 How is that actually possible?
Mechanicals
No/failed lights Mud happens Sleeping bag entrapment Beer Riding round this field when I'm tired is harder than I thought All good reasons! Makes for an expensive T shirt though.
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Thanks for the reminder. Got me to enter the twentyfour12. I did the Relentless24 solo unsuported as my first Solo effort. It is possible so long as you are organised but not recomended, you will definatly do a bit better with support but I think your first event will always be a learning process and making your mistakes away from attention is not that bad. Having said that I will have support this time but then Plymouth is a lot closer to Bristol than Fort William....
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 You could do CLIC. Not really a race, which makes it all quite relaxed. Fun course that you actually want to ride repeatedly, which is IMHO essential - I couldn't imagine soloing Mayhem, for example. You don't need (much) support if you've got preparation - get all your food sorted, have a tent ready in case, have spares to hand, have a simple light setup that you can get going easily (I like to switch to a whole different bike when it gets dark), that kind of thing. It's nice to have someone to sort you out the odd mug of tea, though. You need to imagine the things that could make you stop and have something available to prevent them stopping you. It's mainly a mental thing - your brain will be trying to make you stop and looking for excuses, you have to have things in place so it won't wash  Other than that, the hard part is getting enough food down you. It's more important to have food that you can bear to eat than worrying about the most efficient way of getting calories - the most amazing scientifically-developed energy product ever made is no good to you if you can't bear the sight of it after three hours. You'll need about 14,000 calories.
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Oh, I forgot the important thing. Go slow. Really slow. Slower than you think, and then some. Don't under any circumstances go with the flow on the first few laps. Figure out your aerobic threshold and aim to stay under it. You'll be amazed how slow it is, but that's how you'll get to the end.
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 Cheers Mike. I am already doing long slow rides on the road bike in preparation for next year (hoping to do half Ironman next year, full in 2011). I'm aiming to do seven hours non stop by end of January, so I'll be err... almost a third of the way there. One thing I am good at is riding when sleep deprived. I will rope someone in as a pit bitch, having a hot cuppa made for you sounds good.
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 Done 2 as a team of 8, which I know is different, means you can go flat out. You know the soloists though are the guys as Mike says that seem to be out (at least at the beginning) for a wee spn in the park, that of course changes to the slow guys with the mad staring eyes. Why not try as a team of two for your first event, still a big challenge but the support and shared experience could make it a lot of fun.
The nice thing with the team thing though is it turns into a really good event, we had beer, camping stove with hot grub on the go, hot drinks soup and a fully mechanical pit crew. We also each managed a few hours shut eye. OK, so not slumming it as much, but been woken at 4am from your slumber to go and put in 2 laps in the cold and damp is not the most pleasant thing in the world. One thing though, the best laps of all are the sunrise laps, just as the night is finishing and the first rays of sun appear behind the trees, kinda magical in a bizzare bleary eyed way.
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Agree totaly about the food and the going slow advice. I was way down on my finishing position after the first few laps but was always taking it very easy always spinning a lower gear or two than I normaly would. All the way up to about 20 hours I felt like I was taking it easy. The last 4 hours were just a case of keeping going any which way. The other thing I leart is that it's a 25 hour race not a 24 hour race. You need to have that aproach as you are getting into the last 7 (not 6) hours if you are going to get the most out of yourself lots of people just stop early at the end when they could just keep the pace and do another lap.
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 Blimey DK......if you're aiming for a full ironman, you've got to love PAIN, embrace PAIN, relish PAIN......cos that's gonna hurt!
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Why not try as a team of two for your first event Because pairs is the hardest way to do a 24hr race. FACT. 
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Because pairs is the hardest way to do a 24hr race. FACT Not disputing your assertion Mike, but how can cycling for 12 hrs be harder than cycling for 24?
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 24hr races are much more of a mental battle than a psychical battle.
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 The thing with doing a 24hr race as pairs is the stop start thingy and the false sense of thinking you can be going faster than you really should, long rides are best done with minimal interruptions. DK - Not sure what 24 me and the mates are doing next year,if its the same one as you we'd be happy to offer support in some way but unfortunately for you it will stop at the dirty pants bit,get used to riding long hours in skiddies.
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So having never done anything like 24hrs in the saddle....and that has got to hurt like hell! What sort of distance is achieved by the half decent rider? I appreciate conditions etc make a huge difference, but what have you Guys managed?
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 My computer was just over a hundred miles I think I did 12laps, the winner of 24/12 last year racked up something like 27 laps :/
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My computer was just over a hundred miles I think I did 12laps, the winner of 24/12 last year racked up something like 27 laps :/ Maybe you should stick to surfing Billy!
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Wild Boar last year the solo male winner did 21-22 laps which included 33,000ft of climbing too. Anyone seen Paris-Brest-Paris? If not read up on it,it makes a 24hr solo ride seem like a walk in the park,even qualifiying for it is a nightmare.
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 I always liked the look of P-B-P, the overall average speed required is not that bad. Plus it's on road, and you have a set goal to aim for. A 24 solo is as Mike said, keeping reasons to go on in your head, which will take great mental feats of strength to carry on.
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Because pairs is the hardest way to do a 24hr race. FACT.Ah but DK likes a challenge
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 pairs is murder... i'd recommend relentless, done it a few times (in teams though), great atmosphere, and a good course. t'is a while away now though... support is a real nice thing to have too. done any 10 or 12 hours? probably good to try one or two of those 1st - again i'd recommend the no fuss events up here in scotland, 10 at kirroughtree has perhaps the best course i've ever raced on... top people are generally putting out around 50-55 min laps over the 24 hours solo.
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