This would be my first 600k in 32 years, so I was understandably wary of the distance. However, two recent successes at the 400k distance gave me confidence in a few areas:
- I used to hate riding at night, but research and adjustments to my lighting and clothing helped immensely at 400k.
- I’d had good success maintaining blood sugar, paying attention to saddle discomfort and, in general, closely monitoring my body and making adjustments before things became problematic.
Still, 600k is a long way to ride and this would be a route I’d largely never ridden before.
I’d crafted an extensive preparation sheet for what I’d wear, what I’d have on the bike and what I needed at the ride start. There would be no support (bag drop, wife meeting me) on the route, so everything had to be planned in advance. The most important thing would be anti-saddle sore medication (for me, a combination of chamois cream and Desitin works well), adequate batteries for lights (I run 2×1000 lumen headlights, battery powered) and electronics (50000 mAh powerbank) and sufficient go-to fuel in case I didn’t find things at stores which agreed with me. Clif Bloks are my go-to here. I took 20 with me. And finally, clothing – I knew it would get cold after dark, but I was hoping it would stay above 50°F / 10°C because below that my hands go numb and I struggle to generate enough heat to keep from shivering and getting into a dangerous physical state. I’m still working on this.
Despite all this planning, I left my tubes of chamois cream and Desitin in the hotel in Victoria where my wife would be spending the weekend. I had to buy a tube on the route, but saddle sores were not an issue. It turned out that at the start, I only had one single-use packet of cream and I used that. Combined with me standing around talking with the other riders, this resulted in me getting underway 5 minutes late.
I’d often heard the advice “ride well behind your ego”, and I took this to heart, making sure I stayed solidly in zone 1 and not pushing. This was my first lengthy ride on SPD-SL pedals after decades of SPDs (swapping to try to alleviate “hot spots” under the balls of my feet during longer rides). I later figured out that the cleats were too far forward on my shoes, so I experienced intermittent knee pain during this ride – sharp enough to be worrisome but not debilitating. A combination of getting off the bike, standing and generally adjusting my riding position helped with this.
I saw other riders during the out/back portion to the first control, but didn’t catch anyone until 200k. There, I pulled into a convenience store and chatted with Nick for a bit. He was lamenting going out too fast and we rode together briefly after that stop. My aerobar setup proved faster on descents but overall we managed about the same pace and stayed within 1km or less of each other until my feet forced an extended (5 minute) stop to sit and elevate at around 230k. I had a motorcycle accident 11 years ago which seriously damaged my right leg and there’s a lot of metal in there and the circulation is very bad, so at times I need to get off the bike and elevate the leg or it swells badly. This was one such time.
I had a delightful meal at a McDonald’s in Courtenay with 2 young girls and their mother. The former two barraged me with questions about who I was and what I was doing and the latter’s uncle is a Randonneur and we chatted about the sport. All too soon it was time to get back on the bike.
At the turn-around at Campbell River, I met up with Nick again and he was getting a room there for the night. I was feeling good and had no plans to stop, but made a serious error in judgement by not stopping at least long enough to put my leg warmers and second jacket on. Dumb, dumb, dumb. This resulted in 25 miles/40km of VERY cold riding along route 19 southbound where I began to realize that if I stopped, I was risking being in a dangerous situation. I decided that I would find a warm place to stay once back in Courtenay. By the time I got there, I was uncontrollably shivering. My shelter would be an Emergency Room at the local hospital. Between there and the foyer of a hotel, I wasted 4 hours with no progress other than simply waiting for sunrise. Better planning and better clothing would have served me well — as would better conditions — but we ride what the day gives us!
The trip south was largely uneventful. The knee pain was familiar at this point and I continued to mitigate that by easing up on pushing. My fresh tube of Desitin seemed to be working well as I had no saddle discomfort. NSAIDs every 4-6 hours (regular strength advil + tylenol) helped with the “normal” discomfort of a ride that long. All told, everything was going smoothly, and staying on top of my blood sugar was really paying off
For me, this means monitoring my mood and emotional state. When enthusiasm wanes into resignation (or worse, dread), I’ve learned this is 100% due to low blood sugar and I need to eat the moment I feel that enthusiasm slipping. If anything truly went well during this ride, it was managing this — I arrived back at the start in good shape and good spirits.
This is not to say I didn’t have a few moments of frustration! I had to stop twice in the final 50k due to foot heat/swelling. And the RwGPS elevation profile had some errors which made it look like the final 50k would be pancake flat — but it WAS NOT! I kept wondering when I’d turn onto the lovely, zero-grade trails we’d started on but that never happened. Instead, at one point, I was presented with a nearly 20% grade for a quarter mile (400m) which I gladly walked up.
All in all, a few lessons learned: Check your packing list one final time before you head to the start, even if it means unpacking your bags and laying things out. None of this “Oh, I’m sure I packed that” nonsense. Prove it to yourself.
And have fun. If the ride isn’t enjoyable, why are we here?