jessejoshua

I would say I am not new to long distance cycling. My first one was back in 2022, cycling from Surabaya city to Jakarta which spans over 1000km with only 5000m elevation gain.
I spent 7 days on the road, because there was no cut off time for the ride. It was not a race.

Now, I have submitted myself to join : Bentang Jawa, my first ultracycling race. The race in the previous years spans over 1400km with 11.350m elevation gain and has a cut-off time of 7 days. So there is a pretty big difference from what I have done back in 2022. For reference: Bentang Jawa

In this thread, I would like to share my trainings, bike prep, and have feedback and maybe some tips on finishing this!
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The Setup
Bike frame: Engine 11 Crit D Road
GS: Ultegra R8000
Gear Setup: (Crank) 50-34; (Cassette) 11-34
Wheelset: Enve SES 3.4 700c, Chrisking hubsets, Panaracer TLR 28c
Cockpit: Enve SES aerobars with clip on (now I know this is a wrong setup!)




The race will start in 11th of August '24 and I don't think I will buy a gravel frameset for this occasion. But, for the sake of comfortability, this aero clip-on bars sucks. Fool of me not looking reference before the purchase because it resulted in a too sporty position, and my back screams. Instead, I will change my aero handlebar with PRO LT gravel bar and borrow my friend's Profile Design clip on that has risers to make my ride comfortable.
As for the packs, I will use three bags: (1) Topeak saddle 9L; (2) frame bag; (3) top tube bag; and (4) a stem feed bottle bag.

==
I have been practicing for it since the announcement of list of participants came out in May. But it is quite hard to spare some time due to my work requires me to be present at the office from 8am-6pm. Not to mention commuting in Jakarta (Indonesia) is a time consuming routine. So for the trainings, I have been running at dawn and long ride will happen on Sundays.

Started from 6kms of running per day, 5 times a week. Now I have no issue running 15k, 4 times a week with no hydration nor supplements prior to the run. Last run was 27k (400m elev gain) and I have not feeling any overly exhaustion post running.

However, long rides were still quite a challenge for me. I feel harsh climbs is very hard to be ridden! My last two rides: 165km with 1780m elev gain and the week after was 137km with 1808m elev gain.

Other than more long rides, do you have any tips for workout that can increase my capability in nailing high climbs?

==
In this race, it requires participants to have 2 front lights and 2 backlights. Both when not used as spares. Does anyone have good testimonials with Cateye lamps for ultra-cycling? If yes, what type is recommended?

Thank you!
Later, I will provide better pictures of my setup

unterhausen

Good luck, looks like quite a ride. Am I understanding correctly that there is a significant amount of gravel? I know a lot of randonneurs use cateye rear lights. I don't know about headlights.

jlippinbike

IN RESPONSE TO THE ORIGINAL THREAD CREATOR

Hello. I just recently thought to read some of the posts on BikeForums and I came across your post to which I am replyiing.Seems like your ultra-distance cycling challenge will be here in about a month. Good luck!

I did not read your post in depth. But I think I got the main points. I was confused that your preparation involves regular runs instead of as many miles on the bike as you can do. I would cut out the runs and substitute them with indoor workouts on your bike using a "trainer device" that you can clip your road bike into. CLICK HERE to see an image of what I'm talking about. I have one made by CycleOps. You should be able to get sufficient riding time after work in your home on one of these during the week. And then on weekends go for a progressively longer ride. Normally with several months to work with you would do 4 or 5 weeks of a 100k ride each weekend. Then move to doing 2 or 3 200k rides on the next three weekends. Then move to doing two 400k rides oover the next two weekends. And finally do a 600k ride on a weekend making sure to take a 3 hour rest stop after completing 400k of that 600k ride.

The time limits for the rides are: 6.5 hours for the 100k rides. 13.5 hours for the 200k rides. 20 hours for the 300k rides. 27 hours for the 400k rides. And 40 hours for the 600k rides. If you cannot meet the time limits, then you need to stay at that distance where you failed until you do meet the time limit.. Then move on. You will probably want to ride on the indoor trainer 3 or 4 times a week for 1.5 to 2 hours each. One of the rides can be shorter than that, but with a higher intensity.

The big flag in your post that raised concern for me was when you said last year you did a 1000k ride in seven (7) days. Normally 1000k ride has a time limit of 75 hours. And usually a somewhat trained long distance bike rider can complete them in 63 to 67 hours. I have a feeling you are not going to do well in a month. But there is always next year.

I highly recommend you get a generator hub for your bike's front wheel. These are sometimes called dyno hubs. And get a headlight with max brightness that will work of the dyno hub. The tail light can work off batteries since they don't drain batteries fast. But the headlight must work off the dyno hub. I cannot say enough positive things about the Garmin eTrex when it comes to navigating your ride. It's a GPS device. You will attach it to your handlebars. Batteries for the eTrex and taillights should all be rechargeable. Bring spare batteries.

Ideally if you want to complete this ride coming up, then you should be able to ride a 200k in somewhere around 10 hours. A 300k somewhere between 14 and 15 hours. A 400k somewhere between 19 and 20 hours. And a 600k in less than 37 hours. These time limits are not etched in stone. But they definitely are a good guide.

CLICK HERE to see what a dyno hub looks like. You can get on for a little over $100 that Shimano makes. But these can get quite expensive. They are worth their weight in gold for a long bike ride.

CLICK HERE to see what a Garmin eTrex looks like. The significance of the eTrex is the batteries can be switched out as they go dead. This device is designed for hiking. But it works well for long distance bike rides. They can be pricey. But they are well worth it. Just follow the breadcrumb trail.

jlippinbike

THREAD STARTER said: I would say I am not new to long distance cycling. My first one was back in 2022, cycling from Surabaya city to Jakarta which spans over 1000km with only 5000m elevation gain.

Is this the route at RWGPS? See Bentang Jawa.

jessejoshua

Hi !
I think that is a route from previous years. This year's will be briefed on comin Monday. Hopefully not anything suspicious nor surprising!

==
I have read your response and thank you for the suggestions.
The thing with the runs is due to my time limitations during weekdays, office and commutes. So getting my fitness, I tried to optimize my running session to get in shape (now 70kg from previously 76kg with 170cm height). I am over with the runs and have been cycling routine over the last weeks.

Here are the results,

• Morning commute back and forth office and home: (extended to) 80km, ~4 hours.
• Weekend session got me riding 210km with total moving time of 8:22:19.

• ​​​​​Another lengthy session I did was for climbing session.

Looking from the exercises I did, I think I need around 2-3 hours of rest during the riding. It is to manage my breakfast, bladder matters, lunch, sunlight breaks, and almost to dinner time. Also instant caffeine I find very helpful to keep me awake + radio station.

Thank you for the recommendations! The plan is to ride from 2AM - 7PM. Here the sun shines at 5.30am, and sets at 6.30pm. So the front light will be in use from 2-5.30AM and then changed mode to blipper (is it the name of the mode?) and the tail light stays on the blipping mode throughout the ride. I thinking of have two of both lights because quite major change in changing to dynohubs.

==
Anyway, I have promised to show better angle of the bike.

The configuration of the bags as per shown lacks only my Topeak backloader 10L. I have the top tube bag, handlebar bag, saddle, and the snack bag.

Changed the Enve aero clip on to this new configuration: Pro LT Gravel Handlebar with Zipp clip on (5cm raiser). MUCH MORE comfy indeed!

This is the climb on the last few rides. Some are above 14%, good for technical exercises (see the far tarmac path)

The view of the climbing session

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Another thing I want to ask, what's the recommendation for pre-ride, on the ride, and post ride supplements?

jlippinbike

I'm concerned that you have not gotten you outdoor long ride on the weekends up to a much higher number. And you keep referring to "moving time" with regard to your stats. That number is irrelevant. What matters is "total time" from start to finish. The clock is always running when you are participating in your event. Ideally your total time to complete a 100 kilometer ride should be 4 hours and 20 minutes. You'll be able to finish if your time is a little slower for 100k, but you probably will not have any buffer to spare. The heat should not be your problem. It looks like it is. But I suspect you just are not doing the correct things when you ride. The more skin you keep covered will cause the sun to be less and less of a problem. Get yourself arm and leg covers that are light and thin and made of fabric that keeps the ultraviolet rays off you. I'm not a fan of sunscreen goo. It's messy. And it has to be applied a lot. Too much. You need to get your face tanned. There is no cover for it. And the sunscreen goo is especially messy on your face. And make sure you consume electrolytes every couple of hours. Think salt, magnesium and/or potassium. If you get depleted on electrolytes then it is game over.

Ideally your long outdoor ride on the weekend should have gotten to at least 300k. And you should be able to do OK in your event if you total time for completing the 300k ride is somewhere between 14 and 15 hours.

Good luck on your riding your event. I don't check this forum much any longer because the old retired guys that run it are a bunch of idiots. They are all legends in their own minds. Notice they did not try to help you.

jlippinbike

You say you are planning to limit your riding time to between 2 AM and 7 PM. By my count that is 7 hours in between days. Too much. You should be planning on only 3 hours. If after a day or two of three hours it might be OK to take a 4 hour break. Most people doing these long cycling events don't take more than 3.5 hours a night of off bike (rest). As a result you probably should rethink your lighting situation.

shelbyfv

Calling the mods names doesn't make you seem like the smartest guy in the room.

unterhausen

Jeff got in a disagreement in Training and Nutrition and I guess he thinks those people run the forum. As far as nobody helping OP, all he asked in his original post was about lights. Unwanted advice is the same as criticism.

shelbyfv

Looks as if one of the AI posts didn't go over well.

unterhausen

The reason AI's write like they do is that they are just a very fancy way of plagiarizing the web. So all the LLM's out there learned to write from Jlippinbike, at least a little.

shelbyfv

I'm looking forward to a ride report from OP. This is going to be an epic adventure!

jessejoshua

What's this all about?

==
Anyway, made it to the finish line, around 7 hours before the cut-off time.I am stealing my office time to write this post (so will continue later on).
One thing for sure, jlippinbike 's suggestion (or, rule of thumb) to achieve 100k under 6 hours time is a goooooooood guidance for me finishing the race! I thank you very much..!

==
Will update the stories and pictures afterwards, or later tonight

unterhausen

Congratulations. Looking forward to your ride report

jessejoshua

Got so caught up with working life after 7 days of riding

Preparation
The route came out around 2 weeks before the flag off. It was announced online using RWGPS and the rules also mentioned. Being this is my first time participating in an unsupported race, the rules are quite unique for me, but principally I get the idea.

1500km 17000EG

Compared to last year's, the route is extended to 20km-ish and the elevation is increased 2000m. I split the route into 7 days of segments, so in average I had to cycle about 235km. The splitting is planned on the basis of "civilization" I will pass along the ride after riding 200ish kilometers, so then I can find a proper hotel to rest and have meals.As for the nutrition, I always prepare one bidon filled with Tailwind endurance fuel, a cramp fix just in case my muscle is acting up, and a post ride drink: Infinit Repair. Other than that, I carry also gels and Bob's Red Mill Bar (I love this!). Packed all my things using three bags: handle bar bag contains cables and spare lamps which I will use when stopping for meals, top tube bag contains power bank and during-the-ride nutrition, and the saddle bag contains things I will use when resting after the long ride.


Final look of the bike, taken during the ride when entering CP3. Shoes are not for decorative purpose 🤣

(will continue the story later, errands are waiting)

jessejoshua

The Race (1/3)


The flag-off is at 5.30AM. The first day of my plan is the day that is impacted most from the mileage extension and increased EG from the previous year. I consider this as an improvement, as the route is said to be rideable than previously (it was gravel and almost unrideable, so you had to push or carry the bike) from last year's participants.

The ride went exactly as the plan, mileage wise. I think since my last week prior to the race I had tons of carbs, my body holds so much water and so in the first 100miles, I stopped so many times to pee. The scenery was beautiful, accompanied by the skin piercing tropical sun rays. I took tips from jlippinbike seriously at this moment and one of them is to use cover: I use long sleeve base layer and gilet for 6 days of the race. it HELPS. Also I use 125SPF sunscreen .

I always kept in my mind to reach 200K under 12 hours elapsed time. The day might not go as per plan because I haven't find the right rhythm to finish the etape day-by-day. Maybe the legs and the brain are trying to figure what's gonna happen for the next few days and what just happened. Also impacted from many times of peeing too, I finally arrived at the destined hotel at my first stop at 8.50pm, which I think is tooo late. Took the post-ride nutrition, had dinner, take some for tomorrow's breakfast, cleaned my ass and jersey, go to sleep.

Pictures from the first day




The rest went so bad. I guess one of the learnings for ultra-cycling is to find a PROPER place to rest, because you do not want to bonk on the next day. My hotel placed just on the main road and here, the sound from the scooters are super loud. Being a light sleeper it disturbed my sleep so I just had maybe around 2-3 hours of sleep. The next day was CP1 day, and the cutoff is at 10pm, therefore I really condemn this hotel (partly my fault because I ignored the location).

jessejoshua

The Race (2/3)

I feel like I owe the forum a bunch of great photos during the ride. Lucky that finally the organizer just released the album, so here they are..
Hope this cure my awful photographs in the previous post.


Did I mention a cargo bike also participated?


So many supporters along the way from the day 1


I am amazed by how beautiful riding the side of the ocean during the 2nd day


From afar, I thought it was a building. Iron construction on the sides and some lines on a black wall. As closer as I get, this turned out to be the last climb before CP1




The race always held during the week of independence day. Therefore it is always festive. With it, comes roadblocks because the streets are used for parade practice. Like in this picture


We ride our bikes with bunch of cows!


The look of the biggest climb from afar


The amazing view hidden behind the climb


We had to take off from our saddle and push the bike around 8km

==
I think the race went as planned until my fourth day. Every time I reached 100K, I will stop for at the nearest supermarket to get some calories and isotonic drink. Also refuel my bidons. And I did add chamois to avoid blisters. This went well until the fourth day, I think my bottom has chaffed. At first there was sore, and one moment I checked my bottom to add chamois, it was already painful. So on the fifth day onwards, I tried my best to avoid sitting on the saddle when the road is a bit curly. It ended up breaking my joints. The left ankle started to feel funky, and there's a weird feeling too on my right ankle. Both were just fine when I pushed for a few hundred kilometers on the fifth day. But when entering the 6th day, which has the biggest climb, it was painful on those two location.

I managed to climb Mt. Bromo halfway, thinking I could still climb it off saddle for the last 3k's of the climb. But the pain was unbearable! So I pushed my bike for the whole 8k's of the climb.

Is there any ultimate tips that is failproof to avoid blisters when enduring ultra distance cycling?

I only apply chamois before the ride and every 100kilometers re apply. One day the whatsapp group was full of this discussion. Many tips erupted:
#1: use skintight before wear bibs
#2: shave the bottom hair that is contacted directly to the saddle. Apply chamois pre-ride
#3: alcohol wipe the area that is contacted directly with the saddle after the ride. And then, apply baby rash cream before going to sleep. Apply chamois pre-ride

Would love to know the trick that is working from the reader!

unterhausen

Sorry you had problems. I carry 2 things for saddle sores in addition to chamois cream: udder balm (for cows) which is lanolin based for minor problems that chamois cream can't handle, and Lantiseptic skin protectant for really bad problems. It sticks your skin to the chamois to avoid movement, which is what causes further damage. The lantiseptic is a lot like diaper cream, I think. Chamois cream almost always has alcohol in it, which stings a bit too much.

jessejoshua

Thank you for the tip. Tried to find the udder balm but I think it is not a familiar product in Indonesia.
When is the right time to use the Udder? Is it a routine drill post-ride or just when the sore started to kick in?

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In addition, more pictures to enjoy



The road to get there was really beautiful

unterhausen

I suspect there is a lanolin-based product in Indonesia. I put it on when I don't think that the chamois cream will work. It's not exact. If something really hurts, I go straight for the lantiseptic.