Good job on that ride. Where I used to live I was blessed with having a 114 mile loop I enjoyed riding. What was nice about it is it included plenty of climbs, some were shorter steep climbs and one was a 10 mile 6% grade. Though I did some racing prior, I found that my fitness level improved more when I rode solo and could focus more on rides that included terrain that allowed me to work on my weaknesses. The only drawback to riding solo was that you have to fight the wind on your own all the way. I did catch up with other cyclists at times and sometimes I'd get in their slip stream for a while before pushing on; after having over 100 miles in my legs, sometimes that was a very welcome sight. That was when I lived in western Washington state here in the U.S. The cascade mountain range was a great area to work on my weakness which up to that time was climbing. I did find later that living there allowed me to turn my greatest weakness into my greatest strength. At 60 years of age now, I don't have the fitness I had then but I still love the sport. Keep up the good work mate.
@@outthedooradventure Did you find your rides in the hills of South Whales prepared you for this ride on flatter terrain? I will say when I first began hitting the tough hills regularly by myself, it was very difficult. It may have been slightly easier if my granny gear wasn't 39/23. That was fine on grades of up to say 7% but when the grades got into the double digits I was looking for a 25 in the rear which I didn't have. That may be why I really enjoyed that 10 mile 6% grade climb which topped out at 57 miles from the house. That put that climb at the half way point of my Saturday rides with a few shorter steeper climbs in between. With the gearing that I had on my bike at that time that 6% grade was about the sweet spot for me. I don't know about you, but it seems to me that it's nice to have hills like where you're from since if you can ride the hills, you can ride anywhere. Seems to me you did well on this ride.
Great video, and great effort over there 100 miles! I'm interested in what camera you used and how you shot the footage! I would like to get a similar view point!
nice ! any recumbents do this ? that is my bike of choice.... last century i did was a good few years back, in france, i did 120 miles for one day, but not a race, 30 the next and 20 for the third day... which was a beach day, lol ! ..... so comfy, i wouldn't fancy it on a regular bike !
I took no breaks as I wanted to see how fast I could do 100 miles - this was the first time I've managed 100 without stopping. I fuelled using energy bars, gels and energy powder in my drink. I had plenty of bars/gels in my jersey pockets and top-tube bag, but ran out of water just before the end - and had to ration for the last third of the ride - probably not a sensible strategy, but was interested to test myself. I'm far from an athlete! But was happy with my performance.
Can anyone tell me anything about the organising of this event? The start times? The entry points to the start? On the London Prudential you had to register and collect your rider number the day before, is that still the case?
Rider number is in the pack posted to you about a week or two before the event (though there is an option to collect). You're given a gate time and entrance gate location in groups based on your estimated finish time. Once you arrive at your gate at the given time, you filter through the pre-start area pushing your bike (which can be a bit heavy on the cleats!) until you reach about 100m from the start, then you're told to mount and off you go!
Surfaces look atrocious and draggy in many places. Would you say this route is harder than it looks ? (I'm a climbing specialist so this is definitely not a route that plays to my strengths)
There were certainly some poor surfaces, which definitely surprised me. But it was, for me at least, easier than expected. Mostly because of the lack of hills - only 1200m of climbing in 102 miles (I live in Wales, so this was a very flat course for me!). I'm certainly not a climbing specialist though!
Thanks for the video and insight into the ride 😊🚴♂️👍
Glad you enjoyed, it's a great ride, though very definitely flatter than I'm used to.
Good job on that ride. Where I used to live I was blessed with having a 114 mile loop I enjoyed riding. What was nice about it is it included plenty of climbs, some were shorter steep climbs and one was a 10 mile 6% grade. Though I did some racing prior, I found that my fitness level improved more when I rode solo and could focus more on rides that included terrain that allowed me to work on my weaknesses. The only drawback to riding solo was that you have to fight the wind on your own all the way. I did catch up with other cyclists at times and sometimes I'd get in their slip stream for a while before pushing on; after having over 100 miles in my legs, sometimes that was a very welcome sight. That was when I lived in western Washington state here in the U.S. The cascade mountain range was a great area to work on my weakness which up to that time was climbing. I did find later that living there allowed me to turn my greatest weakness into my greatest strength. At 60 years of age now, I don't have the fitness I had then but I still love the sport. Keep up the good work mate.
Cheers. Where I live (South Wales, UK) is pretty hilly, so this ride was an interesting chance to ride non-stop on closed relatively flat roads.
@@outthedooradventure Did you find your rides in the hills of South Whales prepared you for this ride on flatter terrain? I will say when I first began hitting the tough hills regularly by myself, it was very difficult. It may have been slightly easier if my granny gear wasn't 39/23. That was fine on grades of up to say 7% but when the grades got into the double digits I was looking for a 25 in the rear which I didn't have. That may be why I really enjoyed that 10 mile 6% grade climb which topped out at 57 miles from the house. That put that climb at the half way point of my Saturday rides with a few shorter steeper climbs in between. With the gearing that I had on my bike at that time that 6% grade was about the sweet spot for me.
I don't know about you, but it seems to me that it's nice to have hills like where you're from since if you can ride the hills, you can ride anywhere. Seems to me you did well on this ride.
Yeah definitely.
Top effort
Thanks, much appreciated
Great video, and great effort over there 100 miles! I'm interested in what camera you used and how you shot the footage! I would like to get a similar view point!
Thanks. I just used a GoPro Hero 10 on a chest mount.
Thank you!
nice ! any recumbents do this ? that is my bike of choice.... last century i did was a good few years back, in france, i did 120 miles for one day, but not a race, 30 the next and 20 for the third day... which was a beach day, lol ! ..... so comfy, i wouldn't fancy it on a regular bike !
Yes, there were a couple of recumbents, as well as the hand bikes.
Thanks for sharing this! Out of interest, how did you fuel yourself for this ride? Also, did you not take any breaks??
I took no breaks as I wanted to see how fast I could do 100 miles - this was the first time I've managed 100 without stopping.
I fuelled using energy bars, gels and energy powder in my drink. I had plenty of bars/gels in my jersey pockets and top-tube bag, but ran out of water just before the end - and had to ration for the last third of the ride - probably not a sensible strategy, but was interested to test myself. I'm far from an athlete! But was happy with my performance.
Can anyone tell me anything about the organising of this event? The start times? The entry points to the start? On the London Prudential you had to register and collect your rider number the day before, is that still the case?
Rider number is in the pack posted to you about a week or two before the event (though there is an option to collect).
You're given a gate time and entrance gate location in groups based on your estimated finish time. Once you arrive at your gate at the given time, you filter through the pre-start area pushing your bike (which can be a bit heavy on the cleats!) until you reach about 100m from the start, then you're told to mount and off you go!
Surfaces look atrocious and draggy in many places.
Would you say this route is harder than it looks ?
(I'm a climbing specialist so this is definitely not a route that plays to my strengths)
There were certainly some poor surfaces, which definitely surprised me.
But it was, for me at least, easier than expected. Mostly because of the lack of hills - only 1200m of climbing in 102 miles (I live in Wales, so this was a very flat course for me!). I'm certainly not a climbing specialist though!