My 600km Cebu Audax: What I'd Do Differently Next Time

[@SeeYouUpTheRoad]

14:00 this is a common symptom of fatigue. I’ve been doing ultras for over 20 years. Your HR continues to slow down during your ultra. My HR will be low a day or two after a 600km or 500 miler 820 km races when I go out on my recovery rides. If I’ve gone really deep on a 600km then 3-4 days later my HR is still low on the bike. Tubeless is the way to go for long brevets 30mm minimum 32mm preferred at about 58psi. I wouldn’t ride anything other than a race tire like a GP5000 STR. Gatorskins are absolutely horrible tires! Slow AF. No grip in the rain or when descending dry mountains and terrible ride quality. You want a sub 24 600km? Ride race quality tires, aero bars, liquid fuel, and don’t sit around talking at controls. This is how do R60 times. I’m not fast on the bike but I’m ruthlessly efficient off the bike. The last 600km I had 1 he 17 minutes stopped time including a ton of freaking red lights and other shit out of my control. One long 20 minute stop to change my kit, eat, lube my change, switch to night riding. The route had 13,000 ft of climbing too. I prefer to ride alone but during an event to stay off the front it makes sense to pull someone from the group and take them with me. Most people DNF with SOOO much time left on the clock just because things didn’t go they way they planned it. You have to get over that and carry on. THE primary goal of an ultra is finishing. Your total time or finishing place is secondary or tertiary. What makes you a successful ultra cyclist is being able to mentally overcome all the setbacks, mechanicals, wrong turns, foul weather etc. It’s not just pedaling it’s ALL mental. You have to finish, first, before you can accomplish any real goals. I wish you success in your next project because you deserve it!

[@carlovillarica]

Thanks for this! THis was helpful!

[@cesarestrada1378]

That's the beauty of audax. You learn and you come back stronger. 😎

[@carlovillarica]

true!

[@paolosabido1643]

Subscribed not only because of cycling tips. Its more than the life lessons. 🙂 learning so much from you sir. Thanks!

[@carlovillarica]

Thank you!

[@hucklejoko4838]

Hey Carlo, Bins here! Really was a great time talking to you during that first 100km, enjoyed the video too. Re:tubeless and road tires, yes its really not a good idea to pair skinny tires with tubeless because of the lack of volume. Thats why it works on MTB and gravel but not much for road. The bigger the tire width the better tubeless application will be ideally 35c and above. And Re:HR not going up, thats really just fatigue setting in. Funny thing that you mentioned, as I was going back after the 100km checkpoint, I also did the icepacks in the jersey ala Dylan Johnson, and it really helped! Hope to join you more on your rides!

[@carlovillarica]

Uy! Ikaw diay ni bins haha ya I'm going to experiment with 32c next. I've gotten good reviews about the black ox tubeless sealant. So that's what I've been using lately

[@noodle302]

Great reflection on how it went, really enjoyed it!

[@carlovillarica]

Thanks for watching!

[@markangos66]

Hi Carlo, my advice is (if road), go for more puncture resistant tubeless tires like vittoria corsa n.ext or Continental GP5000s. I've been using vittoria corsa n.ext 32c since last year and haven't had a puncture since. I have used the tires in audax 200 (twice), 300, 400, and 600 (but DNF) and include all the training and weekend rides in between and to have no punctures is really impressive. If you go tubeless, also invest in a really good sealant. Been using Silca and it seals impressively well. Also, be mindful of the recommended tire pressure. There are tire pressure calculators online that gives the ideal tire pressure based on weight and type of riding you do. Hope this helps! Brilliant content by the way, cheers!

[@carlovillarica]

Thanks for the recommendations!

[@janganbikes]

Great video! And I get your frustration towards the end. I feel the same way when I know I can physically still do more, but bike problems are just holding me back. I hope that videoke stint helped you feel better that night. On your tire question: I run 700 x 32 Continental GP5000 tubeless tires on a Lun Grapid wheelset, and I've never had a problem with punctures with them. I think it's worth going back to tubeless setups, especially for Audax.

[@carlovillarica]

yup! I'm planning to do that. What sealant have you been using?

[@kptt1994]

Congrats sir! What a ride it is.

[@carlovillarica]

Thanks!

[@paulabear1987]

Would highly recommend that you bring more tubes as well, sticking with TPU. I recall this SR friend of mine, as a rule of thumb, for safety, bring 1 tube per 100kms, changing the tube just makes it easier for you to save energy and not to worry that a patch would open up. All the best on your next attempt!

[@carlovillarica]

1 tube per 100km sounds like a good idea

[@jayb.6685]

Good stuff. I lived in cebu for 3 years, 2016 to 2019, good cycling roads, nice climbs, road to oslob kinda sucks but overall it's a good place for cycling.

[@carlovillarica]

I think so too. As long as you get away from the city

[@MarkArthur]

I also rode the 600. I can relate to being frustrated with the mindset because I had a broken spoke and I'm itching to finish in 28 hrs. I had to let go of that mindset and waited for 3 hrs to get a new bike and finished. Yes, tubeless is the way to go. You didn't mention your sealant or your inner rim width. I guess you used stans before. In my experience it's the worst sealant. And tpu - it's the worst at ultra distance. I used 30 front 32 back with 25.5mm inner rim width in front and 25mm at back with 57psi. Low psi is key to success with road tubeless. I used Vittoria sealant and Vittoria tires. Usually I use coraa n.ext finished with it at PBP without a flat. At Cebu 600 I used Vittoria corsa Pro control tires, never had flats. Same with my one shot Aparri 580kms no flats with Vittoria Corsa Pro Control with Vittoria sealant. Note both courses don't have good roads. I even finished Audax 400 without spare tubes with tubeless. Please dont use tpu tubes ever at Philippine ultras. They don't fix well. I've done 2x 300k+ personal rides and ran out of tpu when I had 3spares. The best spare is butyl tube with lots of patches. But with tubeless always come with tubeless plugs and again, low psi. You need to do more ultras. It's a different game. I did my first North Luzon with the goal of finishing 70-80 hrs, ended up finishing at 96 hrs. It's a different game to 200s, 300s. Well, now you know from your recent experience and that's what matters. Good luck kayang kaya yan!

[@carlovillarica]

THanks for this! It was helpful. Yup I would like to try to do more Ultras. Right now I'm fitting what I can, but in the future, this is something I want to do for sure.

[@ozmain439]

I joined the 200km audax cebu last year and the 100km this year, i haven’t got any puncture (thankfully). I have a grandsport 25c back and gatorskin 25c front both with butyl tubes. I also packed a +25pcs glueless patchkit and a tpu tube for spare. It’s somewhat overkill but i gave me a peace of mind when riding anywhere. With regard to the heart rate, it’s likely you are fatigued or perhaps your body naturally got into resting when 6pm onwards hit. When i did the 100km, i followed one of your tips before regarding not to be fixated on the metrics so i just changed the bike computer to just show the route with climb guide. (Do note that i just wanted to finish was my goal) Perhaps on the next audax, it would be a with the no boring days crew. I do agree that when you have companions in biking, the pace gets easier and you tend to enjoy the biking more. (I do also agree when I get an alone time biking, I tend to talk out of nowhere just to battle the mental stress that long distance riding usually entails). Hope to see you on the No Boring Race sir Carlo and Congrats (still an epic experience to have)

[@carlovillarica]

Thanks for sharing! Yup I'll be riding see you around

[@MiguelNacianceno]

Appreciate the POV into the mental aspect of these long rides.

[@carlovillarica]

Thanks!

[@nightbit_]

as far as tires go i'm currently running 35mm GP5000 AS TR (allseason tubeless ready) + Schwalbe aerothan gravel TPU tube reason for the allseason tires and the gravel tube is a bit more puncture protection, and it seems to work, haven't had a single puncture since i got this setup. i have raced this setup in the rain and it seems to roll decently fast and the grip is amazing especially in the wet.

[@carlovillarica]

Thanks for this!

[@jdcp]

Keep it up chef..

[@carlovillarica]

Lol thanks

[@roquelitojessedelosreyes4399]

gratss idol

[@carlovillarica]

thanks!

[@bsbbernal]

I'm also curious to try Dylan Johnson's cooling strategy in my next Audax. The guy brought three extra water bottles just for cooling. Imagine? Great to hear that works.

[@carlovillarica]

Ya im making an effort to be more mindful about that

[@timmusaka9577]

same problem with gp5000 AS TR 32mm, I even used the plug with cement glue, and after around 500 mile it start leaking again. So I changed the tire for a new one

[@timmusaka9577]

but you know in this case it could save some time to fix it

[@carlovillarica]

I'm experimenting with 32c and tubeless next. We'll see how it goes

[@adrianpaulpineda8744]

Still, congratulations Sir Carlo! We had the same mindset during my Audax 600 in Subic, to have a good time (my target is 30hours) but injury struck at KM275. Anyways, wanna do Davao this coming Sept 21?

[@carlovillarica]

I just came from Davao haha Did the IronMan relay

[@pod5ktv]

Hello Carlo, i’d suggest you go with a tubeless setup and run at around 50-60 psi max. I think the sealant doesnt do well above 70psi. Also, road specific (thinner) tire plugs offer another layer of protection when the sealant fails to seal the puncture… then have your TPU’s as a last resort backup.

[@miguelvillafranca]

Do you have a specific brand you can recommend? I’m having the same issues as what Carlo mentioned with 28c tires on tubeless.

[@pod5ktv]

@@miguelvillafranca running Stans on 30mm tires. What pressure do you run your 28mm tires? The sealant doesnt want to seal at high psi..

[@miguelvillafranca]

@@pod5ktv I had it between 75-80psi. Are you using the Stan’s darts?

[@pod5ktv]

@@miguelvillafranca for tire plugs, i just use the generic bacon strips but specific for road tires (thinner) with the thinner spike as well to prep the tire… also add rubber cement to the tire plug generously before inserting into the tire to plug it. This is good enough to finish the ride. Then at home, I use the Lezyne Tire Plug Pro to do a more permanent repair.

[@miguelvillafranca]

@@pod5ktv thank you for the tip!

[@cyclingbytes]

ran this years 300km audax with 38c panaracer gk ss tubeless haha (cause I thought its gonna be as bad as the road as last year), never got any punctures. Also ran 200km with gp5000 32c tubeless, no punctures as well. I know you probably prefer tubed but its a great option. although I still carry a puncture kit and a spare tubes just so I won't be in that situation. great effort nonetheless and a good lesson as well in handling mental stress the next time.

[@carlovillarica]

Thanks! I actually prefer tubeless but these particular tires weren't tubeless so decided to experiment with different inner tubes

[@MarkAmbalong]

HAHAHA THE ENDING MADE ME LAUGH

[@carlovillarica]

Hahah had to keep it in there

[@reyscottttt]

tara 600 inig august, baws ta. hahaha

[@carlovillarica]

Hahahah

[@tianlangsakalam]

ok lang ma DNF atleast may mga natutunan..go for LU600 sir the ultimate one 😊

[@carlovillarica]

Hahah we'll see

[@josepalomar3269]

Youre heart rate not getting up is due to lack of glucose from glycogen, which is required for short bursts of energy. You are basically using fats as fuel, which is good for sustained long, slow efforts. When this happens try refuellng with complex carbs, this gives you longer reserve of glucose.

[@carlovillarica]

This is interesting. I'll make sure to include complex carbs in the next long one

[@tonyoestrella7306]

We'll not bad

[@carlovillarica]

Thanks!

[@kimoutofnowhere3669]

It's fine if you were not able to finish. At least you got a front row seat to a Rivermaya concert. 😂

[@carlovillarica]

True! Lol

[@nightbit_]

also yeah, unresponsive HR is a sign of excessive fatigue

[@carlovillarica]

noted

[@hc661]

600 km and you only bring 1 spare inner tube? huhhhh

[@carlovillarica]

Mistakes were made

[@eoiiii]

Hello carlo! Wala d ay mo apil sa audax c mic-mic?

[@carlovillarica]

murag wala