discussed planning, we realized that we can minimize a lot of the prep work by keeping the game plan simple.

For the Furnace Creek 508, this means that we’ll have a simple eating plan, a simple support plan and a simple gear plan. The less moving parts the better. For instance, on previous rides, I was eating a very complicated mixture of bananas, yogurt, soy milk, flax oil, powdered food and other ingredients - almost 800 calories worth - every five hours. For the 508, we’ve reduced this to a simple mix of flax oil, water and powdered food every two hours. Less calories, more often.

The simplicity that this one small thing brings is amazing - less ice, less coolers, less ingredients to worry about spoiling and ultimately, a lot less to worry about.

There are still a lot of details to worry about, and in just 8 days, I’m on the road down to California to kick off this grand adventure through the desert on my bike. Can’t wait.

Posted at 20:31 - Comments (View)

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