I’m definitely a planner as a way of dealing with nerves and all the pre-race stress. My 320km 24hr ultra is in 4 months and running through what I think I’ll need.
This is my list and where it will live (food not included but is unsurprisingly on a spreadsheet if interested). Torch is a rechargeable battery one so will also have 4 batteries (double if I decided I want head and bar lighting). Since I like to plan and don’t want to be rushing 2 weeks out trying to order X I’m opening up to people who’ve done similar is there anything you’d definitely take that I haven’t even thought of?
are you gonna need arm and leg warmers 4 months from now? Will you need to leave your bike out of sight in places that you actually need a lock? Instead of taking up space in a bag with the electrical tape, wrap it around your seat post and then peel it back off if needed. Am I missing a multi-tool? I would get one with a chain tool on it( I carry a Crank Bros C19). You have redundant first aid kit? I’d carry at least 1, if not 2 sets of quick links and a small section of chain if a busted chain is possible.
Is this a mountain bike / gravel ride? Or is it all on the road? Will there be a group or all solo? And I guess, do you plan to take all 24 hours to do 320km? I ask because from my point of view it looks like you are over preparing. Not really an issue, but you might end up lugging around way more than you need which could impact the quality of your ride.
I have done multiple 290km rides where all I took was my typical flat / repair saddle bag and a small frame bag filled with nutrition.
Sounds like a fun ride. My biggest advice for packing would be to think about your nutrition per hour for that time frame, you need enough to at least get to the first store stop. Nutrition is going to take up way more space than you might realize, especially for a ride that long.
Also, what’s the start time? Depending on sunset and sunrise, you can start early enough to not need many backup lights or batteries. If it will warm when the sun comes up, maybe you start a little chilly in the early hours, but you get comfortable during the day and finish before the sunset. That will help free up space taken by clothing.
And maybe think about how far your are from “rescue”. Will you need all the emergency items (like the blanket)? If you call a family member, friend, taxi, etc. in a pinch, how long would it take to get a lift?
Not trying to discourage you from taking things or being “over prepared”. Maybe you take everything and this is a good test run for future adventures. I just personally don’t like riding with a lot on my bike. Even on a 5 day 900km ride (I wasn’t camping), I didn’t take some of the items you plan to take.
I have a similar spreadsheet for my mtb bikepacking trips. I would add a column for category - like clothing, outerwear, tools, lubes, navigation, charging, lighting, etc. and sort on that. it helps organize it a bit better. Right now, it reads like a big mess of stuff - kinda hard to see if all of the bases are covered.
I would add more lubes to your sun cream and chain lube - Chammy cream (personal preference), lip balm with sunscreen.
Head unit, aka Garmin? Backup nav, like Smartphone with some kind of routing app with route loaded?
I’ve never done an event like this but my preference would be for a frame bag over the bar bag as its more aero, can likely hold more stuff and just as accessible.
In terms of lube, if I was going to do something like this I would go with synergetic, as it apparently lasts a very long time and is easy to reapply. I personally wax but am unsure in the effectiveness of reapplying wax mid ride without giving it a chance to set up.
Not sure whats in your tire repair kit but some gorilla tape might be good to patch things up, lots of plugs. I would struggle trying to decide between rolling resistance and durability in tires. Not sure what sort of event this is road/gravel/mtb. For my winter road bike I went for the Roubaix for its mix of wet grip, puncture resistance and rolling resistance, the Terreno Zero and Cinturato Velo are tougher but slightly slower.
I see no CO2/mini pump there. Not much point in taking 2 tubes if you have no means of inflation. Also, you mention a chain breaker, but no mini-tool or quick link.
You mention food as an extra, but you do need to factor this in the available space and accessibility when looking at your equipment list and doing a test pack.
Speaking of space available, you need to consider the possibility of rain on the day. Obviously you will have a better idea of the weather forecast on the day, but wet weather gear can be bulky.
If you can average 25ish kph you’ll be done after 12-13 hours of ride time. Do you anticipate riding significantly slower than that? I think if you bring a handlebar bag full of drink mix and then call a few stores to make sure you can get water you should be fine. Do a 100k to test your setup a month before. Stick to your TR plan. And have fun! Those big days are always super memorable.
A few points in one instead of individual replies, have added items and shared the full sheet.
It starts about 3 km from my place, so not far from rescue during the day time but I don’t think my bro would be impressed with a 03:00 call out so I’d like to stay warm if needed.
Lives on the bike but yes should be on the list to check.
I wish I could use my frame bag, but sadly riding a small frame means even with side-loading cages a full bag makes getting a bottle out difficult. I think this would be fine for a couple of hours but after 12 hours it might grate a bit!
Starts at 18:00, and sunset/sunrise is 22:00 - 06:00ish so about 8 hours of darkness. At 18kp/h it should take about 16 hours so I’ve budgeted for 20 including stops and unknowns.
I’m running at 18kp/h average now for 100km and will either have faster tyres (gp5000) instead of light off-road ones or new 45mm deep and fast tyres. So that should pick my average up, plus in 4 months of TR I hope to be a bit fitter too.
Agreed, I take a lot of stuff that some people wouldn’t - that’s from experience, knowing that weird things go wrong etc. The ‘superlight’ people often end up stranded at the side of the road asking for help from people with a proper pump/chain tool/emergency blanket etc.
Your list looks good, and the suggestion of a couple of pairs of quick links is a good one. I’d also add a small lip balm as not having that can cause annoying cracked lips for days. I wouldn’t carry/apply chamois cream during this ride but if you’re not 100% sure your setup is good it’s worth carrying - I didn’t once and had to use sunscreen as the only sort of suitable thing I was carrying!
Oh and I forgot to say I’d leave the clothes choices to nearer the time as the weather/temperature in the UK is so volatile. Arm/leg warmers of different weight or even knee warmers alone may be chosen closer to the time as the need to carry a waterproof. My go to bit of clothing unless its baking hot is a Gabba or a lesser waterproof softhell if its warmer with a gilet and then theres no need to carry a heavy waterproof then unless the forecast is torrential (its too far off to say). I’ve never done anything much longer than a longest day ride overnight (so not actually too dark too long) and Id not carry much more than. Spare Tubes, park patches, tyre levers, multitool, quick link (now also a stans dart tubeless repair kit), some nutrition for when I cant raid a garage, and couple of lights rear/front. I’d probably also carry a Hiplock Ziplock now I have it and in an emergency I could use it as a zip tie.
It might be worth thinking about where to pack the clothing (arm warmers, etc.) as keeping things like that in your jersey pockets means they might get sweaty/damp (mine often do). Putting on sweaty arm warmers when all you want to do is warm up is not a pleasant experience.
Another boringly practical point is to think about where to keep your rubbish as you ride. A rear jersey pocket can work, but that also runs the risk of the pocket becoming a sticky mess. If you have a dedicated place for rubbish you don’t have to think about it when you’re riding and can quickly clear it out when you stop.
What time are you setting off? There is only about 4 hours of dark at that time of year in the UK, one set of lights is fine to get through it.
I’d say you’re carrying far too much stuff, especially considering you’re visiting a local cafe at the halfway point - you’re not even that far from home. If you’re doing this in a group it’s even more overkill.
You’re making aero much worse with a bar bag too, and carrying a fricking puffy coat. In summer.
It’s just a 200 mile ride, nothing is more likely to go wrong than on the 100 milers that people do every weekend, and even if it rains it won’t be cold. There are very few wilderness areas in the UK, you don’t need to be self sufficient.
Take maybe one one frame bag, filled almost entirely with extra food and maybe an extra tube or gear cable if you want to belt and braces it - otherwise you don’t need anything you wouldn’t take on any long ride at that time of year. You will need to stop for water, so will be able to replenish food anyway.
All your clothes should fit in your jersey pockets. I’d probably only take a Gilet or maybe an emergency packable rain jacket.
Setting off at 18:00, turning around point isn’t a café just the checked point manned by the café team - they make awesome cake so fingers crossed! I do know of some nice cafés so can stop on my way back which could be good.
Nano puffs are pretty small but yeah might not be necessary, will probably try a late ride before hand to see just how cold it gets. Similarly I’ll test whether I want my helmet light as well since it’s road/cycle path I reckon not which will make that a bit less kit.
Hopefully you’re right on temperature cos that would reduce size a bit.
Aero wise bar bag isn’t a big one (day sized thing from Attacus). Reduced clothing as suggested would really trim the saddle bag so will test that.
Also, you mention a chain breaker, but no mini-tool or quick link.