🙁 Got hit by a motorcycle a month ago, hit my rear wheel from the side going 60km/h. Seatstay banged into my ankle and the spd didn't release immediately so the poor joint took a good beating. Its doing a lot better now but i'm 51 and its frustrating how long it takes. I already build up my new bike, its standing behind me on a Taxc waiting for me to hammer down 60 watts for 20 minutes. But still i had a great season because of you. I'm a strong guy on a bike but i always burned my matches within a hour or two. Seeing you rolling thru the country side made me put bags on my gravel/commuter bike and just go out for a spin and see where it leads me. So yeah it led to me doing a 200k ride in august and me wanting to go out for longer and longer. I'm not sure I'm cutout for ultra-distance but next year I'm going for 300.
That is epic I love hearing feedback like this! I was actually hit by two cars in 6 months before covid, so I know how it feels. Keep on going and you’ll get back to 100% I’m sure
Starting riding way back in the 70's at the age of 16 I was doing solo rides, Summer of '76 I started doing 100 mile rides from Down town San Jose to Santa Cruz via riding over the Santa Cruz Mountains with involved a total of 7500 ft of climbing, these were the days of lugged steel frame friction shifting, gearing would be 42/53 up front and a 7 speed rear end 12/25 along with toe-clips and straps, my first ride riding over to Sant Cruz WAS NOT A PLANNED RIDE! As I was riding past HWY 9 and I knew that was the way to SC, I had 2 bananas, a bag of dried fruit and some money so off I went, this first ride to SC was brutal once in SC, it hit me hard, to get home I now had to ride over those same mounting again, by the end of the summer I must have completed this ride roughly 10 to 12 times and of course as time went by it got easier and easier. Today I'm still riding old school steel with components from the same era as well. Back then we really didn't set any goals we just rode and rode, many times from sun up to sun down, one of my biggest rides was from San Jose to Yosemite, some friends invited me to go camping with them, I said sure but you'll need to take my gear for me and I'll meet you there, they all looked at me and asked how are you going get there, I simply pointed at my bicycle, this was going to be a rough and very hot 200 hundred mile plus ride, I knew that I would have to ride through the Valley which at times the temperature could reach 105 degrees so I had to be out the door in the early morning hours in trying to beat some of the mid day heat wave and boy it was HOT!
Apparently a quote from Stephen Wright: Experience is something you don't get until just after you needed it. I'm definitely one of those obsessive preparers. This is a lesson I also learned when I was learning to speak Japanese. I spend literal years studying the language and making barely any progress. It wasn't until I put myself in the position of needing to use the language that things clicked for me. This is a good shout out. I'm guilty of not pushing myself on distance because I want each ride to be enjoyable. However, I've noticed that my endurance is nowhere near where I want it to be. Perhaps not "no pain, no gain", but rather "find out where you are lacking so that you can fill in the gaps".
I can vouch for just getting on with it and going in at the deep end. Prior to this year my longest ride was 200k with the vast majority of my cycling being short but intense, but I really wanted to do an ultra, so I entered the Three Peaks Bike Race (2400km with 33,000m climbing) with no idea if I'd manage it or the training. I mostly trained on my turbo, every weekday, averaging about 8 hours a week, with an increasingly long ride once a month (260-600k) for the 6 months prior. I ended up completing the race in
Started watching your videos after signing up for my first ultra a month ago. Great British Escapades, 300 mostly off road loop of the north and South Downs. My longest ride was 90 miles a couple of years ago. Back up to riding 60 mile gravel rides comfortably and aiming for my first century by the end of the year. Your humble and knowledgeable videos are a constant reassurance of my training/ journey. Keep it up chief 🫡
Great timing for this, your right setting the goal and shorting the curve for most of us on this channel who are probably north of or pushing 40 extending the preparation may not make us any faster. The biggest thing for me is that we enjoy the ride and stay motivated or more importantly disciplined.
Yeah I’d agree with that, for sure, I think more fulfilment comes too once you hit the goal too, but chicken and egg but hopefully helps some people out :)
@@theroadprovides I’m sure it will most people don’t stay motivated long enough to develop the discipline to cement their goal and get to that big day. So shortening the preparation time slightly is probably the biggest gain
Wow! Meeting Noel Gallagher on a ride...! Not something you see every day. I always think it's best not to meet your "heroes", if indeed Noel is a hero... The closest experience I have to jumping into the big event, was several years ago being persuaded to enter a 70km trail race, over the mountains here in Japan. I expected to DNF after about 40km but surprised myself and finished the race! That was a big lesson and a big confidence booster. You are capable of more than you think.
Thanks mate that’s a great example of this point 😁 he isn’t my hero but then he is a bit of a national treasure so had to go say hi, shame he’s so hard to talk to though 😂
When I first started cycling 4 years ago even just doing 30 miles in one go was daunting. I'd done absolutely no cardio for 30 years. A year later I thought bugger it, I'm gonna do 170 miles. So I just went and did it....the most I'd done in that previous year was 50 miles. That 170 miles wrecked me, and it didn't help that I got knocked off my bike half way through. Then 2 months later I did 204 miles, which also wrecked me. But you're right, going in at the deep end is sometimes the best way. But obviously you've still got to be sensible. I'd done a lot of training before those rides and had got up to a 280 watt ftp, so I felt confident that I could keep to a low zone 2 of 180 watts for the entire day.
Knowledge and experience take up no space in your bags, weigh nothing, and are worth more than almost anything else you carry with you on ultra races. But, there’s only one way to get them, and that’s by getting out there and doing things in the (more often than not) wrong way
cheers Andy - the lanes up to Butser are looking good with the autumn colours now - good advice, got me thinking...I better sign up for things sooner rather than later! selfie moment was a classic :) cheers
Ohhhh, the times I’ve sat and said “I’m not ready” then regretted it after I’ve done the ride some time later and realised I was really worrying about nothing. Another great video Andy, and I agree sometimes you need to not put these things off, we all surprise ourselves when we put our mind and body into something 😊👍. Out of interest what Bike did Noel own 😀😁
Great advice. I'm the type that can't train unless I have an actual target/goal in mind, so I've already committed to doing LEL 25 (sign ups in Jan btw). Question: What is that bag you have between your aerobars? Looks very useful
Hey, I have a note about LEL to do a vid on it later. I won’t be riding it but did ride the last one :) have fun, the bag is from redshift, it’s for their kitchen sink bars but I made it fit
@@theroadprovides Yep. I'm going ultralight. I'm planning on doing the route called the Ultrafondo. It is an Everesting (just not on a single climb repeatedly) and 242km. It is to be completed within 18 hours.
I got asked by a girl how she could get into powerlifting... I told her to just enroll in a competition.. She laughed at first, but years later she did and the other day she told me I was right :-) Just commit to a goal (in a reasonable term) and the details will sort themselves out!
Great colours, a beautiful part of the world. Your choice of bike looked spot on ! Though gently gaining experience os not a bad thing. I've caught myself out on a few epics in the past. When I was much younger ! ...its not cool to smile in photos ! We went to a friend's and family gathering in the summer. As our friends son had competed in the Olympics and done rather well in the indoor events. (I'm not big on watching sport). I meet his new girlfriend Emma, ..." Oh, do you do any cycling ?" Emma had just won a gold and broken a world record. My wife and Matt were pissing themselves laughing ! Only I could do that. Anyway, she is a smashing young lady...well Done her ! Tha ks for your content Andy 😀.
I originally thought the Noel photo was a photoshop for insta, now I dont know what to believe! I have taken a bit of a leap and registered for the Dragon Ride Gran Fondo next year, 215km and 3350m of el. It will be the longest and hilliest ride I will have attempted.. Who knows if I will get it done in a decent time, but I feel like I need to push myself to make sure I get the training in!
@@theroadprovides Ah it looks like its mostly sold out, they will sell the rest of the tickets at a later date and you need to sign up to be notified - I think it was £50 or so for the gran Fondo. I will take a look at B-Hard
You've just completely nailed the debate I've been having in my head for months! As an ultra novice who rides road and gravel is there any particular UK events you'd recommend? I think LEL is perhaps a bit too long for a first attempt. Would the Great British Escapades be a good idea?
Hey, I haven’t ridden that but my friend Richard Lake made some videos on here about that event. I really like all points north as a race over a few days in the uk 👍
Furthest I've ridden was 230 km (with 2,5k m of elevation). I was pretty much spent after that. I'd love to tackle a 200miler/300km at some point, but I feel like I cannot go much beyond 230km rn. Any tips to get there? (I've done loads of 100km+ rides and a few 200km+ rides)
For a training ride over 100 miles how much water do you carry and how long does it last? Stuffing pockets full of snacks seems easier than carrying kilos of water (or diluted Dr Pepper)
Hey, it really varies, my bottles are 600-700ml and I have two, refilling varies depending on heat and intensity but I’ve done 100 miles a few times with just two bottles
@andycultracycling Thanks. I'm worried I'm not drinking enough but maybe I'm OK. However that's more of an issue if I use plain water. Mixing with OJ keeps me drinking and the cold weather is reducing sweat.
@theroadprovides not Miles haha Damn!! I rode 65 km the other day. Just need to do another 100 to make my first real century. Mind you, that was on a single speed mtb. Pick up my gravel bike in a fortnight, that should def be easier to get some miles in. Well I hope so anyway 😄
🙁 Got hit by a motorcycle a month ago, hit my rear wheel from the side going 60km/h. Seatstay banged into my ankle and the spd didn't release immediately so the poor joint took a good beating. Its doing a lot better now but i'm 51 and its frustrating how long it takes. I already build up my new bike, its standing behind me on a Taxc waiting for me to hammer down 60 watts for 20 minutes. But still i had a great season because of you. I'm a strong guy on a bike but i always burned my matches within a hour or two. Seeing you rolling thru the country side made me put bags on my gravel/commuter bike and just go out for a spin and see where it leads me. So yeah it led to me doing a 200k ride in august and me wanting to go out for longer and longer. I'm not sure I'm cutout for ultra-distance but next year I'm going for 300.
That is epic I love hearing feedback like this! I was actually hit by two cars in 6 months before covid, so I know how it feels. Keep on going and you’ll get back to 100% I’m sure
Totally understand and agreed with you on that on. Great subject matters 😊
That’s the spirit!😊
Starting riding way back in the 70's at the age of 16 I was doing solo rides, Summer of '76 I started doing 100 mile rides from Down town San Jose to Santa Cruz via riding over the Santa Cruz Mountains with involved a total of 7500 ft of climbing, these were the days of lugged steel frame friction shifting, gearing would be 42/53 up front and a 7 speed rear end 12/25 along with toe-clips and straps, my first ride riding over to Sant Cruz WAS NOT A PLANNED RIDE! As I was riding past HWY 9 and I knew that was the way to SC, I had 2 bananas, a bag of dried fruit and some money so off I went, this first ride to SC was brutal once in SC, it hit me hard, to get home I now had to ride over those same mounting again, by the end of the summer I must have completed this ride roughly 10 to 12 times and of course as time went by it got easier and easier. Today I'm still riding old school steel with components from the same era as well.
Back then we really didn't set any goals we just rode and rode, many times from sun up to sun down, one of my biggest rides was from San Jose to Yosemite, some friends invited me to go camping with them, I said sure but you'll need to take my gear for me and I'll meet you there, they all looked at me and asked how are you going get there, I simply pointed at my bicycle, this was going to be a rough and very hot 200 hundred mile plus ride, I knew that I would have to ride through the Valley which at times the temperature could reach 105 degrees so I had to be out the door in the early morning hours in trying to beat some of the mid day heat wave and boy it was HOT!
Man that sounds hot but I’d love to go it. I know those areas well, I’ve been to SoCal a few times but sadly never ridden there, yet anyway
Apparently a quote from Stephen Wright: Experience is something you don't get until just after you needed it. I'm definitely one of those obsessive preparers. This is a lesson I also learned when I was learning to speak Japanese. I spend literal years studying the language and making barely any progress. It wasn't until I put myself in the position of needing to use the language that things clicked for me. This is a good shout out. I'm guilty of not pushing myself on distance because I want each ride to be enjoyable. However, I've noticed that my endurance is nowhere near where I want it to be. Perhaps not "no pain, no gain", but rather "find out where you are lacking so that you can fill in the gaps".
Ah, then Konichiwa 😁 hopefully this helps a few people
I can vouch for just getting on with it and going in at the deep end. Prior to this year my longest ride was 200k with the vast majority of my cycling being short but intense, but I really wanted to do an ultra, so I entered the Three Peaks Bike Race (2400km with 33,000m climbing) with no idea if I'd manage it or the training.
I mostly trained on my turbo, every weekday, averaging about 8 hours a week, with an increasingly long ride once a month (260-600k) for the 6 months prior. I ended up completing the race in
That’s epic, great work mate 😁
Started watching your videos after signing up for my first ultra a month ago. Great British Escapades, 300 mostly off road loop of the north and South Downs. My longest ride was 90 miles a couple of years ago. Back up to riding 60 mile gravel rides comfortably and aiming for my first century by the end of the year. Your humble and knowledgeable videos are a constant reassurance of my training/ journey. Keep it up chief 🫡
Glad to hear that mate! Thanks for watching :) someone in the comments here asked about GBE maybe you can reply to them?
Great timing for this, your right setting the goal and shorting the curve for most of us on this channel who are probably north of or pushing 40 extending the preparation may not make us any faster. The biggest thing for me is that we enjoy the ride and stay motivated or more importantly disciplined.
Yeah I’d agree with that, for sure, I think more fulfilment comes too once you hit the goal too, but chicken and egg but hopefully helps some people out :)
@@theroadprovides I’m sure it will most people don’t stay motivated long enough to develop the discipline to cement their goal and get to that big day. So shortening the preparation time slightly is probably the biggest gain
Wow! Meeting Noel Gallagher on a ride...! Not something you see every day. I always think it's best not to meet your "heroes", if indeed Noel is a hero...
The closest experience I have to jumping into the big event, was several years ago being persuaded to enter a 70km trail race, over the mountains here in Japan. I expected to DNF after about 40km but surprised myself and finished the race! That was a big lesson and a big confidence booster. You are capable of more than you think.
Thanks mate that’s a great example of this point 😁 he isn’t my hero but then he is a bit of a national treasure so had to go say hi, shame he’s so hard to talk to though 😂
This is just the advice that I needed to hear today Andy....thank you!!!
Anytime buddy glad it helped somehow 😁
When I first started cycling 4 years ago even just doing 30 miles in one go was daunting. I'd done absolutely no cardio for 30 years.
A year later I thought bugger it, I'm gonna do 170 miles. So I just went and did it....the most I'd done in that previous year was 50 miles.
That 170 miles wrecked me, and it didn't help that I got knocked off my bike half way through.
Then 2 months later I did 204 miles, which also wrecked me.
But you're right, going in at the deep end is sometimes the best way. But obviously you've still got to be sensible. I'd done a lot of training before those rides and had got up to a 280 watt ftp, so I felt confident that I could keep to a low zone 2 of 180 watts for the entire day.
Completely agree with this mate, sorry to hear you got knocked off too, by a car??
Thanks for posting Andy, it was nice to see what you are up to.
Knowledge and experience take up no space in your bags, weigh nothing, and are worth more than almost anything else you carry with you on ultra races. But, there’s only one way to get them, and that’s by getting out there and doing things in the (more often than not) wrong way
Agree mate 😁
Hi Noel, glad youre enjoying the ultra cycling stuff
I had a poster behind my desk at work: “ I’ve learned so much from my mistakes I think I’ll go and make some more “.
cheers Andy - the lanes up to Butser are looking good with the autumn colours now - good advice, got me thinking...I better sign up for things sooner rather than later! selfie moment was a classic :) cheers
Yeah was so nice up there I love the downs this time of year 😁
Ohhhh, the times I’ve sat and said “I’m not ready” then regretted it after I’ve done the ride some time later and realised I was really worrying about nothing. Another great video Andy, and I agree sometimes you need to not put these things off, we all surprise ourselves when we put our mind and body into something 😊👍. Out of interest what Bike did Noel own 😀😁
He was walking but a friend said he saw him once, riding a crap MTB wearing a horse riding helmet 🤷🏻♂️😂
Hi Andy I’m just getting back into my cycling,looking forward to getting back out there!!!!
Welcome back then mate 😁
Totally agree with your advice, great video.
Thanks mate 😁
Great advice. I'm the type that can't train unless I have an actual target/goal in mind, so I've already committed to doing LEL 25 (sign ups in Jan btw). Question: What is that bag you have between your aerobars? Looks very useful
Hey, I have a note about LEL to do a vid on it later. I won’t be riding it but did ride the last one :) have fun, the bag is from redshift, it’s for their kitchen sink bars but I made it fit
I'm just sitting here waiting for the registration to open. Tour des Stations 2025, here I come!
Ah I just watched a GCN vid on that, looks like you can go quite light on gear for that one?
@@theroadprovides Yep. I'm going ultralight. I'm planning on doing the route called the Ultrafondo. It is an Everesting (just not on a single climb repeatedly) and 242km. It is to be completed within 18 hours.
"If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner." Tallulah Bankhead
I like that a lot
I got asked by a girl how she could get into powerlifting... I told her to just enroll in a competition.. She laughed at first, but years later she did and the other day she told me I was right :-) Just commit to a goal (in a reasonable term) and the details will sort themselves out!
Good work mate now it does work in a lot of cases
Great video and advice, Andy. Boy I miss that countryside! What bibs do you use?
Cheers buddy :) I use a brand called Albion
Great colours, a beautiful part of the world. Your choice of bike looked spot on ! Though gently gaining experience os not a bad thing. I've caught myself out on a few epics in the past. When I was much younger ! ...its not cool to smile in photos ! We went to a friend's and family gathering in the summer. As our friends son had competed in the Olympics and done rather well in the indoor events. (I'm not big on watching sport). I meet his new girlfriend Emma, ..." Oh, do you do any cycling ?" Emma had just won a gold and broken a world record. My wife and Matt were pissing themselves laughing ! Only I could do that. Anyway, she is a smashing young lady...well Done her ! Tha ks for your content Andy 😀.
Haha yeah, very nice but also pretty muddy! Sounds like you know the feeling then, of putting foot in mouth 😬😂
You need to share that road with me!
Hello mate! If you look at Chalton on the map near butser, it’s the little road that runs north past ditcham school. Bring mudguards 😂
@@theroadprovides thanks for the reminder that I need to buy some! 😂
I originally thought the Noel photo was a photoshop for insta, now I dont know what to believe! I have taken a bit of a leap and registered for the Dragon Ride Gran Fondo next year, 215km and 3350m of el. It will be the longest and hilliest ride I will have attempted.. Who knows if I will get it done in a decent time, but I feel like I need to push myself to make sure I get the training in!
No it was for real mate, he lives in East Meon 😁 I know the dragon ride, I havehf ridden it but heard the stories from mates. It’s hilly 😂
@@theroadprovides get on it mate - maybe do the biggest distance for a challenge
Is it expensive? They don’t have prices online? I just registered for B-Hard which is just before, so maybe
@@theroadprovides Ah it looks like its mostly sold out, they will sell the rest of the tickets at a later date and you need to sign up to be notified - I think it was £50 or so for the gran Fondo. I will take a look at B-Hard
You've just completely nailed the debate I've been having in my head for months!
As an ultra novice who rides road and gravel is there any particular UK events you'd recommend? I think LEL is perhaps a bit too long for a first attempt. Would the Great British Escapades be a good idea?
Hey, I haven’t ridden that but my friend Richard Lake made some videos on here about that event. I really like all points north as a race over a few days in the uk 👍
@andycultracycling thanks mate. I'll look up Richard 👍
Your last experience of All Points North makes me a bit nervous!
Haha, I've definitely mixed up katie kookuburra and julie elliot before
I did it to her face 😂😬
Which aerobars do you use or do you recommend for long distance rides?
Hey, mine are Deda Parabolica 👍
Biggest hurdle is the lack of events in the U.S. great video
Thanks buddy, I guess it’s one drawback of living in such a huge country, it is beautiful in places though you just gotta travel 😬
Furthest I've ridden was 230 km (with 2,5k m of elevation). I was pretty much spent after that. I'd love to tackle a 200miler/300km at some point, but I feel like I cannot go much beyond 230km rn. Any tips to get there? (I've done loads of 100km+ rides and a few 200km+ rides)
Hey, I’m sure you can do it, probably pacing and fuelling are biggest factors then. Have you watched my how to ride ultra video?
For a training ride over 100 miles how much water do you carry and how long does it last?
Stuffing pockets full of snacks seems easier than carrying kilos of water (or diluted Dr Pepper)
Hey, it really varies, my bottles are 600-700ml and I have two, refilling varies depending on heat and intensity but I’ve done 100 miles a few times with just two bottles
@andycultracycling Thanks. I'm worried I'm not drinking enough but maybe I'm OK. However that's more of an issue if I use plain water. Mixing with OJ keeps me drinking and the cold weather is reducing sweat.
I definitely don’t drink enough but never seems too detrimental
What bag are you using between your aerobars that you have your bike computer attached?
Hey, that gets a lot of attention it seems, it’s from redshift, it’s for their kitchen sink bars but I made it fit, it’s awesome
@andycultracycling what width do you have your bars to fit that bag
My big challenge is that my wife doesn’t like me cycling outside. Makes it very difficult.
Ah, I can imagine that’s difficult, it does have risks but they can be mitigated a bit, hopefully will get easier with time
Well, ofcourse people want a selfie with you, but not for the reasons you would think… (it’s the iconic beard)
Between you and I, I think trimming it down for TCR is why I failed 😂😬
Is a century in the uk 100 miles or km?
Hey, really varies depending who you speak to but we use miles in the UK for driving etc so I use miles
@theroadprovides not Miles haha Damn!!
I rode 65 km the other day. Just need to do another 100 to make my first real century.
Mind you, that was on a single speed mtb. Pick up my gravel bike in a fortnight, that should def be easier to get some miles in. Well I hope so anyway 😄
MTB is at least twice as hard mate let alone fixed