Advice for first time riding Amashova 106km

[Thoneshan]

I've a newbie and attempting my first Amashova 106km this coming week, aiming for around 5 hours. Any advice ?

[Frosty]

What average speed do you currently ride at? 

The first 15km are mostly uphill, so you need to pace your effort to leave something in the tank for the bits between Inchanga and Hillcrest. 

[slickjay007]

Just enjoy the ride and the event. You not racing for podium.

[Thoneshan]

41 minutes ago, Frosty said:

What average speed do you currently ride at? 

The first 15km are mostly uphill, so you need to pace your effort to leave something in the tank for the bits between Inchanga and Hillcrest. 

Averaging around 21km/hour in and around Jhb. 

[Aurora]

1 - Pace yourself in the first 15kms, it catches up with you later on.

2 - Make sure you are drinking and taking in carbs as it can get very hot and windy on that route. 

3 - Check your tyres are up to the job before starting. Some of the surfaces get a bit rough around Cato Ridge and Inchanga and old tyres could puncture easily here. 

4 - Most importantly... just enjoy the ride

[Frosty]

It's hard to enjoy yourself when you aren't looking after the basics:

Aim to eat - how much? As much as you can tolerate.
A bottle of mix is about 44-67g, a small gel is 20-22g. One of each per hour should be sufficient, but it's also hard to consume that much sugar over 5 hours. So you'll want to get some carbs in from that, as well as whole foods, eg. a banana or bars or anything else you find at the water points. You obviously can't carry all of it, so stopping at the water points is advised. 

If you can ride at 21km/h average on undulating terrain, then aim to get to Cato Ridge (40Km) in just under 2 hours. The first 2/3 of the race will feel like you're behind your target. Don't try over do it. You'll make up the time in the last 1/3.

Weather currently shows a S, SE wind, so it will be a cross wind for most of the race. That can change between now and the race.

[Mat098]

first 15 km is hard then just rolling until about 50-60 km in the climbing starts a bit then rolling fast to finish after 75 ish

[Thoneshan]

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

It's hard to enjoy yourself when you aren't looking after the basics:

Aim to eat - how much? As much as you can tolerate.
A bottle of mix is about 44-67g, a small gel is 20-22g. One of each per hour should be sufficient, but it's also hard to consume that much sugar over 5 hours. So you'll want to get some carbs in from that, as well as whole foods, eg. a banana or bars or anything else you find at the water points. You obviously can't carry all of it, so stopping at the water points is advised. 

If you can ride at 21km/h average on undulating terrain, then aim to get to Cato Ridge (40Km) in just under 2 hours. The first 2/3 of the race will feel like you're behind your target. Don't try over do it. You'll make up the time in the last 1/3.

Weather currently shows a S, SE wind, so it will be a cross wind for most of the race. That can change between now and the race.

Thank you

[Thoneshan]

1 hour ago, Aurora said:

1 - Pace yourself in the first 15kms, it catches up with you later on.

2 - Make sure you are drinking and taking in carbs as it can get very hot and windy on that route. 

3 - Check your tyres are up to the job before starting. Some of the surfaces get a bit rough around Cato Ridge and Inchanga and old tyres could puncture easily here. 

4 - Most importantly... just enjoy the ride

Thank you

[Bike Dewing]

What’s your furthest distance riden so far.? 

I can do 25km/h but that’s over short distances, 20/30km.. over a 100km it’s not sustainable and my average drops to about 21/22km/h.. important to manage your expectations with that regard.. first time tackling that kind of distance, just keep a steady pace, don’t let that heart rate get too high unless you absolutely have to on a climb etc.. remember to eat and drink little and often.. there’s online calculators that can tell you haw many carbs etc you need per hour to sustain yourself depending on your age and body type.. that’s a good indicator/starting point to do some testing on prep rides with regards to feeding.. 

106km is far, prep well in order to give yourself the best chance and just aim to complete it.. it’s a race but it’s not a race..

So yeah, most importantly just get out there and have fun.!🤘🏻

[Martin PJ]

Most of the field are palookas, you'll be fine. Only advice is make sure you bike is in top condition, take a few spares. Nothing sucks like bike trouble when you trying to enjoy your day out.

[Bike Dewing]

2 hours ago, Frosty said:

It's hard to enjoy yourself when you aren't looking after the basics:

Aim to eat - how much? As much as you can tolerate.
A bottle of mix is about 44-67g, a small gel is 20-22g. One of each per hour should be sufficient, but it's also hard to consume that much sugar over 5 hours. So you'll want to get some carbs in from that, as well as whole foods, eg. a banana or bars or anything else you find at the water points. You obviously can't carry all of it, so stopping at the water points is advised. 

If you can ride at 21km/h average on undulating terrain, then aim to get to Cato Ridge (40Km) in just under 2 hours. The first 2/3 of the race will feel like you're behind your target. Don't try over do it. You'll make up the time in the last 1/3.

Weather currently shows a S, SE wind, so it will be a cross wind for most of the race. That can change between now and the race.

Yeah I like this..

prepong well and understanding your refueling needs is so important to having a good cycle.. otherwise you going to struggle, listen to your body and don’t focus too much on the numbers.. if you find yourself pushing hard to keep that 21/22km/h pace you most likely going to crap out hard.. esp if it’s early on.. if it’s late and you purposely pushing it then that’s another story..

Good luck mate.!🥳🤘🏻

[Thoneshan]

27 minutes ago, Michael Dewing said:

What’s your furthest distance riden so far.? 

I can do 25km/h but that’s over short distances, 20/30km.. over a 100km it’s not sustainable and my average drops to about 21/22km/h.. important to manage your expectations with that regard.. first time tackling that kind of distance, just keep a steady pace, don’t let that heart rate get too high unless you absolutely have to on a climb etc.. remember to eat and drink little and often.. there’s online calculators that can tell you haw many carbs etc you need per hour to sustain yourself depending on your age and body type.. that’s a good indicator/starting point to do some testing on prep rides with regards to feeding.. 

106km is far, prep well in order to give yourself the best chance and just aim to complete it.. it’s a race but it’s not a race..

So yeah, most importantly just get out there and have fun.!🤘🏻

Thanks for the advice / tips. 

So far the longest ride has been a 3 hour cycle and I covered about 60km (but just drank fluids). 

[Bike Dewing]

1 minute ago, Thoneshan said:

Thanks for the advice / tips. 

So far the longest ride has been a 3 hour cycle and I covered about 60km (but just drank fluids). 

Okay that’s good dude.! Roll at that pace, quicker if you feel you can handle it, and just think about adding food to that equation, a good mixture of bars, gels( buy a couple of a specific brand of gels and test before race day, race day is not new food day🤣🤣.. your ride will turn into the “tour de toilet” quick sticks and that’s no fun😳🤣🤣) bananas are great, peanut butter sandwiches if you want.. whatever makes you happy.!🥳🤘🏻

have a bowl of pasta the night before and some oats for breakfast, don’t over do it though.. and just have the best time.!

💪🏼😃🤘🏻

[bar_1]

Sorry to hijack this thread....my second amashova but due to lack of practicing decided to only do the 65km this year....

not much details though....what can I expect in terms of elevation ?

the route profile on the site in not very good...

[Frosty]

1 hour ago, bar_1 said:

Sorry to hijack this thread....my second amashova but due to lack of practicing decided to only do the 65km this year....

not much details though....what can I expect in terms of elevation ?

the route profile on the site in not very good...

this might help you:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/196306661