Help and advise needed on what to bring for first 200k event...

[bookieb]

Hi All,

I'm in training for a 200k Audax style event later on this summer -
http://www.wicklow200.ie

There's fairly limited food and support available en route, so I'm
looking being self supported for the day (10 hrs.), bar refilling my
water bottles at the controls.

I'm currently using a small (0.6litre) wedge pack, which holds spare
tubes, puncture kit, tyre levers and a rain shell. I carry my wallet,
phone and an energy bar and a banana or two in the back of my
jersey/jacket. So far, so good for 100-120k training rides.

For the long event, I'm planning on adding more energy bars, more
bananas, a packed lunch, a few small spares, a few extra tools, sun
cream, small camera, arm and leg warmers, and no doubt a few other bits
and pieces.

Q- Can you point me to a packing list for this kind of distance?

Q- Is carrying a spare foldable tyre overkill [1]?

I don't want to carry any more weight in my pockets, so think I need
some more luggage. I don't want a rack, and prefer uncluttered
handlebars, so I'm looking at saddlebags.

I like the look of:
http://www.ortlieb.de/_prod.php?lang=en&produkt=saddlebag# (Medium
1.3l or large 2.7l)
and,
http://www.carradice.co.uk/saddlebags/prima-maxi-saddlepack.shtml (5l)
.....or similar.

I don't want to be lugging a half empty suitcase with me for no reason,
but I'd like to have enough space too, and there's a big difference
between 1.3l and 5l.

Q- I know it's a bit "how long is a piece of string", but what size
(volume) saddlebag should I be looking for?

Q- What luggage do you use for similar events? Any specific
recomendations?

Thanks for help,

bookieb

[1] Yes, I know, I'm either a prudent cyclist or an idiot, depending
entirely on whether I split/slice a tyre or not.

 

[David Martin]

bookieb wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I'm in training for a 200k Audax style event later on this summer -
> http://www.wicklow200.ie
>
> There's fairly limited food and support available en route, so I'm
> looking being self supported for the day (10 hrs.), bar refilling my
> water bottles at the controls.
>
> I'm currently using a small (0.6litre) wedge pack, which holds spare
> tubes, puncture kit, tyre levers and a rain shell. I carry my wallet,
> phone and an energy bar and a banana or two in the back of my
> jersey/jacket. So far, so good for 100-120k training rides.
>
> For the long event, I'm planning on adding more energy bars, more
> bananas, a packed lunch, a few small spares, a few extra tools, sun
> cream, small camera, arm and leg warmers, and no doubt a few other bits
> and pieces.
>
> Q- Can you point me to a packing list for this kind of distance?
>
The idea is that you don't pack?

but seriously, the weather can change considerably. I tend to make sure
I have enough food to see me through the ride on a normal schedule, and
then buy en route so that the carried food becomes reserve. I like to
have the small toolkit, small camera and space to put the jacket/rain
jacket when the weather is warm.

> Q- Is carrying a spare foldable tyre overkill [1]?
Yes. Unless you are riding through the hawthorn hedge trimmers
convention. Take a few bits of old tyre with the bead cut off for
emergencies (a three or four inch long bit should be fine.)

> I like the look of:
> http://www.ortlieb.de/_prod.php?lang=en&produkt=saddlebag# (Medium
> 1.3l or large 2.7l)
> and,
> http://www.carradice.co.uk/saddlebags/prima-maxi-saddlepack.shtml (5l)
> ....or similar.
I use a traditional style saddlebag which is fine and will take jacket
and waterproof without grief.

...d

 

[bookieb]

bookieb wrote:
> Hi All,
>
<snip>

s/advise/advice/

Bloody spell chucker. Should be psychic, not literal.

 

[Dave Larrington]

In article <[email protected]>,
David Martin ([email protected]) wrote:
>
> bookieb wrote:
> > Q- Is carrying a spare foldable tyre overkill [1]?
> Yes. Unless you are riding through the hawthorn hedge trimmers
> convention. Take a few bits of old tyre with the bead cut off for
> emergencies (a three or four inch long bit should be fine.)

Unless one is using an unusual size. I carry a folding 28-406 Stelvio
which thus far I have never needed (though might have done if I could
have been arsed to try to fix the flat encountered at the end of the
South Bucks Winter Warmer, rather than limp the last seven or eight km
on the flat.

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
Beware of the opion.

 

[Helen Deborah Vecht]

Haven't we had a similar thread here recently?

Remember empty space in a bag does not weigh much, and you must have the
capacity to carry any clothing you remove if you get hot.

I used to find anything in my pockets made me very sweaty (even a brevet
card in its plastic bag) so it all went into panniers.

Consider what maps you'll take and how you'll pack them.

I personally favoured small panniers.

You have to be able to handle any possible change in weather and
frequent visits from the p*nct*r* fairy; the better-equipped you are for
her, the fewer visits she will pay you.

Take enough dosh for you to be able to indulge any whim or contingency
you have on the ride. (You might really fancy a lovely ice cream...)

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email protected]
Edgware.

 

[Arthur Clune]

bookieb wrote:
>
> Q- Can you point me to a packing list for this kind of distance?

I take:

In (very) small underseat bag:

1 x Spare tube, park type boot, park glueless patches (only for use
in extremis), small multitool, 2xtyre levers

Back pockets:
1 x spare tube, money in an old vitamin pill box, some bananas, some
geobars, waterproof if needed or gilet.

I'd usually start riding with armwarmers, legwarmer or kneewarmers and
then add these to the pockets as I eat the food and it warms up.

For a 200k I'd need to either acquire some more food en-route. Unless there
is really nothing at all available on the ride, that'd do. If you really
want to carry more (and you might), consider small rack pack + seat post
mounted rack.

Generally the faster you are, the lighter you can go (and hence the faster
you go). It's a virtious circle, and visa-versa. There's no prizes for
blowing at the side of the road for want of enough food though. Know
yourself.

> Q- Is carrying a spare foldable tyre overkill [1]?

Yes. Take a Park Tyre Boot or similar. Modern tyres are good and shouldn't
really go. I've trashed a tyre once in the last few years after hitting sharp
flints, but a tyre boot got me home.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune

 

[Bill]

"Arthur Clune" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> bookieb wrote:
>>
>> Q- Can you point me to a packing list for this kind of distance?
>
> I take:
>
> In (very) small underseat bag:
>
> 1 x Spare tube, park type boot, park glueless patches (only for use
> in extremis), small multitool, 2xtyre levers
>
> Back pockets:
> 1 x spare tube, money in an old vitamin pill box, some bananas, some
> geobars, waterproof if needed or gilet.
>
> I'd usually start riding with armwarmers, legwarmer or kneewarmers and
> then add these to the pockets as I eat the food and it warms up.
>
> For a 200k I'd need to either acquire some more food en-route. Unless
> there
> is really nothing at all available on the ride, that'd do. If you really
> want to carry more (and you might), consider small rack pack + seat post
> mounted rack.
>

And, if I may add, don't forget some toilet paper. There is never a toilet
when you want one and dock leaves are really no substitute for a few sheets
of Andrex. It's hard work cycling with your bum cheeks tensed up!!

Good luck
Bill

 

[davek]

bookieb wrote:
> self supported for the day (10 hrs.)

10hrs seems a touch on the ambitious side for a first 200. I'd allow 12
hours (including a proper lunch stop) and only go quicker if conditions
allow. But maybe you're that bit fitter and faster than me.

>refilling my
> water bottles at the controls.

Don't rely on being able to do this unless you have checked it out
first - the controller may have only limited supplies of water at best,
and there may not be a shop near the control point, especially if it is
a very rural route (I can't say if it is, I don't know it).

Give the routesheet careful scrutiny (and ask the organiser's advice)
so you are sure when and where you will be able to refill, and make
sure you are carrying enough food and drink at the start to get you at
least as far as the first refuelling stop. If you have space for two
bottles on your bike, a pair of 1L bottles should suffice, though you
will definitely need to refill them both at least a couple of times.

> I'm currently using a small (0.6litre) wedge pack, which holds spare
> tubes, puncture kit, tyre levers and a rain shell. I carry my wallet,
> phone and an energy bar and a banana or two in the back of my
> jersey/jacket. So far, so good for 100-120k training rides.

That /should/ also be enough to see you round a 200. Remember, as
others have said, that extra stuff means extra weight, which /will/
slow you down, especially if there is any scenery. But it's not a race,
so better to err on the side of caution and finish later, rather than
find yourself without something you need.

> For the long event, I'm planning on adding more energy bars, more
> bananas, a packed lunch, a few small spares, a few extra tools, sun
> cream, small camera, arm and leg warmers, and no doubt a few other bits
> and pieces.

I wouldn't bother with the packed lunch - instead, find a cafe en route
(ask the organiser) and have a proper sit-down lunch.

> Q- Is carrying a spare foldable tyre overkill [1]?

Depends how confident/superstitious/lucky you are. I've never bothered
to carry a spare tyre, even on a 300, but I know I'm going to regret
not having one sooner or later...

> Q- I know it's a bit "how long is a piece of string", but what size
> (volume) saddlebag should I be looking for?

I would advise making up your essential kit and see how much space it
takes up, then double that so you know you have got spare capacity
should you need it (I've heard tales of people arriving at the finish
with a brace of pheasants they didn't have when they set off).

> Q- What luggage do you use for similar events? Any specific
> recomendations?

I use a small pannier, but I'm thinking of ditching the rack and
getting a saddlebag instead, principally as a weight-saving measure.
I'm sure part of the reason I suffered on the last 300 was carrying too
much weight.

> [1] Yes, I know, I'm either a prudent cyclist or an idiot, depending
> entirely on whether I split/slice a tyre or not.

When I was 16, I went on a 100-mile day trip with a mate without so
much as a puncture kit between us and we managed fine. But no way would
I take that kind of chance now I am older and wider.[1]

d.

1. a Freudian typo, so left in.

 

[Simon Bennett]

bookieb wrote:

> Hi All,

Take a tyre boot. Or two -- I've managed to get through three in the last
year! One kindly donated by a fellow rider on last year's Denmead 'Summer'
Randonnee; I returned the favour in kind and passed it on to a rider on the
Brighton Belle later that summer, and earned two bourbon biscuits for my
troubles. Very thankful he was: never having seen one before, he was amazed
that it got him the 100k to the finish. A couple of Sundays ago on my
regular ride to Rye, a misadjusted and worn brake block on my winter bike
wore a hole through an ancient sidewall and tube -- twice -- before I
realised what was going on. A boot got me home.

They can be easily and cheaply crafted from an old tyre you may have lying
around. Go for a lightweight slick tyre as it has to fit snugly inside the
tyre.

 

[[email protected]]

I think i would have agreed that a spare tyre is overkill had I not
been on the rosies to wrags 200 last saturday.
My back tyre burst like a gunshot on a remote lane, nearest bike shop
c15miles away in lincoln.I tried booting it with card board and cloth,
but no joy.It had not ripped or gashed -those holes you can usually
cover for a low pressure mend.The side wall had torn off the wire
hoop.So I needed a needle and thread and a lot of time or a roll of
elastoplast( and I wouldn't fancy doing the forty miles to Newark on
such a mend), or a spare tyre .While I sat bursting all my spare tubes
my friends found a rider with the necessary tyre which she handed over
and Roy cycled back to me with it.
I think I owe him a pint.
So it was embarrassing, and you're not supposed to rely on aid from
others, although I think these are the sort of people that give such
help readily and with pleasure.

Food should be got on the way.The few audaxes I have done have involved
a lot of bacon baps and cake.I usually take about 200g of cereal bars
just in case.

I find that 200k reveals any little imperfections in bike set-up and
saddle comfort like 150k doesn't.I attacked mine with spanner the very
next day.
TerryJ.

 

[vernon levy]

"Arthur Clune" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> bookieb wrote:
>>
>
> 1 x Spare tube, park type boot, park glueless patches (only for use
> in extremis), small multitool, 2xtyre levers

Ditto apart from the tyre boot though that is likely to change after reading
about their use. Packed into a pannier pocket.
>
Five bananas and a malt loaf. A three litre Camelback bladder in a
Camelback Mules filled with either a dilute energy mix or a fruit juice and
water mix.
>
> For a 200k I'd need to either acquire some more food en-route. Unless
> there
> is really nothing at all available on the ride, that'd do. If you really
> want to carry more (and you might), consider small rack pack + seat post
> mounted rack.

Having been advised by regular posters here I now have a meal or substantial
snack on my Audax rides. It does make a difference.

> Generally the faster you are, the lighter you can go (and hence the faster
> you go). It's a virtious circle, and visa-versa. There's no prizes for
> blowing at the side of the road for want of enough food though. Know
> yourself.

Being porky, my energy demands are high on scenic routes and I refuel more
frequently....

>
>> Q- Is carrying a spare foldable tyre overkill [1]?
>
> Yes. Take a Park Tyre Boot or similar. Modern tyres are good and shouldn't
> really go. I've trashed a tyre once in the last few years after hitting
> sharp
> flints, but a tyre boot got me home.
>
I've never trashed a tyre and my tyres have a hard time supporting me and
touring kit. The tyre boot sounds like a good idea though.

I ride a Dawes Galaxy on my Audax rides - not the lightest of bikes for fast
Audaxes and use one of my touring panniers to carry everything listed so far
plus:
a waterproof shell and a set of tracksuit bottoms (less likely now the
weather has warlmed up) plus a bike pump, wallet and mobile phone. ah and
maps of the area being ridden through as the route sheets are sometimes
fairly loose in their accuracy of description of the route to be ridden

 

[MSeries]

bookieb wrote:
>
> I'm in training for a 200k Audax style event later on this summer -
> http://www.wicklow200.ie
>

I keep saying I'll do that event !! For 200s I take a spare tube, a
puncture repair kit, screw driver, allen keys, tyre levers, chain tool.
Power Bar, Maxim Bar and about three museli type bars.

 

[Paulmouk]

"bookieb" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi All,
>
> I'm in training for a 200k Audax style event later on this summer -
> http://www.wicklow200.ie
>
> There's fairly limited food and support available en route, so I'm
> looking being self supported for the day (10 hrs.), bar refilling my
> water bottles at the controls.
>
> I'm currently using a small (0.6litre) wedge pack, which holds spare
> tubes, puncture kit, tyre levers and a rain shell. I carry my wallet,
> phone and an energy bar and a banana or two in the back of my
> jersey/jacket. So far, so good for 100-120k training rides.
>
> For the long event, I'm planning on adding more energy bars, more
> bananas, a packed lunch, a few small spares, a few extra tools, sun
> cream, small camera, arm and leg warmers, and no doubt a few other bits
> and pieces.
>
> Q- Can you point me to a packing list for this kind of distance?
>
> Q- Is carrying a spare foldable tyre overkill [1]?
>
> I don't want to carry any more weight in my pockets, so think I need
> some more luggage. I don't want a rack, and prefer uncluttered
> handlebars, so I'm looking at saddlebags.
>
> I like the look of:
> http://www.ortlieb.de/_prod.php?lang=en&produkt=saddlebag# (Medium
> 1.3l or large 2.7l)
> and,
> http://www.carradice.co.uk/saddlebags/prima-maxi-saddlepack.shtml (5l)
> ....or similar.
>
> I don't want to be lugging a half empty suitcase with me for no reason,
> but I'd like to have enough space too, and there's a big difference
> between 1.3l and 5l.
>
> Q- I know it's a bit "how long is a piece of string", but what size
> (volume) saddlebag should I be looking for?
>
> Q- What luggage do you use for similar events? Any specific
> recomendations?
>
> Thanks for help,
>
> bookieb

Douglas Carnall (of Hackney?) wrote an article called 'On becoming a super
randonneur' in 1999.
I found it quite interesting, although he was referring specifically to
riding a recumbent.
I can't find a link to it but still have a copy if anyone wants it.
I don't know much about newsgroups but could post the text if required
(about 41kb? or 126 if I leave the links in?).

Paul.

 

[vernon levy]

"MSeries" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> I keep saying I'll do that event !! For 200s I take a spare tube, a
> puncture repair kit, screw driver, allen keys, tyre levers, chain tool.

*********************************************
> Power Bar, Maxim Bar and about three museli type bars.
*********************************************

And once I'd eaten those I'd be ready for breakfast ;-)

 

[bookieb]

Paulmouk wrote:
> "bookieb" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Hi All,
> >
<snip>
>
> Douglas Carnall (of Hackney?) wrote an article called 'On becoming a super
> randonneur' in 1999.
> I found it quite interesting, although he was referring specifically to
> riding a recumbent.
> I can't find a link to it but still have a copy if anyone wants it.
> I don't know much about newsgroups but could post the text if required
> (about 41kb? or 126 if I leave the links in?).
>
> Paul.

Available on the web in a couple of places. First one is here:

http://212.18.240.237/carnall/SR/sup_r_in.htm

Thanks for that - somthing to read for the evening.
Obviously once of completed my first 200, it's only a few small steps
to PBP. Or somthing...

bookieb.

 

[Ian Blake]

On 24 Apr 2006 08:46:35 -0700, "David Martin"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>> Q- Is carrying a spare foldable tyre overkill [1]?
>Yes. Unless you are riding through the hawthorn hedge trimmers
>convention. Take a few bits of old tyre with the bead cut off for
>emergencies (a three or four inch long bit should be fine.)
>

From experience I must disagree. Many years ago on the Elgar Route
(200km from Chepstow around the Malverns) I made a big error. I had
been carrying a spare tyre but on the morning the weather forecast was
poor so I decided to pack my heavier weight rain jacket. This takes
up a little more room in my bag so I removed the spare tyre. As I
approached the Malverns a loud bang and an instant flat. When I
removed the tyre I noticed that around two thirds of the contact area
was now bare aramid. After briefly congratulating myself on how
evenly the tyre had worn, no flat spots, I realised that I was
stranded in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately another AUK behind me
was kind enough to lend me his spare tyre.

So I suggest if the tyre has done many miles it is essential to carry
a spare tyre. I have written off several tyres during audax but that
is the only time a tyre boot or spare section would not of got me
home.

 

[Simon Bennett]

Ian Blake wrote:

> So I suggest if the tyre has done many miles it is essential to carry
> a spare tyre.

In which case it's probably better to replace the tyre before the event.

 

[Ian Blake]

On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 09:41:21 +0100, "Simon Bennett"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Ian Blake wrote:
>
>> So I suggest if the tyre has done many miles it is essential to carry
>> a spare tyre.
>
>In which case it's probably better to replace the tyre before the event.
>

Hindsight is wonderful but my capability to misjudge is infinite.

 

[David Martin]

Ian Blake wrote:

> Hindsight is wonderful but my capability to misjudge is infinite.
Are you sure it is infinite or have you misjudged it?

...d

 

[MSeries]

vernon levy wrote:
> "MSeries" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
> > I keep saying I'll do that event !! For 200s I take a spare tube, a
> > puncture repair kit, screw driver, allen keys, tyre levers, chain tool.
>
> *********************************************
> > Power Bar, Maxim Bar and about three museli type bars.
> *********************************************
>
> And once I'd eaten those I'd be ready for breakfast ;-)

Thats not to say it's all I eat. I usually stop during a 200 for rav. &
water at least once