Flounce

I just finished my first 300km - a flat one with around 4000ft elevation gain. I was tired at the end and ready to get off the bike. Rode it in about 14 and half hours.

I'm signed up for a 400km that's in 6 weeks. I"m thinking of sleeping 2 hours or so during the ride , just to be safe (yes, I'm a wuss).

At what point should I take my rest break, assuming I had a choice (and I will not)? I"m thinking somewhere around the 300km mark.

kingston 

I've never slept on a 400, but if I did, I would go by time not distance. 3-5:00 seems like a good break. I'd want to go to sleep in the dark and wake up as the sun was coming up with hopefully not that far to go. All depends on how fast you are I guess.

pdlamb

Just go for a "ditch nap" whenever you need one, wherever you find a good place. I'm partial to church porches and handicap ramps -- keep your head slightly elevated which seems to help with my sinuses. I've heard cemeteries are quiet at night, but it's illegal to enter a cemetery at night in some places.

rando_couche

I'd say plan to ride straight thru, but bring a space blanket just in case. Your body is capable of far more than you think it is.


SP
OC, OR

Carbonfiberboy 

Yes, plan to ride straight through. It's supposed to be hard.

Instead of a space blanket, bring a bivvy like this:

bgraham111

I was tired after my first 300k. Wasn't sure if I'd make 400k. But... then I did. I took some breaks, but never felt like sleeping. Of course, I felt like sleeping during the first 400k of my 600k... so... I'd just take a nap when you feel like it. You may not need it. But keep an eye on time.

Machka 

I have never slept on a 400K. The closest I've come was a 10 minute nap in the hallway of a school on a 24-hour event ... basically just a matter of closing the eyes and relaxing for 10 min before heading off again. Or there was that time in a public toilet where the stall was tiny and I was able to sit on the toilet and lean my head on the door and close my eyes for about 5 min.

StephenH

I've made a couple of sleep breaks on a 400k, try to avoid that. In that case, it's because I was getting dangerously sleepy while riding. So it was maybe a 15 minute nap and a 30 minute nap. It was cold. One place was a decorative lighthouse- drafty. Other place was a carpeted church porch- sheltered from wind, but still woke up cold after 30 minutes or so.


I'm usually a really sound sleeper, so I have a fear of waking up 7 hours later and finding my bicycle gone, etc., so sleeping on a route is not something I intend to do.


One thing that has worked very well- get a motel near the ride start (if it's not near your house)- so you don't kill yourself driving home after the ride.

downtube42

I find 1-3 a.m. to be the sleepiest time. If you are at least a couple hours ahead around 1:00 a.m., that's not a bad plan. Where may be more important than when.

I agree that staying warm is a challenge when sleeping in the open during a ride. Space blankets are inadequate for sleeping in my experience.

BadBurrito

joewein

You will know when it's time to take a nap. Don't fall asleep on the bike. Do not compromise on safety!

The first 400 that I finished I didn't sleep at all and finished in 26 hours.

The second 400 I took a 10 minute nap about 4 hours from the goal.

When you're tired you can nap anywhere, even on concrete or in a parking lot. Short naps give the best value for time I find, but if you have more time to spare, by all means sleep more if it makes you more comfortable :-)

unterhausen

10 or 20 minutes are good lengths for a nap on a 400k. You might be able to get 10 minutes at a control with other people around to keep a busy body from waking you up

if you sleep longer, aim for a 90 minute sleep cycle. If I'm time-pressed, I usually give myself an extra 10 minutes. So 100 minutes, 3 hours 10 minutes, etc. This is especially necessary if someone is waking you up. If I'm feeling comfortable about time, I'll add an extra 20 minutes to lay in bed between when I wake up and actually rising. Of course, on a 400k, there probably will not be a bed.

StephenH

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002U2IMBA...e+gum+military

Flounce

Appreciate all the advice.

The military caffeine gum? Awesome!

Flounce

Thanks again, all.

Just some follow-up. After reading all your comments, my plan is to

1) get a full nights sleep every night for a week prior to my 400K,

2) bring the military caffeine gum for emergency boost;

3) bring the space blanket type sleep bag to nap at an appropriate place if needed;

4) mark down - on my cue sheet - where inexpensive motels are on the way, e.g. at 15 mile intervals toward the latter part of my ride. If I am truly tired and don't want to sleep on stone bench, I don't mind shelling out 70 bucks for a warm, safe place to catch a few Zs with a loud alarm to wake me up.


Thanks all!

thebulls

Most Post Offices are open 24/7 and at least let you get out of the wind &/or rain.

I find it useful to de-addict myself to caffeine during the SR season so that when I do drink a coke or eat a caffeine pill, it really works.

For me, a twenty-minute nap works wonders. I've done several naps during 400's (I've ridden fifteen 400's!). But I think the only time I took a nap longer than twenty minutes was because the person who I was riding with wanted to sleep longer.

One trick: eat a caffeine pill just before starting your nap. Twenty-minutes later the caffeine hits your blood-stream and you're raring to go.

Good luck!

Flounce

Thanks, the idea of taking the caffeine right before a nap is something I've done in the past when pulling all nighters in college and is a great idea.

As for avoiding all caffeine during the SR season.... I am not *that* committed to randonneuring

I'd sooner give up sex than coffee!

unterhausen

yeah, giving up caffeine is crazy talk

Ok, so I am down to one cup a day most days. I have found that coffee at night gives me cramps. OTOH, I like it with a lot of sugar and milk for energy and I can drink it ok and the cramps go away once I'm on the bike.

wafflerskillme

Never slept on a 400 or a 600 however...........................................

On one 400 at night I kept swerving to avoid rabbits which didn't exist (must have got a bad nights sleep the day before) and on a 600 I fell asleep on the bike, crossed the road, hit a ditch and woke up flying upside down over the handlebars (ended up well fortunately).

So the only thing I can add is that I will never ever continue to ride now if I feel sleepy.

I have previously variously seen : Buddah, millions of cockroachs, the aforementioned rabbits and walls built straight across the road which I kept slamming on the brakes to avoid hitting........ LSD I presume wouldn't throw up half as many hallucinations.

Its not worth taking a chance to keep riding when tired.