Floods Road: https://www.strava.com/activities/492911911
Choose a good climb. There's a trade off between getting it done quickly on a steep hill and it being hard; compared to an easy climb and it being longer and taking more time. Choose a climb that suits you, my ideal would be mostly seated with the occasional pinch to give you some standing. Be careful with the descent, late at night it gets hard with wildlife, and if it rains it become extra hard.
If possible, choose somewhere without traffic. Ours had none during the night but was quite busy during the day. This was tricky as it was quite a narrow road.
Invite as many people as you can. Sherpas are awesome and will help you through. Rely on them to roll laps, make food, set up camp, get food, etc. You will make it far far harder for yourself if you try to do it solo.
Pick your start time well. There are a few options that are popular.
- Late afternoon. This works for some people as you can rest during the day, and crack through the night, and when you feeling the worst, the sun comes up and you naturally feel better.
- Midnight. This is probably the most popular. The idea is that you get some sleep in during the afternoon, and start during the night and then just as you're starting to feel like shit the sun comes up, you have a few K in the bank and you have breakfast. Your Sherpas will usually arrive around day break, their energy combined with the boost the sun gives your body will give you a new lease on things. This time also has the advantage of finishing before dark.
- 3am. This was our preference. The idea is that you get a good chunk of sleep beforehand and then it's just like getting up early for a ride. You can get 2k in the bank before breakfast, and you start the day off in great shape.
Get as much free vert as you can. Use driveways when you turn around to roll up. If the segment can be extended (ours had 6m of false flat), do it, it'll give you a nice rest, roll the legs out, and get ready for the descent.
Park at the top of the climb. It's best to start after a break back down hill, and makes for a better atmosphere.
Have good pre ride nutrition. Carb load properly for the few days leading up (eg no veges/low fibre day before). It's horrible, but it works.
Have a nutrition plan for the day. A good rule of thumb is a bottle with electrolyte and something to eat every hour (banana, bar, gel, etc.). Don't try to make food on the ride, it's a waste of time. Pre pack it or have someone at base camp make it for you.
Any time you eat off the bike, drink something then too. That is, in addition to your bottles on the bike.
Slurpy's are awesome. As are donuts. Both at the same time are better.
Eat all the time. Even if you aren't hungry. Make sure you have something savoury arranged towards the end. Pizza or burgers would be good, hot chips, etc. I ate a packet of Doritos on my last 5 laps.
Have a plan for the ride. Know you'll break every 1k or 1.5k or by number of reps or time. Stick to it as best you can. Don't stop unless it's a break, or there's an issue. Ideally eat on the bike and only take a couple of major (15min) stops for decent meals.
Don't stop to rest. You shouldn't be going hard enough to rest. This time will add up extremely quickly, get off the bike, eat, pee, change water bottles, etc., that's your rest. Limit those longer eating breaks to 15 mins if you can, you shouldn't need many.
If people come to say hello don't stop until your allocated stop. It's easy to lose 30 seconds here, 2 mins there. It all adds up. I lost about 3 hours due to this.
Small disposable water bottles are good. Have one of those every couple of laps towards the end. They're a good way to make sure you get enough water. Alternatively, bring a bunch of bottles and have them on ice.
Don't just drink electrolyte. It'll taste like crap after 15 hours and you'll crave water. Coke, is also awesome. As is chocolate milk.
Have a ride plan. Know the heart rate or power you need to be doing. Don't push any harder, you shouldn't puff at the end of the climb, if you do you're going too hard. Your heart rate will decline after many hours, mine went down by about 20bpm and I felt a corresponding drop in power. It's about pacing.
Get into a rhythm as quickly as you can. This is mostly mental rather than physical. Having a plan will help, eg don't look for breaks, hold out until your allotted break. Counting pedal strokes may work if you like that sort of thing.
Get spare Garmin. Ideally two. Don't use a 500 unless you are absolutely confident you'll have it over in less than 14 hours. Run them together and take the one with the highest vert reading. The newer ones will let you plug a battery in without them restarting, so you can charge on the fly. If you can't do that, have a USB cable that doesn't cause it to reset. OTG they're called, I couldn't find one.
Expect that one garmin will fail. Have a plan for two garmins failing. Don't try to work that shit out on the ride, you'll waste time and energy and it'll eat you up mentally. Use a third, use your phone, or count laps. Take a photo of your vert on the Garmin every 1k. Just in case.
Get some portable battery packs. Use them to charge the Garmin on the fly (cable tie or tape it onto the bars). Also have a plan to recharge your lights.
Take a first aid kit, with painkillers (something strong) and anything you need for niggles. I had sore knuckles on my little toes, I had to stop for 40mins to sort them out.
Take a change of gear, at least a jersey and socks. Those socks will feel awesome when you change them. Maybe bring several spares. Take a light jersey for the hottest part of the day.
And sunscreen.