Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Audax => Topic started by: Chris S on 05 July, 2009, 11:29:40 am
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I packed a ride yesterday. It wasn't the first I've ever packed, and it won't be the last.
There are all sorts of reasons for packing. The obvious one is when your bike breaks in half, or is assailed by some other terminal mechanical situation. These barely need discussion - beyond the one or two legendary cases where randonneurs have tracked down a local Smithy and had their frame re-welded; or have made some other amazing comeback.
I was on a ride once where the rear wheel of the rider in front of me folded in half for no immediately apparent reason. "It's alright." he said, and pointed "That's my house over there." whereupon he slung his unwell bike over his shoulder and strode off to his garage for a replacement. Jammy sod ;).
No, the Packing I'm talking about involves the rider - not the ridden. That voice in your head. The nasty little horned devil sitting on your shoulder whispering in your ear - "There's no need to carry on. Your RRTY is safe for this month. It's going to rain later. You are near a railway station...".
This is what separates the men from the boys and... erm... the women from the girls. Getting past that point of no return when all you want to do is return - to base.
It's a mental thing, I'm sure of that (Yes, audax is mental - you've only just noticed? Ed). Last week I did the hardest ride I've ever done in my short audax career - the Midlander Super Grimpeur. That voice was giving it welly as I entered a mentally dark place on the climb up to Axe Edge Moor. "Find a B&B at Longnor. You'll never make it - it's still 90km to go after Longnor, and you know it won't be flat...". I resisted that, despite great pain and discomfort at the time, and finished the ride. The ride had been on my plan for this year for a long time - it meant a lot to me, and I was highly motivated.
Yesterday, I was riding a much easier ride - a DIY 400 encompassing the Dunwich Dynamo. After 100km and five hours of waiting for the cyclist in me to turn up, I packed at a convenient railway station and went home. The ride was expendable. I didn't need it for some long targetted achievement and I got to the stage where I didn't see any point carrying on.
So is that it? Does it all come down to motivation?
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I can only enjoy a ride, and finish, if I have nothing else nagging in my mind.
I've driven to an Audax and turned round without even getting out of the car... twice I've actually started and packed within ten miles... today I never even left the house, even though I was all ready to go.
It's little things - the grass needs cut or paperwork at home - that niggles me into thinking that my ride is selfish and I need to get back and do proper husband/dad things.
I find that a Saturday Audax is much easier, mentally, because I can decide to do all the weekend chores on the Sunday.
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Because it's only a bike ride.
I don't want to spend several hours being totally miserable on a bike. There is an enjoyment of achievement, which sometime involves overcoming the difficult moments. Howeever, if the whole ride is going to feel shit, it doesn't seem worth slogging it out for hours and having the 'I never want to see that bloody bike again' sensation.
A lot of rides I have packed have been when it's raining. Much easier to get down about it all in the pissing rain.
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the closest I've come to packing in the UK was on last year's Dean; not because I didn't think I could finish but because staying in the warm in Membury services was preferable to sitting outside Oxford station all night; fortunately DaveB solved that problem with the kind offer of a bed.
On the 2004 Invicta 200 I was about 5 mins away from going back to Whitstable station rather than battle 80km into a 40mph headwind when the Gravesend CTC train came along and I battled back with them (taking my turn on the front BTW)
Other than that I've been fortunate to feel happy to continue on all the other rides; although I admit I do either choose the day I ride perms carefully or have just been lucky and have never done one in bloody awful weather conditions. One way DIY's are very good at overcoming this; there is no choice but to carry on if you have a train /plane booked at the other end (especially with the price of walk on train fares these days).
I'm not sure how unusual a 100% finish rate is but I'm determined to keep it. Even if it means not starting some rides on the day I had in mind. And I have DNS'd 3 rides; one becuase a certain part of my anatomy resembled a tennis ball; one a 400 with a borked knee and one becuase I hadn't realised it was on Mother's Day ;)
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I've packed twice, within 3 weeks of each other and for the same reason... crippling knee pain with no possibility of continuing.
That said I've DNS'd loads of rides, either because I don't fancy riding in crap weather at that given moment, or because something better to do occurs to me, or simply because I can't be arsed and fancy spending the day on my arse eating crisps. If and when I feel I have something to prove to myself or others, then maybe it'll bother me, but at present I couldn't care less and agree totally with Jasmine. That said, different people have different levels of motivation, and maybe I never get to the mental battle that some face.
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Yes, it's all about motivation. To do audax at all you must be highly self motivated as there are nearly always low patches on a ride and the only motivation really is the achievement of doing it and the good feeling that it gives you. I think that given a high level of motivation most reasonably fit people could get around a 200 in the time. It would be hard. It would be painful but it would be possible. There must be a point where a challenge becomes a physical impossibility for an individual. For me averaging 25kph on a bike over 200km would be very hard. I've not done that on any ride. I wonder though if there was some huge inducement say..........my mortgage being paid off if I could do it. If so could I manage 26kph. We have a flimsy inducement to finish in audax and sometimes when you are not enjoying yourself it's enough to say "that's it I'm going home" it happened to me on the dean this year. I was quite disapointed though.
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Does it all come down to motivation?
I reckon it does to a greater or lesser degree & it applies to all rides I do.
I had no problem at all with the E2E,jumped on the bike for 8 to 10 hours every day for 21 days & never a nano-second of negative thought,yet I have lots af trouble getting off my backside to do a ride locally.The difference is something new compared to the boredom of local roads.Motivation seperates the shall-I make-the-effort from been-there-done- that.
I find that a Saturday Audax ride is much easier, mentally, because I can decide to do all the weekend chores on the Sunday.
Same here.
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Well, I didn't even start last year's 400k Dunwich Dynamo DIY because I didn't feel up to it. You got one step further.
Packing has only occurred for me when it's been pretty bad: Bryan Chapman 2007 (felt ill), Border Raid 2008 (weather), and a December 2007 DIY 200k when I realised I was going to be riding on sheet ice for the last 100km.
I tend to have more negative thoughts about rides beforehand, and if I start then I generally feel better about it once I'm rolling. I'm much more likely to DNS than DNF, though most of my DNSes have been DIYs. I've also DNSed due to knowing I needed to give my body a rest a few times.
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I've only packed two Calendar audaxes - the Sileby 200 in 2006, only my second ever 200 (wet through and freezing cold at 100km) and last year's Asparagus & Strawberries (b0rked knee).
I've packed more perms - I think they are more expendable, and therefore the packing threshold is lower.
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So is that it? Does it all come down to motivation?
Motivation and perspective I reckon. As has been said on this thread, it's when things don't go so well that both are tested.
I had all the motivation to finish the Hellfire this weekend as it was the ideal timing to complete the Wessex SR. My next and probably final chance this season will be one week after LEL and who knows how I'll feel about riding the bike then.
In terms of perspective, I felt off-form all day (and pretty ill after 269k) but experience told me that there was a 50% chance that if I pushed on, I might ride through it. My concern was that should things get worse, I might knacker myself for LEL. In truth, deciding to do this ride so close to LEL may not have been a smart move but until today, I have never felt stronger on the bike. As Mr Phipps said "No Hummers, you are only as good as this ride"
I don't like packing, especially when there is an overall objective at stake as where time is precious, it puts pressure on other areas of my life. I wish I had the forsight to DNS but reckless optimism and over-confidence in my abilities tends to win the day.
H
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ChrisS,
Do you see yourself as a competitive person?
I am. I have to date, not packed. I would rather die on the bike than admit defeat. I don't say this proudly. Perhaps it is an Australian thing. I don't like giving up. Never have even when it is the right thing to do.
Motivation is the key. So is blood sugar. When it goes too low I believe so does your 'will' to suffer.
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ChrisS,
Do you see yourself as a competitive person?
No.
If I was - I'd have beaten you on the BikeJournal league when we were slugging it out a couple of Januarys ago :demon:.
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ChrisS,
Do you see yourself as a competitive person?
No.
If I was - I'd have beaten you on the BikeJournal league when we were slugging it out a couple of Januarys ago :demon:.
Yes, I had not forgotten ;D
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I am not really sure what the question is here ? "Does it all come down to motivation ?" What ? that people who don't pack are motivated ? I disagree ? I have seem people battle on and wreck themselves for several weeks. Sensible people pack or DNS, this doesn't mean they lack motivation. I have packed one calendar event in my short audax career (
500 250 points). I would have battled on but the chap with whom I was staying and riding had had enough so we both quit. He is motivated, so I am, but it wasn't much fun
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I've finished every audax that I've started. It's never occurred to me on a ride that I could actually stop and go find a pub or train station and I don't think I'd want to if I'm capable of continuing. I'm still waiting for the ride that I cannot finish for whatever reason, physiological or mechanical, it's bound to happen sooner or later, but until then I'll just keep on riding...
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I've had a few mechanicals over the years, two or three bio-mechanicals, and an abandonment to collect a fellow rider from hospital (I needn't have bothered - they wouldn't let him out).
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I am not really sure what the question is here ?
Although I finished my OP with a question, I guess I wasn't really meaning to ask a question - just opening up what might be an interesting thread about Packing.
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I've never not regretted packing on a ride.
Every time I've thought that I should have carried on until out of time, or finished. Luckily I applied this on the BCM, where I had made my mind up to pack coming back from Menai and ended up finishing the ride strong (albeit it with not much time to spare).
Today was another close call, not be cause of legs (or lack thereof), or for the weather (it was nice after that single hour of rain at about 7.30am) but because the route back is just exceptionally dull, especially the run in from Epping to Hackney.
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My only DNF was yesterday,Resevoir 200 starting at oundle.Nice summers day,warm drinking a lot.100km struggling to eat .140km needed to stop for extra water at a pub.150 km nasty headache ,and needed to vomit outside the top of the hill from Launde Abbey .Did the sheep look suprised :sick:BTW sports gells look look just the same when they come back !
150 km felt weak,and needed to rest in the shade.
160km Oakham 45km to the finish or 25km home on roads that I know?
A pint of shandy and a bag of Walkers crisps made me feel more human.
I think it was heatstroke.Which do think was the most sensible ,driving my car home or riding home on my pushbike ?
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but because the route back is just exceptionally dull, especially the run in from Epping to Hackney.
The only calendar event I've packed on was a 400, the first 200 of which was great but the second 200 was going to be tedious main roads in the dark. A B&B bed with Mrs MV in it was within striking distance. No regrets.
I've packed on a the odd perm, usually when it's been a good idea to stay at/head for home. To be honest, I'm not overly exercised about perms. There's always another day.
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My only DNF was yesterday,Resevoir 200 starting at oundle.
<snip assorted gruesome symptoms>
Sounds like heatstroke. That is quite a strenuous section, through the Launde valley - full of chevrony goodness.
Nuun in one bottle and water for head squirty duties after each climb? Might help.
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I am not really sure what the question is here ?
Although I finished my OP with a question, I guess I wasn't really meaning to ask a question - just opening up what might be an interesting thread about Packing.
I am not really sure what the question is here ?
Although I finished my OP with a question, I guess I wasn't really meaning to ask a question - just opening up what might be an interesting thread about Packing.
I could be way off the mark here Chris, but I read your post as an example of packing being a result of you not being really interested [and therefore not motivated, not really 'wanting it'] in the first place. For me, it reads like packing that happens as a result of your real feelings about doing the ride in the first place coming to the fore.
That 'cyclist in me' you talk about not showing? How long do you think you would have needed to wait for him to 'turn up'?
Or maybe, I'm just putting myself in your shoes :)
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Nuun in one bottle and water for head squirty duties after each climb? Might help.
I head for a pub and a pint or two of orange and lemonade, no ice. It goes down a a lot easier than just water. Perhaps a packet of crisps for the salt. Good low-tech stuff.
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Packed once. BCM600 this year.
I'd done the hard part (getting through the night to the Youth Hostel again) and was feeling great at 8am Sunday, full of beans (literally). 180km to go and feeling strong.
I then immediately had a big scare on a descent, my hands started to get painful with cold (someone took my gloves at the hostel) riding in a hail-storm and my ever-present shoulder cramp came on strong (probably as a result of cold and tension from the descent).
Stopped to try and get warm and to get over the descent, looked to my right and saw a small hotel. Hmmmm, fate? At the time it was an easy decision and one I was happy to make at the time (despite wondering why I quit the next day).
If my SR had been dependent on it, or there had been no hotel, then I imagine I'd have carried on but I was in a "I don't need to be doing this" zone at that crucial instant.
Apart from physical injury or mechanical breakdown it's all about motivation I think. I felt stronger on the BCM than I did on the 600 I completed previously, I just lost the motivation to carry on.
I'm not saying that Audax riders who pack aren't motivated people, far from it, actually getting to the start of a 600 Audax requires more motivation (months of training rides and lost weekends) than actually doing the ride itself. Once you are at the start of an Audax you don't need much motivation to start riding, what else are you going to do?
At the end of the day though, it's not worth making yourself miserable about. I treat my scary descent as a lucky escape and console myself by imagining that it could have gone a lot worse on the next descent.
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After my first PBP I was recounting what I'd done to my 87-year old neighbour. He looked at me quizzically and said: "You did that for pleasure?". And he has a point. If you're not enjoying it, what's the point doing it? Life throws up enough c--p without adding your own. So on that basis, if I am not enjoying a ride don't continue. On the other hand, for some people pushing themselves through that mental wall is itself part of the pleasure. I've packed on rides where I have been physically ill, where the route sheet was so bad that I've got fed up having to revert to the map and where a crisis at work has meant that I have spent so much time at the roadside on the phone that I've no chance of finishing in time, but like to think that I don"t enter events that I'm not capable of finishing so I would be disappointed to have given up a big chunk of my weekend in vain.
It's also worth observing that some events (eg. those that return to the start several times en route) make it easier to pack than others ;-)
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That 'cyclist in me' you talk about not showing? How long do you think you would have needed to wait for him to 'turn up'?
../..
Or maybe, I'm just putting myself in your shoes :)
Normally, I'm fine straight out of the blocks, and continue to be fine for many hours.
Yesterday I was OK (though not fine) to start with and gradually decayed in speed, enjoyment, motivation - everything really. It very quickly became hard work, and carried on getting harder. The decision to pack was based on the fact that it was getting that hard within the first 100km, and I had another 320km to do, mostly overnight. I didn't want to be in Sudbury at 3am, totally unable to continue - so I quit whilst I could.
Once I decided the game was up, motivation drained away - and it was then I noticed all the other stuff - heat, hot headwind (it was about 25kph into my face for five hours across the exposed flatlands of Norfolk and Suffolk) and niggling knee pain, and right there was the reward for stopping - all that unpleasantness stops too.
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Packs, I've had a few, then again, too few to mention (not entirely true...) but clearly more then some posters. I'm a bit suspicious of chaps* who say they never pack, to be honest. It may be they simply are not ambitious enough, are a bit more selective about the rides they do or even (heaven forbid) train, but if you ride a fairly fullish 'season' as against targeted rides then inevitably there will be days when you feel like you should have stayed at home.
I packed on the Irish Mail this year or rather I decided to clip 100km from the ride because the early stages were much harder than I expected, the aforementioned 100km was not terribly scenic and completing it would have made the home run really tough, chasing the clock all the way. As it was I stopped at the penultimate stop for a much needed sleep break. But mostly I turned early because I simply didn't need to complete the Brevet. I already had a 400km in the bag for my SR and I'm not point chasing this year. So I weighed the odds, I decided I had had a good day and headed for home. If I had needed the Brevet I would have pushed on and toughed it out. As is, I plan to be there next year. It was much the same scenario on the Rural South but I ran into a J. Spooner who made me finish!
So Motivation is key. Ultimately, if you are not enjoying the day and you're looking at the sharp end of an entirely pointless painfest then you are better off out of it, the sooner the better. What you don't want to happen is to come away from a ride so exhausted / demoralised / disillusioned it puts you off riding. Likewise as Gordy says, you need a clear conscience, otherwise you'll spend the entire event thinking you shouldn't really be there, which is Not Helpful.
So personally I'm into Discretion before Valour, which is easily confused with but in fact a completely different issue to Dealing With Bad Patches.
* Edit: More correct to say (least anybody thinks I'm having a pop) I'm wary of any impression that packing is to be disdained. Fact is there are a lot of strong riders out there who plan their rides well. Equally there are less able riders for whom most every ride is a challenge. My take is that its simply better to ride and run away (eh?) then never to ride at all.
In the same vein, reports of riders pushing on whilst carrying injuries, knee problems, etc. worry me. Whilst its a matter of personal judgement I don't like to think of inexperienced riders feeling they 'have' to complete a course no matter what. Of course if its 2am in the middle of nowhere there may not be much choice other than to push on.
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Actually I think the key to not packing is running into John spooner as I think many people would testify
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I second and third that, motion passed ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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I packed twice, once for mechanical and the other 'cos I'd not enough low gears, too many faery visits and decided not to chase the clock., following which the little voices in my head telling me how useless I was have ensured that I tend to plug on.
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I think the 'heads not in the game' thing is very relevant and this can affect all of us, it's part of being human. Controlling it and psyching oneself up for the event is all part of the game. Through experience one can learn how to prepare for events mentally, recognise the situations before they become terminal, develop coping and repair strategies to stop them becoming terminal.
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I've packed three times in the 40ish events that I've started -
The first time was due to a broken seat clamp on a 100km from Oundle. The chances of finding a replacement in the middle of north Northamptonshire at 09:30 on a Sunday morning were less than zero, so I had to call on Mrs Chris to come and rescue me. Luckily I had ridden from home to the start, so there was no issue with getting my own car back.
The next time was on the Daylight 600 in 2007. The week before I had been suffering from a chest infection and I was taking anti-biotics. I had arranged business meetings close(ish) to the start to the on the Friday before and the Monday after, so I had nothing to lose in starting. I arrived at Ballachulish (about 140 miles) feeling very weak, having been sick twice on the climb up Glen Coe, and quite close to the time limit. I decided that next 100+km riding alone around a very sparsly populated peninsular at night was not wise, so I bimbled 25 miles down the relatively flat road to the control at Benderloch, got some sleep and joined some other riders for the ride back to the start/finish.
The other time I packed was on a 200km from Oundle. I rode the 30 miles to the start, and the first part of the ride was good. However despite drinking and eating well I began to feel very weak, and at about 100km the route passed close to home (through the next village), so I sent a message with some other riders that I had packed, and rode home where I immediatley fell asleep and woke up a couple of hours later with severe leg cramps. I rode 100 miles the next day with no problems.
Then there are the other times that I have packed before the start. Sometimes due to illness, sometimes due to bad weather, and once because I just couldn't be bothered.
Sometimes I would have packed, but the easiest bail out option was to ride to the finish, and then drive home. :-[
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I packed twice. Once on the Bodmin 300 in 2007 when my rear derrailuer destroyed itself in the first 50km. I converted the bike to single speed but lost too much time to make the Lands End control in time.
Other time was on the Kernow and South West 600 in 2008. I'd had all the early season off with a broken collar bone and missed the BCM etc. Before attempting the k&sw 600 I did do a 200km test ride which went ok.
Apart from a lower level of fitness than normal before this ride my daughter had been ill and waking me up every night that week at 3am. So I was short on sleep. I got to Penzance towards the back of the field but I was ok.
The night section from Penzance to the sleep stop at Bude didn't go well. I couldn't stay awake. I had a couple of catnaps in bus shelters and crashed into a hedge when falling asleep on the bike. Got to Bude but with no time in hand. Had a rest, not really a sleep for about 30 minutes then went on. The next bit of the ride is easy until after Holdsworthy and then it gets really lumpy. The buzzard must have sensed I was at the back of the pack, easy meat and had a go at me. I knew I was in trouble when a bunch of women on MTB doing a charity ride overtook me going up a hill. The route went past my house(ish) at 400km and I was out of time for the next control so I packed there and then.
I've DNSd twice, once due to weather (local 200km, lots of rain) once due to lack of lead in my pencil ( tough BCM meant a 400 round cornwall the following weekend wasn't possible )
I have done a couple of BCM where there was a high drop out rate but I finished ( 2006 and 2009 )
Finished a 200 in Devon/Cornwall when it rained all day, big rain and then blew a gale. And my lights kept failing (i'd given my spare light to a friend)
Finished a local 200 after crashing at 100k, think I was concussed large grazes and bruising
Finished a local 100 after crashing, My brakes wore out in the wet and braking with your foot doesn't work on twisty 25% gravel lanes. I ripped up my new coat on that occassion :(
The overall packing rate for PBP might have been in excess of 25% but for UK entrants it wasn't so I don't count that as a "ride other people packed but I didn't"
I always think it's easier to ride to the end of the event than to mess about finding a train/taxi/bus/hotel
I always carry a ton of wet/cold weather gear/spare food/a map/spare lights
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I ride my bike because it's one of the things that I most like doing in life.
Usually, riding my bike is a joy which feeds my soul and makes my body feel fabulous. Sometimes though, riding my bike is really hard and I don't feel so good.
If I'm neither mentally, nor physically getting anything out of a ride, I'll stop riding.
Sure, I'll continue a hard ride in order to prove something to myself (viz this weekend's Ordinary lunacy - my arse is still in a Remarkably Bad Way) but when I put aside the physical discomfort, I have to be getting something else to compensate.
If there's pain, but no glory - what's the bloody point?
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I always think it's easier to ride to the end of the event than to mess about finding a train/taxi/bus/hotel
On the ride I packed on it wasn't easier to ride back. Had I not been with the someone else I wouldn't have know how easy it was to get a train back so would almost certainly have not packed. I have no regrets about packing that ride or any others and don't blame anyone for packing.
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Doing anything extraordinary inevitably means tricking ourselves in some way. We might get sponsorship or tell loads of people or promise ourselves a treat if we get through, but most people are deceiving themselves somehow. The idea of 'packing' is one such trick, we have to be careful with it, if we make it too shameful, we will cease to try. But if we think that packing doesn't matter it ceases to be a motivational tool. There are loads of 'mind games' people play in Audax, the ones who don't indulge in them are usually those who are working to a different agenda; long distance time-triallists who are using them as training, their mind-games are reserved for the TT events themselves.
Oliver Burkeman's column in Saturday's Guardian was about stoicism, and has some relevance.
This column will change your life: The worst that could happen? Bring it on, says Oliver Burkeman |
Life and style |
The Guardian
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jul/04/self-help-burkeman)
The most telling sentence for me is this one.
Stoicism can be just as easily seen as a way to participate more fully in the world, to plunge in more deeply precisely because one has sapped it of any absolute power to dictate one's emotional state.
Packing allows circumstance to reassert its power to determine your emotional state, that's why we need to match ambition to ability.
Damon.
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I can find lots of reasons for packing.
First time. I got horribly lost on the first ever Glamorgan Glory in signpostless lanes then failed to find my way back onto the route. Eventually I found a place I recognised from The Best of British that I had ridden the previous day nut I had lost too much time.
Second Time. Crashed. Broke a bone in by left wrist and cracked a finger on my right hand. I needed to ask someone to help me change a tube. In Tregarron I decided to pack when I needed to ask someone to cut my toast into pieces. I decided to ride to Carmathen the nearest railway station. I knew a route, I had ridden the Plynlimon Polka the previous year. Fortunately a Carmarthen sign appeared at Cwmann so I did not need to follow the hilly route after all. I really hate cattle grids. I was changing right hand gear with my left hand because it hurt less at that time. Eventually I go to Caramarthen. I felt really wrong about buying a train ticket in the middle of the afternoon when I had a bike. I got on a Train in the wrong direction. Eventually I got home and recieved a angry phone call from the organiser for not telling her directly that I had packed. I explained and the tone changed to concern. I went to bed. The next day I wake up to find my left wrist was double its normal width and visited casualty. I still think I should of finished this one. Did I mention I really hate cattle grids.
Over the year I have become less motivated. For instance I could of continued after a silly crash on a Doctor Fosters. I got a puncture and discovered that dripping blood on to the new tube is remarkably demotivating.
This year I have been quite shameful. On the Milford Haven Brevet I was riding towards Carew on the A4075. A gusty cross wind nearly blew me under a car. Phew that was close. As I was decending into Carew it happened again. Bugger this I thought and turned left instead of right at the roundabout and returned directly to Carmathen. Very naughty. I almost certainly would of continued if I had gone onto the control at Manorbier which was quite close and thought about it.
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I've been know to pack half way round a mid week 40 mile after work ride!
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So personally I'm into Discretion before Valour, which is easily confused with but in fact a completely different issue to Dealing With Bad Patches.
Exactly. I've packed because of bad patches, luckily not because of something that's out of my control (severe injuries or unfixable mechanicals, etc).
If I gave in to the pack faeries every time I felt glum I'd end up packing on my commute at least a couple of times a week. I don't always enjoy all of the cycling I do, I've definitely had to push myself through yet another 3 lap blast round Richmond Park despite the "fuck it" valve blowing and not really wanting to be there at all.
Giving up is the easy option, but I don't get on my bike to do a x00km ride because I want to take the easy option so I expect some negativity and try and make sure it doesn't take me over.
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Goodness - I forgot an Autumn Tints 200 I packed on after 3 punctures and a crash led to a SoH failure. Funny how you forget these things in amongst all the successes isn't it?
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DNF's, I've had a few.
Denmead 600 (2005 calendar) - feeling the effect of the heat
Denmead 600 (solo perm) - poor planning meant overslept at 300km
Hailsham 400 (solo perm) - poor motivation
Rural South 300 (2005 calendar) - puncture problems
There are also a few other rides I should have packed but didn't through gritty determination. Springing to mind are the Kidderminster Killer where I did the last 50km without any brakes (other than my shoes!). PBP 2007 where I was very wet and miserable after 500km of rain, bloody rain. Likewise the Bryan Chapman in 2006. LEL 2005, where I suffered physically in my first season of AUK and poor pacing at the start (and poor facilities, it as to be said, despite the enthusiasm of the helpers).
Nowadays, with more experience, I know when to DNS. Although perhaps it is rather too frequent at the moment, due to motivational issues.
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There are 2 subtleties that are coming out of this:
- sometimes you're suffering, but still enjoying it.(This often comes from the satisfaction you know you will feel afterwards).
- sometimed you're not enjoying it, but reckon you will start at some point. This seems to require rides over 150k, and you can only really know this from similar experiences.(I find this harder when it happens unexpectedly - I know I'll suffer on a particular climb, but unexpected cold/headwind/crap food/crap digestion can catch me out and trigger an instant hissy fit.)
Both of these situations are impossible to define until they actually happen. I find the grey areas fascinating. The rides I've almost packed have been the most satisfying.
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I packed on the Dean - twice.
First time was the calendar event earlier in the year. I'd been feeling shit from the start and was seriously contemplating packing after only 20k or so. I thought, I'll see what's over the next hill and, lo and behold, a very kindly chap caught me up and gave me the motivation to carry on (through nothing more than company and simple chat). After another 10 k I felt absolutley fine and was going along very nicely - until a broken rear spoke episode going fast down Winchcombe hill put paid to that.
So, I thought I'd give it another go a couple of weeks later as a perm. Duly entered - got as far as Newent and gave up. This time, there was only me and no kindly soul to 'help out' when it got bad. Grinding to a halt halfway up Cleeve Hill all I had for company were the little voices in my head saying 'you feel like crap, you can't climb for toffee, you've got another 200k to go, you could be at home, you DON'T need to do this ride etc etc'. I carried on until Newent but that was it.
The only other time I thought about packing simply due to my psyche was on last year's Asparagus and Strawberries. I felt much the same as on this years Dean and, again, was saved by other riders turning up at very timely moments (this occasion it was Ed Nevard and Jane).
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I agree with vorsprung about riding to the event. I think a lot about what I am going to take and once I have set off, I either have it or I don't. Planning to ride also means a good bike check beforehand. I have enjoyed the audax events I have ridden to and from the most, to date.
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Despite having packed on a few short Audax rides with pathetic excuses, there are several rides I've done where packing would have been the sensible option*... but for some unfathomable reason I've just ploughed on.
Perhap we should have a thread on "Rides on which I've not packed but should have?!"
*Breaking a pedal off 50 miles from anywhere on the Hay Plain in Australia was one of those days.
Stuff the heat. Stuff those flies. Just pedal, you fat bastard.
The mind is a strange thing.
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Perhap we should have a thread on "Rides on which I've not packed but should have?!"
My commute everyday.
Nothing to do with the ride though.
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Perhap we should have a thread on "Rides on which I've not packed but should have?!"
I'll start that one off. This year's Cambrian 600. Didn't pack but I've spent at least 2 weeks since wishing I had. One day the symptoms will go away................hopefully prior to LEL
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It's much easier for me to pack solo than in a group - I'll cling hard to a group rather than end up grinding on my own when the black dogs start to sniff at the wheels. Suffering in a group is an adventure; suffering solo is just horrid.
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I've never packed on an audax ride as I usually drive to them, and am in areas I'm not
familiar with in order to take a short cut back to the start. I did however consider packing
on the Alpe D'Huez climb on this year's Marmotte due to my breathing problems. (http://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=20089.0)
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So is that it? Does it all come down to motivation?
No, it's because you are lazy :P
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So is that it? Does it all come down to motivation?
No, it's because you are lazy :P
Yeah... I've heard that before ::-).
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I've packed enough rides that I've lost count. Some were vaguely important to me, but it's the trade-off between hardship and enjoyment. DNS I'm really bad at, particularly perms as Mr Webb's inbox will testify...
I haven't been riding so much audax this year, but more riding as/where/when I feel like it. Even that has its challenges. On Sunday, I rode about 90km from Aberystwyth to Shell Island to take part in a rowing race. I made good time, getting there in about 3 1/2 hours. The row was harder than planned and ended in a capsize. I dried out from that, just in time for it to start raining heavily for the ride home. There was a raging headwind and I only had a lightweight waterproof. I didn't help myself by picking the shorter hillier route home and the crawl over happy valley was v. unpleasant. By Machynlleth (30km to go), I was broken. I headed for the station and was told that I'd just missed the train home (3 hours to the next one). I thought about a taxi, but eventually pulled myself together, ate my bonk rations and finished the ride. It was 4 1/2 hours home all told. The point to this long o/t anecdote - I'd have got on a lot better if I'd planned better, had better kit and looked after myself. I think that would apply to the majority of my failed Audax rides too.
AC
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Poor Andy. He suffers, you know. Proof on file.
Andy, don't worry about all the DNSs and DNFs. Your DIY admin is so good, rubbing your proposed routes really isn't a problem.
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Poor Andy. He suffers, you know. Proof on file.
That reminds me Danial, take this thread as notification of my DNF on Saturday :D
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I was averaging no more than one DNF per 50 brevets for a number of years. Until last Saturday, I'd DNFed every brevet I'd started since July last year. Lots of reasons, lack of motivation, planning a date starting before the latest finish time of a brevet, injury and simply not enough fitness. Hopefully I'll be able to drop the DNF:finish ratio again.
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I find myself frequently contemplating factors which motivate and demotivate on audax rides.
I say this in the context of having packed 1 calendar ride in an audax “career” spanning about 200 points, with the vast majority having been earned since 2005. I packed on the Daylight 600k in 2003 through lack of fitness and also have packed maybe around 6 or so permanent rides since then, all probably falling into one of two categories (1) a feeling early on in the ride that “my heart’s not in this today” or (2) boredom resulting in lack of motivation to carry on. But never after half way - it would need to be mechanical or medical after the turn.
I find that calendar events provide their own motivation i.e. aside from anything else, there’s a sense of not wanting to let the organiser down (even though most organisers would probably want a struggling rider to pack on safety grounds). Any ride will have its own sense of achievement on completion, and there’s maybe a points target SR or another award at stake to help us going. Riding with a group is also a positive [e.g. the fantastic Kingdom Come group perm in 2009] as the sense of camaraderie keeps spirits up, aside from the inherent energy saving especially when leading from the back. Then there’s the also the question of practicality eg if I’m at the head of Glen Lyon on the Tayside 300k there ain’t very much I can do but keep riding, even if I’m cabbaged, while a ride with umpteen railway stations en route can provide the temptation to call it a day.
Permanent rides are harder mentally especially those ridden solo and for me this is accentuated for longer distance rides. If your riding a solo perm, probably only you and the organiser knows that you’re riding it and there’s far less “loss of face” in giving up. Equally though, the thought of having quietly completed a solo event “under the radar” can provide some motivation too.
I have found myself making specific provision to avoid the negative on solo perms over 200k, for example not taking a bike computer (or putting it out of my line of sight) as I’ve found that a hard spell can feel worse when its being measured out in 10 metre instalments or if I see that my average speed is dropping like a stone. I also find that setting a target to be at a particular place by a certain time can also be demotivating - even with a lot of time in hand there’s a risk I’ll beat myself up about being 15 minutes behind “schedule”. For the same reasons I have learned to try and avoid making predictions about arrival times if meeting up with the rest of the human race on an audax ride (B&Bs, friends, relatives etc – you know the scenario, you said you’d be there by half past five and you heroically overcome a series of mechanicals and a headwind to get there by quarter to six, only to be met with faintly concealed disdain over your diminishing cycling ability - or maybe that’s just me).
One thing that I’ve found to rate very highly on the “positive feelings of well being : weight” ratio is a small radio, to the extent that I have on occasion rigged it up fixed to a map holder to ensure quality reception. I have tried an mp3 player but it doesn’t have the same effect – I tend just to switch off with an mp3 player as I know what’s coming next as it were, but I can happily listen to speech based radio for hours and hours – great for a through the night section.
Finally, of all the rides that I have packed, I’ve not regretted having done so, which probably means that I did the right thing. But I would say that just to justify it wouldn’t I?
Ramblings over - need to get out on a bike now.
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St Garmin is the Patron Saint of Packing.
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I've packed on a few perms - in most cases because I was bored and lonely and close to home, and on a couple of occasions because I was at home, having controlled there, and CBA going out again :)
I've technically failed to finish a couple of calendar events, again by dint of just going home, but that was always my intention with those and I'd ridden to the start from the point I'd packed - so I got the miles in if not the points.
I've only really packed on two events - one was multiple chain failure on the Kidderminster Killer so that's excusable as it can be, and once on a 400 when I'd done the fun bit, had a load of tedious nightime main roads ahead, and was perilously close to the B&B where Mrs MV was staying on her own. Guilt kicked in, and could not be assuaged by the thought of a nice ride to come.
I get less angsty about it all these days. As long as the organiser isn't inconvenienced and I've told them I'm out, it's just a ride. There'll be others.
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IIRC I've packed 2 rides through intense knee pain (turned out to be saddle about 2cm too high) and PBP through illness.
I've DNS'd loads of rides either through having something better to do, other commitments or not feeling like riding in crap weather.
Can't say I've regretted any of those decisions, and although it hasn't happened yet, if I was riding and the fun vs acceptable misery balance was tipping the wrong way I'd not care less about calling it a day.
It is, as MV says, a bike ride after all.
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I've packed two 600 calendar events. One due to fatigue and stomach upset. Another due to sense of humour failure after too much rain and wind. And a diy 200 due to risk of ice.
The second 600 i really regretted packing as I was only 15km from the next control at Sedburgh and I would have turned away from the gale force winds at that point. Having that experience and the regrets helped me in similar conditions during LEL about a year later. My resolve was much stronger.
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I try not to pack if I can help it, however I have done enough events in the rain and am quite prepared to pack in the event of a sense of humour failure brought about by intense wet/cold/chaffing nads.
Stats for 2009 were as follows:-
4 x DNS, (1 x weather, 1 x mechanical and 2 x physical)
5 x DNF, 2 on MTB events, 3 on Audax (2 x mechanical, 1 x physical, 1 x weather and 1 mental attitude)
This out of 50 events. But one if the DNF's was after 739miles!!
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I've had a run of 'failures'.
5th Dec Tinsel Lanes DNF (mojo failure)
11th Dec DIY :thumbsup:
19th Dec Dick Turpin Perm DNS (snow)
30th Dec Dick Turpin Perm DNS (boss made me work)
2nd Jan DIY DNF (toys out of pram- at 194km, thanks for pointing that out Danial)
16th Jan ECE Nips 3 DNS (fear factor)
I reckon they're all valid reasons and don't really regret them (except perhaps the 'boss' one!). I'll be out again on the 30th giving January another attempt.
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I spent muchof PBP '07 being desperate to pack but thought if I packed I'd only have unfinished business. :hand: So I got round. By the time I got to 800km I realised I was going to be able to do it.
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I remember cheering you on at Fougeres on your return leg. Each to his own, but that is one ride that I don't regret packing and will never return to.
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I remember cheering you on at Fougeres on your return leg. Each to his own, but that is one ride that I don't regret packing and will never return to.
I remember it well. One of the high points, that, though it did remind me of your misfortune in being unwell.
I also remember Fougeres as where my knees really started to hurt when sitting down, and for a cute American or Canadian cyclist I was chatting to over lunch. Also it was around that time that I was riding with a group of mad Danes for a while, and I really enjoyed that.
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Last year I packed a ride because the wind blew me across the path of a cars on two seperate occasions. I chose life and returned to Carmarthen and caught the train. If I had continued a few more miles, I would have arrived at the lunch time control calmed down and continued the ride.
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I remember cheering you on at Fougeres on your return leg. Each to his own, but that is one ride that I don't regret packing and will never return to.
Fougeres on the return, 07. A delicious beer and baguette au jambon. Fresh arse-grease and clean shorts. Wankhead's tender ministrations in the bus. Happy days :).
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I can't get my head round the idea of beer during PBP.
A couple of beers last night after swimming club => a real slog cycling home on fixed against the wind.
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In my short Audax career(2008:1x300, 2009: 200, 300, 2x400, 1x600, LEL) I packed once. Two weeks after my first 600 I tried another one. With 5500 elevation meters. While starting 115km from the start, at home. I knew I was pushing it, which was the purpose, because next to LEL I was considering the Nordbayern 1200.
The first 70km were flat, but at the control I needed just a bit more time than the group(having done 115km more than most others). Usually I'm not the slowest, so I pushed to find some others again. I never found them. At the second control, at 220km, there were no other riders either. I really needed someone to persuade me to continue, because I was not behind schedule. I was just alone, and pissed by the weather(changing all the time) and the stupid Belgian hills. I think lack of sleep also didn't help. The ride started at 5am, and to get to the start I left home around midnight. I might have had 1 hour of sleep.
I was just not enjoying the ride, and put the Nordbayern 1200 off my mind.
This is when I found out that Bastogne has no trainstation anymore. The next trainstation was another 30km further(next control was 87km), so in the end I still had done 379km.
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I can't get my head round the idea of beer during PBP.
worked for me. In 2003 I had a very nice evening meal on the Thursday night at Mortagne, washed down with a load of wine.
By day 3 it makes no difference..
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I have packed 1 calendar event in my 5 years of Audaxing. My wheelman was having a hard time with the weather and the descents and he knew where the nearest train station was. I didn't need any persuading and don't regret it, it was a foul day and I was not enjoying it but hoping it would get better - it did apparantly. Packed several DIYs and don't really care, not the end of the world. If there is an easy option to make it back I am likely to take it if I am at a low ebb, often that isn't possible so I'll just carry on and try to ride through the bad patch. Only once been forced to pack because of injury, that time I was taken home in an ambulance three weeks later. I was not able to walk, carrying on was not an option. Never packed due to a mechanical.
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Last year I packed a ride because the wind blew me across the path of a cars on two seperate occasions. I chose life and returned to Carmarthen and caught the train. If I had continued a few more miles, I would have arrived at the lunch time control calmed down and continued the ride.
I have packed 1 calendar event in my 5 years of Audaxing. My wheelman was having a hard time with the weather and the descents and he knew where the nearest train station was. I didn't need any persuading and don't regret it, it was a foul day and I was not enjoying it but hoping it would get better - it did apparantly.
there is obviously a law stating that a ride will always get better just AFTER you have packed... ::-) ;)
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I have only packed on one ride, the New Forest 1000km at 750km with achilles tendon trouble.
I rode the last 500km of PBP 2003 with a similar injury and paid for it big time after I think that was in the back of my mind as to how much time I would need off work to recover.
I have pushed myself hard to finish rides, too stubborn for my own good sometimes.
The Denmead 300 has always been tough for me, riding after a week of gastro trouble wasn't good prep, a fast 200km nine hours then feel sick the last 100 taking another seven. I wanted that ride as a qualifier and allthough I felt crap new at the pace I was at still had time to finish the ride.
I bonked badly on an Easter Arrow with Mal Volio, Manotea, JWO and Paul once and I'm not sure who was worried more me or them :)
My experience from the Denmead mean't I knew it would be hard but I could still do it, eat as much as possible despite not wanting too and slowly recovered over the next 50km
Generally I will ride the ride and if I am in on time all the better, it has worked so far :D mind you I don't enter loads point chasing so that could change things.
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At least yesterday it was "because it would now be impossible to finish in time".
I find the combination of low morale and a nearby steam railway hard to resist.
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It's definitely a mental thing.
I've packed on a number of the Henham/Ugley events. They go in circles, returning once or sometimes twice to the HQ as an intermediate control. Sometimes, the prospect of apple pie and custard is more tempting than the prospect of the last lap...
I've never packed on a Stevenage event. They go straight out in a line, turn round, and come back in a parallel line. There are almost no trains providing an escape. Once you're at the turn, packing is not really an option.
The question is whether you get through the bad bit. Last year I struggled at 150k and would have packed if I could. By 200k I was, for the first time, wishing it was a 300k event.
Maybe I'm just mentally weak :D
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I guess it depends on whether you do audax for fun...
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I've packed just once, early last year on the Killhope grimpeur. Only 100km but I'd ridden the previous day and didn't have it in my legs to continue. It was blowing a gale and I knew I was running close to the time limit. I packed at the last point I knew I could bale out and shorten the route. The ride still came to 75km or so. and there were big climbs to get back to the start/finish.
I was chuffed to meet someone else who had packed when I entered the first pub I came to. We were soon joined by another rider who'd had enough. So I didn't feel so bad.
My one DNS was on a DIY on 1.12.09 fell off on ice and damaged my ankle. Limped to the start, made my apologies to my ride mate and got the train home.I haven't ridden since. Determined to ride next week.
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In 32 years of Audaxing, I've failed to finish 5 events.
Windsor-Chester-Windsor (knee trouble)
The Elenith (ran out of time/friend couldn't continue) (2)
Kidderminster Killer (got lost/had a mechanical failure) (2)
Co incidentally, all of them started in Kidderminster.
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I was hard pressed to continue from the lunch stop on the Golden Tints in 2008 after bonking badly just before getting back to lunch. Took an hour of feeling utterly crap and struggling to eat my lunch before I felt able to continue. Once I got going again, I was fine, and even managed to catch up with Ara so I wasn't on my own.
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The only audax I've DNFed is a 200 out of Ruislip (Middlesex). The first 100 I was fine but I began to tire after that. Got to around 150km and there was just nothing left. I was shattered. I packed at Thame and got the train home. To this day, I have no idea what went wrong. I'd ridden plenty of 200s before and I wasn't ill either before or after. Maybe just fuelled badly, who knows. I just put it down as 'one of those things'.
These days, I do my own rides so it's pretty much impossible to pack. I ride (or not) according to how I feel. I have cut routes short though, heading home when I felt tiredness (or boredom!) setting in.
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i have packed in on 2 rides, first a 400km at beatock in scotland, this was after having a stomach infection a few weeks before, i guess it was to far to soon after an illness.
the other DNF was PBP 2007, this was at about 390km, after leaving the control i just ran out of steam. i have thought over this for sometime and have come to the conclusion that i had not eaten/drank enough for the distance i had covered, guess the old body just said thats enough.
i do seem to have a problem remembering to eat and drink on a ride, i get to focused on the time to complete the ride, i'll just have to work on it.
bye
waxer
keep on pedalling......
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i do seem to have a problem remembering to eat and drink on a ride,
So do I. One of the first things that goes seems to be the ability to recognise that it would be a good idea to stop and eat - I plod on, losing much more time than the 5-10 minutes it would take to eat a malt loaf, and then I'm miserable and want to pack. It's crazy.
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This eating business is something that I have always struggled with.I usually get it wrong & bonk at some stage of a 60km+ ride.Only occasionaly do I get it right & that is when the experience & wisdom of those I am riding with call a cake stop.
On the second day of my E2E I discovered that a diet of Snickers bars,dark chocolate Kit Kats & several bottles of Lucozade between breakfast & tea time kept the energy levels up.It became a bit boring after 3 weeks ::-).
Perhaps that is why I only lost 2kg over 20 days & 1016km.That & a full- English cooked breakfast each morning & a 3 course meal & Guiness every night :)
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On the second day of my E2E I discovered that a diet of Snickers bars,dark chocolate Kit Kats & several bottles of Lucozade between breakfast & tea time kept the energy levels up.It became a bit boring after 3 weeks ::-).
Did you have any teeth left after that? ;)
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This eating business is something that I have always struggled with
As others have said, it really is the key to successful long distance cycling.
You have to train yourself to be able to do the miles at a pace that's not ripping through your carb reserves faster than you can replenish them, and all too often that's a lot slower than you think. I use a HRM for this early season, and just get in loads of miles at a pace I know I can trundle at all day. It's slow. As the weeks go by I get a bit faster at it, and I can go a bit faster for a bit longer on events.
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I use a HRM for this early season,
Me too.... just to make sure that I keep the pulse right down to 50-60%max. The memory of last years late autumn rides at peak fitness are still there and it is easy to overdo it.
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I thought I could boast having completed every ride since I started this game in 1982. But no, there is one famous 'pack', though I returned to complete the ride after a restart 5 months later.
Whilst riding the Autostrada en route Granada around midnight, I was leaving an entry from a Servicio and I went flying. The result of riding into an enormous pothole was a broken clavicle. My insurance recovered me to UK.
I returned to Spain in late August 2001 and made a successful 16 day ride of the 3000km Trafalgar-Trafalgar. You will need to read my account of the time and in the Arrivee archives but it is a very good adventure. The ride, together with a 300, gave me a SR, a series I have continued consecutively since, so this year I am an on for a bionic SR, from my hip replacement in 2000.
On a 1000km in mid-Wales I had another 'prang', when I was forced into a hedge by an oncoming tractor AND TRAILER!!! Narrow lane and nowhere else to go. The Builth Wells Cottage Hospital confirmed no breaks (I had brakes) but the remaining 600km was fairly painful. Even passing within 4 miles of my home a day or so later did not cause me to pack, as I still had to recover my vehicle from Midhurst and it seemed just as easy to cycle there.
SteveP
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for a bionic SR... I mean Bionic Ultra SR.
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Changing the subject to non-Audax, I had an infamous 'pack' whilst attempting a 3 Peaks record in 1979. I left Fort William at noon (timing to satisfy Glasgow Herald) to run up Ben Nevis and then cycle down to the Lake District to run over Scafell Pike. On the ride through Lancashire, I was battling into a (felt Gale-force) headwind, when it struck me that if I set a Record, it could easily be beaten riding with a backwind. So, after 32hrs I jumped into my support wagon and we headed for home.
The following year, I repeated the attempt, starting from Carnarvon at 0300hrs (timing to suit MY schedule), climbed Snowdon at dawn, managed to clear the Lake District by dusk and descended Ben Nevis before dusk the following day. Record in the bag 41h 51m!! (Note, you will understand I have little time for the current '3 Peaks Challenge' game, where teams can sleep on the road to complete in 24hrs but that is changing the subject to mountaineering).
That was 440miles on the bike and 9hrs in the mountains but with a full support team; not quite the way we play Audax with lengthy cafe breaks. But AUK was still in its infancy then.
One thing that strikes me here is that once you have done all the planning and overcome the reasons for packing, it is so much easier to do it second time around.
SteveP (3peaker)