LEL prep: First 600...and solo! *gulp*

[MAC]

The time is drawing near to do my first 600. This will be part of an SR in prep for LEL. I'd wanted to do a calendar event but shifts intervened to stop my choice of the 3 Coasts 600 so i'v opted for Holl and Back as a perm. I should be starting late Sunday evening/Monday morning (23-24 June 2013) and plan to get to my 350k distance accomodation on Monday evening in time for tea and a bit of shut eye at a fellow audaxers house before completing the last 250k.

Nocturnal cycling generally holds no probs for me and I will be just have finished night shifts so don't anticipate tiredness issues for the first night anyway. My kit and bike for the 400 I did was fine except I could have done with an extra layer for the cold night on LlanfairPG so have remedied that issue. On the 400 I got to 290k comfortably in 14.5 hrs and also did the next 50k or so at a decent pace but found my speed for the last 50k was much, much slower (stiff legs after a 2 hr doze and temp of about 2-4 degrees at 05:30hrs). I finished it within my planned time though and rolled in at 23hr 50min.

I've heard the 400 distance is considered harder than 600. What differences can I expect to notice with the extra 200 and what great tips can anyone give me to help along the way? 

Thanks

[tonyh]

Good advice given to me about a 600 by Claire Ashton in 2006:

" just ride and think there is no end, just riding. "

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Opinions differ on whether 400s or 600s are tougher. A 400 often requires little or no sleep. A 600 may also involve little sleep and there is still a fairly long way to ride after you wake up. Both are achievable by determined cyclists.

[MattJH]

Advice given to me when I first made the jump to 400's, and has served me well in further jumps since.

1, Don't over analyse it.  Turn up, ride bike, sleep when needed, eat when needed.  Repeat until end
2, Don't think about the total distance, only the distance to your nest stopping point.  Thinking about the distance to the end play on your mind too much.  Split it into smaller chunks.
3, Probably the most important, make sure you never put in maximum effort.  Even on the hills, always ensure you leave something in reserve.

Keep that in mind, and I'm sure you'll be fine.

[marcusjb]

If you've ridden a sub-24hr 400 (with a 2 hour doze?), you've got plenty of time in hand for a decent bit of sleep (assuming similar weather/terrain and all the other factors that make some rides slower/faster than others etc.). 

Personally, I find 400s hard because you reach a point where you're trying to weigh up having a bit of sleep, or just pushing on to the finish to get it all done and dusted.  600s, you don't have the issue, you will (generally) need to sleep. 

You will be amazed at what a difference the sleep stop makes - you (may) arrive battered and bruised.  Some hot food, a couple of hours sleep, clean shorts and you're ready to face the world again! 

Best of luck.  A solo 600 is something I've never actively attempted.  I've ridden 450km by myself - and that was enough.  I will be doing a solo 600km later in the year, and am a little concerned by the mental requirements of riding solo for so long!

[Karla]

I think the people who find 400s hard are mostly the slower people, who need to sleep but will be pressing against the time limits if they stop to have one.  I don't have that problem as I'm fast enough to get around a 400 before I doze off, so I've always found 600s totally different and much more serious - especially when I've had no plans for sleeping and so have attempted to ride through (e.g. my YLY helper's ride last week, where I ended up getting about 20 minutes doze in a station foyer, then lost a lot of time faffing around feeling tired). 

You sound like you're comfortably fast enough to get round in time, especially as you've got your sleep stop pre-arranged.  Just make sure you ring up your friend before you start and tell them to kick you out the door no matter what you say when you get there!

[yanto]

No need for any worry on (not) being kicked out, i'm a sadist 

Coincidentally my first 600 will be the one that MAC is undertaking, I fear like my first audax (Llanfair 400) that I will also be in effect riding solo, on the 400 I "amused" myself playing with the GPS and also doing mental arithmetic (surprising difficult), I didn't feel tired on the 400 and finished in a tad over 15hrs, but for some reason day 2 on the 600 is also playing on my mind, and It will be difficult to haul my ass out of bed to complete it, the only incentive being to complete the ride, and hopefully have other riders to "chase" on day 2. So I don't envy MAC at all!

[MAC]

No need for any worry on (not) being kicked out, i'm a sadist 

[Phil W]

Perhaps break the route down into 100km segments and pretend they are controls. If not a gps diy you'll have controls anyway. Just aim at your next control, and plan for a few mins off the bike to eat and drink normal food. Then start next section of route again. If possible ride with no indication of how far you have left to go. At each control have a quick check of how much buffer you have of the maximum time, it'll focus you on not dawdling, but also managing your effort.

Learn to recognise if you're significantly slowing down, and stop to get food and drink on board. For the night section stock up on stuff to see you through till your stop.

No matter how much you want to keep your time buffer when you get to the stop, take time to rest. I decided upon 2.5 hours sleeping and 1 hour eating (split into 30 min intervals either side of sleep) at my overnight stop on my 600.  I was amazingly revved after my stop.

Good luck, and I hope the weather proves fair for you.

[Bunker22]

No need for any worry on (not) being kicked out, i'm a sadist 

You should be more worried if Yanto planned to keep you in, like Kathy Bates in Misery 

[MAC]

Thanks for the tips. Essentially I need to break the ride into smaller mental chunks, have rest stops, eat and drink adequately, don't go full pelt, ride as if there was no end and, last but not least, make sure Yanto doesn't kidnap me. OK, think I'm ready now.