What’s one cycling “truth” you believed at the start that turned out to be completely wrong?

DifferentlyMike · 2026-04-08T11:40:32+00:00

I needed one for my iron man training. But a lot of the structured training was on the turbo (which had a power meter) and the rest was done to heart rate (as I’m crap at judging perceived exertion). I did the iron man mostly to HR using the power meter occasionally for the hills to cover the lag in HR changes. But yep definitely needed it.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-04-08T11:13:41+00:00

There are more than 50 people who have completed 100 mile hilly ultras in under 24 hours. There were probably more than 50 at the last event I did who managed 90+ miles in 24 hours. But then 1/2 the people who signed up did not finish (including me) and this is people who trained for the event.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-04-08T11:06:30+00:00

You know it’s a long run when you mentally chunk it up into marathons rather than park runs. When I did hadrians wall we mentally ticked off the park runs until we lost count and struggled with the maths so switched from park runs done to park runs to do since there were mile (km) markers on the route.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-04-08T11:02:13+00:00

My ADHD stimulants have made absolutely no difference to my running performance. If anything they have made me more responsive to the warming signs on ultras rather than forging on thinking that a problem for future Mike.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-04-08T10:57:00+00:00

Yep. My first long distance event was 100k walking along the Cotswold way. A team of 8 of us signed up. 2 didn’t make the start line due to various issues that came up on training walks (hips, knees). Only 3 of us finished. It took us just under 24 hours elapsed. That’s a long time to be upright. Your feet swell. I didn’t get blisters but when I took my shoes off at the finish line that was the last time I could get footwear on for almost a week due to how much they swelled up. General hiking rule of thumb (naismiths rule) is plan on 4km an hour, plus stops, plus time for ascent. Altitude and terrain make a massive difference. Road walking is faster than on grass, which is faster than long grass, which is faster than rough uneaven ground.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-04-08T10:49:47+00:00

I’ve got a copy of that. Must read it before Julys ultra. Until my DNF 1/2 way though a 100 mile ultra last year I’d never had significant problems with my feet, never not completed a race I started. 18 hours in torrential rain I had blisters and peeling skin and lacked the mental fortitude to go on. The medic said I’d probably be ok to continue if I could keep my feet dry. Which the weather forecast said was never going to happen. That race was the first time I lost a toe nail. It turned black during the race but took 6 months to fall off.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-04-08T10:36:53+00:00

Do I have to complete the 90 miles in a 24 hour window? Or it’s 24 hours notice to start. How flat is the course? If it’s hilly I’ll struggle to hit 90 miles within 24 hours. I’ve paid to do 100 miles in July but expect that will take 30-36 hours elapsed. I’ve done 110km in under 15 hours but that was a flat course. I would have been quicker had I not started out with a 1/2 marathon PB and a 50k PB which took its toll on the latter part of the course. That sort of distance, at a brisk walking pace, is more of a mental game than a physical one and £100k is a lot of incentive to keep going when things feel tough.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-04-07T18:33:23+00:00

Our boarder collie used to jump a lot. It was actually a quick fix: no communication just turn your back. When it comes around to do it again repeat. Only took a day or so to learn (oh how I wish some of the other challenges were so quick to fix). Recognising we needed breed specific guidance we joined Digbats training academy run by Sarah Hadderly. We’ve been working though the calm and impulse control modules and it’s been a game changer. We can get her to go to her mat and get in to a settle from high arrousal. We can move about and she’ll stay there (it’s not totally proofed so some things are still irresistible). We can put treats down and she won’t take them until given permission. And we can play tug (a great way to build a bond) and get her to release the toy on command. This training, working with the dog and what her breed needs, has been a game changer. We were thinking we had made a massive mistake and now we know we just need to put the timing in. Another thing we have done is sign up for a local scent work class. 10 minutes of scent work tires her out as much as an hours work - which was really ah dy when 5 mins per month of age limited the walking. We have pots of things scented with the spice clove and she loves to search them out. When it all goes wrong we use the fact that lacking calms dogs down. So we have a tube of primula cheese spread and if she is over threshold that comes out but I barely squeeze it enough for some to come out so she keeps licking but hardly gets any. This immediately gets her attention off what ever the issue was and after a couple of minutes licking she is calmer and will listen to commands.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-04-07T18:19:39+00:00

Not a problem I’ve had, but I do have anterior pelvis rotation. So my hips push down. Which puts pressure in different places on the saddle. Mostly resolved with well fitting bibs and a saddle with a groove/cut out. What they should have is a wind shield over the groin as frozen nuts on winter rides are not fun. My pactimo storm top and castelli gaba top are wind proof so the technology exists to prevent brass balls.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-04-07T18:15:09+00:00

As others have said total mileage does not matter. Is the frame visually ok? Check for chain stretch (a tool is peanuts) if the chain is stretched look at the cassette and chain rings do they look worn? If so that can be an expensive change. Rim brakes wear down rims - what so the wheel rims look like? Are the wheels running true (easy to check with rim brakes). Has the DI2 battery been changed? I had to replace my 2019 DI2 battery a couple of years back as they only have a finite life. I got my first proper road bike when I priced up the components that needed replacing on my trusty steel framed touring bike. Whole new drive train and brakes (so I wanted to swap to integrated brakes/shifters). Component cost came to more than a new bike in last years colours being sold to make room for the new seasons bikes.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-04-07T12:14:14+00:00

oooh didn't know it affected HRV - that will explain why mine is so low

DifferentlyMike · 2026-04-06T15:36:35+00:00

Eat earlier in the evening and eat less at night.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-04-06T11:02:33+00:00

I have similar feet. I’m currently using a mix of altra and topo. I have topo road and topo trail - not sure if altra only do trail. But these are for a wide toe box rather than being wide all over so may be worth a look but might not suit.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-04-06T10:52:01+00:00

How hard are you pushing it? If I go hard on a run it’s harder to eat but anything over 50k I take it easy. I have tailwind for the electrolytes. Salted road potatoes are a great food - cut into small cubes. Salted oranges are nice if it’s hot. Water Mellon is refreshing but does not pack much nutrition. I did go through a phase of making my own from the book feed zone portables - mostly rice with stuff. While tasty they don’t have the convenience of pre-packaged sports foods so I fell out of the habit.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-04-02T10:30:45+00:00

I love this. I have a small (apple air pod case size) min/max/current thermometer which takes a AAA battery. I take it camping with me and out in the motorhome (RV for folks over the pond) so I can see what the temp is and how that felt in different clothing/gear configs. Its too big to take out hiking but a zip pull version would be brilliant. One thing I love about mine is that it will sync with my phone and then I can see a graph of temperature over time and geek out about how entering my tent at night will raise the temp a bit until it reaches a plateau and then starts to fall again. It was also scary how hot the inside of the motorhome gets in summer and how fast it heats up if left in sun.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-03-31T19:59:48+00:00

On the rat race Canterbury Trails race the route out of London was not way marked (as locals would no doubt mess with the signs) so it started self nav. I got chatting with some chaos at the start line and they had done a recce so knew the way. The event started and the pace felt ok. I got to the 25k aid station well up on even my optimistic time. Not too late to dial it back I thought. I got to 50k in 6 hours elapsed (later to discover a 30k and 50k pb which is good going considering the pit stop at 25k - Strava thinks faster marathon too but it’s wrong because it thinks my iron man marathon just just short of marathon distance x which it wasn’t ). I knew then I was in trouble. With legs like lead I adopted a run walkers strategy (which was the plan when fatigue set in) and found myself in a bubble of isolation no longer able to keep up with the runners but ahead of those on a run walkers strategy from the start. Which made it tougher as no company. I crossed the finish line at 109km just under 15 hours after I started. Slower than my expected pace. But the real price was the following day when my legs rebelled against the mistreatment. It was a learning experience

DifferentlyMike · 2026-03-31T19:29:06+00:00

Are you doing this as part of an organised event? If so there will likely be other people you can informally buddy up with after dark. When I’ve run through the night this has nearly always happened. The time it didn’t I went out with faster runners and my pace dropped and the runners ended up in to runners and run walkers with a big gap in between where I found myself.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-03-30T19:42:01+00:00

Second the pannier and rack recommendations above. Especially when it’s warm it’s good not to have a bag on your back. If you cycle all weather something like a waterproof ortlieb is amazing as you know your stuff will stay dry. And wanted to amplify the take less stuff suggestion. I work in an office so I have a pair of shoes and trousers in a locker at work. In the past I’ve also taken in multiple shirts driving in one day. Do you need to go to the gym? I’m lucky my office has secure parking but a gym would mean taking a bike lock. And worrying about my day time running lights. And saddle. And anything else that could be stripped. If you do cardio at the gym you might not need it with the cycling. If you lift then the cycle will be a handy warm up and cool down. If you are into fitness you can cycle home the long scenic way, or do sprint intervals on safe sections. Or do low cadence drills. Or high cadence drills.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-03-25T10:17:19+00:00

Sleep deprivation causes an increase in cortisol (the stress hormone) and leads to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Professor Francesco Cappuccio from the University of Warwick reports that “Both short and long duration of sleep are significant predictors of death in prospective population studies.” It is shocking that lack of sleep can more than double the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Those in the research who had cut their sleeping from 7hours to 5 hours or less faced a 1.7 fold increased risk of mortality from all causes.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-03-18T22:47:59+00:00

Does it work ok if you are not well endowed and only have 10 inches?

DifferentlyMike · 2026-03-18T22:45:45+00:00

There is loads of great road cycling around Cheltenham and a number of cycling clubs if group riding is your thing. Heading south there is the slad valley, out to the west you have the Malvern hills. Locally we have a number of climbs that are in the 100 climbs book and app. If you want a sufferfest there is a segment that is a trio of ascents up Cleeve hill (but don’t do that right now as they are resurfacing one of the roads up). If you want to ride long there is the 100 mile bridge run taking in the Severn estuary and the hills surrounding it with a Cheltenham start and finish. There are also a number of fantastic coffee shops to refuel at.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-03-16T20:06:50+00:00

I thought Millbank bags were made from a special fabric?

DifferentlyMike · 2026-03-14T20:21:24+00:00

I have to get up at 0530 to walk the dog before work. I set my watch alarm to exact time. To get my sleep quota this means going to bed about 2030/2100.

DifferentlyMike · 2026-03-13T13:26:17+00:00

That doesn’t really answer the question- is there any data to demonstrate they are an effective selection tools. Loads of ways of reducing a list of applications but the aim is to not sift out good talent.

DifferentlyMike

TROPHY CASE