OK, it looks like everything has gone quiet here. I tell you now that looks are deceiving. Things are actually ramping up quite a lot.
The key point is that I’ve been getting in some good training. You can do all the planning that you want, and turn up with the best selection of gear, but if you can’t pedal the bike then it will all end pretty quickly. But my training is going along alright. Of course it isn’t as much as I want, but it isn’t bad.
Route planning is a bit slowed down while I wait for further information from the race organisers. If I plan around a checkpoint that turns out to be in a different place then I will just have to replan, and frankly I haven’t got time for that so although the routes have been tweaked a little they won’t be finalised for another month or so. The good news is that with spring in Europe all of the mountain passes are re-opening so the route planning software is starting to be able to calculate routes over them again.
My equipment list is still being refined, but I’ve learnt a lot and figured out some things that I really needed to know, so I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I’ll be taking. I took a trip over a couple of days the other week, just to give the gear a test run, and things are looking ok there as well. The good news is that this time the sleeping mat was great!
And then of course there is my bike. I’m getting a new one, I know what it is, and I’ve held a few bits of it in my hand. Stay tuned for an announcement about that in the next week or so.
Finally, I’ve started meeting other people who will be racing. I had the pleasure of racing against one of the entrants last week, and we’re now looking at a little training run sometime soon.
So really, everything is happening. We’re all still awaiting further information from the organisers, and there are certainly some things behind schedule, but for me everything is looking like it will be ready on the day!
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How are you planning your food and fluid top ups while keeping up maximum kms/miles/speed/velocity per day ?
Once you get to 250km on the day how do you decide where to stop, lose pace but get essentials ?
Yeah, that’s a great question! I wish I knew the answer…
But I have got a bit of a plan. Firstly, I’ll be riding with a hydration pack. I know a lot of people will think that’s crazy, and water is a lot easier to find in Europe than Australia, but I like knowing I’ve got enough water for a decent ride, and stopping less often.
I will be aiming to shop once a day, stocking up and filling the bag on my bars with food so I can eat constantly as I ride. What I stock it with will pretty much depend on what I can find, but there’ll be a focus on fresh fruit and veg plus carbs, and enough protein to keep me intact!
Stopping places will be pretty easy – I will ride until I am exhausted and then stop in the driest, flattest, softest spot I can see. The good news though is that if I’m properly exhausted I will be able to sleep pretty much anywhere!