Mersey Roads 24 Hour 2015 (July 18/19)

[Delph Cyclist]

13:07 with my eye on 5 AUK points, which will get me to my age standard.

[Mr Green]

I can't make this year , but hope to spend the next 12 months getting ready for a 2016 attempt.
I will be interested to hear how people get on though. Good luck.

arthur

[Ian H]

I shall be heading that way in a little while.  Just trying to remember what I've forgotten.

[Tomsk]

Bon chance everyone.

On a 600km perm this weekend, but the possibility of an entry next year has been mooted...

[tonyh]

I can't make this year , but hope to spend the next 12 months getting ready for a 2016 attempt.
I will be interested to hear how people get on though. Good luck.

+1 to all of that!

[marcusjb]

Good luck to everyone.  I've only done 1 24 and loved the whole atmosphere, and the memories will remain with me forever more. I loved riding past the little encampments in the middle of the night with people cheering you on.

I hope everyone gets what they want.

[Mr Green]

This has got me thinking... is there a bechmark for us audaxie-types?
I know that this is a difficult question to answer, but if you are a middling type of rider who has completed an SR what sort of distance should you aim for?
As somone who usually rides a steel frame with a carradice I really have no idea how to judge this sort of thing, and would love to hear peoples thoughts to help with my preparations for 2016.

arthur 

[alotronic]

As above, just interested, though these curiosities have a way of slowly becoming plans...

[marcusjb]

This has got me thinking... is there a bechmark for us audaxie-types?
I know that this is a difficult question to answer, but if you are a middling type of rider who has completed an SR what sort of distance should you aim for?
As somone who usually rides a steel frame with a carradice I really have no idea how to judge this sort of thing, and would love to hear peoples thoughts to help with my preparations for 2016.

arthur 

As an upper midfield rider, I chose to aim for 600km on my first time out.  Partly as it's a nice number and partly as it's a nod back to the origins of AUK and the earliest British PBP riders pre-AUK.

If you are a veteran, then your VTTA standard is a good figure to aim for (conveniently, mine was just shy of 600km).

Even in the weeks leading up to it, it seemed a crazy number.  But, everything is so different to Audax - especially if you have support.

I rode a steel frame with 'normal' wheels with lots of spokes (but with aero bars), which does put you in the minority on the day (but there's still quite a few who do). 

It remains one of my greatest experiences on a bike, re-calibrated my entire position on what is possible, re-calibrated my entire position on what suffering really is and is something I am very keen on repeating, whilst applying the lessons learnt from last time.

I'd highly recommend it to any AUK as something completely different.  It is the most rewarding experience, a real sense of community and mutual admiration between the riders.  I experienced nothing but kindness from everyone associated with the event.

Best thing of all is that you are guaranteed a PB the first time you do it!

[tonyh]

is there a benchmark for us audaxie-types?

I find the VTTA standards quite encouraging (I need only 241 miles next year!):

http://www.vtta.org.uk/information/standardstables.php

I did 282 three years ago, and still felt very welcome to be there (hoped for 300 miles or better still 500km, but got into a poor state towards the end).
(I'm a less than middling rider, with an SR series or two.)

[andyp]

Best thing of all is that you are guaranteed a PB the first time you do it!

which is a good reason not to go too hard on the first attempt: you want to know you can beat it. Riding it more like an audax than a TT also means that you're not totally destroyed on the final finishing circuit, which is not a good place to be (and might put you off the event for life, which would be a shame): far better to have something saved for that.

In most clubs, you'll get the club record as well as a PB because it's usually vacant. Can't think why 

[marcusjb]

In most clubs, you'll get the club record as well as a PB because it's usually vacant. Can't think why 

Unless you've got an ex National Champion and current World Champion as a club mate.

(through a quirk of dates, I still managed to beat him to win the club silverware for biggest 24 hour distance!)

[Grandad]

It remains one of my greatest experiences on a bike

+1
Riding a 24 was the final item in my bicycling bucket list and I finally got round to it 6 months before retirement.  Well pleased with 365 miles on the trike

[Bairn Again]

Im #9.

Id say that 350 miles is a good target (and achievable) for most reasonably fit audax riders in reasonably benign conditions.

600k effectively requires an average riding speed of around 16.5mph (assuming ~90 minutes off the bike across the whole event) which is no mean feat.   

[bodach]

I have had to pull out of riding pilot on the tandem with McNasty as I am suffering from a severe attack of sciatica. McNasty will be riding on his own in spite of bruised/ broken ribs due to a recent fall. Good luck and hope all riders get decent conditions. I will be back next year.

[Delph Cyclist]

This has got me thinking... is there a bechmark for us audaxie-types?

Yes, don't forget that the Raven is open all night, so you can have a proper Audaxie-type stop

[tonyh]

I have had to pull out of riding pilot on the tandem with McNasty as I am suffering from a severe attack of sciatica. McNasty will be riding on his own in spite of bruised/ broken ribs due to a recent fall. Good luck and hope all riders get decent conditions. I will be back next year.

Best wishes to you both (and to everybody else) for assorted types of suffering!

[velocitizen]

Go MikeH.
You've got our Climberruss as your minute man I think.
Good luck to you all.

[Ivo]

If you're a more back of the pack audaxer you can aim for something around 500k. You usually ride a lot faster as during a 400 or 600. Regarding club trophy's, I was lucky to ride it for Willesden when there were no fast riders doing a 24 in that year. This year I wouldn't stand a chance .

[Peter]

is there a benchmark for us audaxie-types?

I find the VTTA standards quite encouraging (I need only 241 miles next year!):

http://www.vtta.org.uk/information/standardstables.php

I did 282 three years ago, and still felt very welcome to be there (hoped for 300 miles or better still 500km, but got into a poor state towards the end).
(I'm a less than middling rider, with an SR series or two.)

Thanks for that link, Tony.  I've never ridden a 24 but am amazed and not a little surprised to find that my times for the few 400s I've done would probably make me a standard rider - allowing for the 6 or so AAA points!

[marcusjb]

I have had to pull out of riding pilot on the tandem with McNasty as I am suffering from a severe attack of sciatica. McNasty will be riding on his own in spite of bruised/ broken ribs due to a recent fall. Good luck and hope all riders get decent conditions. I will be back next year.

I hope you recover soon and are back on two wheels.  Good luck to McNasty.

Hope everyone's settling down well now. 

[bodach]

Thanks for the good wishes. First tried Ibuprofen for the pain, then Diclophenic. Now on Co Codamol which is helping the pain relief considerably. Now just a matter of time and several visits to my physio to get back on track for PBP.

[mattc]

is there a benchmark for us audaxie-types?

I find the VTTA standards quite encouraging (I need only 241 miles next year!):

http://www.vtta.org.uk/information/standardstables.php

I did 282 three years ago, and still felt very welcome to be there (hoped for 300 miles or better still 500km, but got into a poor state towards the end).
(I'm a less than middling rider, with an SR series or two.)

Thanks for that link, Tony.  I've never ridden a 24 but am amazed and not a little surprised to find that my times for the few 400s I've done would probably make me a standard rider - allowing for the 6 or so AAA points!

Peter,
You do realise the standards are in miles, dont you?

HTH,
Matty x

[Peter]

Rest (perhaps not the right word) assured, Matt, one day I will find you.....

[Fidgetbuzz]

Never thought that this was my sort of thing - just a steady old plodder who used punch and go to keep in the middle third of the pack, but my age mileage would be 241 next year -- now that is less than a 400kms ride in 24 hours -- darn it i can do that --idea gets put into brain and will rest there for some time.