Brissie to the Bay 2011

[MacG10]

Don't worry about it too much!

Thanks for you advice. I am not worried at all, but I guess I am the kind of person that plans ahead and does not like to show up at the start looking around me thinking 'if I only would have thought about that before...'

And I am also doing the Ride to Conquer Cancer in August, so it's too late to worry anyway. I just need to gently easing myself into the world of charity bike rides.

[nitramluap]

Don't worry about it too much!

Thanks for you advice. I am not worried at all, but I guess I am the kind of person that plans ahead and does not like to show up at the start looking around me thinking 'if I only would have thought about that before...'

And I am also doing the Ride to Conquer Cancer in August, so it's too late to worry anyway. I just need to gently easing myself into the world of charity bike rides.

I guess the best advice is to listen to your body. If you feel uncomfortable, back off, and make sure you start at a steady pace. Too many people go out hard early only to pay the price later. It's far more impressive to finish looking good!

[nitramluap]

BTW...

I collected my 'rider pack'... what a waste of paper. Everything in it (and much more actually) is available on the website apart from the bib number which, frankly, we could just print out ourselves and bring on the day.

Also, it states that it is compulsory to have the helmet sticker on your helmet... except that there is no helmet sticker. There is a bib sticker, a prize draw sticker & a luggage tag sticker!

Just my 2c worth

[ezzy]

I just signed up for the 100 km. As this will be my first 100km ride I am hoping to get some advice from the other riders here. At the moment my longest ride has been 50 km commutes, so it will be very interesting to see how I go on this ride. luckily the majority of the ride is familiar terrain from my commute, so I should be able to pace myself accordingly.

Judging by the course and rest points I am thinking I will need two water bottles. First two stops at 24 and 46km would be ok with just one I guess but the 45 to 88km would be hard on just one?

Also, how many days before a ride like this would you stop riding to rest up? I usually try to fit in a longer commute on Friday, but I guess I am better off to rest on that day?

Will the rest stops just have water and should i bring some energy bars with me?

Hi MacG10,

Firstly, everyone is going to tell you something different!

A few things.
- it is a charity ride, not a race (many people will ignore this fact and will look like they're in a stage of the TdF) so don't push it too hard.
- you will almost certainly finish, don't worry. Even at a slow pace you'll do it in good time. The course is quite flat.
- don't forget that you can always take a train home at any stage (close to the line in most parts)
- a rule of thumb for water is about 1 litre per hour IF you are pushing it hard & sweating a lot. Don't drink too much as this is even worse than being slightly dehydrated.
- you'll need the equivalent of a pinch of salt with each litre so some salty snacks are all you need
- energy bars & drinks are a waste of money (the drinks are really bad for your teeth too). You will not deplete your glycogen stores with such a short ride (ie. you won't 'hit the wall'...)

Put it this way, a relative of mine is an Ironman. He has qualified for Kona 9 times - he is 59 years old. He doesn't touch these energy bars and limits his fluid intake. Guess what he drinks at the marathon stage - this is after 3.7km swim & a 180km ride (average speed 35km/h)? Coca cola... that's right, coca cola. A little sugar & caffeine at that stage (ie. glygogen depleted) makes a difference, but not before. Both he and I are medical doctors so we do have a pretty good knowledge of human physiology.

As for what to do beforehand, that's up to you. I ride everyday for transport (to/from work, shops, restaurants as well as 'training' if you can call it that...) and I'm not planning on changing my routine just for this ride. Athletes would normally rest for a few days in the lead up to an event and carbo load and so on... but again, this is just not necessary for such a ride. My breakfast on the day will be the same as it normally is and I'll be taking some water and some salty cashews to nibble on. This is precisely what I did for the Ipswich 100 recently:


Don't worry about it too much!

Far out... you've overtaken a lot of riders going downhill.
Must have been the coke power
and what salty snacks did you bring? like vinegar and salt chips?
Anyway, awesome ride

[nitramluap]

Far out... you've overtaken a lot of riders going downhill.
Must have been the coke power
and what salty snacks did you bring? like vinegar and salt chips?
Anyway, awesome ride

Haha... no, only water on this ride. I had some dried apricots and some salted cashews. All up I drank about 3 litres (camelback & two bottles) and wasn't too dehydrated at the end

[Comedian]

Far out... you've overtaken a lot of riders going downhill.
Must have been the coke power
and what salty snacks did you bring? like vinegar and salt chips?
Anyway, awesome ride

Haha... no, only water on this ride. I had some dried apricots and some salted cashews. All up I drank about 3 litres (camelback & two bottles) and wasn't too dehydrated at the end

I did the 100 mile version. I didn't have any apricots but I had 1 litre of water an hour plus a tablespoon of concrete to help with the hills.

[nitramluap]

I did the 100 mile version. I didn't have any apricots but I had 1 litre of water an hour plus a tablespoon of concrete to help with the hills.

I think apricots have the opposite effect to concrete

[Phill_B_34]

BTW...

I collected my 'rider pack'... what a waste of paper. Everything in it (and much more actually) is available on the website apart from the bib number which, frankly, we could just print out ourselves and bring on the day.

Also, it states that it is compulsory to have the helmet sticker on your helmet... except that there is no helmet sticker. There is a bib sticker, a prize draw sticker & a luggage tag sticker!

Just my 2c worth

In your pack there is a separate sticker with you number (white with black text) for your helmet, it's about 100mm x 40mm.

[nitramluap]

In your pack there is a separate sticker with you number (white with black text) for your helmet, it's about 100mm x 40mm.

Ah... then I'm missing it! There was nothing else in my pack. A large yellow sticker (3 in 1) and some A4 printouts from the website. I'll look into that. Thanks for the info!

[lethoso]

Nice to see they've changed the wording... I'm sure I wasn't the only one to complain.


* Please note: Due to safety reasons, children 10 years and under will not be permitted to participate in the 25km bike ride. BMX bicycles and bicycles with 22" wheels will also not be permitted. N.B. Please note this does not apply to recuments or hand cycles.

for real? That's ridiculous... my dad & I did the Brisbane to GC on moultons (16" wheels) a couple of years ago.

[nitramluap]

for real? That's ridiculous... my dad & I did the Brisbane to GC on moultons (16" wheels) a couple of years ago.

Yes, it's for real... and yes, it is plainly ridiculous. If you want to ride on your Moultons I would suggest writing to the organisers. That's how I was accepted.

It smells of elitism.

"If you're not a roadie, you're not a 'real' cyclist..."

I'd prefer most of our 'cyclists' to look like this, frankly:


...but they would be excluded from such charity races... oops! I mean RIDE... it's not a race, they keep reminding us.

[pumapants]

Signed up and picked up my kit today, I am now doing the 100, should be interesting. I can't wait, first organized ride and first ride of this distance.

[term]

I've signed up to 50 because I had assumed based on the diagram that the 100 was just laps, when checking again I noticed I was wrong so am changing to the 100. I haven't done anything more than 30km river loops for about 6 months but do those 3 times a week and run 8km 2 days a week so hoping I'll have the juice in the legs. scheduled a test 100 on Thursday morning and Saturday morning this week to make sure I can do it comfortably.

[nitramluap]

I've signed up to 50 because I had assumed based on the diagram that the 100 was just laps, when checking again I noticed I was wrong so am changing to the 100. I haven't done anything more than 30km river loops for about 6 months but do those 3 times a week and run 8km 2 days a week so hoping I'll have the juice in the legs. scheduled a test 100 on Thursday morning and Saturday morning this week to make sure I can do it comfortably.

I'm sure you'll be fine. You shouldn't hit the wall on a race this short so as long as you don't go too hard you'll have no trouble. I won't be properly warmed up for at least 15 minutes so I'll be taking it easy at the start. A strong finish looks much more impressive than a strong start!

[term]

Went and picked up my bib today, I was green late 6000's for my 50 - did they start at 6000 I wonder? I was given instead a yellow one 3908, I wonder if thats 900 riders doing the 100 or they started at a lower number and theres more, what numbers are you guys, I need more data

[Phill_B_34]

Went and picked up my bib today, I was green late 6000's for my 50 - did they start at 6000 I wonder? I was given instead a yellow one 3908, I wonder if thats 900 riders doing the 100 or they started at a lower number and theres more, what numbers are you guys, I need more data

Me and the 'better half' are doing the 25km - Orange tag 9202 & 4

[nitramluap]

Went and picked up my bib today, I was green late 6000's for my 50 - did they start at 6000 I wonder? I was given instead a yellow one 3908, I wonder if thats 900 riders doing the 100 or they started at a lower number and theres more, what numbers are you guys, I need more data

I'm doing the 100 - 'Yellow 339'

[brades68]

I'll be reading this forum to hear you lot say how much of a good ride it was and wishing i was doing it

Cheers
Mick

[nitramluap]

According to an official email there are a total of 3,499 riders so far (that's all rides though).

Hopefully this will mean that no driver can say SMIDSY...

[HiChris]

I'm in for the 100k's, haven't ridden 100 before but shouldn't be too hard....

[nitramluap]

I'm in for the 100k's, haven't ridden 100 before but shouldn't be too hard....

Don't worry, as the police will not be waving us through red lights you'll have plenty of time to regenerate!

[Yongkun]

weather forecast for sunday: rain

[leighthebee]

weather forecast for sunday: rain

I was going to do it on the oldie. might have to take the newie....

fingers crossed for fine weather.....

[Phill_B_34]

weather forecast for sunday: rain

BOM reckons it's going to be fine (at the moment).....

http://www.bom.gov.au/qld/forecasts/brisbane.shtml

[Comedian]

weather forecast for sunday: rain

BOM reckons it's going to be fine (at the moment).....

http://www.bom.gov.au/qld/forecasts/brisbane.shtml

And warm! No need for leg warmers that day. 12 is balmy!