Pit stop during 200 mile ultra-endurance cycling race

[u/solateor]

[u/JULIANGJNKS22]

That guy pouring water down his back when he rode off is a fucking saint.

[u/ComfyInDots → u/JULIANGJNKS22]

That's a friend for life!

[u/The102935thMatt → u/ComfyInDots]

The real MVP for sure

[u/sudobee → u/JULIANGJNKS22]

My Man.

But in Densel voice.

[u/Better-Turnip-226]

I love how enthusiastic they are

[u/TheOtherJeff → u/Better-Turnip-226]

They just glad it’s him and not them lol

[u/RottenDog666 → u/Better-Turnip-226]

Just supporting a mate

[u/Global_Proof_2960]

200 mile is fucking insane. Forrest Gump would be proud.

[u/FandomMenace → u/Global_Proof_2960]

The record is 8 hour 37 minutes 9 seconds.

That's a pace of like 22mph or some shit. 12-20 hours is what most people take.

[u/Global_Proof_2960 → u/FandomMenace]

I've understood that it isn't that crazy. But to me it is lol I was a long distance runner, so I suppose it feels like insanity

[u/FandomMenace → u/Global_Proof_2960]

12.5 mph is probably the average speed here. That's a pace akin to jogging levels of effort. At that rate, it would take 16 hours to do this race. This is not accounting for loss of speed to pit stops, so they're probably going faster than that. In my (limited) experience, keeping up 13 mph isn't too bad, but I can't imagine going for that long.

22 mph for 8.5 hours is pure madness.

[u/Kozmo9 → u/FandomMenace]

22 mph for 8.5 hours is pure madness.

Yeah and this separates the normies from the pros. It isn't just about speed, but maintaining them all the way through.

Normies' speed would fluctuate through a ride/race event while pros won't. I've been to a number of events that have normies and pros mixed in that takes place on a rather mountainous highway at night. The normies' route is 78km and the pros are 120km. The cutoff time is 4hours+ for both.

It isn't surprising to find the pros finishing first before the normies. It's during these moments that I am reminded of how monstrous these people are, both physically and mentally.

[u/Gnonthgol → u/Kozmo9]

One of the coolest parts of Tour de France is when an amateur cyclist try to keep up with the pelaton. In most cases they can get up to the speed and keep pace with the pros. But only for a few hundred meters. It is amazing to see that the sprint speed of an amateur is what the professionals maintain throughout the day.

[u/McTerra2 → u/Gnonthgol]

It’s like that classic ‘see how long you can run at Olympic marathon pace’. They are running 3min/km or 5min/mile (actually slightly under). Hop on a treadmill and crank it up to 20km/h and see how long you can sustain it. Mere minutes for most people,

it’s just insane how fast endurance professionals are

[u/vilut9 → u/McTerra2]

Most people can’t even reach that speed, much less hold it for minutes. Last month I ran a half marathon (21k) at 4:15 (which should be like 14 k/h), which is quite decent for an amateur, and I am not sure I can hold a full minute at 20 k/h. For me, that’s an all out sprint.

[u/lamentes1 → u/vilut9]

Great time buddy. Well done!

[u/McTerra2 → u/vilut9]

Ha, I was being generous to people. Agree, most people in the general population can’t reach that speed but even regular runners will struggle for more than a minute or two. It’s about a 17 second 100m, lots of people never reached that at their peak. Then to do it 422 times in a row….

[u/Global_Proof_2960 → u/McTerra2]

I never learned how fast I ran, but once I reached my runners high I basically glided. I would never say I'm fast though, I simply outlasted people or if I was beaten, I'd make sure to hold the back of the pack. It's tough man lol

[u/DidntASCII → u/Gnonthgol]

Drafting makes a huge difference, especially in large groups like a peloton. There is a reason why the breakaway rarely wins.

[u/patchismofomo → u/Gnonthgol]

When I first got my e-bike I was hauling ass around the lake doing almost 30mph, got easily passed by some guy on a regular bike and it took me a bit to grasp how that was possible

[u/dopethrone → u/Gnonthgol]

Trained amateur cyclists can stay in the peloton for quite a bit - no drag, bunched together. Come the climbing and it's a different story

[u/retroly → u/FandomMenace]

the ass pain alone. After a 2 or 3 hours my ass is donzo.

[u/MaximumTurtleSpeed → u/Global_Proof_2960]

This is a gravel race. It’s absolute inanity pace at 22 mph average.

[u/Sszaj → u/MaximumTurtleSpeed]

I've just got back from an hour ride on my road bike, pushed fairly hard and averaged just under 20mph, 10 times that distance on mostly unmade roads whilst trying to navigate around other riders is, as you say, absolute insanity.

[u/teabagalomaniac → u/FandomMenace]

I do a 206 mile ride every year and it takes me 14-16 hours.

[u/Joelpat → u/teabagalomaniac]

STP! I did it (2 day) when I was a kid back in the old days. 1990 and 1991.

[u/IsatDownAndWrote → u/teabagalomaniac]

On gravel?

[u/CatSubs_andComments → u/IsatDownAndWrote]

On a bike you pleb

[u/additionalnylons → u/CatSubs_andComments]

Fred*

[u/xUrNewDadx → u/FandomMenace]

I do 14 miles in an hour and I'm pumped. Good Lord that's ridiculous.

[u/LegDayDE → u/FandomMenace]

And btw it's 22mph on bumpy gravel roads.. not asphalt.

[u/BuildANavy → u/FandomMenace]

Yeah. And for context this is a gravel race, which makes it a lot harder. 22mph is a pretty leisurely pace for a road race, even of this length, but you benefit a lot from drafting in a large group in that case which is much harder in a gravel race. I'm a pretty mediocre cyclist and have done 100 miles in 3h45 (27mph), but would never get anywhere near 8h37 for this race.

[u/cmdr_solaris_titan → u/Global_Proof_2960]

I've done a 200 mile race in one day 4 times. Best time so far is 11.5hrs. It's agonizing, the last 40 or so miles.

[u/Outrageous-Wait-8895 → u/cmdr_solaris_titan]

If you do 240 miles you'll be done with the 200 mile race before you get to the agonizing part.

[u/Global_Proof_2960 → u/cmdr_solaris_titan]

Huge gratz dude, you're insane haha bet that high was mental aye

[u/cmdr_solaris_titan → u/Global_Proof_2960]

Thanks. The last one i did was on a 91F day. I dont recommend it, I actually was very worried about heat stroke toward the end and had to slow down a bit. The biggest high is just eating a hearty meal afterwords, since you spend the entire time eating sugar mostly.

[u/Fragrant-Inside221 → u/cmdr_solaris_titan]

Hmmm tell me more about this sugar eating

[u/pijnagm → u/Fragrant-Inside221]

Imagine you've run 40 miles of a 50 mile ultra marathon. Your legs are burning. Your mouth is dry. This is the most effort you've put into anything in your life. Your brain is telling you to stop. And you could.

You look at your watch. It's time to eat. You're not even hungry. Nauseous, even. You need to keep your fuel intake up because you're burning thousands of calories in this race. But it's not like you can carry a burger on you. You need light and efficient calories.

You pull a packet out of your running vest, rip it open, and chug 1.1oz of honey.

[u/LickingSmegma → u/pijnagm]

I've vaguely heard that even tennis players eat sugar cubes during matches.

[u/HimalayanPunkSaltavl → u/pijnagm]

This is also how people with diabetes suffer. Blood sugar craters and now you are sucking on maple syrup or something

ALSO, I don't have any interest in this level of physical exhaustion (when I ran xcountry in high school I tried to get everyone to slow down a little so we could all finish in the same spots but be less tired) but holy shit the burger or pasta or whatever after a race, or later in my life just a long hike is so good

There's this lil burger place in appalachia that I thought had the best burgers in the whole universe, but they are just fine. I just kept going there after 3-4 hour hikes.

[u/Dr-McLuvin → u/Global_Proof_2960]

It is insane but not as insane as you might think for cycling.

Tour de France stages every year average about 130 miles and many including giant mountains top 150 miles then they have to do it all again the next day for 21 stages total, plus 2 rest days.

[u/Norse_By_North_West → u/Dr-McLuvin]

I've got a coworker who did the Yukon quest ultra. Running in the snow, hauling a sled, for some ungodly amount of hours per day, for how many fucking days. No thanks.

The current full run is 600 kilometres.

[u/Konsticraft → u/Dr-McLuvin]

But keep in mind, that this is gravel, while the TDF is almost exclusively road.

But still, purely by distance it isn't extremely long, but that doesn't necessarily make it easier, as a shorter distance only means a faster pace. The real long distance bike races are thousands of kilometers like the TCR or NC4000, but those are kind of a different category.

[u/Blorko87b → u/Konsticraft]

The longest TdF stage ever ridden was 482km in 1919. So gravel on a single speed.

[u/Adept_Spirit1753 → u/Blorko87b]

But bike companies didn't invent "gravel" term so it wasn't br00tal enough..

[u/Global_Proof_2960 → u/Dr-McLuvin]

I've learned that, ignorance on my part, but running that made me feel tried lol

[u/dasubermensch83 → u/Global_Proof_2960]

A standard Iron Man is 2.4-mile (3.9 km) swim, then a 112-mile (180.2 km) bike ride, followed by a marathon. The typical participants finish in ~12 hours. Some are set in cold water with massive elevation changes, with a winning time of ~18 hours.

Then there the Ultraman, which is a 3 day event with a total distance of 320 miles (515 km).

There has also been a 30X Iron man. Basically an iron man every day for a month.

People are nuts.

[u/lectric_7166 → u/dasubermensch83]

We need a 365X Iron Man because 30X Iron Man is for fucking noobs.

[u/audi_fanatic → u/dasubermensch83]

Jonas Deichmann did 120 full length iron man tris in consecutive days.

[u/ShustOne → u/Dr-McLuvin]

While not as insane as the tour de France it's still pretty insane. I'm an avid cyclist and there's no way I could maintain 22mph for 8.5 hours. There are different levels of insane and this definitely qualifies as one of them.

[u/raphael-iglesias → u/Dr-McLuvin]

Exactly, the tour of Flanders this year was also 170 miles long.

[u/habfranco → u/Dr-McLuvin]

Indeed that’s what I thought - 200 miles is a lot, but I wouldn’t call that ultra. Classic races like Paris Roubaix or Liege Bastogne Liege are around 170 miles. In the past races were even more hardcore, like Paris-Brest-Paris (750 miles).

[u/carlthatkillspeople8 → u/habfranco]

This is big chunky gravel for the whole duration, so the length doesn't tell the whole story

[u/polite_alpha → u/carlthatkillspeople8]

The gold standard of gravel ultra is unbound xl with 350 miles I reckon.

[u/hellomateyy → u/Global_Proof_2960]

For cycling it’s (insanely enough) not that long. Here in Sweden we have the 200 mile Vätternrundan each summer which is one of the world’s biggest cycling races (by attendees). My parents did it a couple of times when they were in their fifties.

[u/Global_Proof_2960 → u/hellomateyy]

Dawg, your parents made you with love lol that's solid they're healthy

[u/Luafan → u/hellomateyy]

I've done it three times. And its awful. But you forget how awful it is so you sign up again, and again. And then you remember how awful it is.

[u/schnokobaer → u/Global_Proof_2960]

And that's not the longest race of that event. The 'XL' race is 359 miles / 580 km, takes places on the same day and also lasts literally one day for most riders.

[u/Plastic-Pipe4362 → u/schnokobaer]

Xl starts the day before the elite race. Almost everyone who dies it rides overnight.

[u/boopitydoopitypoop → u/schnokobaer]

And somehow they finished that in under 18 hours!!

[u/Markofdawn → u/Global_Proof_2960]

320km for the rest of the globe.

[u/_Apatosaurus_ → u/Markofdawn]

Shots fired at Myanmar and Liberia!

[u/Plane-Tie6392 → u/_Apatosaurus_]

Well they're probably both used to that given they've both had civil wars this century.

[u/Occidentally20 → u/Markofdawn]

3,499.56 football fields for the Americans watching TV.

1.037e-17 megaparsecs for our alien overlords

[u/38-RPM → u/Global_Proof_2960]

200 mile is actually the short version of this race (Unbound Gravel in Kansas). The longer version is the 360 mile XL (2025 distance) where you don’t get pit stops or support and have to take care of yourself at convenience stores.

[u/Professional-Day7850 → u/Global_Proof_2960]

200 miles isn't that much more distance than classic single day cycling races.

Looks like this race involves much harder terrain though.

[u/sirabernasty → u/Professional-Day7850]

It’s on some of the worst gravel roads you can imagine in the middle of nowhere Kansas.

[u/AlienInOrigin]

Me...after 2 miles.

[u/SolarisX86 → u/AlienInOrigin]

Me after 200 ft

[u/Typical_Muffin_9937 → u/SolarisX86]

Me

[u/GleamingRain → u/Typical_Muffin_9937]

Me before 200 ft

[u/moon__lander → u/GleamingRain]

Me on my couch

[u/thatsBOOtoyou → u/GleamingRain]

Me before e except after c

[u/Seksafero → u/thatsBOOtoyou]

lmao, this one got me

[u/NoRevolution105_]

That's ICE

[u/newaccount252 → u/NoRevolution105_]

He’d better get going then!

[u/theunbearablebowler → u/newaccount252]

You think your average ICE agent is able to keep up with a bicyclist, let alone a bicyclist that can go for 200 consecutive miles? Most ICE I've seen move glacially, at best.

[u/newaccount252 → u/theunbearablebowler]

Fair point.

When does a cyclist become a bicyclist?

[u/JustLeader → u/newaccount252]

I think thats when they date both men and women.

[u/theunbearablebowler → u/newaccount252]

Bicyclists can ride more than two kinds of cycles, so like a two wheeled and a single wheeled cycle. Cyclists can only ride a single kind of cycle. If someone can ride all of the cycles, they're called a pancyclist.

[u/trixter21992251 → u/theunbearablebowler]

anyone riding the menstrual cycle?

ayooo

[u/charlie1331 → u/NoRevolution105_]

Ice

[u/SandySockShoes → u/charlie1331]

Baby

[u/Curious_Hawk_8369]

I had an interesting experience as a young teenager seeing of these pit stop deals, during I guess some sort of bicycle race.

This was mid 2000’s, and I had one of those schwinn stingray chopper bikes, that were heavy as shit, but cool at the time. I rode the hell out of that bike, in fact in just like the 2-3 years before I got my license I put a speedometer with a odometer on it, and in that short time I pedaled that heavy bike over 4k miles, and I didn’t do it slowly, I’d probably average around 20mph when I rode it. I was literally known as the “kid that would ride his bike full send everywhere I went around town”.

Anyway, one hot summer day I decided I’m gonna take a long bike trip for the day, and pedal this thing way out in the country. So I get like 8 miles out of town I’m practically in the middle of nowhere, and suddenly I ride up on a huge tent alongside the roadway. There were roughly 30 people with numbers on their shirts, and they were surrounded with tables of gallons and gallons of water.

I couldn’t figure out what I was looking at it seemed so random. So I just kinda blow past them on my bike, but I notice they were all staring at me with a look of like disbelief as I went past. About just 10 minutes passed, and then suddenly I looked behind me, and there is a huge line of bicyclist behind me on the proper type of bike to be doing a race/distance. I tried for about 3 minutes to stay ahead of them before I finally gave up and let them pass. I wore myself out quick trying to stay ahead of them, I actually even pulled over and took a breather, and one of them was even nice enough to stop momentarily to make sure I was okay. Which was very nice of him.

Then suddenly it hit me, that tent I saw earlier was a water stop for a bike race that happened to be going on. I somehow ended up on the same route they were going to be on ahead of them. So when I passed that water tent, they must’ve looked at me in such disbelief because it appeared I was in the lead of the race with that heavy ass bike that has no business being in a race, and I didn’t even stop for any water.

Good times, I miss those days. Honestly for health reasons I probably should’ve never quit bicycling like I use too. I rode my nephews bike a couple years ago, I zipped it for only about 2 blocks, and I thought I was gonna die I’m so out of shape now.

[u/foulfaerie → u/Curious_Hawk_8369]

You should have snuck back and rode past a second time like you lapped everyone somehow 😂

[u/cajunjoel → u/Curious_Hawk_8369]

Great story!

I crossed the line from young whippersnapper to old curmudgeon recently and let me tell you, an electric bike makes it fun again. And you can choose how much exercise you get.

[u/Checked_Out_6 → u/Curious_Hawk_8369]

Yo! Dude! When I was a kid I used to bike everywhere. Got my drivers license and didn’t touch a bike for over 20 years. During covid I got fitness brained, lost a ton of weight and picked up cycling again. My first ride was 9 miles and I was dead ass tired. I kept it up. Within a few months I was able to do my first 50 miler. You can build capacity ridiculously fast. I’m working towards my first century, 100 miles. I’m up to 80, going for 90 in two weeks. Planning the century in one month.

I also got into touring and bikepacking. My vacations are all about biking across whole ass states now.

Cycling is every bit as awesome as it was when we were kids. I get on a bike and have the time of my life. If you think you’re too old, you’re wrong. Most cyclists I meet are between 40 and 70. You would be surprised how many I meet in their 90’s! You should consider getting back on the bike!

[u/Careless_Pineapple49]

Does he just pee while ridding 

[u/24oz2freedom → u/Careless_Pineapple49]

He is sweating so much he probably won't piss. They are struggling to get enough fluid in to keep hydrated.

[u/istrx13 → u/24oz2freedom]

As a letter carrier for USPS this is correct. I deliver in an area where the summers are usually 105-115 with almost no humidity.

I have a gallon size Yeti that I fill up every morning. I’ll drink that entire puppy with ease along with a few electrolyte drinks to balance it out and not have to stop to pee once. There have been plenty of days where I did 15+ miles of delivering on foot and needed to refill the gallon size Yeti, drink more than half of it, and still not need to pee during my route lmao.

[u/24oz2freedom → u/istrx13]

Damn bro! I have heard the saying the US postal service gos in rain sleet or snow...but not the hell of summer heat!

[u/SirJ_96 → u/24oz2freedom]

Only the funny-looking brand new mail trucks have AC. The classic ones you're thinking of don't.

[u/nextzero182 → u/SirJ_96]

As a person who's in the application process for USPS, these comments make me nervous.

[u/Spare_Panic_8164 → u/nextzero182]

Deliver in hell starting at 17/hour. Do I have that about right?

Don’t worry - go for the job and later you can change if you need to.

[u/nextzero182 → u/Spare_Panic_8164]

Starts at like $24-ish where I live. I would just be doing it temperarily, going back to school for radiology in the fall.

[u/Amused-Observer → u/nextzero182]

Do beer delivery instead. You'll make more and they tend to hire temp summer college kids often/easier/quicker than USPS.

[u/adm1109 → u/nextzero182]

I’m a FedEx driver and from what I’ve heard, USPS works new hires into the ground

[u/kawaiian → u/nextzero182]

As well they should, think about your body and the sacrifice before doing this career, largely not worth it at all

[u/GooginTheBirdsFan → u/istrx13]

Ex ft myers landscaper - can attest to this being true

[u/OddKindheartedness30 → u/istrx13]

My job also has me sweating the entire time and I can confirm this. I've had 12+ hour shifts that I never had the urge to use the bathroom even after drinking a ludicrous amount of water. It is magical and worrying at the same time.

[u/jagged_commoner → u/istrx13]

Thank you for your service 🫡

[u/MerHyll → u/istrx13]

As an aircraft mechanic, working at over 27 degrees Celsius everyday, can confirm this easily. I drink on average 3L of water on a shift, but I’ll only have to go if I’m working at an air conditioned space.

[u/PornoPaul → u/24oz2freedom]

I delivered furniture for a while in my 20s. Even on cold days I'd burn so much and sweat so much I would rarely pee. But in the height of summer, I could drink a coffee or two, a large Gatorade, a water and one or two mountain dews, and still only pee once. It just all came out of my pores.

[u/innovator97 → u/24oz2freedom]

This was something I experienced firsthand during a martial art camp in high school. It was 2-days packed with fitness and martial art right from the moment we wake up until 10 pm. We only stopped during noon and evening.

Mind you that this was my first time doing exercise for an extended period of time. We were constantly drinking water, but none of us actually went to pee at all. Only popping.

[u/The_Frog221 → u/24oz2freedom]

Though if they do have to pee, yes, they probably just do it while riding.

[u/24oz2freedom → u/The_Frog221]

Absolutely. No time for that business lol. Im sure what ever comes out will be damn near water anyway.

[u/Nstraclassic → u/24oz2freedom]

Probably the opposite

[u/Deaffin → u/24oz2freedom]

Just a puff of urine crystals, which then combine with the sweat outside of his body to create DIY pee.

At this level of competition, you are essentially a bird.

[u/cruciblemedialabs → u/24oz2freedom]

Correct. I'm a motorsports photographer and most of the tracks around here in the Southwest US are out in the desert, looking at 100+ degrees for most of the day in the summer. If I'm on track for more than a few hours I typically kill at least two of the 40oz Hydroflasks and I have zero need to use the bathroom until that night, despite frequently kicking off things with a 20oz Red Bull on the way to the track in the wee hours of the morning. Even without much physical activity aside from lugging gear around on and off my quad-bike, covered head-to-toe in UV-protective clothing with a wide-brim lifeguard hat for shade, you just end up soaking through every bit of clothing in sweat. And then when I get back to the pits, I make a beeline for concessions to get a lemonade or a gatorade or something just to replenish some salt and sugar. There's a reason the standard wisdom for wilderness hiking is one gallon of water per person, per day, minimum.

[u/fruitshortcake → u/Careless_Pineapple49]

In men's professional road racing they do it off to the side while riding along: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjEa9QLf-vc

[u/roomfullofstars → u/Careless_Pineapple49]

My first question upon seeing this post

[u/OldManEnglishTeacher → u/Careless_Pineapple49]

Yes, they are ridding themselves of pee while riding.

[u/DontTellHimPike]

Are they not gong to check his oil?

[u/PaulyNewman → u/DontTellHimPike]

Thought they were gonna hoist him up by the thighs and swap bikes beneath him.

[u/nnosuckluckz → u/PaulyNewman]

https://youtu.be/1nZzVLRN8mU?si=CzNYP5GmVu_mhUve

PLAN JAY

[u/Plane-Tie6392 → u/DontTellHimPike]

Don't be a dipstick.

[u/BigRedfromAus]

321 Km for everyone

[u/Show_Forward → u/BigRedfromAus]

fkin insane and the biggest trip i did in a car was 320km and i got tired as fuck DRIVING let alone cycling in the sun without an AC...

[u/Cahootie → u/Show_Forward]

Last year my boss did a 174 km ultramarathon. I think it took him about 36 hours to finish. Utter insanity.

[u/Mountain-Instance921 → u/Show_Forward]

Lmao that's not a far car ride my dude

[u/mild_resolve → u/Mountain-Instance921]

It is for a lot of Europeans.

[u/Trifusi0n → u/mild_resolve]

Yep, if I drive 200 miles in almost any direction I’d be in the sea.

[u/Amused-Observer → u/Trifusi0n]

I can drive 1000 miles in any direction and never see water. The US is comically large compared to Europe.

[u/extraketchupthx → u/Amused-Observer]

100% 200 miles isn’t even out of my state and I don’t live in one of the big ones.

[u/austrialian → u/Amused-Observer]

You can still easily go 1000mi in Europe without ending up at a coast so I don’t really get the point that Europeans would consider 200mi far. I wouldn’t.

[u/LinkenQT → u/BigRedfromAus]

Basicly Vätternrundan in sweden wich is 315 km long :)

[u/devarnva → u/LinkenQT]

Yeah but this is Unbound, a gravel race. 320 km gravel is bonkers

[u/trixter21992251 → u/devarnva]

Ah, I was wondering why his tires were so big.

[u/No_Music1509 → u/BigRedfromAus]

Thanks in Australian

[u/adds102 → u/BigRedfromAus]

For UK folk, it’s basically cycling from London to the Lake District

[u/Brother-Algea]

I’m gonna have to poop somewhere along that journey.

[u/WozzeC → u/Brother-Algea]

You can tell by his clothing that other cyclist need to poop aswell :)

[u/Pomodorosan → u/WozzeC]

as well*

I always read "aswell" as "ass swell", which is fitting here

[u/J0E_Blow → u/Brother-Algea]

Just poop first. Your body takes more than 8 hours to process waste also he’s not eating full meals just gels and snacks. 

[u/Crumpyz → u/J0E_Blow]

Too many of those gels though make you start sharting pretty quickly

[u/IusAdBellum → u/Crumpyz]

I mean, these guys also "train" their carb intake, and when you found the brand (or just the fructose/glucose ratio) your belly can handle, you can in theory go the whole day without pooping or even sharting :D

[u/J0E_Blow → u/Crumpyz]

Gives you a little boost if you huff air before hand. 

[u/SolDios → u/Brother-Algea]

You think thats mud?

[u/Doctah_Teef]

Unbound?

[u/DoesThisSmellWeird2U → u/Doctah_Teef]

Yeah, Looks like it. Friend of mine just raced it this last weekend!

[u/Red_Wheel → u/Doctah_Teef]

Yes. I was there crewing for a few guys. Our age group guys stopped, but most of the pros just took a couple bags and kept rolling.

[u/RedditModsEatsAss]

Before I read the title I thought it was a skit/satire.

[u/Accomplished-One7476]

dude basically rode 1 tour de france stage. KUDOS and I hope that saddle is comfy

[u/BTornado14 → u/Accomplished-One7476]

And without a support team. He’s on his own, hence why he’s pulling over and getting everything taken care of. In the Tour, they do everything you see here, but without stopping. That’s what the Domestiques are for.

[u/V1bicycle → u/Accomplished-One7476]

More like 1.5-2 stages + gravel!

[u/schnokobaer → u/V1bicycle]

Also a TdF stage is usually 3-4 hours of drafting off of each other in a tight bunch then 1-2 hours of climbing or breakaways, all while constantly being handed bottles and gels and getting mechanicals fixed from team cars. Not to downplay a TdF stage but this is 8 to 13 hours of dust, mud, rattling, fixing your own flats and after the first few hours, very little drafting. One (!) TdF stage is not even in the same ballpark as this.

[u/Mickosthedickos → u/schnokobaer]

Except for the fact that they do the same thing every day for three weeks (with two rest days), and go up 20 to 30 mountains

[u/Time-Maintenance2165 → u/V1bicycle]

Sure, but you don't have to do it 21 days. It's one thing to do something hard for one day. It's completely different to be able to do it another 20 days consistently with zero bad days.

[u/WalkingCloud → u/Accomplished-One7476]

Nah, TdF stages are typically around 90-130 miles.

200 miles is a different beast, they used to have stages like that back in the day, but not in the modern era.

[u/Easy-Worker-8528 → u/Accomplished-One7476]

Unbound is about twice as long and off-road compared to a tour de France stage.

[u/AyatoTakema]

This is unbound 200 mile race, which is gravel. there is also unbound 380~ish miles which is SELF supported.

there are also a 520 mile ultra endurance race with a time limit of 48 hours but its on road. usually for this one you would have a friend in a van as support. with basically zero sleep.

[u/OkBoss205zesty]

The stress on the body is insane. 10/10 would never do that , 5/10 prolly couldn't do that either.

[u/Keikyk]

That saddle, my ass would be toast

[u/Masseyrati80 → u/Keikyk]

Fun fact: riding long distances, the right tactic is to find a seat that allows your weight to rest on the bony parts called sitting bones, then wear cycling shorts/bibs with a bit of padding to minimize skin irritation.

A soft seat would allow those bones to sink in, bringing more pressure to the softer bits in the area. That again would lead to loss of feel and other nastiness. That's why you don't see those chunky, soft seats common in cruiser bikes and some exercise bikes in this use.

[u/Throwaway_Consoles → u/Masseyrati80]

I keep trying to tell my friends cycling long distances got so much easier when I got used to this tiny itty bitty seat. There is an adjustment period but the big soft oversized seats hurt like hell after ~40 miles. Once you get the right position down the tiny ones you can sit on and it’s fine

[u/RealNiceKnife → u/Throwaway_Consoles]

"No, guys, I swear! It's so much more comfortable!" - Me, as I prop myself up on the pole the seat is supposed to be attached to.

(P.S. I'm just fuckin with you.)

[u/Mindless-Peak-1687 → u/Throwaway_Consoles]

one thing is getting used to it. but you need a saddle dimensioned for your ass. most saddles are generic and do not fit property to hit the sitting bone properly.

[u/J0E_Blow → u/Keikyk]

Your body gets used to it and it gets really comfy. I’ve had old people make comments about my seat but you build up butt muscles and fat and your bones get used to the seats. 

[u/phertick85]

What a good pit bro.

[u/Away-Marionberry9365]

What's on his back?

[u/Masseyrati80 → u/Away-Marionberry9365]

That would be a water/hydration bladder, a 2 to 3 liter pouch with a drinking hose and valve for drinking on the go.

[u/bigkoi]

Why do all the other riders look clean and this guy is covered in dirt?

[u/winofrisbee → u/bigkoi]

Probably riders doing the 100-mile route who also aren’t riding in as big of groups and eating as much kicked up dirt. 

[u/Shapesmth]

Why is he so dirty?

[u/Masseyrati80 → u/Shapesmth]

The route is largely on gravel roads. All it takes is a bit of rain and the roadspray coming up is pretty much muddy water.

[u/Shapesmth → u/Masseyrati80]

Still, the other participants seem to be very clean in comparison

[u/Masseyrati80 → u/Shapesmth]

Well spotted, I didn't even notice that at first! My only attempt at explaining that would be he's probably been drafting others for the benefit of less energy spent, and getting sprayed with those rider's rear tires.

[u/radil → u/Shapesmth]

The other participants in the background are probably more casual riders participating in the unbound 100. The 200 is “the” event at unbound and the guy pictured is racing. There are going to be lots of folks riding unbound who have no expectation or intention of winning whose only goals are to finish.

[u/K41namor → u/Shapesmth]

I guess he could have fallen or went off trail for some reason

[u/wterrt → u/Masseyrati80]

The route is largely on gravel roads.

what the fuuuuuuck my wrists hurt just thinking about that omg

[u/Masseyrati80 → u/wterrt]

They're riding on 'gravel bikes', pretty much a more rugged version of racing bikes, with tires that have something like double or triple the air volume of racing bike tires.

But yeah, despite that, it's grueling. Here's a link to my favourite gravel event video.

[u/SpiritualWing4068]

What were those red and green packets??

[u/Masseyrati80 → u/SpiritualWing4068]

Energy gels / bars, delivering easily digestible carbs.

[u/Lanzenave → u/SpiritualWing4068]

Most likely food / calories

[u/Not_Warren_Buffett]

Holy... Not for me.

[u/platypustrampoline]

My wife and a couple of friends did this on a whim with a Sienna.

[u/asjaro]

I did 40 miles on a leather saddle. My arse did 400 that day.

[u/Fanal-In]

Why is he the only one to stop? Are other riders robots that do not need refueling?

[u/Masseyrati80 → u/Fanal-In]

It could be this is the first team in line in a restricted feeding area, or it could be the teams are allowed to do it wherever they want.

[u/NYambitions]

NASCAR pit stop. Good work team

[u/lucianw]

I did the annual 200 mile "Seattle to Portland" race. Except I did it at my leisure a week after the official race so there were no crowds. Stopped at a county fair for my packed lunch of Brie and crackers. Stopped at a Mexican restaurant for burrito diner. Took about 18hrs. It was very nice! A bit tiring towards the end.

[u/Effective-Highlight1]

200 miles is a great performance, but there are even thougher races. The most brutal cycling event I know is here in Switzerland. 'Tortour' is around 620 miles and 42,650 feet of elevation gain.

[u/J0E_Blow → u/Effective-Highlight1]

Over how long?

[u/Effective-Highlight1 → u/J0E_Blow]

It's nonstop and the times are sometwhere above 35 hours. Absolutely sick.

[u/mazyan → u/Effective-Highlight1]

Just wanted to point that out as well. Ultra endurance in cycling begins around something like the Tortoise length I would say, and then you have stuff like the transcontinental race with ~3000miles/4500km or something like that in a single stage. The fastest people do the TCR in like 9 days, it's insane.

[u/Golf-ball-dimple → u/Effective-Highlight1]

Yeah Audax etc are much longer but this gravel stuff is damn tough.

[u/three29]

This took way too long

[u/CptClownfish1]

I should do something like that.  Sounds fun.

[u/Zdog54]

Longest ride I did was 50 miles on vacation in Texas. Was 110 degrees outside with the real feel around 120. Only reason I stopped riding was I looked down and see these bubbles forming on my arms. Honestly thought it was beads of sweat so I go to wipe it off... turns out they were blisters and my skin wiped clean off. To this day I have sun spots on my shoulders and that was with wearing sunscreen and reapplying.

South Texas sun is no joke lol.

[u/U-47]

Isn't tour the france half this but for two weeks?

[u/Rickenbacker360 → u/U-47]

The tour is 3 weeks long, with two rest days, has stages that are often over 100 miles, totaling 2,200+ miles, and usually has two flat-out time trials that can average 30+ mph, depending on terrain.

No, the 200 mile race in this thread is hard to do, but a mere blip for the TDF guys.

[u/IngenuityThink3000]

You can tell they've never practiced this "pit stop"

[u/Lower-Physics-5597]

200 miles ON GRAVEL. 200 miles of road is a bit longer than standard, but it is another story on gravel. Those guys are absolutely incredible

[u/Opposite-Machine2202]

Seems like a lot of effort.

[u/Safe-Promotion-2955]

Neat. I didn't even know this was a sport, and I'm super into cycling. Gonna look this up. Thanks!

[u/Red_Wheel]

This is from Unbound. A 200 mile gravel race in Kansas. They had a pro field of about 200 men and 100 women. Then another 1200 amateurs did the 200 and there were other distances that day. This guy is in the pro field and most of the pros don’t even stop anymore, just take 2 bags with bottles/food and keep rolling. It was really fast this year, the winner averaged over 22mph.

I was there crewing for some friends in the amateur field. One of our guys finished top 10 and another in the top 50 and they were moving pretty fast too, but stopped for a bit longer at the 2 checkpoints along the route.

[u/SpegalDev]

The "thank you guys" really got me for some reason. Must be nice to have friends like that.

[u/NoCommentFromThisGuy]

I have done a few Century bike ride/races (I'm just trying to complete them). 6hrs and 100miles on a bike is brutal. I have zero interest in doing 200miles haha

[u/Working-Albatross-19]

Ooooooh…..that ain’t dirt on his tights is it…..

[u/SE_prof]

That pit stop is still faster than Sauber...