Originally Posted by
datlas
Thanks for the tips. I don't want to get too cocky about it, but I am hopeful I will do fine.
One minor concern is I am going with some friends, and one of them is VERY competitive and IMO high-risk to push too hard early and blow up before the end. I have made it clear to him (and my other 3 friends who are doing the event) that I plan to take it at a modest pace, especially early, so I can finish strong. And with 8000 other riders, I am sure I can find a small group of like-minded cyclists to ride with if that is "too slow" for him.
No problem, just an idea for you.
A typical century or two might be a tad shy to handle 312 km with 16,000-20,000 feet of climbing but you could be much stronger than me.
I would take whatever you read on the internet with a huge grain of salt., especially forums. LOL Not too many coaches have experience with ultra endurance distances. I try to read everything on the topic of training for distances and could find links to support any training approach if I wanted. Blanket statements that a 5 hour training ride necessarily produces excessive fatigue is ridiculous because it depends on one's chronic training load and for many people, 5 hours is not excessive while for others it is excessive. Unless you are very very strong, you are looking at a 10-12 hours in the saddle. I'm getting older but am pretty fast for my age, this ride would take me a little over 12 hours sucking wheels. I'd try to get at least an 8-10 hour ride done around 3 weeks beforehand. Or you could break that 8-10 hours up into two rides, morning and evening, say if your buddies only want to do say a 5 hour ride in the morning. Like all internet opinions, take it with a grain of salt.