Brevet Pacing: Don't Blow Up!

[@l139x3]

You have a subscriber. For the exact reason of pacing I figured , the first 30-60 mins is crucial in terms of choosing your cruising speed. I made multiple mistakes of joining a rather quicker group and ride on the border of z2-z3. Whenever I did that it hit back a couple of hours later. So my strategy is to start around the middle of the bunch, keep my pace of lower z2 and in an hour it turns out that there are other riders who are at around the same speed, join them. Otherwise (for me at least) it is much better to ride solo. That way I can have my own pace at the stops as well, meaning no need to wait or hurry because of anyone else.

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Glad you found the information useful! Thanks for the subscription. It's so easy to overdo it at the beginning when you feel fresh. I have to work on politely leaving a group when they are going too fast, too slow, or when they want to ride too late into the night. Are there any topics you would like me to cover? I am collecting research on sleep strategies at the moment.

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

Interesting video and advice. As an experienced Rando I suggest just the opposite of what you have proposed here especially to new riders moving into longer brevets. My advice is -- go easy when it's hard go hard when it's easy, minimize stopped time, and always keep the pedals turning. For example, I don't advise people power up on climbs. Theoretically, sure they get up the climb faster as shown on your table and there is time gained. But those meager seconds gained are wasted on the descent when people just coast down the hill. Or those seconds gained then turn into minutes wasted at a control chin wagging or an unschedule stop (a stop outside of a control for supplies). It's better to save that energy for better uses. I also don't ever recommend riding harder into a headwind, again that's energy wasted. But heck yeah pedal hard in a tailwind you can make huge amount of time there. However, I do advocate pedaling downhill. Of course I recommend to... ALWAYS be pedaling... always... up or downhill. It doesn't mean they are riding at anaerobic threshold downhill 🤣that's silly, but they should keep tension on the chain at least a couple of watts/kg until there is no tension and maintain speeds above your drivetrain top speed. Why coast? Why would you need to rest and recover if you didn't go hard on the climb? That's a wasted opportunity to gain a few mph or KPH with little to no effort. Especially on long descents of 18-25 kms more time will be gained on the descent and a huge waste of energy climbing harder on the 18-25km climb. Far too many brevet riders go hard on a climb and then coast down the other side ... a complete squandering of their energy bank account that they will need for whatever the duration of their chosen brevet. I ride steady up the climb watch them roll away then catch them again either because they are coasting and recovering or they are terrible descenders. Regarding the start of events if in the past a rider has faded badly on events then they should start off slower and not chase the early break. I have often told riders the true test that you are starting off correctly is when you are telling yourself "wow this is an easy pace" A couple of months ago I did a sub 24 hour (total time) R60 600km with 4,000 meters. The start felt nice and easy and I was asking myself "wow this pace feels slow there's no way I will get an R60 at this pace" There were 4 of us off the front and 2 guys kept pushing the pace on the climbs while Bradford and I just sat at 3 w/kg watching them go up the road. But after every climb we would catch them on the descent. They lasted 100km doing that and riding really hard into the headwinds. I kept getting dropped and Bradford would pull out of the line and wait up for me. Eventually the two guys stopped at a non control store. Bradford and I rolled on and rode the rest of the 600km straight through the night as the first two riders to finish. The other two guys they were many hours behind us at the finish. Pacing was the key don't waste any energy and don't waste time or take additional stops. So I agree with you that riders should start off slow and move into their pace. Eventually someone or a group will come along with a similar pace that they can join in. On the other hand, it is sometimes better to burn a match or two, ride harder than is comfortable for you just to get in with a few riders going off the front so you don't end up pushing wind by yourself or in an unsafe area in the middle of the night alone. Burning some of those matches, tactically, can save an ENORMOUS amount of energy and time by getting in a good group over a long brevet (300km-600km) My best advice to any beginning Rando rider is to minimize stop time. Some of it is unavoidable and it's a level playing field when riding through cities and traffic controls. Everyone has the same obstacles and slow downs. But the rest is about time management. Make your stops efficient and purposeful. Keep the wheels rolling all the time "time off the bike is time you never get back" This has helped me and the athletes I have coached over the last 25 years of ultra cycling. I'm almost always the first rider in or part of the lead group in brevets, double centuries or 500 milers well except PBP. That was one great enjoyable tour where I rode during the day and slept every night 🙂

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Thanks for tuning in and for your thoughtful comment. It sounds like we have a lot of agreement on pacing strategy, actually. I strongly discourage hammering up the climbs, and hope that hammering climbs was not the takeaway viewers got. As you might see in my video on gearing, I think extra low gearing is invaluable to be able to self select a modest intensity for climbs. My low gear is 30t up front and 40t cassette cog. I try to stay under 3w/kg if possible on climbs, but it's rather steep around here so its often impossible. Rather, the little chart just shows the return on investment of extra effort and can inform how to spend our limited energy. Due to gearing limitations, an extra 50-100 watts over a sustainable pace is unavoidable on climbs, but is also the best time to spend that match. Other conditions don't give a good return on that investment, so just maintaining a normal pace makes sense. But the calculations do show effort during headwinds give a better return than tailwinds, though neither condition justify extra effort above BTP. We don't need to freewheel every descent, but any effort given to go over 45kph is an incredibly inefficient use of a kilojoule as it is just eaten by aero resistance. Minimizing the amount of time above BTP as well as staying as close to it as possible when it is exceeded should benefit fueling, reduce physical recovery time needed during rest, and help with mental acuity when riding at night. It sounds like you are a beastly rider, so combining good pacing with experience, fueling, and physical prowess explains your stellar performance. Keep up the good work!

[@stanislaogerman3743]

As a rookie Randonneur this was an invaluable video; I have plenty of training and racing experience but my biggest concern as I aim to accomplish a Super Randonneur in 2023 is going out to fast and blowing up. My longest ride was 212km in 9.5 hours and I’m not concerned about 300km but night riding and sleep deprivation are a real concern. I would love to see a video on sleeping strategies for 600 to 1,200 km brevets. Thanks!!!

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Thanks Stanislao! I do need to make a video on sleep. The unsafe norms around sleep in randonneuring are one of the main reasons I made this channel focused on efficient riding. I've found Fleches and 400km to be harder than 600km with regards to sleep. The minimum pace and 40 hour allotted time (10pm of day 2 usually) on a 600 facilitates a normal-ish sleep schedule. Planning a hotel between 325-375km should be prudent, but expect day 2 pace to drop off when setting your alarm. A 90 hour time limit on a 1200km is about midnight on day 4 which should similarly facilitate sleeping each night. 2023 is the first year my workplace is flexible enough to attempt rides over 600km, so I'll hopefully be able to add value in that context too. Time to do some research on sleep and endurance athletics. I should get that video up during the winter.

[@nickhecker4886]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5aQe2upfZJnZ7c here is his video on sleep, leaving it here for you or anyone else who has the same questions. I found it pretty useful, considering a solo 225km was my only other experience.

[@alessandrotomasi8815]

great tips, thank you!

[@StephanBechert]

Great Rando Content! THX. Can you make a video about Aerobars for Randonneurs?

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Thanks Stephan! I have a video on aero bars in the planning stages now, but have a few projects to get through first. Trying to find a way to focus the scope of it so it doesn't become a 25 minute monster video. I've been looking forward to making it for a long time. Hope you will find it useful.

[@jaredlash5002]

I've really been enjoying your videos. I've thought about doing some sanctioned brevets, but have thus far just stuck to doing 200-400k rides by myself, at my own pace, and using routes of my own creation. I don't have a power meter, I'm as aerodynamic as a truck with the panniers and handlebar bag I use. I did, however, independently figure out the 70% of max HR suggestion for the brevet pace - I just call it sticking to HR zone 2.

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

You may really enjoy sanctioned events. Locally, our club has some very high quality route planners . They always seem to find wonderful remote climbs and make the safest possible connections between target riding areas. The social aspect can be quite enjoyable too. Glad you are enjoying the videos! It's not mandatory to be fast, light, or aero, but for someone like myself who has only moderate fitness and mental toughness, and is carrying some extra weight, it sure helps buffer against any number of problems that may arise. I'd love to hear any topics you might want covered that might be helpful as you get more into the sports. Cheers

[@wazzup105]

My first brevet (200K) was an experience. Solo I average like 20Kph, but now I found myself in a group doing 27.5kph and I did not want to let them go because who knows when I would find another group... Had a blast, even though after 120K I started cramping which continued till the end with each stroke above a certain power level... Luckily there were no hills to climb and I had a tailwind the last 60 K or so (which I rode solo). Lesson learned: ride with a group more often :-)

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

I find myself repeatedly not following that advice this year haha. The draft of an aggressive group is a real sirens' song. My fueling is better than in the past, so the punishment is less severe, but it still hurts. Congratulations on your first brevet!

[@AndyLieberman]

I'm really enjoying your videos, and they definitely helped me succeed on my first fleche last weekend. Do you recommend pacing during the brevet based on average power or normalized power?

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Thanks Andy and congratulations on your first Fleche! Those are really fun and rewarding. I've found average power is a pretty good baseline for pacing the flats. My flats target was about 2/3 of my climbing target recently. Normalized power is a bit high to do all day when climbs are always burning my matches. YMMV though. Experimentation and record keeping can help you find what works best for you. Cheers!

[@samuelbarrettcycling]

Thanks for the video, but I wish it came out a couple of days ago! I recently did my first ride over 250km. My pacing strategy was to stay in heart rate zone 1 except on climbs, where I sat in zone 3. I think it worked pretty well. What are your thoughts on pacing by heart rate versus pacing by power? I haven't got a power meter but have been thinking about investing in one.

[@overbikedrandonneuring]

Thank you, and congratulations on such a lengthy ride! It's a big deal to cycle a new longest distance. Your pacing strategy is in line with my recommendations. The upper end of zone 1 is a happy spot for general randonneuring, and lower limit of zone 3 is a fine climbing target if your gearing allows it. I paced with heart rate for several years before getting a PM. According to data from the indoor trainer, my heart rate zones and power zones 1-5 from the Coggan model correlated reasonably well. This model is discussed in my Top Training Strategies video. This worked fine for rides up to 200km or so, accounting for effects like caffeine, hydration, temperature, etc. that alter the heart rate-effort relationship. On longer rides where sleep deprivation, dehydration, caloric deficits, thermoregulatory system stress, and other fatiguing factors play a bigger role and have a higher effect on BPM, heart rate lost its efficacy as a pacing tool for me. Very long rides and training are where PMs shine for me. I value PMs a lot and they match the ethos of this channel, but I also understand many people not wanting to buy and learn to use them. It's a big investment in time and money. I think it's well worth it and recommend them highly if budgets allow. A simple one like single sided crank arms or single sided Assioma pedals are enough for the amateur cyclist.

[@samuelbarrettcycling]

@@overbikedrandonneuring Hmm that's really interesting, thanks for the detailed reply! I do notice on my longer rides that my HR has a slight downward trend, even when I think I've paced well, but I guess a PM might be a bit more consistent. I will keep an eye out and get one when the budget allows, thanks!

[@willspower3]

@@samuelbarrettcycling Mine goes usually goes down too, but by how much is never consistent. I think it will usually do that even if you pace perfectly. Good luck!