Author Topic: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar  (Read 11797 times)

rob

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #25 on: 11 October, 2019, 09:19:15 pm »
I have a place for RAtN but got a rejection e-mail from Transalba.

Thinking Pan Celtic, possibly.  I also like the look of the Bordeaux to NL 1200k with thoughts of riding to the start and then home afterwards.

Registered and fee paid for Pan Celtic.  Course is different this year with no Scottish leg.

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #26 on: 25 October, 2019, 05:57:29 pm »
OP: The guys that run Transiberica also do a Transpyrenees, shorter than Lost Dot's one, going from East to West. They're also running Badlands gravel race in Spain.

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #27 on: 25 October, 2019, 06:00:35 pm »
Jack Petersen's spreadsheet of bikepacking events:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e­/2PACX-1vSh_UaCz6RGs43prmwnkZS0Mtn7YTxBy­XFqiqg9NQi7cSK26aNry6dDZYhhGrnvFtyTMlJIt­7hAVj1l/pubhtml?fbclid=IwAR2hPjAWVtHJpyv­9ccmP6X8Mz8V1vm4LgqpoNwMfvJv6MQpc7WJiJ93­GIW0

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #28 on: 25 October, 2019, 06:01:10 pm »
There's also more than just the GBDuro:

Provisional calendar for 2020 (to be confirmed 1 Jan 2020)

    15 February 2020 - one-day tree-planting season opener at the Heart of England Forest near Stratford-upon-Avon
    ​3-4 April 2020 - TransEngland - #transengland20
    1-2 May 2020 - TransWales - #transwales20
    6-7 June 2020 -  TransScotland - #transscotland20
    13 June 2020 - one-day ride - OxDURO - #oxduro20
    27 June 2020 - one-day ride - CotsDURO - #cotsduro20
    20 June - 30 June 2020 - GBDURO - #GBDURO20
    4-5 July 2020 - WalesDURO - #walesduro20
    1-2 August 2020 - EnglanDURO - #englanduro20
    29-30 August 2020 - Social ride - pubduro North York Moors - #pubduroNYM
    12-13 September 2020 - ScotDURO - #scotduro20
    3 October 2020 - one-day ride - PennDURO - #pennduro20

https://www.theracingcollective.com/trials.html

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #29 on: 25 October, 2019, 06:08:46 pm »
Looking further ahead, the Grenzsteintrophy runs for 1250km along the border between East Germany and West Germany. Formerly annual but now run every 'odd year', so 2021 next time. A much-missed friend of ours rode it a few times early on. Not really road bike friendly despite being about 30% asphalt, due to the effects of tanks and quite a bit of overgrown concrete block paved track.
https://grenzsteintrophy.de/
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #30 on: 25 October, 2019, 06:19:41 pm »
Looking further ahead, the Grenzsteintrophy runs for 1250km along the border between East Germany and West Germany. Formerly annual but now run every 'odd year', so 2021 next time. A much-missed friend of ours rode it a few times early on. Not really road bike friendly despite being about 30% asphalt, due to the effects of tanks and quite a bit of overgrown concrete block paved track.
https://grenzsteintrophy.de/

That's an interesting one. Not a race though but still sounds cool (helped that I just read The Cyclist Who Went Out in the Cold).

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #31 on: 28 October, 2019, 10:24:40 am »
True, this event is an adventure, rather than a race. Google translation gives:

"Together with the Berlin Wall and the Nikolaikirchhof in Leipzig, the inner-German border ( 1,378 km in length) is perhaps the most historically significant patch of earth in the German postwar period. What kind of ideas does it trigger when you go over ground in complete freedom (after all, the GST has only a minimum of dependencies), which was mined just a few years ago and where more than 1,000 people died because they wanted to flee to freedom ? What kind of feeling does impressive nature leave behind when you know what kind of political framework it was just a few years ago? One thing is certain: this tour does not follow just one route, this trail does not just challenge your legs. But we would not be mountain bikers if we did not make driving demands on the terrain to be driven: the former German-German border strip is the longest green strip in Germany. It offers plenty of variety: starts at the sea, leads along rivers and climbs low mountain ranges. Also, this green area is the maximum of loneliness (prairie, width), which can be seen in Germany over a longer distance."

and

"The Landmark Trophy is not a race for many reasons:
1. A race is a race is a race: a ranking destroys solidarity among the riders, it promotes the use of money and the temptation to manipulate ...
2. We want to go with us and not mutate into a "race organizer"!
3. How do you want to design a 1,300 km route "cheating-free"?
4. After this kind of challenge, who needs an award ceremony with a sponsor's banner to be the winner?"
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Mr Larrington

  • A bit ov a lyv wyr by slof standirds
  • Custard Wallah
    • Mr Larrington's Automatic Diary
Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #32 on: 28 October, 2019, 01:37:52 pm »
Tenuous claim to fame: event founder Gunnar Fehlau used to be a semi-regular visitor to Larrington Towers when he lived in Brighton.
External Transparent Wall Inspection Operative & Mayor of Mortagne-au-Perche
Satisfying the Bloodlust of the Masses in Peacetime

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #33 on: 28 October, 2019, 05:17:33 pm »
I did RRTY once and just couldn't get that bothered about doing it again.   I do commute 24 miles a day every day and it's a rare weekend where I don't do at least one ride outdoors of 3-4hrs.   For me RRTY would make rides a chore for me.   Getting outside in poor conditions is something I do regularly so, personally, I don't feel I need the extra motivation.

Another point, though, is that going for lots of long rides doesn't, necessarily, make you a better/faster long distance rider.

I think it depends where you're starting from. Someone who has already done a lot of long rides in most or all weathers won't gain much from a 200km monthly ride. It's not really a challenge that you'd get stuck into, as you say, just a chore unless it's a particular ride you fancy. But if a RRTY is a challenge, then it's worthwhile. You can always make it a challenge by doing a RRTY 300, 400, 600, 1000 and so on but that's time consuming.

I like to get a long, hard ride in over the Christmas holiday to keep my hand in. Just pick a 1000k or so ride that would be quite easy in summer and it'll be a hard ride in mid winter. I always appreciate having a roof over my head, warm bed and food to eat when I get home from those!

Then I hibernate until March, only coming out for any ride that takes my fancy and agree with Rob, the next thing would be to do the training to get fitter and faster.

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #34 on: 28 October, 2019, 05:26:41 pm »
True, this event is an adventure, rather than a race. Google translation gives:

I wonder if this will happen more and more, with this and the Trans Atlantic Way transforming into a non race. A lot of riders on these races don't really seem to be racing and are doing it more for the adventure (some riders have told me that about themselves) and as Adrian said about his TAW, he knows that people will race it and he admits that he notes who is "winning" he just doesn't want his event classified as a race. This is because of Mike Hall and other tragedies and them being possibly related to sleep restriction and how riders will push themselves to extremes beyond rationality in the pursuit of victory (or even just a result they are after)

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #35 on: 28 October, 2019, 07:15:56 pm »
It was pretty clear on TPR that many riders just wanted to make the cutoff (with a backup plan of making the party about 12 hours later). The spread of finish times was very similar to what you see on an hard+long Audax.

Having tasted the "race" thing, I currently plan to ride long "adventures" in the near future. My races will be restricted to short stuff (possibly entirely under 2 hours). But never say never of course ...
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

rob

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #36 on: 28 October, 2019, 08:26:17 pm »
I do question how much research some people put in before entering something challenging.  I entered the Pan Celtic a few weeks back and joined the Facebook group.

Some of the questions posted the first few days showed a complete lack of understanding of the challenge involved.

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #37 on: 28 October, 2019, 10:08:57 pm »
I do question how much research some people put in before entering something challenging.  I entered the Pan Celtic a few weeks back and joined the Facebook group.

Some of the questions posted the first few days showed a complete lack of understanding of the challenge involved.

I chatted to two younger riders on the ferry on my way to TAW. They were pretty much novices. Never slept out before and not been cycling very long. IIRC, one of the two hadn't ridden over 200km in a day before but my memory there isn't reliable.
But they seemed to have done a reasonable job of planning (except for how they would follow the various loops in the correct order and direction) and got a pretty good set up of brand new looking kit and some decent looking bikes that didn't appear to have done big miles.

I did sometimes wonder how they got on. Not sure if I saw them at the finish with my bad memory for names and faces, or if they completed the ride. But even so, I couldn't help but have respect for them having a go and it must have been some experience for them.

zigzag

  • unfuckwithable
Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #38 on: 28 October, 2019, 10:50:24 pm »
i was a novice cyclist on lel2009, nothing wrong with that. being naive but determined and resourceful can take someone very far.

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #39 on: 05 November, 2019, 02:30:05 pm »
True, this event is an adventure, rather than a race. Google translation gives:

I wonder if this will happen more and more, with this and the Trans Atlantic Way transforming into a non race. A lot of riders on these races don't really seem to be racing and are doing it more for the adventure (some riders have told me that about themselves) and as Adrian said about his TAW, he knows that people will race it and he admits that he notes who is "winning" he just doesn't want his event classified as a race. This is because of Mike Hall and other tragedies and them being possibly related to sleep restriction and how riders will push themselves to extremes beyond rationality in the pursuit of victory (or even just a result they are after)

Not even the police or the coroner in Canberra suggested that Mike's death was because he was tired.  Did Adrian suggest it was?  I'd be very surprised and disappointed if so.   

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #40 on: 05 November, 2019, 04:14:48 pm »
True, this event is an adventure, rather than a race. Google translation gives:

I wonder if this will happen more and more, with this and the Trans Atlantic Way transforming into a non race. A lot of riders on these races don't really seem to be racing and are doing it more for the adventure (some riders have told me that about themselves) and as Adrian said about his TAW, he knows that people will race it and he admits that he notes who is "winning" he just doesn't want his event classified as a race. This is because of Mike Hall and other tragedies and them being possibly related to sleep restriction and how riders will push themselves to extremes beyond rationality in the pursuit of victory (or even just a result they are after)

Not even the police or the coroner in Canberra suggested that Mike's death was because he was tired.  Did Adrian suggest it was?  I'd be very surprised and disappointed if so.

Adrian's real point was that people will push themselves beyond rationality and to extremes when they are "racing" each other.
It's only a bike race at the end of the day.
When you're engaged in racing your brain seems to forget that fact and you behave as if it's a matter of life and death and will go to any extreme believed to be necessary. "Perspective is lost in the spirit of the chase"
Adrian doesn't want to lead people on a path he believes could push people to make extreme decisions that could have serious or fatal consequences all for the sake of a bike race. It' not just pushing through sleep restriction, also injury and illness etc.
He understands what a tough game this sort of riding is. He's just trying to keep some perspective and not have people push themselves past a certain point.

Karla

  • car(e) free
    • Lost Byway - around the world by bike
Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #41 on: 05 November, 2019, 05:15:45 pm »
When I heard Adrian speak on this, he was incoherent to the point of hypocrisy.    I couldn't conscionably support any event run by him.

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #42 on: 06 November, 2019, 11:56:09 am »
When I heard Adrian speak on this, he was incoherent to the point of hypocrisy.    I couldn't conscionably support any event run by him.

I got the impression that it was an emotional response to recent KSIs on adventure races. Maybe he just wasn't sure how to express his thoughts? I can see the contradiction. There was a bit in the briefing about Mike Hall and other riders, plus helmets, ankle bands and additional reflective tape and high viz being mandatory. I don't agree with all that but wanted to do the ride enough to ignore my disagreements. YMMV.
It was a great ride and the highlight of my year.
But you can always ride WAW, which should be just as good and probably without the extra rules.

Phil W

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #43 on: 06 November, 2019, 12:29:53 pm »
Yes, no extra rules for WAWA. 

I took my PBP 2015 high viz gilet last time but when the zip on it failed in the rain on day 3, and I dumped it at that nights control; there was no mashing of hands and oh you must get another...


rob

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #44 on: 11 November, 2019, 04:03:28 pm »
Friend of mine pointed me at this the other day :-

https://www.twovolcanosprint.com/

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #45 on: 11 November, 2019, 06:51:54 pm »
Friend of mine pointed me at this the other day :-

https://www.twovolcanosprint.com/
That looks a gorgeous route !!! Are they definitely running it next year?
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Phil W

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #46 on: 11 November, 2019, 08:34:07 pm »
I see Adrian O'Sullivan took part in that race.

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #47 on: 12 November, 2019, 09:21:39 am »
Friend of mine pointed me at this the other day :-

https://www.twovolcanosprint.com/

If I'd had no family commitments I'd love to have done it.  However, it would be tough.  Not just the climbing but the short days in November mean lots of plodding along in the dark and that is always much harder than riding in daylight. 

Here's a report:
https://dotwatcher.cc/race/two-volcano-sprint-2019

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #48 on: 14 November, 2019, 06:21:47 am »
When I heard Adrian speak on this, he was incoherent to the point of hypocrisy.    I couldn't conscionably support any event run by him.

I got the impression that it was an emotional response to recent KSIs on adventure races. Maybe he just wasn't sure how to express his thoughts? I can see the contradiction. There was a bit in the briefing about Mike Hall and other riders, plus helmets, ankle bands and additional reflective tape and high viz being mandatory. I don't agree with all that but wanted to do the ride enough to ignore my disagreements. YMMV.
It was a great ride and the highlight of my year.
But you can always ride WAW, which should be just as good and probably without the extra rules.

I don't know what Adrian's cycling background is, but he's just posted this about the Two Volcanos:

'Although I was out of the Official Race and skipped a section, took a 5k ride off the mountain in a car. it felt like a Race.'

It suggests to me he doesn't have a racing background so perhaps doesn't 'get' racing.  I can believe that what he did felt like a hell of a ride, a really dramatic experience, etc - but can skipping a bit of the course then riding the last bit in a car really feel like racing?

Re: Getting in to long distance racing; tentative 2020 calendar
« Reply #49 on: 15 November, 2019, 01:32:12 pm »
How different do those with experience find these rides in comparison to a long Audax (where I typically ride solo)?  I'm not going to be at the pointy end of any event, but some of these really appeal :)