I'm a relative newby, so advice please?
What apart from the usual tools, puncture / spare tubes etc!
What would you carry as a minimum, for relative comfort and aid to completion within the time limits?
For any overnight ride I carry warm extras — wind proof as well as waterproof, which can be used together; reflective gilet, which can be used on top; long-sleeve base layer; snood/Buff; long-finger gloves; warm hat. It can get surprisingly cold at night, even in the middle of summer, especially if you've been sweating all day. I usually mention Green & Yellow Fields 300 back in 2013 — we were forecast +2ºC, but we were delivered -5ºC instead — there were a lot of VERY cold riders in little more than summer wear. My bidons and brakes all froze up for a while!
It helps to have spare food with you at night when shops are shut. I make sure I've got some happy sweets and perhaps a couple of fruit bars. You shouldn't need much, just some glucose to keep the fat-burn ticking over.
Routesheet and headtorch — you'll want to experience your Garmin dying on you in the middle of nowhere at spooky-o'clock only once and once only — a headtorch and routesheet can keep you in the game until you can sort the electronicals out. I tend to carry a map as well — some pages torn from an old Bart road atlas should be fine, just in case.
I carry just two spare tubes on a normal, everyday ride, plus a full tube-repair kit (of the old-school variety). For very long rides I often include a third tube, just in case — I've rarely needed one, and never needed two on the same ride, but the chance increases with distance. All the other tools and spares are the same on all rides. And I always have a small bottle of chain lube, some riders only take it with them for longer rides, but well worth having, particularly if it rains. On pumps: CO2 is great if you're in a race, but rubbish if you are stricken with half a dozen punctures on a ride (I know riders to whom this has happened); if you insist on taking CO2, then take a pocket-pump too. These days I don't bother with the CO2 as it's dead-weight and I just take the pump.
Definitely take waterproofs — in 40 hours the weather can change significantly from the forecast.
For multi-day rides I carry an inflatable pillow and a bivi bag — any orange survival bag would do as well. I can sleep just about anywhere, depending on temperature — I find sleep the hardest thing to manage, so if I feel sleepy then I try to sleep then and there. I'm a pillow-person: I can't sleep on my back, so I need a pillow to support my neck; then again, sleeping with my helmet on helps to keep my neck straight for an hour or so, but it's not comfortable.
A sense of humour helps, too.
Once you've experienced a few 400s and 600s then you'll work out what
you need.
