Hi all, I’ve got a few questions for those of you who’ve either done the Day Across MN (240 miles) in the past, or have completed other 200+ mile gravel races:
1) any specific training recommendations for 15+ hour races? What is the longest training rides you’ve done?
2) tire size? I’m assuming comfort is a main concern for a long ride like this, maybe go bigger? 700C 45mm-ish? What about the specific route for those of you who’ve done it? Is it relatively smooth??
3) I’ve heard that a lot of people do it on hard-tail mountain bikes with aero bars for added options for hand positioning. What do you guys think? Stick with my gravel bike??
4) besides lots of training between now and August 2, what else should I be thinking about? Any tips, advice, suggestions from experienced ultra gravel racers is greatly appreciated!!
Thank you!!! Hopefully, I’ll see some of you out on the trails! 🚴
by rp1859
7 Comments
This looks awesome and now I’m dreaming about driving out for it.
Longest event I did before a double century was 6 hours.
Same approach: controlled pace, drink, eat, don’t think about the distance too much. Didn’t actually get hard until the last 10 miles.
If you can ride 4 solid hours relatively comfortably, you’re most of the way there as far as training goes.
It’s a midnight start so get comfortable riding at night. It’s in August but be prepared for cold weather and pack one more thing layer than you’d originally plan. The 3am-6am window you’re riding through the river valley and I’ve seen years with temps in the 30s/40s F.
Gravel bike is the dominant bike for this race. Wider tires would definitely be the choice if your bike can fit them.
Similar to any endurance event, hydration and nutrition are some of the biggest things. Get used to longer rides (100-150 miles) and having your nutrition plan dialed in. Plenty of gas stations along the route for stops as well if needed.
The last ten miles are the hilliest so be prepared for that
I did it a couple years ago on a steel touring bike with 700×40 gravel kings and was fine, never really wished I had more tire. Most people were on carbon gravel bikes. I didn’t see anyone on a hardtail and only one or two people with flat bar bikes. The route was pretty smooth but I think some of the road quality can vary year to year? (Not from there so not sure). There was like a one mile section of random sandy singletrack in a town about halfway that nearly everyone had to walk parts of but imo it wouldn’t be worth riding something that could make it through that (if it’s even still included). Like someone else mentioned, most of the elevation is in the rolling hills at the end and they sneak up on you, they’re not particularly difficult or anything, but more something to be mentally prepared for.
Biggest suggestion I would give is just get used to long days on the bike and get lots of mileage in beforehand. I don’t really know anything about actual training plans or the like, I was doing 80-120 mile rides every weekend and 30-50 miles two or three times on weekdays for months leading up to it with a 180 mile ride about a month before and then took it easy the last week or two.
My only other suggestion would be to maybe bring like a tiny chain lube, my chain got pretty gunked up about half way through to the point the shifting was pretty hosed and I was trying to wipe it down and another dude totally saved me at a gas station with a little lube.
Probably the craziest ride I’ve ever done, you’ll have a blast!
I rode in the DAMN Last year. I did not prepare/train enough for the ride. I knew that I would not finish but I ride a fat tire so I was slower than almost everyone but I still lined up and rode through the night and it was such a fantastic ride. I absolutely loved it.
Gary is a very small town with one hotel and it kicks off at midnight so keep that in mind. There are a few places to eat, I think two taverns and the hotel restuarant but the populate of Gary swells from 240 to well over thousand. You should be able to pitch a tent for the afternoon/evening if you want to try to get some rest before kickoff. It get’s busy.
The one issue I ran into was my lights. I had all of my lights fully charged but they died after 3-4 hours and 4 AM in the middle of western Minnesota is pretty dark. Luckily I had a someone with me and he lit my way until the sun came up. Some of the gravel you will come across is pretty chunky, not nice crushed limestone.
I think Morton, MN is the first real town you will hit. There is a gas station that has bathrooms and it’s a good first stop to meet your support crew. I think it is 80 or 85 miles in.
I am not sure what elevation you are used to riding but it’s about 7000 of elevation gain through the course with a lot of that after Henderson which is at the 150 mile mark or so.
There are a couple of short films about The DAMN streaming on Amazon Prime if you want to learn more about it, Delta of Spirit and The last DAMN.
I would say it gets hilly after Northfield, so like 40 miles of hills. I liked having aero bars on my gravel bike, just to rest my back. Temps could be 40-100⁰, have layers hand. Learn about “corn sweat”, the humidity in the fields can be nasty.
I’ve done the DAMN 3 times. Ride several centuries over the summer. Train to carb load before the race and learn to eat on the bike. Bring lots of electrolytes. Get your bike fit dialed in. Ride the widest tires you can fit on your bike. Wear comfy bib shorts. Don’t quit on yourself. That’s the best advice I can give you.