Hello,
Congratulations on taking up this challenge. Whether you have ridden 100 miles / 160 kms once before, smash this distance on a regular basis or want to attempt doing this for the first time, here are a few things to check up on and follow to help you complete the ride comfortably and strong.
Let’s understand if we are ready for this.
The leap year grants us an auspicious gift of an extra 24 hours on 29th February and you have decided to get some extra glory for yourself on this day by riding a 100 miles on the bicycle. Great!
There are two ways to do this, one with sheer will power and the other with some kind of planning and preparation. The latter will probably get you through the 100 miles, but will create a lot of whining and negative thoughts in your mind, during and sadly even after the ride is accomplished.
Therefore, adopt the planned and prepared route. Ask yourself the questions below and if anyone of them has a NO for an answer, then unfortunately, you should not be attempting the 100 miler at this time.
- Have you ridden 2 x 100 kms rides, finishing in under 7 hours in the past 30 days from today i.e 26-02-2020.
- Do you use comfortable padded shorts?
- Are your 100kms rides pain free (during and after) at your joints like knees, shoulder, neck, wrist and hips?
- Do you believe that rest improves the performance of human beings?
- Does comfort bore you?
If you have answered YES to ALL the above questions, read on to get the prep notes for the Leap Day Glory 100 Miler.
There are three days until you attempt this ‘mile’stone. Start by being in the right state of mind and body.
The body can be prepped by loading it with small amounts of carbohydrates that will provide you with valuable reserves during the ride, Here’s a formula that we have used for our Nandi rides. Carbo loading is not a miracle process, it’s just as simple as putting a full tank of petrol in your vehicle instead of the usual Rs. 500/- or Rs. 1000/-
Prepare the mind by thinking about the ride, the ride route is available here, open it on google maps and try to read the names of the villages and towns that you will cross, start visualizing the sign boards and then when you do spot the actual sign boards on Leap Day, you get a sense of seeing something familiar and that should take away and qualms about the large task at hand. This will give you small victories of spotting the sign boards and that will build an avalanche effect in your brain leading to an increase in the positive thought. You can also think about all the smiley happy faces you are going to include in your selfies and start thinking about the pictures of your sexy bicycle that you are going to click, these little things will give you smaller, easier targets to achieve on the day thus taking your mind off the bigger one and also helping with building a positive reinforcement pattern.
I can’t stress this enough, but getting at least 6 hours of continous sleep before attempting something like this is highly important, so please arrange your Friday evening schedule accordingly and hit the bed early. The hydration schedule from this article should also be modified so you don’t wake up to go to the bathroom.
Just as you prepare your body and mind, it is important to prepare your bicycle as well. Here’s the simple diagnosis method. Apart from these tests, you need to check if you have new spare tubes to carry, check the side walls of the tyre for cracks and if any of these cracks are too deep. It definitely helps to clean / wash your bicycle and putting on a fresh coat of lubrication on the chain. A clean bike really is a faster bicycle. Pick up the bicycle above the ground one wheel at a time and spin the wheels to check if they are rotating freely or if they feel grindy. If they are grindy at the hub, then you will feel the vibrations through the frame and onto your hands. Get it to the lab to get it checked and overhauled ASAP in this case.
Spares to carry:
1x appropriate size tube, preferably new
a compatible hand pump
tyre levers
puncture patches
That’s not all folks.
You should be able to carry at least 1 litre of water at any given time of the ride. Most bicycle water bottle are 600-800ml. If you have done carbo loading properly, then you are running on a relatively full tank, but it also helps if you carry extra fuel in the form of peanut chikkis. Bring at least 2 bars, these are really efficient form of fuel that you can consume while on the go.
Wear a full length jersey or arm sleeves, same goes for your legs too. It will behoove you to carry some extra sunscreen too. And a pair of sunglasses is an absolute must! Tarmac maybe black, but it can be reflective and can cause a lot of strain to your eyes.
We will be making food, hydration and general recovery stops, please carry cash to pay for anything you may consume here. We will be riding through some rural areas and app based payments and card swipes are not guaranteed! Please carry a valid photo ID of yourself too.
We will always ride in a minimum of a pair, that should keep your out of any trouble.
Good luck and please feel free to reach out to aniSh via the whatsapp group or an email to fullmoonlaboratorybangalore@gmail.com for any doubts.