Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club

Hi All,

The tour of Canberra is this weekend. I've done quite a lot of training, however i'll be jumping into the unknown race distance wise. I've done up to 90kms without a break however adding an extra 40kms is a different story. Food shouldn't be much of an issue here as should fitness, i'm a bit concerned about liquids and the time it will take to complete the race.

Can people shed their knowledge on how to survive this sort of distance with only 2 water bottles please? Will the weather be such that i will only need 2 bottles?

Thanks!

Simon B

Depends what your fluid needs normally are.

I seem to be able to get by on half a bottle per hour IF I am well hydrated leading up to the event. That means start drinking NOW. I'm hoping to do a 100km mountian bike event on Sunday on only 1 bidon and filling up at the three drink stops, which may be a challenge depending on the weather. As such, I've downed over 2L of water so far today and I'll be happy if I can drink about 5-6L water per day from now until the evening prior.

One thing I would think about given your inability to refill is to carry an extra bidon in your jersey pocket if you think you might need it. Drink this one first and then chuck it away when you're done.

it wont be the fact that its 140kms that will suck, it will be the fact that its all hills!
but yeah, i seem to have a bit of a start to cramp after 100km in a race for some reason, and a lot of people seem to have a few issues after this point especially when they arent used to riding longer rides (though i have done a lot of longer, its only in races that i get the issues)

If there are no water bottle or feed stations i have no advice for you about water sorry


(though i can say eat more solid food starting at the 40-80km point, then move onto gu things etc later on.)

I didn't think of stuffing an extra bottle in the jersey. Nice one Vic!

Tim, i believe there are no feed stations but i could be wrong (none i have seen on the published maps). If there are feed stations, the water problems would be solved but i'm will i need to supply someone to hand over the feed bag?

I'll make sure i get a handful of the gu's and a few extra bidons to take down with me.

There is a feeding station on the second day, but finding someone to be your feeder is another issue all together. I survived both the 120km + stages last year with only 2 bottles, but its weather dependant really. In reality you will probably need 3 bottles and 4 gels.

I'd take along a bit of solid food as well for a 130 km race. That's a long distance to survive on liquids alone, and you'll have had a lot of energy sucked out of you the previous day.

I've carried water bottles in my jersey pocket in the past. An option is to use an old bottle and chuck it somewhere, preferably where a spectator can dispose of it

i think i went through 10 bidons the year i rode grafton. At least thats how many i had ready. Half were water and half were electrolytes from memory. But that was over 228kms, it was hot and we weren't exactly in the race. Fun times!

I did 8 and didn't go for a wizz

Back to the 130, I recon 3 would be fine

Cool down here and not likely to be sunny or hot by the looks of it. 3 bottles may be enough but Ill see if I can talk someone into being at the feed station just in case!

I'll take some gels and museli bars for the ride.

Very much appreciated on everyones advice!

One last question, are hydration packs allowed? I can't find anywhere on the uci website that they are banned.