I will be doing the 200 mile Tour of Pain next weekend. I am worked up about the whole thing for several reasons. I have never ridden two hundred miles on the road before. This is a bit odd to worry about because I have ridden over 200 miles off road many times with my longest single ride being 256 miles. I can't explain it but I think it is harder to ride long distance on the road. In the end it is a mental challenge and road riding can be the kind of monotony that makes the mind free to go to bad places.
I am also concerned about equipment. I am going to see if I can get a new wheel built up real quick like. With this being the busy season and Ironman this weekend the bike shops are going to laugh at my "how fast can you..". I know a few people who actually know things about bikes who might be able to help me out if things don't work out. Plan "C" is to put a 16t freewheel on the Bianchi wheel and use it on the Ibis.
I did think about using the Bianchi fixed gear for the dbl century but I did not like the idea of no bottle cages forcing all of the water onto my back during what will probably be 80+ degree temps. A bicycle angel bestowed upon me an On-One Midge Bar for the fixie. The track bars that were on the bike are the opposite of ergonomic which started bothering me when using the bike for 100 milers. The midge bar wrapped with some cushy specialized bar tape makes for a comfy ride. It has gotten me thinking about using the bar on the GDR bike build. The wide flared drops though not very aero provides a low position without much strain on the back.
As far as my goals for the 200 miler, I am not concerned with my speed much, you really can't be with one gear after all. I am instead going to focus on reducing non-moving time. If I keep moving I should be fine. I have had some good people helping me out lately and I would like to live up to their expectations for a good ride.
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