110 miles on December 23rd - any chances?

Hello,

I want to try to cycle 110 miles to my girlfriends parents house on December 23rd. I've done the ride before several times so not worried about the distance or route, but I'm wondering about whether it will be much harder in cold winter. I will have about 8 hours daylight, I think I will be in the saddle for 9 hours, so will leave and have the dark part in London and around.

What should I know before I cycle this sort of distance on my own in the cold?

Cheers

Keep an eye on the weather reports, I wouldn't want to get stuck out in snow. If I was doing it on my audax bike I'd be worried about the ice too.

Watch also for wind direction. Stronger winter winds can either greatly help or hinder.

Layered and waterproof clothing. Waterproof gloves. Good overshoes.

Even if you expect to arrive before dark, good (not London commuter) lights.

normal stuff I think - long tights, gloves etc. bright lights (/as many lights as you've got).

definitely a good idea to get the dark part out of the way early. Also plan escape routes, i.e. know where you have to turn off your route to get to all of the train stations along the way, if you have to cheat... have fun, it'll probably be fine and even if things go wrong it will be a good experience.

plenty of food.

Where is your destination?

Bournemouth or Birmingham? Or Norwich. If you have a choice, Bournemouth would be nicer but is into the prevailing wind. Stays light a little longer if you go west.

plenty of food.

+1

and water. Even though it is cold, keep drinking.

Going to Sheepscombe - near Stroud. Its a really beautiful place to ride to, very very hilly at the end though.

be prepared to fix mechanicals (puncture repair obviously, chainbreaker and spare quicklink, 5 mm allen key and some cable ties are easily portable and can fix most things) because if you break down you don't want to be stuck miles from home in potentially freezing weather with a long, cold walk ahead of you.

definitely take food, and if you have one, a small thermos with hot drink in would be a good idea.
take a mobile and a bank / credit card and a map.

Keep an eye on the weather reports, I wouldn't want to get stuck out in snow. If I was doing it on my audax bike I'd be worried about the ice too.

+1. Even if there is no ice at sea level, at that time of year the tops and downs can be horribly treacherous. A broken clavicle is probably *not *what you want for Christmas.

(Trying to remember the words to the song "Jonny, don't be a hero.." but I am sure you get the drift.)

be prepared to fix mechanicals (puncture repair obviously, chainbreaker and spare quicklink, 5 mm allen key and some cable ties are easily portable and can fix most things) because if you break down you don't want to be stuck miles from home in potentially freezing weather with a long, cold walk ahead of you.

definitely take food, and if you have one, a small thermos with hot drink in would be a good idea.
take a mobile and a bank / credit card and a map.

This and make sure your girlfriend and her folks know your route just in case...

Use a minicab as a support car.

Use a minicab as a support car.

What, so he can be run off the road, and screamed at, three miles from his destination?

Don't forget to ask your girlfriend to take your luggage including clean clthes and a scrubbing brush.

Don't forget to ask your girlfriend to take your luggage including clean clothes and a scrubbing brush.

Going to Sheepscombe - near Stroud. Its a really beautiful place to ride to, very very hilly at the end though.

I rode past Sheepscombe last night. Basically this route.

If you're planning a 110 mile ride I'd recommend building up to it with a a couple of 70 mile rides before hand. Drinking and eating almost constantly and riding slower than usual got me through my 1st 200k ride last month. That was pretty cold.

...and waterproof outer.

Better with a waterproof in a pocket/saddle bag IMO. Freezing sweat is no fun.

Have a credit card, phone and cash in a ziplock bag.

Layers, layers, layers, and waterproof outer.

Sunrise is 8.43a.m. on 23 December, and sunset at 5:41pm.

If you leave at 7.30am and average 13mph you'll be rocking up at 4pm.

Sunset is currently around 4pm. Will be nearer 3:30pm that close to the solstice

The traffic will most likely be mental in the evening rush hour, so I'd plan to leave early and get there before the mayhem.

Where is your destination?

Bournemouth or Birmingham? Or Norwich. If you have a choice, Bournemouth would be nicer but is into the prevailing wind. Stays light a little longer if you go west.

I'm planning to cycle from Norwich to London in a couple of weeks that's around 116 from the route I've planned to my friends in Chingford. Planning to leave around 4.30-5AM hopefully I'll be there just after lunch. Best bet is plan to miss built up areas at rush hour.

My route if anyone cares to take a look (or tell me I'm going miles out of my way!) - http://connect.garmin.com/course/231830

nice one.

good luck with it.

My top tip for long cold rides is setting out with one bidon of cold drink and one of hot (one of those metal insulated ones, if you can get one) The tendency then is to drink the hot bidon fairly early because you want to enjoy it warm, there fore you hydrate early whilst keeping warm atthe same time!
Also a planned tea stop is good - sugary cake + sugary tea = happy riding!

Good luck!

A couple of tips.
You won't be able to maintain a hard pace for the entire ride unless you are very fit, and if you ride at a pace that you can do for the whole ride you will get cold extremities, so make sure they are well protected.
Snack all the time, sweets, bars, fruit and stuff, fill your pockets and keep snacking, the cold can sap a lot of energy and it is much easier if you keep your blood sugar high, but don't let it drop, especially towards the end.
Some serious lighting would be a good idea, because even during the late afternoon in can be murky well before sunset. At the end of the ride, when tired and perhaps on roads you don't know too well, you really need to be able to see exactly where you are going let alone be seen.
If you plan a stop for food and to warm up, add an hour to your riding time (partly because you are bound to stop for a wee and possibly a puncture.) so you need to plan your arrival time with that time factored in.
If you let us know your route I may join you for some of it. I regularly ride from Reading to just past Stroud

And make sure that you have a nice hot hearty meal waiting for you at the other end.

Good luck!

Don't know how busy your route is, but remember it's one of the heaviest days for traffic in the year. It will be a lot worse than the other times you've ridden it.