Hounslow Wheelers 100

[Lucyap]

Really tough day on H100/88.

Although I had an early start at 8:09, the day was really hotting up already ... and it got hotter and hotter! A DNS from Steve Davies and Phil Hawkes. I saw George out on course early on, but not sure what happened??

I really suffered with the heat, rode with 2 litre Camelbak under skin suit, but after a while the energy mix made me feel sticky yuck. About 60 miles in I started to feel shivery and a bit odd ( ) eased the pace for a while after that. Hot foot became a problem, blistering and burning pain in both feet.

My time: 4 hrs 57:27. A PB by 4 mins 23 secs ... and straight into The Hen and Chicken pub for a cold drink of the non-alcoholic type!

I didn't get anyone else's times at HQ, still in rather a daze thinking about going home, sitting in the freezer and eating ice cubes

[tel]

Well done Lucy-if it was anything like Sat afternoon, that was some fete.

Plenty of respect.

Terry

[Mohammad L]

Sub 5hrs in the soaring heat - well done.

[Rogan]

Great effort Lucy! And another PB...

[Andrew G]

Well done Lucy another cracking effort for a new PB . I was thinking about you guys while I was out this morning, how tough it would be in the heat and the wind. Would definitely have been a back to front cap day for me rather than boil under a pointy hat.

100s are killers. I've only done a couple to date and trying to get food, drink, pacing etc right is really tough. Add in some heat or wind and it gets even harder. You'll have learnt a lot from today about various things such as the hotfoot. Always useful for the future. I suffered with hotfoot in a 12hr and squirting water on it helped a bit, albeit only temporary relief. I did learn to make sure I have good non-worn insoles for long races and if it's hot I don't wear oversocks so the breeze can get to my toes through the vents.

Well done again on the PB and going sub 5hrs, top stuff. See you at the SCCU 100?

[SteveD]

Another nice ride by Lucy - well done.

As for me, I'd spent three days in bed with a chest infection last week and was only just recovering over the weekend so no ride for me. This was supposed to be another training ride for the 24 which is now beginning to look in doubt - I'll see how it goes over the next few weeks.

[carl f]

Fantastic effort in that brutal heat Lucy
Well done on the pb too!!

[carl f]

so how do peeps prefer to carry water on a 100+ TT?
Camelbak under skinsuit seems quite popular, but i could imagine it could potentially rub against bare skin?,how about over skinsuit?. The other option is the 'iron man' look which is the 2 bottles in holder behind seat
Got some long rides planned so i need to start planning

[Andrew G]

An extra 2 behind the saddle on a minoura bracket for me.

[Lucyap]

I'm not the best at "doing things" on the bike so taking bottles from behind the saddle would slow me down - I've just used a rear cage to carry spares. I found the Camelbak great, as I can stay in an aero position and take sips of fluid every few mins. My Camelbak is a 2 litre one in a very minimalist bag, with no pockets.

I've worn it a few times under my skin suit and it has never rubbed at all (although I guess its on top of sports bra for me, but parts of it would be next to skin). A couple of down sides would be you can't tell how much you've drunk or got left. This caught me out on the IM, when I did ran out of water, but on the 100 I wiggled it to feel how much was left. The only other problem I found was wearing it wasn't great with a pointy hat, the end rubs on my hump It was fine with head down, but sounded weird when I moved my head about. On the 100 I wore a rd helmet, I had intended to give the aero one a go ... but as it was such a hot day and I've got very thick hair, I didn't want to over heat.

I've only got one bottle cage mount on the frame, and I used this to fill a water bottle full of gels. This again was quicker for me than opening sticky gel packets.

Has anyone tried the Speedfill hydration systems?

Enjoy your long rides Carl

[simon Lythgoe]

I've got a Speedfil and used it for IM. I think it's great but you need to make sure the pipe is high enough to reach in aero, dipping your head isn't wise. I think it holds about 1.5L and it's easy to refill as the name would suggest.

[Andrew G]

Rupert has a speedfil and used one in the SCCU 100 last year and said it worked well. They look like a good soultion for 100s if your bike only has one cage mout...but they are c£85 which ain't cheap.

Speedfil also do a bottle adaptor ([url=http://www.wiggle.co.uk/speedfil-f2-frame-mount-system/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=uk&utm_content=Speedfil-Speedfil_F2_Frame_Mount_System]thingy[/url] which goes on the top of a standard bottle. Again it isn't cheap at £45 for what looks basically like a pipe with a bite valve, I'm sure you could bastardise an old camelback without too much hassle.

Good idea with the gels Lucy as you were getting liquid from your camelback. I've thought about getting a gel bottle to test (like these - [url=http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/41528/Maxim_Gelbot_600ml_WaterGel_Bottle]Maxim[/url] and [url=http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/75/hkb1012/hydrapak-gelbot---water-bottle--gel-holder.html]Hydrapack[/url]. Well not so much thought of as ordered to test in the SCCU 50.

If the gel release works well then with the gel bit holding 1.5 - 2 gels worth then 3 600ml bottles would hold 1.8 litres of carb drink and 4.5-6 gels - great for a 100 and only need to stick another couple of gels up the skinsuit leg or in the pocket. If the gel release is good then they'd work well in 50s too where I carry a small bottle and take a gel about half way round, with this it would be all in one. It's no problem taking a gel out from the leg and tearing the top off on the aero bars but I have had one squirt all over the bars and my hands as I hit a little bump just as I was about to squeeze it. Sticky fingers for the next 60 miles.

[simon Lythgoe]

I also did this gel technique for IM. I personally need quite a lot of calories and found 16 gels topped up with water held in a saddle mount was the solution. High5 gels are quite thin anyway so there was no problem with the bite. You do get a bit bored of the single flavour though.

[carl f]

Thanks. I have a 3 ltr camelback with pockets so its probably to bulky for the skinsuit. Aiming for the SCCU 100 in Aug so might try the minura bracket thingy and save some money not buying a smaller camelback
Also got planned a 12h ride at Brands Hatch in sept for a charity thing but think i will be doing this on the road bike so my 3 ltr camelbak should be fine over my jersey with two bottle holders on the bike
In the 50's i did last year, one bottle and two gels taped to the bike was fine. For the 100 coming up on Aug two gels taped to the bike and two stuffed in skinsuit hopefully should be fine

[Andrew G]

For the 100 Carl, see you there, 3 bottles will be enough unless it's hot and then 4. I used 3 in the Anfield. For gels I got though about 6 and the pockets on the new skinsuits are great for holding them. If you still have an older one then you can fit a couple up the legs and tape some to the top tube. I didn't like just gels and had a bar as well. Look at top tube bags too as they work well for holding a few gels and bar. Cut the bar up in to bite size pieces and you just dip in now and again for for a piece.

For the Brands 12 you'll be passing the same spot all the time so I'd just use the normal cages and stick a big bag of bottles and food track side and have a quick stop and swap when required rather than carry the extra weight. A 12 hour is s whole different ball game and you'll want some normal food too like sausages and pork pies etc as you'll probably want some savoury stuff. I'd strongly recommend rice pudding and have a pile of pits of that in your bag.