Audax rides

A arbitrary points target can be a good motivator. I went for and got 50 points in 2009 (with all but one 300* on fixed) and it certainly helped me get out and do some rides after LEL (late July) as that had put me on 44 points, so 3 DIY 200s required to top it off. Without that goal I doubt I would have touched the Audax bike for a good few months (I certainly didn't for many months after PBP in 2011).

AAA points can also be good. If you're happy with doing 200km rides then AAA rated 100s and 200s present a good challenge that doesn't take up all weekend (like 300s can with travel to/from and 400/600km rides certainly do). Doing lots of AAA rides will also make the flatter rides seem easier.

Doing more and more rides on fixed too, although that's more about building mental strength to combat the "Why the fuck am I doing this?" fairies that come out especially in the middle of long fixed rides.

The other thing that Tim explained was that in his experience, once you get comfortable at the 200km distance, the longer ones are more about strategy rather than fitness. Eating and sleeping. Would be interested to hear what some the more experienced riders here think about that.

Definitely true. A 600 is just like back to back 300km rides (although you usually end up splitting it up as 350/250 or 400/200), so there's still a bit of fitness involved.

It comes down to how you feel after a ride. If you finish a 200 and are utterly broken then it's unlikely you'd be able to finish a 300, but if you finish a 200 and think "ugh, but that was ok" and do some more riding to/from the event, then you'll be able to scrape round a 300 or even feel the ok at the end of a 300. Repeat this reasoning for 300->400 and 400->600, etc. As long as you don't feel completely done in at the end of a ride then you can ride further.

The trickiest one to crack is the 400. It's long enough that you generally need a nap at some point, but short enough that you never really build up enough time in hand to have a proper sleep. If you can cope with 400s then pretty much everything else is just doing the same old stuff again and again after a short sleep (the faster you are the more sleep you get). Certainly the longer rides (1000km+) are made considerably easier with good fitness, but the experience can help you save hours by not wasting unnecessary time at controls. It also helps to know your body/mind so you can decide to sleep at a control if you think you might not make it to the next one rather than be caught with the dozies half way through an 80km stage with nowhere comfy to sleep in the pouring rain**.

But, don't take too long to build up to things, there's a certain something to be said for just launching yourself in to the longer rides and seeing what happens. Most people do their first 400 and 600 in the same year, I can't think of a reason not to. Anyone who's done that Greenwich Mean Climb should be fine for a non-AAA 400 and therefore a 600.

The Bryan Chapman Memorial 600 is a great ride and those Welsh hills are very different to Sussex. Very fixed friendly too.

* 5390m climbing in a 300km ride. Ouch.
** Me in Longtown on the 80km leg from Eskdalemuir to Alton on LEL in 2009. Idiot.