My First Event! Any Tips?!

-Have fun.

-Don't get to stressed out.

-If it's hot drink about a bottle an hour.

-Have fun.

-Use sunscreen if it's sunny.

-If the scenery is bad - ride behind a fit young lady.

-Have fun.

-Take a two spare tubes, a patch kit and a pump and make sure you know how to use them.

-Don't fall off.

-Have fun.

i disagree with you,
If you race properly its not going to be any fun nor it has to be fun,
you can enjoy yourself once its over and you have realized that you gave in a 100% effort worth all those months of training.

Drink before you're thirsty and eat before you're hungry! Sounds simple, but a lot of people get caught up in the excitement and often forget.

If you can. Stay as close to the front as possible. Gives you better chances of staying with lead group during attacks or accelerations. Of course this all depends on your condition/fitness/skill etc. But try to hang with the fast guys. Or close to them.

Is this a competitive race or a "race" that has periodic food stops and the like?

alienator said:

Is this a competitive race or a "race" that has periodic food stops and the like?

It's a "race" with stops, don't judge me!!

mark.donnelly said:

It's a "race" with stops, don't judge me!!

I'm not judging. The event type determines a lot of the tips. Swampy's tips are good. Another is to ride at a comfortable pace, and if you ride in a pack, don't get sucked in to riding with a pack that is going faster than your comfortable pace. You'll be tempted to ride a bit faster than you should in your first event, so take care to temper that urge. Make use of the food stops for food and drink. Dehydration sucks nasty smelly balls. Make sure you're prepared to fix a flat or two. Have fun and enjoy the scene.

Dude no matter what preconceptions you may have on your fitness levels THEY ARE WRONG!!!! YOU CAN WIN THIS! You must go for the jugular on this one thats my advice i'm in the same boat as you as me and my puny friend are embarking on our first race this weekend and i plan on leaving nothing on the road!jean claude ftw!

RonnieColeman said:

Dude no matter what preconceptions you may have on your fitness levels THEY ARE WRONG!!!! YOU CAN WIN THIS! You must go for the jugular on this one thats my advice i'm in the same boat as you as me and my puny friend are embarking on our first race this weekend and i plan on leaving nothing on the road!jean claude ftw!

Hugh? is that you?!

Just make sure you get plenty to eat and drink throughout the day and by all means, don't blow your load early. Ride at a comfortable pace and save some gas for the final 20 miles.

mark.donnelly said:

Howdy!

I'm taking part in my first event this weekend, after a few months of training, and I was if there any good tips for the race? Its 135km(83miles), a bit hilly and takes place over a day. Any tips about food, drink, pacing, mentally?

Much Appreciated!

Mark

So ... how'd it go?

vspa said:

i disagree with you,
If you race properly its not going to be any fun nor it has to be fun,
you can enjoy yourself once its over and you have realized that you gave in a 100% effort worth all those months of training.

If you don't have a mindset that enjoying sucking dirt and grovelling in gutters isn't anything but 'fun' with the belief that there's gonna be a chance to exact pain on those that are working you over now, then this is the wrong game for you. You have to be prepared to enjoy that as much as you will when you get to dish it out - while you're on the bike. Feeling happy about it later on after you're showered and have your feet up enjoying a cuppa tea is way too late.

If you crash and end up with torn clothes and a bunch of road rash then yeah you got rights to feel less than happy but otherwise you should be all be about the positive.

Riding 10% over threshold for as long as you can should be 'fun'.Taking risks going around corners should be 'fun'. That last 30 second flat out interval should be 'fun'...

You get the idea.