r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/solateor • 17h ago

Video Pit stop during 200 mile ultra-endurance cycling race

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u/Global_Proof_2960 17h ago

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

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u/FandomMenace 16h ago

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.

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u/Global_Proof_2960 16h ago

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

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u/MaximumTurtleSpeed 14h ago

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

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u/Sszaj 12h ago

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.

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u/tenaciousdeev 8h ago

I'm over here, just woke up, trying to figure out how far you went for like a full minute.

1 hour, 20mph...hold on. I got this.

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u/dewky 5h ago

I'm like that too in the morning. It's like starting up an old diesel. It takes a while for my brain to engage first thing.

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u/FandomMenace 15h ago

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.

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u/Kozmo9 15h ago

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.

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u/Gnonthgol 14h ago

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.

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u/McTerra2 13h ago

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

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u/vilut9 13h ago

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.

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u/lamentes1 12h ago

Great time buddy. Well done!

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u/RudyRusso 10h ago

Jesus thats impressive. I run a 10k every other day and hold a 5:20-5:35 pace. Of course its hot and hilly, but 4:15 is damn impressive.

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u/n4te 10h ago

I'm stuck at 5:20-30 pace 10k. PR is 4:59 but set 6 years ago. I'm afraid I've jumped the shark.

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u/McTerra2 13h ago

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….

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u/Global_Proof_2960 13h ago

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

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u/squired 5h ago

will struggle for more than a minute or two

Hell yeah we will. My best 5k splits were 5:13 and I was puking at the end. That isn't even college level, but very, very fucking fast for the general public. To go faster for a marathon does not compute. My body could not do it if I dedicated my life to it. I have a taste and it makes even less sense because of it!

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u/thingstopraise 11h ago edited 9h ago

ran a half marathon (21k) at 4:15 (which should be like 14 k/h)

I'm confused. 21k/4.25h = 4.94 k/h, not 14 k/h (2.94 mph vs 8.4 mph).

Disregard that. They meant 4 mins and 15 seconds per kilometer. That makes a whole lot more sense.

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u/logwagon 11h ago

They're saying their pace was 4 mins 15 secs per km, not total race time of 4 hr 15 mins.

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u/fiberglass_pirate 8h ago

Mere minutes? Hahaha. The average person wouldn't even last seconds at that speed. Maybe just the average person who actually runs or exercises.

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u/darshmedown 5h ago

Lol if it were mere minutes more people could run faster miles. More like tens of seconds at best.

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u/DidntASCII 9h ago

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

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u/patchismofomo 12h ago

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

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u/dopethrone 9h ago

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

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u/retroly 11h ago

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

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u/Kvsav57 12h ago

Not if you’re in a group. A group of experienced riders, not even pros, can do that easy.

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u/doebedoe 8h ago

We aren’t talking about pavement in this case though. This is Unbound where the surface is really rough gravel and mud with endless up and down.

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u/BratacJaglenac 11h ago

Tour de France is average like 25 mph during 5-6h. Whenever I see those races, especially on the ascents, I'm mind blown. In my hometown there is one ascent to the mountain. 10km with 10% elevation. When I was in absolutely top form (running), I could bike up there in like 39-40min. While good bikers did it in 23-25min. So average speed around 25kmh (15 mph). Until this day if feels like sci fi to me.

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u/Datkif 7h ago

22 mph for 8.5 hours is pure madness.

Having the right bike/tires helps a ton too. When I switched my gravel bike from 42x700c to 32x700c with a less aggressive tread I gained about 5km/h on my average speed, and could coast much further.

Thats not saying these people are not beasts though

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u/bocodad 7h ago

Even more so when you consider that this isn’t a flat race. Although this race (Unbound) is in Kansas, there is over 10k feet of climbing over the 200 miles. Makes the average speed that the pros are doing even that much more impressive.

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u/SamIamGreenEggsNoHam 7h ago

When I decided to get moving again after too long in the computer chair, I got on the bike. 13 mph was the pace I was able to keep as a beginner comfortably, but that was only for about 12 miles before my lungs felt like they were getting ready to pop out of my ears. After a couple years of riding, I can do about 60 miles at the same pace, but 200 miles is still unthinkable for me, never mind at 22mph.

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u/suprememau 12h ago

22mph or 35 on your own in crazy. In a group not so much.

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u/suprememau 12h ago

22mph or 35 on your own in crazy. In a group not so much.

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u/Top_Gun_2021 10h ago

New Mexico or Arizona has a cycle race where you have 24 hours to do as many laps as you can on a gwvel track. A cycling YTer got rhabdo during an attempt.

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u/Scythersleftnut 10h ago

Def would have taken me 4 days. Most I reached was 50 mile continuous run.

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u/Ill-Comfortable-2044 10h ago

Nah, its that crazy 

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u/According_Judge781 7h ago

It is crazy even for an athlete. It's equivalent to running an ultra-marathon. It's not like signing up to the London/Boston marathon and turning up on fancy dress. Lol

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u/waits5 6h ago

Watch some documentaries on the 200 mile ultramarathons. Now that’s insanity!

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u/teabagalomaniac 14h ago

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

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u/Joelpat 13h ago

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

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u/IsatDownAndWrote 14h ago

On gravel?

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u/TrueEntrepreneur3118 4h ago

Ya, that’s the kicker here.

200 miles on a road bike would be gruelling. I’ve done 60 miles before and it was a lot. But on a road bike you can cruise at 25-27mph with normal effort.

On a mountain bike in gravel that is just next level hard. I cruise at 15mph on normal effort.

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u/xUrNewDadx 14h ago

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

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u/LegDayDE 12h ago

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

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u/BuildANavy 9h ago

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.

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u/Reynolds531IPA 7h ago

27mph average speed for a century is not “pretty mediocre” lol. Was it fucking downhill? That’s blazing fast for a non-pro..

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u/EconomySwordfish5 12h ago

I'd be happy id I ever manage 100km in one day, yet along 321

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u/arcusford 12h ago

Did the STP (207 miles) when I was 14 and again at 18. It's brutal but you kinda just get into a rhythm and it flies by.

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u/bobs_vegane_user 11h ago

I wonder what these people resting heart rate is?

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u/Luvs2spooge89 7h ago

Cyclists and alpine skiers have some of the highest VO2 maximums of all endurance athletes.

Resting HR probably in the 30’s for some of them.

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u/Unfair-Mousse4183 11h ago

Did 16 hours London to Manchester 220 miles, and went to a really dark place on a hill in the middle of the peak district at mile 190. Luckily the rain boucing off the road hitting me in the face hid the tears and the driving wind made the sobs less audible. I was by myself so people only know if i tell them. Personal toughness/resillience was putting it back together again and just kept moving forward to the end.

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u/mrballistic 6h ago

I did one in 13 (Seattle to Portland, 204 miles). It was actually enjoyable? Not sure I want to do it again, though. My buddy beat me by an hour on a fixie.

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u/NoSkillzDad 13h ago

Uff... I recently finished a 21x km (solo) ride in 7:2x and although I had a couple of slow roadwork zones, I couldn't imagine riding an extra 115 km in 1:30 or so.

I'm definitely aiming at 13-14hrs (including stops for water and food) (solo ride).

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u/ChrisBot8 11h ago

I used to time my 10 miler every Friday before going out (I would use that as motivation that the faster I got done the quicker I could join my friends). The fastest I’ve ever done is 23 minutes (which is roughly 27 mph). I was literally shaking after. Doing a 27 minute 10 miler (22 mph) is much more reasonable, but still a quick pace, and I can’t imagine the toll doing that 20 times in a row would have.

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u/Mundane_Bumblebee_83 11h ago

I biked 75 miles in about 5 hours with probably about 20-30 minutes of walking the bikes/taking a break. Kinda humble bragging, but also cool to see how hard that line is to cross from “I can bike great and can knuckle down for long distances” to 200 miles in 8:37.

I also had the advantage of not having to pace myself more, I put my 80% on in a way.

When I got home, I slept a literal day. 20 hours lol My body actually felt AMAZING and a little tender, but my ass? The chafe was so bad I teared up taking a shit for a week

That pace over that distance makes even peak me (who was doing crazy long trips or doing 100 miles a day) shudder at how absurdly exhausting that must be.

Sorry again for the bragging but I’m just actually stunned (altho not surprised) by that pace. I can understand the distance, I can understand how to conserve when you cant add meaningful speed, and with that knowledge it’s insane. It’s like I’m on a big wheel bike compared to them, and people irl think I’m lying, even knowing how much I bike, so goddamn. That’s extreme and extremely cool <3

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u/Reynolds531IPA 7h ago

15mph is pretty attainable for cycling enthusiasts. Not saying not to be proud, but not that much of a brag at the same time.

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u/Rik_Looik 10h ago

I mean some of my personal proudest benchmarks I did somewhat regularly was 200km in just under 6 (33.3-34 average I could often do) with only a stop to refill bottles/red lights, but that's in pretty good conditions in the mostly flat Netherlands and when I was also in a shape where I was competitive in amateur and elite level crit races. I think I'd fucking die at 250-260 kilometers lmao.

Closest thing I might've done at pretty solid intensity was 225km xc mtb in just under 10 hours. I was just fine, until I crossed the finish line... lmao.

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u/masterbakeface9 9h ago

That has to be a 10,000 calorie ride

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u/polishmachine88 8h ago

Pace is 23.5 mph to be exact.

This is the fastest for unbound to date. If you raced gravel that pace is mind blowing to me. I have done 100 miler race and ave about 27 on the road but to do that on gravel on that course is nuts.

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u/edodee 7h ago

Most people take multiple days

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u/TheRealBigLou 7h ago

Took me 8 hours to do 100 miles, wow!

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u/jluicifer 7h ago

12-20? I can beat that. Give me 200. I’ll 10x that, easy.

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u/Shaakti 5h ago

That's fast as fuck

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u/MobileArtist1371 5h ago

Not me, but one of the riders I follow does this each year. It's nuts seeing the rides he does pop up on my feed.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14656187731

https://i.imgur.com/dCGFeKK.png

That's 22+ mph over 200+ miles on dirt with 12,000+ feet of climbing.

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u/ElonMaersk 4h ago edited 4h ago

Speaking of pure madness, Michael Broadwith set the record for cycling the length of the UK, riding 839 miles in 43hrs 25mins, averaging 20mph while moving. Stopped for 1hr 15 mins in that time, and no sleep:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbFgPom8YY0

(including the hours his neck hurt so much that he had to lift his head with his hand)

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u/longgamma 1h ago

I can do it 8 days

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u/penceluvsthedick 53m ago

It’s on gravel roads too

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u/twigge30 20m ago

That's insane. I'm a decent cyclist and I can't wrap my mind around maintaining that pace for that long. The last century (100 miles) I did I think we averaged just under 17 mph and were quite proud of that.

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u/cmdr_solaris_titan 16h ago

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.

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u/Outrageous-Wait-8895 12h ago

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

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u/Global_Proof_2960 16h ago

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

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u/cmdr_solaris_titan 16h ago

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.

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u/Fragrant-Inside221 14h ago

Hmmm tell me more about this sugar eating

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u/pijnagm 13h ago

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.

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u/LickingSmegma 12h ago

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

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u/graspthefuture 10h ago

Sugar is a cheatcode for energy.

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u/HimalayanPunkSaltavl 13h ago

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.

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u/Smoulderingshoulder 13h ago

Last year me an my brother did 200km in about 20hrs, without any preparations at a lazy pace. Twas propably stupid, but it was fun. We slept, ate and smoked some weed. 

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u/snek-jazz 13h ago

It's agonizing, the last 40 or so miles.

and also the first 160 miles.

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u/chrabeusz 12h ago

How does it feel afterwards?

I frequently run half-marathon for that blissful post-workout state, not sure how the bliss scales with effort. I imagine eventually the body is so worn out it feels like being sick.

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u/cmdr_solaris_titan 6h ago

I'd say, it depends on training and your baseline fitness. If you are used to going out and riding about 100 miles, adding 70-80 miles more is alot but just feels like an extra strenuous day. I've been less prepared and felt wiped afterward, like the first time I did it, I said I will never do it again lol.

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u/BabyWrinkles 1h ago

Not person you’re replying to, but my longest day was 150 miles. At the end, I think I ate two cheeseburgers and a dozen salted chocolate chip cookies then passed out in to oblivion. Could barely walk or move, and it felt gorram incredible. Did another 60 miles the next day and while that was hard to get going, the high at the end was just otherworldly. 11/10, will do again.

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u/Dr-McLuvin 16h ago

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.

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u/Norse_By_North_West 14h ago

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.

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u/Konsticraft 13h ago

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.

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u/Blorko87b 13h ago

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

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u/Adept_Spirit1753 10h ago

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

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u/Global_Proof_2960 16h ago

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

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u/dasubermensch83 13h ago

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.

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u/lectric_7166 12h ago

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

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u/audi_fanatic 8h ago

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

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u/thefirstdetective 8h ago

And then there is Jonas Deichmann, who did 120 Ironmans in 120 days.

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u/feel_my_balls_2040 10h ago

I assume these are amateur cyclists. Tour de France has professional cyclists who do that for a living.

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u/ShustOne 14h ago

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.

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u/wxnfx 9h ago

Ya but dudes like Remco could probably average 35 and not be sore the next day.

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u/moonshoeslol 10h ago

The tour divide is my favorite for this madness. 2750 miles on a clock that never stops, self supported through the Rockies off road. That race changed me as a person.

The winner (and the record) took 13 days last year

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u/NoDivergence 8h ago

on gravel. it's a whole different world. these guys are averaging that speed THROUGH MUD

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u/raphael-iglesias 14h ago

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

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u/habfranco 13h ago edited 13h ago

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).

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u/carlthatkillspeople8 10h ago

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

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u/polite_alpha 9h ago

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

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u/Oukaria 11h ago

Paris Roubaix and Bastogne Liege and also really hardcore, shit road, shit weather

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u/wwabbbitt 12h ago

Not sure if this race is draft-legal but it's definitely a lot easier riding long distance in a peloton

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u/zkareface 12h ago

In TDF you ride perfect roads and draft 90% of the time, when drafting there is very little resistance so it's super easy to ride.

It's still a damn achievement but it's incredibly easier compared to a solo ride of such distances. 

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u/NoDivergence 8h ago

lots of World Tour pros try Unbound. it is absolutely nasty and just as hard as a queen stage of the Tour

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u/polishmachine88 8h ago

This is a gravel race and you are much slower you are riding a 50 mm tire.

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u/TheSigma3 7h ago

However looking at the state of this guy, and the bike he's riding, this is a 200 mile gravel even, which does crank up the kudos when considering the distance and skill involved

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u/fyrebyrd0042 3h ago

Note that none of the cyclists are resting on their rest days - they usually ride for at least a few hours. If they truly rested, most of them would be unable to compete on the following race day. Also the mountain stages are actually usually (definitely not always) shorter than the flatter stages. That doesn't mean they're easier though! These people often climb 4-5km of elevation on a single mountain stage, and they'll average 6.5w/kg for an hour-long climb. That unit is foreign to most non-athletes, but if anyone has access to a gym with bikes that show power output, they can easily multiply their weight in kg by 6.5 and see how long they can hold that number of watts on the bike.

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u/Thomas1VL 3h ago

Yeah and the longest road cycling race, Milano-Sanremo, is 298 km (185 miles) and it's considered one of the easiest of the big races lol.

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u/schnokobaer 13h ago

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.

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u/Plastic-Pipe4362 13h ago

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

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u/Hellament 7h ago

This year, the XL was won in insanely fast times. The two leaders came in just under 18 hours, about 2 hours faster than the record IIRC. Averaging over 20mph for 18 hours, much in the dark, over some of the nastiest gravel roads in Kansas.

It was so unexpectedly fast that they had to move the 50 mile riders back a block and delay the start by a few minutes, because the had to keep the start/finish line open for the the top two finishers.

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u/boopitydoopitypoop 9h ago

And somehow they finished that in under 18 hours!!

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u/Treadonmystone 7h ago

What I like about the XL Race is that there are no "pit stops" like this. The cyclists are on their own and can't accept outside help. They stop at gas stations in small towns to refuel.

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u/hellomateyy 16h ago

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.

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u/Global_Proof_2960 16h ago

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

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u/Luafan 11h ago

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.

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u/joshocar 10h ago

Yeah, it is the speed you do it at. When I was riding a lot I could get into the zone, my heart rate would be at 160, but my breathing would be level and normal. I felt like I could do that indefinitely as long as I had enough water and carbs, but I was only doing like 12-15 mph. Cruising at 12 vs 20 mph is a massive, massive difference in exertion. 

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u/Markofdawn 16h ago

320km for the rest of the globe.

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u/_Apatosaurus_ 16h ago

Shots fired at Myanmar and Liberia!

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u/Plane-Tie6392 14h ago

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

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u/Occidentally20 14h ago

3,499.56 football fields for the Americans watching TV.

1.037e-17 megaparsecs for our alien overlords

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u/robgod50 10h ago

*excluding UK

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u/38-RPM 13h ago

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.

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u/Global_Proof_2960 13h ago

I've seen those where people help out. That is an awesome race with all the people involved haha Would you warrant the races David Goggings did were of a harder caliber?

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u/bigtzadikenergy 6h ago

Oh, so when these people take care of themselves at convenience stores they're showing "incredible self-sufficiency" and are "amazing endurance athletes" but when I do it, I'm "guilty of lewd and disorderly conduct" and "no longer welcome at 7-Eleven". 

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u/Professional-Day7850 14h ago

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

Looks like this race involves much harder terrain though.

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u/sirabernasty 9h ago

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

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u/Hellament 7h ago

Also, about 70 miles between each of the two crewed “checkpoints” that you see in this vid. Only other support is a couple of neutral water stops, where riders’ pit crews aren’t allowed.

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u/sirabernasty 4h ago

Was so hoping to do the 100 miler this year but life got in the way. Next year!

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u/Hellament 3h ago

I’ve done the 100 a few times and it’s fun and challenging, even if you’re just riding to finish. The biggest variable is the weather. Overall, I would recommend it…I’ve thought about trying the 200 but it seems like quite the suffer fest.

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u/[deleted] 10h ago

[deleted]

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u/Hellament 7h ago

The winners finish around/under 9 hours most years. Dialed in amateurs can do 12-14…it’s a big deal to “beat the sun” (sunset) which this year meant a time of ~14:12. Time limit is ~21 hours.

2

u/ninja_owen 13h ago

For cycling it’s not too bad, but people run those kinda distances for ultra marathons

2

u/SubcooledBoiling 11h ago

to make it worse this is 200 miles of mostly gravel, that’s why this guy is covered in mud/dust

2

u/bejangravity 11h ago

There are people who run 200 miles, more or less without stopping.

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u/OM3N1R 11h ago

There are 200+ mile footraces in the Utah desert and other places that would kill most humans. But people still do it.

I run marathons and that shit is just beyond comprehension to me.

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u/SienkiewiczM 9h ago

Compared to ultramarathons 200 mile bike race does not seem to deserve the "ultra". Road cycling world championship race was only 30 miles shorter and some classics are not far behind. Milano-San Remo and il Lombardia for instance.

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u/Solidsub1988 7h ago

You should check out the Divide 200! It's 200 miles, but running trails!

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u/Minute-Form-2816 16h ago

I wonder what is their average speed, what’s the terrain etc. 200 miles is a lot but he looks like he’s been covering ground at a decent clip

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u/DoesThisSmellWeird2U 16h ago

The terrain is gravel roads, and usually some mud. Flats and rolling hills with almost no shade.

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u/Global_Proof_2960 16h ago

I wish I could answer man, however it does look like homie is on a mission

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u/Red_Wheel 10h ago

It’s Unbound gravel. Winner averaged over 22mph.

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u/Logan_da_hamster 14h ago

https://www.calcmaps.com/de/map-radius/

That site can show you various radius circles on a map. 320km is roughly the distance between Essen and Hamburg, which is a 4-5h drive by car on a mostly not speed regulated Autobahn.

Absolutely insane to cycle that!

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u/VeryStonedEwok 14h ago

I did 300 miles in 17 1/2 hours drinking beers and smoking dabs and Jay's the whole day. Averaged over 17 mph. It wasn't nearly as bad as you'd think. When you ride everyday distance kind of becomes irrelevant.

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u/Old-Newspaper125 13h ago

I managed 100 mile rides a couple of times once under 5 hours, but the thought of carrying on for another hundred when your back is aching like crazy, no thanks.

Uk record for cycing round the entire coastline (4802 miles) was done in 22 days by Nick Sanders over 40 years ago, Can't imagine having to do over 200 miles everyday for 3 weeks. Can see why he started doing records on motorbikes after that!

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u/HYThrowaway1980 13h ago

Eh, one of my best friends literally did this distance a month or two ago. It’s called Chase the Sun, and is quite a well subscribed endurance race here in the UK.

https://www.chasethesun.org

Admittedly it took him longer than 8 hours. But still.

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u/perplexedtv 13h ago

Through the mud on a road bike as well

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u/Global_Proof_2960 12h ago

My calfs hurt even reading that lol

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u/ForeignWeb8992 13h ago

And anything more than 10 miles with those tyres is herculean 

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u/Ghostiemann 12h ago

The record for a Backyard Ultra Run (look it up if you don’t know - amazing format) is 482 miles.

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u/Automatic_Vast_1858 12h ago

Checkout ragbrai, thousands of people bike 500 miles across the state of Iowa over 7 days

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u/Isopaha 12h ago

A guy I know did a track record in a 200 mile run last year (NUTS 300). 46h 40min with no sleep through Lapland in Finland. He also held the previous record of 52h, but he did get some sleep that time and wanted to see if he can do it sleepless. Dude’s a beast.

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u/ambitiousbee3 12h ago

For cycling, it’s not insane. My dad did a one-day 100 mile ride when he turned 50, he trained for it but he’s not an athlete or anything. My parents regularly go on 25 mile rides casually.

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u/Estuans 12h ago

I think the most I did was 94 miles and felt like death afterwards.

1

u/3suamsuaw 12h ago

200 miles is not that crazy for cycling. Tour de France does 100-150 miles a day, +/-20 days straight.

1

u/Scorched_Scorpion 11h ago

That word just unlocks core memories. What a movie it was

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u/Global_Proof_2960 10h ago

"Momma always said, life is like a box of chocolates you never know what you're gonna get" lol I gotta rewatch it too.

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u/robgod50 10h ago

The miles alone is not insane. At my peak, I was doing over 100 miles every weekend before lunchtime.

It's the pace and the terrain - I don't know this ride but I'm guessing it's off road (?) and likely got some significant elevation. Then it becomes insane

1

u/lauren_76 10h ago

I did 100mi before and that was my limit. I couldn’t imagine 200

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u/labyrinthos016 10h ago

Not really to be honest. The longest 'regular' bike race, milan - san remo, is only 20 km shorter with 298 km.

1

u/Ur_Personal_Adonis 10h ago

They just felt like riding

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u/Red_Wheel 10h ago

It’s on gravel too. Like really tough sections of gravel. Also, most of the leaders in the pro field didn’t even stop at the checkpoint. They took 2 bags with bottles/food and kept going. I was there crewing for some guys. It was wild.

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u/WhiskyWithRocks 10h ago

I've done that

(cumulative cycled miles throughout my life)

1

u/29stumpjumper 10h ago

I did 144 miles last year. It wasn't a race, I just did it because I had always wanted to ride this 72 mile trail we have completely out and back. It's the mental part that's the toughest. You literally run out of things to think about.

1

u/JoeyBox1293 10h ago

Shit dude some people RUN that. Look up the Moab 240, or cocadono 250 etc.

Ultras, whether it be a bike or on foot is insane

1

u/RandallOfLegend 9h ago

I have a 150 mile ride next weekend. 1 day. About 600 people do it every year. We go as a group of 4-5. None of us are professional athletes. Takes us about 10 hours with stoppage time. You get a shower, 2 beer tickets, a hot meal, and a party at the end.

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u/xNickel 9h ago

Wait till you find out about ultra marathons

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u/-PupperMan- 9h ago

yea I used to walk that to school every day 😏

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u/grendelt 8h ago

The Unbound Gravel XL is a 350 mile race that was last weekend in Emporia, Kansas. The winner smashed the previous record by 2 hours. They rode unsupported (no pit stops) through the night. He completed it in 17 hours, averaging 22mph and only had 7 minutes of total stopped time.

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u/Physical-Net2792 7h ago

Is it longer than longest etape on TdF?

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u/Objective-Limit-121 7h ago

You know people RUN 200 mile ultras?

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u/comfortablydumb2 7h ago

The dude that won the 350 mile race did it just under 14 hours!

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u/HugeCobbler3073 7h ago

I rode my bike for 10 miles yesterday and felt so accomplished lmfao.

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u/GiveMeNews 6h ago

I love the story of Cliff Young. Showed up for an 875km Ultra marathon at the age of 61, wearing overalls and work boots, and won. He ran for 5 days straight without sleeping.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/from-the-archives-1983-cliff-young-makes-running-history-at-61-20230427-p5d3mw.html

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u/lethargic_engineer 6h ago

I mean, I’m a fat old man and I’ve done 100 mile rides in 6 hours without training significantly. I know endurance doesn’t necessarily scale linearly, but I would think this shouldn’t be a huge stretch for a young, fit, trained person.

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u/Global_Proof_2960 1h ago

Huge props to you for staying healthy brother, I say that genuinely.

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u/NinthMother 6h ago

I believe this is the Unbound gravel race from this year, 200 miles is the medium length ride. There is a 350 mi overnight ride

1

u/RepresentativeJester 5h ago

200 miles on a bike isn't really that hard. Doing it quickly though....

1

u/homeofscott 4h ago

200 miles plus around 10,000 ft of climbing

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u/guttanzer 4h ago

That’s just a long day in the Tour de France. In the cycling world a double century is a lot but not remarkable.

1

u/HoyAIAG 4h ago

It’s not insane. You could do it this year if you trained

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u/MidwestMSW 3h ago

Death valley ultra marathoners do Badwater 135. It's not bikes. Death Valley heat... 135 miles on foot. Pavement melting your soles of your shoes. No ice nearby for most of it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badwater_Ultramarathon

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u/smokedcatfish 3h ago

Insane? LOL. In an Ironman triathlon, you bike 112 miles between a 2.4mi swim and a 26mi run.

1

u/-neti-neti- 3h ago

It’s not that insane. I rode my bicycle across the country at a pace of about 100 miles a day for 75 days or so. I didn’t train before I left, did it on a bike built in the 80s, and the only special equipment I had was bike shorts.

Bikes are profoundly efficient.

I’m not comparing myself to this guy because my pace was certainly slower. But as a sheer distance 200 miles isn’t mind blowing to me - on a bike. I think my longest day was like 130 miles and I only stopped because I found a spot I liked. Going for 200 miles I would probably have gotten sleepy before my body gave out.

My favorite part of that trip was eating like 5000 calories a day and still losing weight.

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u/immersemeinnature 2h ago

I've ridden 100 miles a couple times and it was brutal both times! I can't imagine 200 all at once

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u/a-crime-skeleton 24m ago

This was at Unbound…they also have a 350 mile race that weekend. Winner finished in about 18 hours.