yep some great tips from Andrew...
2 bidons is mandatory...and I prefer to add a sports drink type powder to mine eg. isostar,
gatorade, maxim etc...you also get a sachet in the food hamper at the ferry.
yes you get fed when you line up for the ferry...just join the queue, and make sure you bring your
ticket or no ferry!! eat your food on the ferry and fill up your bidons when you get to the other
side (they have these huge bladders full of water with enough teats (well thats what they look like
to me) to service many at once.
Yes it does get cold on the ferry regardless of the day...travel as light as you can but take enough
clothes ie. arm/leg warmers and a rain jacket just in case. Have found that the gel packs are great
on the go food rather than just bananas which don't last as long in the energy department IMHO. Also
jelly beans got me through the last 50kms or so (as I'd shove a few in my mouth every few kms!), so
I always take a pack of them. Just don't emtpy them into your jersey pockets or they'll stain.
Riding in a bunch is good fun and makes the kms go by that much quicker as the average tempo is
higher than by yourself. Just make sure you are in a group that is compatible with you. There are
all sorts of cyclists out there...experienced, inexperienced and yes even the down right dangerous!!
As for training....you need to be able to ride for a long time so endurance is the key....some
long steady rides up to 140kms was good enough for me last year...and I'd never ridden more than
165kms before ATB, but there is always a group somewhere to sit in if you have had it (unless you
are last!).
And yes start early...less wind (if there is going to be any that day...and there usually is!) and
less crowded on the ferry and if all else fails always someone behind you to keep you going!
enjoy...cya there! Scotty
"Andrew Price" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "enock" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > I'm attempting this 210 km ride for the first time. Has anyone got any suggestions on good
> > training, how to cope with the distance or even your personal experiences of the ride.
> >
> Have done a few of these so some observations.
>
> Get comfortable doing around 150km (say Peats Ridge and back on the north
or
> Sublime Point and back on the south).
>
> Unless you have experience in bunch riding don't try to learn on this
ride -
> you will probably link up with someone around your pace as it unfolds.
>
> Try to avoid getting cold - take 2 bottles and whatever you like to eat in your jersey so you can
> avoid stopping a lot or for too long.
>
> You will probably need a jacket or wind vest on the ferry - its surprisingingly cold when you stop
> peddling - and take all available
cycling
> clothing with you to Melb esp arm warmers and longs and make your best
guess
> of what to wear on the morning.
>
> The western side (Werribee, Altona, Geelong) is a bit dull, smells and is (usually but not always)
> the best side to do first in terms of adverse winds - I'm not convinced of that but it is the
> conventional wisdom.
>
> Leaving early and making an early ferry makes for a much shorter day (may need lights for the
> first half hour)
>
> Be prepared for a hunger bonk in the last 50k - replenish food stocks for the jersey when you can.
>
> When you finish do some stretches while waiting for mates to finish -
gentle
> stretches and holds for 30 seconds for your quads, hammies, glutes, hip flexors, adductors and
> calf muscles will get the recovery happening that much sooner - the massages they offer are nice
> but its the stretchs that really do you some good - don't care what brand , yoga, pilates or
whatever,
> stretch back into shape the muscles you just tightened up a tad.
>
> Then go looking for a good late lunch - you have earned it and the endorphins will keep you high
> for a week, which is just as well because
you
> won't feel like riding for a couple of days !
>
> Its a great day (way better than the 'gong) and a good place to get a
taste
> for endurance riding.
>
> best, Andrew (remove the .x1 to reply)
