Other people’s pictures on this thread make me feel the same way.
I understand why indoor cycling has gotten hugely popular in the past few years, but there’s nothing as motivating as getting outside to ride.
Attempted one of my planned events today. The Yorkshire Dales 300 -https://riderscyclecentre.com/yd300-200-itt/
Didn’t go well 
Should have been a 300km MTB challenge but by 70km it was obvious I wasn’t on top, or indeed any, form. What was forecast as a “breeze” turned out to be a 25mph gale! Being in 3rd gear on flat roads isn’t brilliant. I’d taken a gel and within a few minutes felt pretty sick and couldn’t get rid of that feeling over the next hour to ninety minutes. I also felt really tired and any incline was starting to feel like I was hitting threshold. I was also making silly technical mistakes on moderate ground which I only tend to do after 15-18hrs on the go.
Got to a pub at 75km which was at the base of the climb over to the next Dale (valley) and just thought “sod it!” so rode back to the shop which was the start/finish.
The prospect of 200 miles and 17,000ft of climbing would have made me sick!
I did the Peak Epic route last year (109miles, 13,000ft) and that was tough.
Kudos for even considering that effort.
I did bail on the Etap Du Dales route after 50 miles last year, hoping to go back for another attempt next year, preferably under 100kg this time. Yorkshire is beautiful but very lumpy!
I’ve done it three times before so knew what I was getting into.
Looking at the data (just HR) from the ride I got nowhere near max HR, about 20bpm lower, so my feelings of threshold were probably down to fatigue.
I’ve done the Etape once - was recovering from a broken ankle that year!
Let me guess. SoCal.
Hunter (3x20min sweetspot) was on the calendar but adapted the SS workout to the terrain rather than adhering to the timed intervals. So, 45 miles later…
At 85-91F (30-33C) under a sunny sky, it isn’t Zermatt, but then it’s not as hilly. After today’s ride, my Garmin 830 determined I am now 61% heat acclimated. That’s nice.
Overall, it’s really quiet here, more so than usual even when considering it is August. There are no tourist buses and very few tourists, seemingly nil in fact. The locals like it this way, except those in the tourism business, of course.
One observation here in Valencia, Spain: everyone wears a mask from the moment they step outside. Even walking on a deserted street alone, I see people wearing a mask (even in the small villages north of here on my ride). Perhaps 1 in 20, at worst, are not wearing a mask on the street. Indoors, I have yet to see a person in a store without a mask. (And yes, when riding here, I have a mask in a pouch just in case I need to pop in a store.)
Every summer in western Norway there’s a mass-start ride from Bergen (on the coast) to Voss (a ski resort town further inland). The route hugs fjords and glacial lakes for 163km. My husband and I had never ridden it before (and I’d never ridden an imperial century before). It was cancelled this year, so we decided to ride it on our own.
We made it to Voss right before it started pouring, had the obligatory recovery burgers and beers, and came back home on the train.
What did you learn? Would you go lighter next time?
So many things!
- Yes, I would go lighter next time. There were enough places to stop that I didn’t need three bottles on the bike (though the third one came in handy when hubby bonked near the end), and I didn’t eat all my food (three rice cakes and half a sweet potato left). I’d rather make fast fueling stops than carry 2kg+ of water up those climbs. Also didn’t need the rain jacket, but I’d probably still bring it because it’s Norway in summer and you just never know.
- You can remove a link from a chain and it’ll still work. (This revelation brought to me by @brenph.)
- Oncoming traffic in tunnels is incredibly loud. Like “plug your traffic-side ear or it’ll ring for an hour” loud.
- Even with a head unit, having landmarks written down with distance markers was super helpful. (Maybe there’s a head unit that has that kind of thing built in, but my Wahoo does not.)
- I really need to stop wrapping sweet potatoes in plastic wrap and then expecting it to not leak. It always leaks.
- Screwing around with throw limits immediately before a big ride is a bad idea.
- Eat every half hour, drink every half hour, or suffer.
- There’s a difference between “I’m tired” and “my legs are out of juice”. I think I’m getting better at identifying the latter, which is great because adding juice to the legs takes care of that problem.
- I should have brought a couple emergency gels. I’m a big fan of eating real food on the bike but you have to plan ahead for that to work, and if you stop planning ahead for any reason, you end up in a deficit really fast. It would have been nice to have a quick sugar hit to make up for my poor planning once or twice.
- I’d heard this advice so technically I knew this, but I should have avoided long stops. It was not pleasant getting going again after we stopped for a 45-minute “lunch” (or after the chain link excitement but that one was unavoidable
).
Only other thing I’d add is to pre-load hydration the night before. My rule for stops is 5-min and max of 10.
Some tips from the ITT world:
- Consider a water filter like the MSR Trailshot or the Sawyer filters. Weigh 90-150g depending on model but you only need to carry one water bottle. Does help if you live in a damp area like the UK or Norway
- If you can, make a “route list” of resupply points and their opening hours. For extra points note down the distance and amount of climbing between each. That way you can determine if it’s worth pushing on to get to the next stop or take on more at the current one: 50km away and shuts in 2hrs? All downhill and with a tailwind - go for it! 1000m of climbing into a block headwind - save your energy.
- More modern Garmin units will accept “apps”, one of which is a feed reminder so you can set an alarm for every 15,20,30 minutes to tell you to drink or eat.
- Know your shops and foodstuffs. Most supermarket chains carry very similar lines in all their stores so if you know there’s a Spar or 7-11 then the chances are you can get item ‘X’ which will be in a particular aisle. With self-checkouts and contactless payment I can be in and out of a store in two minutes!
I saw on Facebook that the new sponsor of a local cycle team was hosting a ride. I knew I could do with getting out so I went along. It was a bit slow paced for the first 30 odd miles until a few of us accidentally dropped folk. After a quick coffee I upped the pace and increased the average by 1mph in 5miles riding on my own 
Nice ride in the mountains today. Some technical spots on the way up a long singletrack climb, and and a descent on one of the trails being used in the local Enduro race next weekend. I think it’s about time I bought a set of knee pads, as it’s only a matter of time before I come off on a rocky trail. Especially with a few trips to Moab coming up in the fall.
The August Driftless Gravel Challenge. The biggest one for last. I think this will screw up my training for the week! LOL
