Advice for riding a 600

[Ian H]

The good old-fashioned puncture repair kit is a good back-up.

[hellymedic]

I am interested in the spare tube strategies most employ.  On a longer ride (100km to 100miles ish) I tend to carry two tubes just in case.  I can count on one hand the number of times I've had to use even a single tube.  I've never had to use two tubes.

Has anyone genuinely required the use of three tubes, repair kit, spare tyre?

My overall spare tube usage is way less than one per 600km on average.

On the one occasion I had more than a single visitation, I was unable to get the tube out as the valve stem got jammed in the valve hole.

Patching tubes in the wet is character-building.

[Cycling Daddy]

On some rides either you need a lot of tubes or you need to have heavier tyres.  Old roads and Drove roads comes to mind.  Surrey lanes after rain might be another example.  Les

[Ian H]

Patching tubes in the wet is character-building.

Yet another reason to mourn the passing of the remote red phone-box.

It appears I get fewer punctures as the years pass.  None last year or so far this.  <laughs at fate>

[ElyDave]

All good, seems other peoples experience a lot different to mine per mile.

Extra weight was not the thrust of my question - negligible as others have said, more a question of perception of risk vs real risk of needing more than two.

I'll maybe make it to a 300 this year.

[caerau]

I'm not really convinced you need all that much more stuff on a 600 than on a 200 - I carried less on a 1200 last year (PBP) than I did on some early-ish 200s I did.


None of my 600s have involved multiple puncture fairy incidents - whereas on some 200s I've done I've run out of tubes despite carrying 3 spares and a repair kit.
I got the piss taken out of me rather mercilessly after my first 600 for daring to bring a toothbrush along    (well it did bounce out of my rather crap bar bag in front of the chain gang I was leading and was of the buzzing variety    - I slightly concur these days).
Mother nature audax (aka sod's Law) will find you out no matter what the distance -  a 200 is perfectly long to bring out such issues)


For longer rides you need to make sure you have adequate and back-up lighting - clothes for when it gets cold/inclement weather - that *is* more of an issue when it's longer that 300k - battery back up if you're using a power-eating rechargeable GPS - and yeah spare food for when you're riding through darkest Wales on a Sunday night. Back up maps?  Hell yes.


The main lesson I learned were to make sure you have a reliable bike before you set out. 


Chamois cream becomes more important as the distance increases as does comfort in general - a well fitted bike is invaluable.   Annoying aches and pains discovered on a 200 can become ride ending agonies on longer rides as they only get worse as the distance stretches out.

[caerau]

Extra weight was not the thrust of my question - negligible as others have said, more a question of perception of risk vs real risk of needing more than two.

I'll maybe make it to a 300 this year.

Three spare tubes is about as many as will be needed on 95% of rides.  Do enough rides and you will eventually get one where it's not enough - but on that ride 10 spare tubes probably wouldn't help.  Bailing on one ride ever 5 years because 3 tubes wasn't enough and there are no friendly folks to help  - I'd lend you one if you needed it as would nearly everyone else - is not the end of the world.

[Von Broad]

usual tools

under the category of usual tools, at the top of my list would be a chain tool.
to my mind there is nothing else that tops the chart. for me, it's just essential.

experience teaches me this...1am in the middle of goodness knows where on the Bryan Chapman, and on various occasions [also at 1am] on the Elenith, without such a device I would have been well and truly snookered. how does a cyclist otherwise carry on with a broken chain?

it might have something to do with how my bikes are set up....but never ever, would I go anywhere or any distance without a chain tool....and the necessary links too.

[Manotea]

Three spare tubes is about as many as will be needed on 95% of rides.  Do enough rides and you will eventually get one where it's not enough - but on that ride 10 spare tubes probably wouldn't help.  Bailing on one ride ever 5 years because 3 tubes wasn't enough and there are no friendly folks to help  - I'd lend you one if you needed it as would nearly everyone else - is not the end of the world.

Hmm I've stood by the road side trying to beg a tube in the dark on a cold winters night . No fun...  riders are naturally reluctant to part with their last spare and who can blame them.

But an important aspect of how many tubes is to keep an eye on the condition of your tyres. If you go for a long period without any punctures it's easy to lose track of how worn they are.

[Hot Flatus]

Pack an extra layer more than you think you'll need. You can feel a lot colder than normal if exhausted.
Food usually cures low points

[Greenbank]

I'm not really convinced you need all that much more stuff on a 600 than on a 200 - I carried less on a 1200 last year (PBP) than I did on some early-ish 200s I did.

PBP is quite a different kettle of fish though. I really wouldn't recommend it, but you could ride PBP carrying pretty much nothing, no tools, no tubes, no pump. I'm sure it'd be possible to buy/borrow pretty much everything during the ride as the controls/mechanics/towns are quite well stocked and in the sticks/night there are so many riders going past you all of the time that you wouldn't have to hassle many before you got someone who could help., or you'll soon happen upon a local who's staying up for the night with water/cake/etc. You may not be popular with some riders for this approach but you'd get what you needed.

Tools/Tubes/etc? Someone will have what is needed.
No food? Someone will have a spare bonk ration. Do this a few times and you can get enough to get you to the next control.
No water? Borrow some, probably even buying a bidon off them, find somewhere to fill them up en route, buy more bidons at next control, etc.

It'd be foolish to attempt it without adequate clothing, but I'm sure you'd still find a way if you were willing to ask lots of people and improvise. This may be taking it too far though.

In 2011 I came across an Italian guy who'd main front light had broken, he only had a little flashy thing as a backup which he wasn't comfortable using to get the 50km or so to the next control. I loaned him my 2nd light (I was using two identical battery powered B&M Ixon IQ lights) and we cobbled together something (with zipties) to mount it to his (recumbent) frame. He finished (and handed my light back with a beer as a thank you). A subsequent light problem for me and then I'd be trying to beg or borrow from someone else.

(Even on a 300 I'll carry a travel toothbrush though, not going to be blagging or sharing one of those!)

Chamois cream becomes more important as the distance increases

If you're unlucky enough that you need it.

When starting out Audaxing I read through lots of threads and decided that slathering down there with Sudocrem was a must and so I duly applied it for my first few 200km Audaxes. Then one morning before another 200 I forgot to put it on and...nothing, I survived perfectly intact. I stopped using it then and have never had to since, even as the distances increased, certainly much less faff and one less thing to carry or worry about on the longer rides.

Everyone is different though, but I do wonder just how many people who use it really couldn't do without chamois cream. I know I'm lucky that I don't.

This goes back to my point earlier. What I take now is much less than I took early on. It certainly depends on the ride (I took more than I'd usually take on my 600 qualifier for PBP as I didn't have much choice but finish that ride, and I was the lanterne rouge). There's nothing wrong with the kitchen sink method, but it's harder work, and it'll take a good few rides to whittle things down to what you really need. Carrying something possibly completely unnecessary may be a good idea if it reduces anxiety levels, but after each ride you need to review your kit and see just how much stuff you took but didn't use, eventually you'll start leaving things out. This process never ends.

I wouldn't recommend leaving Pitlock skewer keys at home though, luckily I was able to patch that tube in situ otherwise that would have been ride over.

[Greenbank]

With punctures, if you replace the tube rather than fixing it, keep the tube and fix it at the next suitable control.

Or, ideally, claim that you've tried to fix it and declare it impossible, someone will then try and prove you wrong and fix the tube for you.

[hellymedic]

I have never needed a chain tool on an Audax.
I might have taken one but never needed it; I can't remember.

I've only had a broken chain once, on a commute. I was two miles from home and it was mostly down hill. I freewheeled and walked.

[caerau]

Re PBP - I know what you mean - but would you *really* turn up to *any* ride of that length and just rely (sponge) off others?  I know I wouldn't.  And until I turned up I had no idea it might be like that. 

[contango]

I have never needed a chain tool on an Audax.
I might have taken one but never needed it; I can't remember.

I've only had a broken chain once, on a commute. I was two miles from home and it was mostly down hill. I freewheeled and walked.

I've never needed one but on one of my first 200s a guy I was riding with had a chain break barely 10km into the ride. As it happened someone else with a chain tool (and more experience of using it) was also on hand and got him going again.

I've never had more than one puncture in a ride either. The most serious mechanical issue I had was when I broke my frame, but even then I didn't realise the severity of the situation until later. Specifically when I decided to take another look over the bike prior to a 200 the next day, and realised I'd cracked the frame about 50% of the way around where the seat tube met the top tube. So that was the first time I DNS-ed a 200.

[Whitedown Man]

Choosing your first 600  it's worth noting the difference between BRM an BR.  A BRM 600 is 40 hrs - end of- even if its actually 620 on the road. A BR allows extra time for over distance. BR's also permit a 14.3 km/h lower average speed ( Although that may change in the near future - which would be a pity). For instance a 612km BR 600 with 14.3 lower ave' speed gets 42hours 50 mins. An extra three hours nearly - very useful.
By a strange coincidence I'm organising a 612km BR with  14.3 low speed and a sleep control at 350km  this year. www.tinyurl.com/nbxf7l7

Boy this looks good. I'm already signed-up for BCM and 9 Counties this year - and too much of a lightweight to do 3 600s in 4 weeks - but here's hoping you run it again in 2017.

[Phil W]

For me the key extras are clothing.  If I'm warm and comfortable on a 600, or indeed any ride, whatever the weather and temps are doing, then I'm much more likely to be cheerful and take most other things that turn up in my stride.   Minimum kit really depends on your previous experiences.  Some things are unlikely but ride ending, only you can decide whether you want to carry something against those possibilities.         

Outside of Winter here is how my kit roughly varies.

My 300 kit over my 200 kit is a head torch, gilet and arm warmers. My 400 kit over 300 kit is, a lightly insulated windproof (Rab vapour rise) or short sleeve waterproof shell, leg warmers and pair of full finger gloves for the night time or crap weather.   My 600 over a 400 kit is not a lot, probably a battery booster for the phone.   On a 400 or 600 I may throw in an emergency blanket or very lightweight bivvy bag if the forecast is atrocious.

Above all relax into a 600, pay attention to time limits when at controls, and aim to build up a buffer to enable some sleep around 350-400km.  Don't be afraid to use up that buffer for sleep, that's what it is for. 

[Planet X Paul]

For me this is a very interesting thread as I have yet to embark on anything longer than 200K and do not really know what things will be like on 400's and 600's and hopefully the LEL next year.

I come from a background of ultra running and have never slept on these events.  On the last one I did, I was out for 45 hours and was up up for 7 hours before the event started, and just sat down and refuelled at control points and finished OK and in one piece.  Whether I can do the same on a 600 remains to be seen and I may feel that I need some time out of the saddle in a horizontal position.

All I can do is take on other peoples experience and advice on board and see what happens on the day.  I've learnt over the years when running that it is not what you can do in the first 10 miles that counts, but what you can do in the last 10.  I will take the same philosophy into long distance cycling and start off steady and leave plenty in the tank for later on.

[Wycombewheeler]

I come from a background of ultra running and have never slept on these events.  On the last one I did, I was out for 45 hours and was up up for 7 hours before the event started, and just sat down and refuelled at control points and finished OK .

I think it's a lot harder to fall asleep when running, than when riding, especially if you can freewheel on a gradual downhill.  Also  the consequences are worse when riding.  I'm not saying it can't be done.

[ElyDave]

For me this is a very interesting thread as I have yet to embark on anything longer than 200K and do not really know what things will be like on 400's and 600's and hopefully the LEL next year.

I come from a background of ultra running and have never slept on these events.  On the last one I did, I was out for 45 hours and was up up for 7 hours before the event started, and just sat down and refuelled at control points and finished OK and in one piece.  Whether I can do the same on a 600 remains to be seen and I may feel that I need some time out of the saddle in a horizontal position.

All I can do is take on other peoples experience and advice on board and see what happens on the day.  I've learnt over the years when running that it is not what you can do in the first 10 miles that counts, but what you can do in the last 10.  I will take the same philosophy into long distance cycling and start off steady and leave plenty in the tank for later on.

Same background for me, but nothing longer than ten hours.  Moving back into the longer distance cycling due to foot troubles.

[Ian H]

If you're determined, you'll get round whatever.  A lovely-but-dim friend rode just one 600.  He had to blag a Daily Mail part-way round having been unable to retrieve his rain jacket from another friend.  The rain was horizontal, the temperature was near freezing, and his arms and legs had turned blue-purple.  The Mail kept enough of the chill off that he was able to finish without dying.

If you can cope with/ride through any bad patches, you'll be okay.

[Greenbank]

Re PBP - I know what you mean - but would you *really* turn up to *any* ride of that length and just rely (sponge) off others?  I know I wouldn't.  And until I turned up I had no idea it might be like that.

Sure, I wouldn't either, it doesn't fit with (anywhere near!) my personal definition of 'self sufficiency'.

My point was that you could (if you really wanted to) on PBP, but couldn't (or you'd be foolish to try and risk it) on pretty much any other Audax as there simply aren't the same number of passing riders, well equipped controls or support between controls. PBP is just special in this regard. The details of the individual ride are often more important than the headline distance.

[Greenbank]

I come from a background of ultra running and have never slept on these events.  On the last one I did, I was out for 45 hours and was up up for 7 hours before the event started, and just sat down and refuelled at control points and finished OK and in one piece.  Whether I can do the same on a 600 remains to be seen and I may feel that I need some time out of the saddle in a horizontal position.

You'll never know until you try, but it sounds like you deal with sleep dep better than most.

It's a useful skill if you're not fast enough to build up enough of a time buffer for a proper sleep. I don't think I've ever slept for more than 45 minutes during a 600 but that doesn't really get to me. (I only had ~10 hours sleep on both LEL and PBP). Even a 20 minute power nap on a cold hard village hall floor can be magically restorative.

Quite a few people are more than happy doing 200s and 300s but just find 400s and 600s too much because of the lack of sleep getting to them.

Oh to be fast and getting a nice 5 or 6 hours!

[Redlight]

It's a useful skill if you're not fast enough to build up enough of a time buffer for a proper sleep.

Oh to be fast and getting a nice 5 or 6 hours!

As a full value rider, I've had to learn to ride 600s without sleeping and have found it surprisingly easy so long as I go into the event reasonably well-rested and get my food right along the way. I rode to Brest last year without sleeping  but I did find doing two consecutive nights without a break to be harder than a typical 600 where we start early in the day and ride through only one night. Now, even when I know I can comfortably finish within the time limit, I can't imagine stopping to sleep unless the weather is so bad that i wouldn't fancy pressing on in any case.

For a first timer, though, I'd echo the advice of picking one of the less macho events, preferably one with a circular route rather than out and back, so that you can bail out if either the lack of sleep or lack of pace work against you.  There's no shame in bailing ...so long as you come back for another attempt another time

[redfalo]

I've had three punctures within 50 miles on the Dunwich Dynamo a couple of years ago, two on the front and one on the back. It can happen, and there is also always the possibility that you mess up
a tube when putting it in too hastily