THE ROAD TO LOng distance cycling

As soon as I got into cycling I knew I wanted to do long distance. Why? The notion that we can self-propel as far as 350km or even more in just a day truly fascinates me. I did my first 100km in October 2022 and 100 miles shortly afterwards. It felt like a great achievement, however I quickly realised that a lot of people seemed to be capable of distances far greater. What really surprised me was that some of them appeared to be quite average cyclists. That gave me further encouragement and I figured that I would get there eventually if I simply ride long enough. In the following months I tried to maintain consistent daily efforts. Although I was not experiencing any significant issues at the time I had a proper bike fit done. In June 2023 I attempted to ride a 200km but DNF due to a tubeless tire failure. A month later I had another go and completed the 200km variant of the Coast to Coast. It felt like a huge achievement and I still use it as a reference point. However I began to suspect that I was doing something wrong as I could barely stand by the time I finished. My conclusion was that I simply had to ride even more. And so I kept making more or less consistent efforts throughout the winter that followed and it seemed to work to a certain extent. In March 2024 I did a 200km Audax and I was not falling apart the next day. That gave me sufficient confidence to attempt a 3 day solo 630km ride from Letchworth to Edinburgh in April 2024. That experience (an amazing one BTW!) was somewhat of a turning point, which left me with the following:

• It felt like long distance cycling was almost within my reach
• My Fizik saddle and shoes which I considered perfect up to that point both had to go. I could not tolerate either for another second by the end of the trip.
• Clearly I was still doing something wrong in terms of my technique and effort management as my knees were almost dead and I was still really tired by the time I finished.

Having recovered from Edinburgh I signed up for a 300km Audax in May 2024 and a 600km Audax in July 2024. I also started looking for a new saddle and shoes. I barely completed that 300km but that was mostly due to stomach problems I had that day. On the positive side it reconfirmed all of my Edinburgh findings, however I still had no idea how I was going to pull off that 600 in July. By that time I had tried Brooks saddles and Quoc shoes, none of which really worked. Shortly after that very miserable 300 three very important things happened:

• Zone 2 riding concept finally clicked in my head after watching one of RCA videos. BTW this is an excellent resource in general, highly recommended!
• I discovered SQLab saddles
• I understood why I was having shoe problems and what had to be done to resolve them

I really think this has completed the puzzle for me. In July 2024 I cycled another 300km and that 600km Audax the next weekend without any significant issues. I finished both rides feeling OK and I was fresh enough to get on the bike the next day. At the end of July I did one more 300km improving my overall time significantly compared to my previous attempts. I am now quite confident that I am moving in the right direction.

This post describes all the things that I have learned, done, changed, adopted and rejected to get here over the last 2 years (almost). I will first cover everything gear-related (bike, saddle and shoes) and then talk about technique (power, nutrition and strategy). Most of this is simply based on the things that I tried and that worked for me. Bear in mind that none of this really matters on shorter rides as the body simply doesn't have enough time to get irritated.

It is also important to stress that my focus is on non-competitive long distance cycling, where my main goal is to get to the finish line, usually within a set (but reasonable) time frame rather than to get there as soon as I physically can no matter the cost. Therefore my key priorities when approaching this topic are comfort, sustainability and efficiency.

Any road bike will do, but it has to fit the rider and the riding needs. From a cycling perspective our body is characterised by the length of arms, legs and torso, the width of shoulders, sit-bones and hip joints as well as the size, shape and orientation of feet. These characteristics should then be matched to various bike counterparts such as:

• Arm length - frame size, stem length
• Leg length - frame size, saddle height, crank length
• Torso length - frame size, stem length
• Shoulder width - drop bar width
• Sit-bone width - saddle width
• Hip joint width - stance width (see below)
• Feet size - shoe size
• Feet shape and orientation - cleat position

It is essential to get a bike fit done. I have had two fitting sessions done in two different countries which produced exactly the same results. Apart from the obvious benefit of getting a good fit it also gave me sufficient knowledge to continue exploring the topic on my own, including making the right choices when getting a new bike such as frame size, stem length, crank length and drop bar width.

Of all things bike fit related it is the stance width that really puzzles me. All road bikes come with the same q-factor (distance between the two outside faces of the crank arms where the pedals are threaded) of 150mm irrespective of frame size. It is the same with mountain bikes, only 170mm. But then depending on the riders height the variance in various frame dimensions can be as much as 20%. This makes sense of course - a bigger rider needs a bigger frame and a wider drop bar. And yet we are all supposed to ride at the same stance width (at least out of the box). Meaning that a 190cm rider who is likely to have wide hip joints will be pushing pedals at a completely different angle compared to a 160cm rider with narrower hip joints (when looking from the front). And nobody even mentions this when you buy a bike! Why am I saying this? If you are average height or below there is probably nothing to worry about, except when you go out and buy something like Assiomo Duo Shi power meter which increases your stance width by 2cm. This is exactly what happened to me and that was how I became aware of the issue. If on the other hand you are on the taller range of the spectrum then you will likely benefit from some sort of stance width enhancement, such as the Duo Shi or some spacers, or at least research this topic further.

The saddle must be comfortable to ride in for many hours, there is no way around it. If it is not, then it is just not suitable for long distance (provided that it is not a bike fit issue). In my experience a saddle will start to show its true colours around 150-200km, however it may be problematic to acknowledge, because we tend to forget the bad things that happen to us very quickly. This is especially true for rides that last only a day. You suffer, you sleep it off and then you forget. Also different people may have different discomfort tolerance. It took me more than a year to realise that I was not fully comfortable on my Fizik Argo saddle and that was simply because it was perfectly comfortable on shorter rides.

I tried to understand why. First I thought that it was too wide. I tried the narrower Brooks C15 which a lot of people seemed to like and the even more narrower C13. It didn't work either and I had to look elsewhere, but I didn't really know where. I was rescued once again by the RCA. I tried the SQLab 612 after watching one of Neil's videos and it worked. All other saddles I tried and ultimately rejected shared the same characteristic - they were round rather than flat when looking from the front/back. With SQLabs you almost sit on a flat stool rather than on a round saddle and I think that's the best way to describe why it is different. This removes the sideways pressure on the sit-bones which is one of the main causes of saddle sores.

I still need to get out of the saddle occasionally to stretch my legs, similar to how I would stand up after sitting in front of a computer for a long time, but I do it a lot less often than I used to and mostly towards the end of the day.

While on the subject of saddles, I found that chamois cream works for me pretty well. The only thing to watch out for is that if used, it may need re-application every 100k or so, otherwise it can do more harm than good.

Shoes are probably the most personal piece of cycling equipment out there, simply because there is huge variety in size, shape and orientation of our feet. To make things worse feet are rarely perfectly symmetrical. Finally none of this is static - as time goes by our feet change. Just for perspective I used to have UK size 8 when I was in my 20s and now I wear 9 for everyday or 10 for sport at the age of 42.

Similar to the saddle, shoes must be comfortable to wear for many hours. Here are some important things that need to be considered:

• Shoe size must be selected based on the actual measurements of both feet, as they can differ. Standard sizing conventions never work properly, it is a failed concept. Some manufacturers have acknowledged this and provide real measurements alongside the "standard" ones. If it comes to that you should get shoes of different size for each foot.
• I believe that you must size up for any sport related activity. After hours of exercise feet will inevitably expand in every direction. Hot weather will accelerate the process. I found that a good starting point for internal shoe length is the measured foot length plus 7 mm
• I always try shoes with winter sock on, if it is a bit tight but still OK with a thin one, shoes must be returned unfortunately.
• I have wide feet and it is a problem. Very few manufacturers do wide versions, so my options are limited. In any case the shoe width must account for expansion to avoid hot spots. A hot spot is a burning sensation that develops on either or both points where the foot is the widest a long way before it turns into a blister. It may come and go, but still very unpleasant. It usually goes away after a night's sleep.
• Good shoe ventilation is a two-sided coin. While a blessing on a hot day it quickly turns into a nightmare when chilly and/or wet. This can be solved by toe caps, overshoes and/or putting tape over vent holes.
• Excessive upper shoe rigidity can lead to unnecessary foot rub and hot spots
• Inner shoe material should be quite smooth to avoid unnecessary foot rub which will lead to hot spots
• Some shoes have ankle collars that are too high resulting in touching and rubbing on one or both malleoluses.
• Depending on the foot condition one might benefit from integrated arch support, I certainly do

I am currently settled on a pair of Wide Shimano S-Phyre's. They are good in many aspects, but not perfect. The ankle collar it a bit too high for me and I would also prefer a less rigid upper. I still get hot spots around 250km (still a lot better than any other shoe I tried). I am currently waiting for a pair of Bont Vapor 23's which should solve the remaining problems due to the way they are constructed. Unfortunately they are made to order with a 10 week wait and the pair I received recently failed the winter sock test so I had to return them, otherwise they felt very promising.

When it comes to cleats it is important to check that your shoes allow them to be positioned as far back as possible. For instance I found that Fizik's budget R5 models fail this test completely. It means that you can't position the cleats even to meet the bike fitter's standard (they will end up being in front of the the required line) let alone trying to position them behind the line as many now suggest. It is quite strange given that the next in line R4 range does not have this problem.

Then there is the cleat angle. My natural stance is such that my feet point outwards. This means that I should try to achieve similar stance while pedalling. Maybe not as aggressive, but close enough. Therefore my cleats are rotated slightly inwards (note the red line below). This and a certain amount of play in yellow SPD-SL cleats (btw no bike fitter will tell you to use anything but yellow) ensures the correct rotation of the foot. If my feet were pointing forward instead then I would have the cleats aligned with the blue line.

I am now done with the gear, so let's talk about the technique. The theory of long distance riding is very simple - to ride efficiently and sustainably you must ride in power Zone 2. Or at least try. To me this was a real eye opener. When I first tried to do this properly on my daily 40k/400m route I was astonished by the results. I felt almost completely fresh, my average HR was at its lowest level and my average speed was only marginally lower than it would have been otherwise.

The idea behind this is that with appropriate nutrition and hydration we can go on like this indefinitely. In real life you still have to sleep and make at least some toilet stops (sometimes more often than you plan) but otherwise I found the idea to be pretty accurate. In order for it to work though you really have to stick to Zone 2, especially on the upper end. Dropping down to Zone 1 still accomplishes the goal and makes life easier, but you begin to throw away the speed that you are otherwise capable of. Going above Zone 2 for extended periods of time however is likely to become a wasted effort and will lead to premature fatigue and longer recovery. We can visualise the above using the standard power zone chart:

Riding in Zone 3 and above will make you faster, but it will eventually drain your energy below the level that you can sustain throughout the entire ride. In other words you will be very tired at the end of the day and may not fully recover for the day ahead. So the first step is to direct your effort towards Zone 1 or Zone 2. This is where you achieve sustainability (subject to constant fuelling). The second step is to maximise the speed while staying in the green. And that means doing as much Zone 2 as possible. Simple.

It is a bit more complex though, because Zone 3 can still be very effective and I will talk more about it under Strategy.

• In reality it is next to impossible to ride in Zone 2 all the time because of the traffic lights, roundabouts, road crossings, steep climbs where you will push hard and scary descends where you will freewheel a lot (at least I do), wind gusts and other factors. I generally consider it mission accomplished if I score at least 50% Zone 2 time OR have more Zone 2 time compared to Zone 1 on a particular ride. On the upper end I aim to have as little Zone 3 and above as possible, unless I have a good reason to do otherwise (see Strategy).
• My average cadence dropped a lot (from about 90 to about 70) after I started focused Zone 2 riding. That just happened on its own and I only noticed it recently.
• Variable cadence became a very useful technique as it enabled me to maintain constant power without shifting gears too much. A lot of times it just doesn't make sense to shift gears only to shift them back a second later. This is especially relevant for electronic drivetrains. I was really surprised by how much charge I drained during my 600km ride.
• There is no good reason to get out of saddle to boost power, unless I am being chased by a dog or something.
• When going down a long, straight and very gentle (1-2%) slope it is optimal not to freewheel, but at least pedal in Zone 1. This will increase speed at very little cost and prevent the knees from getting cold.
• A short descent followed by a short climb should always be pedalled through, or at least you should start pedalling hard towards the end of the descent and then ease off slightly while shifting gears as you go up. Ideally short rolling hills should feel effortless.
• On a long climb I try to stick to constant pressure in Zone 2 or Zone 3 (see why under Strategy). I have seen so many people (including myself a year ago) pushing out of saddle as hard as they can one second and then the next second they are coasting to get a short rest! Uphill that is!!!
• Sometimes I go into very low cadence during a climb to stick to Zone 2. Sometimes it may become quite hard or impossible to do - a 30% gradient will force you into the hardest effort whether you like it or not. But this is exactly what the hardest effort should be reserved for and nothing else.

Do you need a power meter? Yes, if you want to maximise your efficiency. Not really, if you simply want to be sustainable. Heart rate (HR) and something called the Perceived Rate of Exertion (PRE) are both pretty good alternatives or supplements. I have an HR notification set on the Garmin to warn me whenever I go above 140bpm. Why 140? It is somewhere between my HR Zone 2 an 3, so it gives me enough room to react if I need to. As for PRE after a while my legs and lungs started to "remember" what power Zone 2 feels like and so I have to look at the power readings less often. It is a bit like when driving long enough you start sensing 30 mph and 60 mph without looking at the dashboard.

What about speed/pace? This is actually quite an interesting aspect of long distance cycling, because as the distance increases your average moving speed (although still important) becomes less relevant. This is because the stopping time will increase significantly, particularly on multi-day rides. Sure, there are people out there who can do 600km at 30kph stopping for 1 hour in total, but I am more focused on the average cyclist here, as the former clearly know what they are doing anyway. I will talk more about speed under Strategy below, but the key takeaway here is that for a given course and conditions, such as wind, precipitation, recovery status pre-ride, maximising Z2 time, proper fuelling, etc., the maximum average moving speed will mostly be determined by the rider's FTP. However the actual ability to ride and complete this distance has absolutely nothing to do with the FTP. This is was a very powerful realisation for me.

Finally, I think this whole Zone 2 business should be adopted more as a mindset rather than a strict rule (see why under Strategy). I think of it simply as a way of maximising the use of my resources without depleting them too quickly. It also means that I now tend to pedal a lot smoother than I used to.

As mentioned above, for the whole thing to work you need to be eating non-stop. My current approach is as follows:

• substantial pre-ride meal 1-2 hours before if possible
• approximately two 60ml gels or equivalent carbs (~45g) per hour during the ride, I have a 30 minute reminder set on the Garmin for this
• something slightly more substantial every 100k or so
• small sips of water very frequently
• avoid big meals until the finish or end of day

I tend to eat more oat bars in the morning and a more gels later on, because oats are a breakfast thing in my mind. The "slightly more substantial" is something like an almond croissant or a pack of crisps and a cheese sandwich/sausage roll/Mcdonalds cheeseburger/pizza slice and a can of coke. Nothing too excessive and definitely NO big meals. Salty stuff like crisps, corn or potato chips works really well in moderation during the second part of the day. I also throw in a banana or two somewhere during the day.

Food variety seems to play an important role, so I aim to have at least 3 different flavours of oats and gels. I find that thicker gels (like SIS) work better than runny ones (like High5). My favourite oat bars are these, they are amazing:

With equipment, technique and nutrition covered the final piece of the puzzle is strategy, which includes planning and preparation. There is no real structure to this section, rather just a collection of odd bits and pieces in the order they came to mind.

I have categorised non-competitive rides for myself according to their length very roughly as follows:

Do you sleep? It all depends. For example, I want to try a 24 hour ride at some point in the future just to see how far I can go. Will a 2 hour nap increase my average moving speed and at the same time compensate for the time lost? I honestly don't know. Will I sleep during a 600k Audax? Absolutely! I have 40 hours to complete it, out of which I will spend 28 or less moving, so why on earth wouldn't I? Will I sleep during a 400k Audax? It seems logical, as I have 27 hours to complete it. I can essentially break it into two 200s, each can be done in 9-10 hours leaving 6-8 hours to sleep and 1 hour safety margin. Yet most people choose not to for some reason. Will I sleep during a 400k ride when I am in a hurry for whatever reason? No, because it is still feasible to do in one go.

At the end of the day it all depends on the number of consecutive riding days, individual sleep requirements and recovery needs. I think that right now I can comfortably sustain 200-250km per day on a multi-day ride. It would allow me to cover good distance and at the same time give me adequate recovery for the next day. 250-300km per day starts to feel a bit too much, but I can probably sustain in for 2-3 days. Anything significantly above this will turn into a huge one time effort which will require extended recovery - something like that 24 hour ride that I want to attempt.

I remember when I first started cycling I used to think in tens of kilometers as in "I am 10km in, I am 20km in, etc.". I now tend to think in 50s as in "I am 50km in, I am 100km in, etc.". And this brings me to the next point which is distance acclimatisation.

You should first ride a 100km. You will probably find it a lot easier than you imagined. Do a few more. Do one without stopping. The first real test will be a 200km. You should do 2 or 3 of those. They will appear easier each time. You should then attempt a 300km. It will probably feel like the "next level". Do another one, it will be much better. Your are probably ready at this point. And by "you" I mostly mean your mind. If you were riding regularly before then your body was ready all along.

Speaking of which. All of this must be accompanied by regular exercise, but it doesn't need to be excessive at all. I currently aim to do an easy Z1-2 40k on a daily basis (which can be a commute for example), a 100-200km weekend ride and a 300km+ ride once a month. I currently do a lot less high intensity rides than I did a year ago.

One of the main reasons why Zone 2 should be a mindset rather than a rule is that there are plenty of situations when it makes perfect sense to avoid it. I'm putting this under strategy, because that's exactly how I see it. Even though Zone 3 drains your resources beyond those that can be replenished during the ride it may not be a problem after all, because you can still sustain Zone 3 for a few hours and sometimes that is all you need. For example, I might be doing a 200-300km ride and I am not planning to ride for the next few days. So why not push myslef a little and do 3-4 hours in Zone 3? I could use it to maintain higher speed in the headwind or go a bit faster up the climbs. If on the other hand I was on a multi-day ride then I would probably avoid this until the last day.

One of the most valuable things you can bring on a long ride is a friend. It makes life easier in so many ways:

• You can take turns to slice air and lead in the dark if you are riding at night
• You will have someone to talk to
• You will have immediate help in case of emergency
• Somehow time and miles will fly a lot faster
• You will have much better photos:)

The only disadvantage of riding together is that it may increase your idle time (see below). I think 2 people is the optimal size for a long distance team, 3 is OK, 4 or more is a crowd.

Weather is a very important factor to consider and not just because of the rain. Cold is generally OK, as it can be mitigated by clothes. To me hot is worse as not much can be done about it and it has a negative impact on performance and general wellbeing. On a long ride that starts at night you need to be prepared for a very wide range of temperatures. The temperature is usually at its lowest around 5-6am.

Let's talk more about speed. The overall average speed is determined by moving time and stopping time i.e. time when I am stationary. Some of the stopping time may be allocated to sleep. Whether to sleep or not is a separate discussion (see above). As explained above the moving time is minimised by prioritising Zone 2 over Zone 1 and obviously by getting the best pre-ride recovery and nutrition that you can afford. Let's call stopping time minus sleep time the idle time.

Idle time is where most inefficiencies are hidden. It can be broken down further into planned and unplanned stops and there are ways to reduce both. In theory when riding in Zone 2 you don't really need rest stops, especially short ones. There is no real benefit to them as the body doesn't have time to get any meaningful recovery. I currently aim to ride in ~100km sections without stopping and plan my scheduled stops accordingly. But the reality is that I have to make unplanned stops to go to the bushes every once in a while. Interestingly enough temperature has a significant impact on my peeing needs. On the hot extreme most of the water intake leaves the body through sweat and I can ride for hours without peeing. On the cold end both the intake and sweating is at a low level, so I also don't need the toilet that often. And somewhere in the middle is that ridiculous state where I am thirsty all the time but not hot enough to sweat it out:)

A good way to reduce unplanned stops is to accumulate the stopping needs, especially when riding together with someone. But even when riding on my own I try not to stop for every single inconvenience. E.g. I would be looking to pee, take off the gilet and put on more chamois creme all at the same time. I take large (750ml or 950ml) water bottles to reduce the number of refills.

It may be an unpopular view with a lot of cyclists, but tubes and oiled chains inevitably increase the number and duration of unplanned stops over a long period of time. I use neither and I am super happy. It is absolutely true that a tubeless setup may cause a complete disaster every once in a while (I know it first hand) but there are usually very valid reasons why it happens. Here is how to reduce the probability of failure to a minimum:

• Don't do a tubeless setup on anything less than 28mm tires. The working pressure is simply too much for the sealant to work and for the plug to stay in when the sealant doesn't. I personally tried 25, 28 and 32mm and 25 was the only one that ever failed in every mentioned aspect. The additional comfort that you get with 32 over 28 is also very, very noticeable, so I don't really see any reason to keep even the 28.
• There are some bad sealants out there e.g. Continental (one that I tried personally). I have had absolutely zero issues with Orange Seal Endurance. I do know that it actually works thanks to the mudguards, because when the time came to take them off for the summer one of them was covered in dry sealant and I never even realised I had a puncture. I had another puncture (that I know of) shortly afterwards which sealed as I was moving.
• ALL sealants work poorly when it is wet, because water starts dissolving them. As soon as you notice the sealant spraying in the rain (which can actually be quite problematic due to the water spray) you need to act fast. Stop, dismount, locate the puncture and close it off with your finger. Try and find shelter. Dry off the wheel as good as you can. Obviously helps if you are not alone. Spin it and hope for the best.
• I take 100ml of spare sealant on multi-day rides to ensure I can do a complete refill in case of a real emergency. It really doesn't take much space. I also take one spare TPU tube to be the belt and suspenders guy, but again only on multi-day.

What's wrong with the oiled chain? Nothing, except for when it drops or even worse snaps. In the rare case that it happens it takes me like 15 seconds to put it back on, simply because its clean and dry.

I use planned stops to eat those "more substantial" snacks (see Nutrition) and refill the water bottles. I try to take everything else with me so that I don't have to spend time buying on-bike fuel along the way. I find that a long top-tube bag (such as this) works perfectly on a 300km ride as I really don't like putting a lot of stuff in the jersey. For the 600km I also took a high-vis cargo vest and in total that was more than enough. It also makes sense to stock up on the "more substantial" snacks a little in advance, so that you don't have to buy them later. For instance I recently bought a pack of crisps and a chicken wrap which was cut in half. I ate one half, put the other together with remaining crisps and put it in the jersey pocket to eat during the next stop.

Some places are more suitable for planned stops than others. One of the best options in my opinion is motorway services, because they are not crowded, they usually have quite a variety of fast food, they are guaranteed to have toilets and I don't have to worry about my bike in most cases. My second choice in BP petrol stations. My least favourite option is stopping in the middle of a busy town, especially when on my own.

It may all sound a bit overthought, but I just don't see how else I can ride 300km or more in a reasonable time unless you start paying attention to minor details. It is of course far less of an issue for 200km or less. I think it is just a matter of experience and good habits.

Finally, what is a good read without some numbers? I went through some of my longer rides over the past year or so (my weight didn't change much, so the work numbers are comparable) as well as a few other Gospel Pass 600 records, a ride which I did recently. I then summarised the key data points in the table below, where the top part represents my own data and the bottom part represents those other Gospel Pass attempts:

The first thing that really jumped at me was the comparison of Dragon Ride 2024 and Coast to Coast 2023. They were almost identical in terms of distance, elevation, the number and profile of climbs. My average moving speed was also quite similar (even a little faster on the Dragon Ride). And yet I did 46% more work on the C2C. For nothing! No wonder I could barely stand. This just demonstrates how low of a hanging fruit Z2 mindset is. Coming to think of it I even had tailwind on the C2C...

Dragon Ride 2024 was actually quite interesting by itself because I had a bad crash a week before from which I did not fully recover and therefore I was physically shut off from being even in Z2 for extended periods of time. So although almost 80% of the ride was spent in Z1 I still did reasonably well in terms of the overall time. Тише едешь, дальше будешь:)

I think idle time per 100km (excluding sleep) is quite a nice metric for long distance efficiency. Looking at the values above I would probably categorise them as follows:

• 0-15 minutes/100km - extremely efficient, e.g. 4 X 2 minute pee stops + 7 minutes to refill water and eat a cold snack
• 15-30 minutes/100km - efficient, e.g. 5 X 3 minute pee stops + 15 minutes to refill water and eat a hot snack
• 30-60 minutes/100km - OK, e.g. 6 X 5 minute pee stops + 30 minutes to visit a cafe
• 1 hour/100km and more - relaxed

It is very easy to accumulate idle time unless you make conscious effort not to. Comparing the same two rides, my C2C idle time was x2.5 that of the Dragon Ride - a total difference of almost 2 hours. During my latest solo 300km ride (which was done fully according to this playbook) I reduced idle time to 24 minutes/100km from more than 1 hour/100km on the Cliffs of Dover duo ride saving almost 3 hours. These 2-3 hours can easily become critical if for example I have onward travel arrangements.

Looking at other Gospel Pass 600 records the first thing to note is that the first rider is clearly in a different league. Although my plan to ride 24 hours is actually not that far from what he has done. Definitely something to think about...Overall I think my Gospel Pass strategy worked pretty well. I slept 4 hours, my idle time was 37 minutes/100km and I finished feeling OK. The next day I felt fresh enough to get on the bike (I didn't though, just to be sure). I don't think I would be able to pull it off without sleep, like some people. Even if I could, looking at the data, the benefit of such approach is not clear to me at all. It is also evident that the longer the ride the more idle time contributes to the overall time.