WHAT
Dream it. Do it.
12 hours, ‘start’ to ‘end’.
Your idea of an awesome ‘day’ of cycling.
Pitch it to friends / accomplices, or don’t.
Take photos to help tell your story, or don’t.
Submit your ride to share with and inspire others, or don’t.
There are many ways to conceive, frame, plan, and execute cycling experiences. There’s no shortage of performance-oriented cycling formats out there, layers upon a broad base of racing. Everesting and FKTs provide clear parameters within which creativity and problem solving can be applied, but these challenges are about peak performance, not peak fun.
Is cycling, as a ‘sub-culture’, good at orchestrating fun experiences? Are we clear in our understanding of what makes some rides feel amazing - during and after - and others neither? Is imagining an AWESOME day on a bike something many of us take on as a challenge in itself, and one we’re confident enough to pitch to friends?
These are rhetorical questions.
12 Hours of Awesome is the yin to the yang of quantified performance-driven cycling. It’s an invitation to create a vision for a day out that will be memorable and make you feel that spark again. A day that will help you remember why you do this cycling thing in the first place.
Qs & As
Is it just for fun? Yes
Is it a race? No
Are we supposed to go fast? If you want.
Does it matter whether it’s exactly 12 hours? No
Do I have to ride 12oA with other people? No
Does my 12oA have to be crazy, hard, or radical to count? No
Can I spend equal time riding and not-riding during my 12oA? Yes
Do I need to provide the route file if I submit my 12oA? Yes
12oA Concept Examples
Matt’s Trials for Miles Enduro
This concept is about combining a few classic MTB elements into one fabulous day. It’s not about ‘hard’, it’s about old-school fun.
07:00 - Depart home, ride to a cafe to meet the gang for breakfast.
After breakfast to lunch - MTB trails over about 40km, stitching best hits together (most fun sections) and most challenging climbs. Keep a running tally of dabs on the trials sectors. Arrive at lunch spot, enjoy.
Between lunch and dinner - Another 40ish km of trails, all about tapping the best stuff and cleaning the designated climbs. Transition to the dinner spot.
19:00 - Arrive home, after a couple hours of dinner with the crew, at a spot everyone could get home from in roughly the same amount of time. In Ottawa, I would want to do pizza at Farinella’s. If everyone puts in $5 at the start, random draw at the end selects either best, mid, or worst trials tally to win free dinner. It’s not all about who’s the best; it’s about trying and having fun!
Matt’s TRIFECTA
This concept is unapologetically performance-oriented. But it’s also about a teamwork approach to what used to be a common format club activity: ‘reliability rides.’ These were focused on holding a pre-set average speed as a group, which is great for learning skills. When I’ve set out for big days over 200k, I’ve often had the goal of accomplishing my first 100km within the first three hours. I find that knocking off a big chunk of the day before noon feels good, and provides a buffer to manage heat and darkness.
The TRIFECTA’s components would be:
1) Choose three points, one of which is your starting point. You will ride a triangle of sorts. Each point should be 111k from the next.
2) The clock starts from the first point.
3) The goal is to ride each 111km block in 3:20, which is 33.3kph.
4) 333km @ 33.3kph takes 10 hours.
5) Making the 333k within the 12 hours allows for a couple decent stops for food, but you’ll have to be efficient. Water stops need to be fast too, and eating on the bike is key.
6) Does it matter whether you fit everything into the 12 hours? Only if you decide it matters.
Example Schedule:
06:00 - Roll from home to meet the squad.
06:25 - Begin first 1111k / 3.33 hr block.
9:58 - Brunch
10:45 - Begin second 111k / 3.33 hr block
14:18 - Late lunch
15:00 - Begin third 111k / 3.33 hr block
18:33 - Arrive at end!