Advice for a newbie, please! Facing my first 100 mi. gravel grinder this May.

• I'm an avid/experienced XC mountain bike racer....those races are around 2 hrs and maybe in the neighborhood of 25 miles. Pretty short days, compared to 100 miles on gravel. 
• I've never ridden 100 miles before. Not on pavement, gravel, or singletrack.
• My longest rides are ~70 mi. on pavement, ~50 mi. group ride on gravel, ~50 mi. mountain bike race. 
• I've made up an 18-week training 'plan' that gradually increases my weekly long ride to 85 miles (three weeks before the race...then tapers). This plan includes 'maintenance rides' in between the long ones as well...to keep up overall volume, etc.

• I'll be riding my commuter bike which is a 2007 Redline Conquest frame with alu. fork, 2x9 gearing, bb7 disc brakes, mostly Shimano 105 'stuff', Gossomer crank, tubeless wheelset. The current tires are worn-out 40mm  Vee Rubber X-C-X tires. I will replace the tires before the race, depending on recommendations here. 
• The course will be a mix of some really gnarly, grassy, snowmobile-trail, ATV-trail, forest road stuff....but the majority of mileage will likely be washboard gravel. 
• I don't yet have any substantial packs/bags (looking at getting a larger saddle bag and possibly a small frame pack for a bladder). I ride a small frame, so it's hard to fit a frame pack without getting in the way of the bottle cage bottles. 
• I do own headlights & tail lights (though in northern MN in late May, it doesn't really get dark until about 9pm).
• I know I need to bring along a lot of nutrition and water...there's only one checkpoint, halfway....and tools.

drwelby wrote:
- Pacing. Coming from shorter MTB racing you'll probably have a tendency to push things to hard and too soon. This can also screw you on longer rides, where you think you can't do big miles because you get tired too early. You should almost focus on hours on the bike instead of miles, and force yourself to ride at what initially seems like a slow pace. It can be hard to deprogram your brain to go slow, but try to stick to a constant pace or tempo.

• Chat will other riders at the start line - The best part of gravel racing is how welcoming and friendly people are! 
• Announce your pass "On your left/right" or use a bell
• Say "Hi!" when you pass someone
• Say "Hi" when someone passes you
• Give encouragement to other riders -  it might sound cheesy and kind of cheerleader-y but these rides test your mental ability as well as your physical ability
• If you see someone pulled off to the side of the road ask them if they need anything!
• Don't Litter! 
• Don't pee in someone's front lawn - pee behind a tree
• Don't be afraid to take a short break to stretch, eat a snack, or take a picture!

AlanEsh wrote:Bibs.
Seriously, bibs made the difference for me being able to grind for 4 hours to 6+ hours. The longer rides with constant motion and very little pausing/coasting was causing ... equipment issues up front with my regular shorts. TMI I suppose...

Sadlebred wrote:18 hours is a lot of volume for a week. How many miles do anticipate for that week? The rule of thumb is that if you can do an 80% of the race distance, you will be fine on race day. Don't burn yourself out before the race.

Update (for posterity): 

I finished Le Grand du Nord 100 mile race with no major issues. 

In retrospect, the idea of 100 miles was much more of a mental barricade than a physiological one. I finished easily, almost exactly in the middle of the pack, and still feeling strong and ready to keep riding.

In all of my training I never used any kind of chamois butter and only had one training ride where I suffered some slight chaffing. Working-out the right clothes was key: I found one of my low-grade cycling shorts just happened to fit right. Race day was a bit cold and I ended up wearing some cheap tights underneath my shorts...no issues.

My only 'mistake' in the race was also made by several other riders: some of the race information lead a few of us to think that there would be water/aid at the 40-mile checkpoint. This would have made sense since, although 40 miles wasn't technically half-way (distance-wise) it was half-way (effort-wise) - most of the tough climbing was crammed into the first 40 miles. As it turned out, there was no support at the 40-mile checkpoint, so we rode on without water until the 68 mile checkpoint where we drenched our parched bodies. Next time I'd carry more water, regardless of the checkpoints, just to ensure I'd have plenty. Lesson learned.

I think I'm ready for 150, or 200 miles....

namdoogttam wrote:

I'm not sure how to interpret this: are you saying "bibs" as opposed to regular padded chamois shorts (without the over-the-shoulder straps)? Or are you saying "bibs" as opposed to, say, cut-off jeans shorts or swimming trunks or a non-bike-specific pair of shorts?

Is the key here the padded chamois (seems obvious) or the suspender component (why?) to 'bibs'?