First Brevet: Advice Needed
Posted: December 16, 2009 at 10:18 pmAs I’ve posted before, I’m doing my first brevet in January. There are a few things that I’m not quite sure about still.
First is of course training. I’m commuting as always, but now I’m trying to push harder. The cold weather has allowed me to turn it up a little without worrying about showing up for work too gross, but that’s only a 10 mile round trip.
I’m trying to do a couple rides during the week, tonight for instance I did a fast 12 mile ride. Other nights I try to do about 20 or so. On the weekends I go longer when the schedule permits. I did 60 a few weeks ago, 30 last weekend. This weekend I will probably do 60 again.
All my rides I push much harder than needed 60%-70% of max heart rate on the 60 miler 80%-90% on the 30 miler, and my 12 mile rides I generally dont wear my monitor as I try to go all-out the whole ride.
Any changes you would make to this?
The second area I’m wondering about is clothing. I don’t yet own a pair of padded shorts and want to get a pair. As the weather here is warm most of the year, i don’t want to get too much cold weather gear if I can help it. The brevet is in January and it tends to be in the mid-30’s then. Would shorts and leg warmers suffice? The upper body I’m less worried about, I have a good jacket I’ll wear over my jersey and a base layer under that. I’m also wearing arm warmers and mittens. I ride with panniers so it shouldn’t be an issue if I need to remove some layers in the event it warms up.
Any other tips from the long-distance pros you could share?
The Discussion
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I like my highest mileage weeks to be 4-6 weeks out from an event. You’re less than that out but you’d still benefit from a long ride this weekend. What I find works best to really up my fitness is to do 2 or more long days in a row. If possible you may want to do you 60 miler on Saturday and then do 30 or so on Sunday. You’ll be sluggish at first but should come around after riding for a little while.
Get some good padded shorts. Generally the more expensive ones have better padding and shape. They last a long time if you keep them clean and dry. Some chamois cream will also help your butt. I never used any until I started doing double centuries but now use it if I’m out for more than 3 hours. My favorite is Assos but it’s not cheap. 2nd best thing is A&D diaper ointment from the baby aisle at the drug or gr0cery store and it’s cheap.
I’d want more than shorts and leg warmers. My butt tends to get cold because since the warmers don’t help there. Get a pair of tights or you might be able to pick up some cheaper fleece pants that are tight enough they won’t get in the chain.
Good luck and have fun!
Thanks a lot for the advice! I’ll be posting a ride report after the event.
Good luck on the brevet! You can do it.
I rode my first brevet last year. I trained by riding to work and doing longer rides on the weekend. From your marathon training, you should have no problem finishing.
I put polypro long johns on underneath my riding shorts for commuting and rides in the cold. You can get some cheap ones from wally world. You can also get a cheap tyvek type rainsuit, top and bottom. Not for rain, but for breaking the wind if it’s really cold. It’s very light weight.
I’d also recommend some butt butter or bag balm for slathering on your butt and crotch. It makes a difference. I ended up using Lantiseptic, but any lanolin based product should work fine.
Don’t get too worked up about your riding time. Just concentrate on finishing. Even if you have some setbacks or have to ride slowly, finishing is more important than trying to finish with a fast time.
I brought a spare tire, which was kind of silly in hindsight. But I also carried a patch kit, pump, Park tool, spare brake and shifter cable. I bring this stuff on every ride. BTW, nice bike you’ve got there. I ride an old Nishiki Cresta from the same era. I think riding a simpler bikes, like these old bikes are, is a good idea. There’s less to go wrong and they’re easier to fix and adjust.
I brought some individually packed wet wipes so I wouldn’t be caught out if I had to use the bathroom. You’ll have to make your own mind up on this and what you’re comfortable with. I’ve done a bit of camping, so I don’t mind just pulling over and going in the woods if I have to take a dump. I’d rather be comfortable on the bike than wait and try to find a proper bathroom.
I also brought a whole package of fig newtons and a couple of power bars along since I was worried about food availability on the route. It ended up that the checkpoints were convenience stores, so I shouldn’t have worried. I did eat just about everything I brought along, especially the fig newtons.
Good stuff, thanks a lot.
I ride a Brooks saddle and even after 6 hours on the bike, I never ever have discomfort even riding in jeans. I just picked up a pair of padded shorts, should I still consider some sort of cream for this?
I’m somewhat worried about food, I believe the only store will be at the turn around point half-way in. I did an 80 miler not long ago and I think I did ok on food, if anything I’ll be sure to bring much more than I need.
I really like the Cresta. I really have a thing for Japanese road/touring bikes from that era, that’s one of the reasons I got the bike I did. That was when the Voyageur was made by Panasonic for Schwinn… the best of both worlds.