Planning The Black Forest 400 - #BlackForest400
The Route
The route starts from the city of Arras in northern France, before heading east and south into Belgium, the Ardennes, Luxembourg, and through Strasbourg; before ramping up significantly to the finish in the Black Forest. A total of 644 kilometres (400 miles), with over 8,000 metres of elevation gain.You can watch the ride unfold on social media, with the hashtag #BlackForest400
The Bike
The #BlackForest400 will be adventure into a new territory, but I have opted to do it aboard a familiar bike - the Neil Pryde Bura SL.The Neil Pryde was my bike of choice for many great adventures on the road last year, including the #5MaratonasChallenge and the St. Boniface Down Everesting.
I have made a few modifications to the bike, to make it more suitable for such a long endurance ride:
- Cockpit - I have changed my 120mm stem to a 100mm stem, and switched from a racing drop fi'zi:k Snake Cyrano Handlebar to a shallower drop Easton EC70 Road Handlebar.
- Tyres - For added comfort, I have switch my normal 25mm tyres to the Vee Tire Co. 28c Road Runner Tyres.
- Saddle - I have the new fi'zi:k Versus Evo Antares Saddle fitted, rather than my previous fi'zi:k Arione Saddle.
- Wheels - Rather than the Campagnolo Bora Wheelset I used for most of last year, I have switched to the Mavic R-SYS SLR Endurance Wheelset, because its carbon spokes provide a notable increase in comfort.
- Gearing - Finally, I have switched from a 52-36T semi-compact chainset, to a 52-34T custom set-up chainset. I may well welcome the lower gear provided by this, and a 12-29T cassette, when I reach the Black Forest.
Image below was before modifications
The Equipment
A non-stop ride of 30 hours demands some significant additional equipment. This is my pack list for the #BlackForest400- Arkel Seatpacker 9 bikepacking seat pack
- Saddlebag:
- Lezyne Lever Patch Kit
- KMC chainlink
- Lezyne Rap 14 Multi-tool
- Lezyne Road Drive mini-pump
- Spare inner tube x2
- Smoove Lube
- Spare gear cable
- Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt GPS unit
- Lezyne Super Enhanced GPS unit
- USE Exposure Diablo front light
- USE Exposure Six Pack front light
- USE Exposure TraceR rear light x2
- Cinq5 Smart Power Pack II x2
- Elite Deboyo Insulated water bottle
- Elite Corsa 550ml water bottle
- SKS Raceblade Pro XL rear mudguard
The Food and Drink
I will aim to stop to pick up food along the route. Popping into a patisserie, pizza takeaway or bar for some refuelling is one of the great things about touring on the Continent.
However, to keep me going between food stops, I will be taking the following in my seatpack:
- Chia Charge flapjacks
- Clif Bar Shot Bloks
- Fori meat snack bars
- Multipower protein bars
- Rude Health Oatys
- Maurten 160 Hydration Mix (more on this in a future review)
The Clothing
For a ride of this length, I have opted to take kit from Sportful, GripGrab, Mavic, POC Sports and Sidi; all brands that I trust to deliver great comfort, and consistently superb quality kit.The selection is designed to be as lightweight as possible, but with versatility in mind.
- POC Sports Octal-X Helmet
- POC Sports AVIP DoBlade Sunglasses
- GripGrab Cycling Cap
- GripGrab Cloudburst Gloves
- GripGrab Raptor Gloves
- GripGrab Headglove
- GripGrab Merino Winter Socks
- GripGrab RaceAqua X Overshoes
- Sportful Fiandre Light NoRain SS Top
- Sportful Fiandre Light NoRain LS Top
- Sportful Bodyfit Pro Classics Jersey
- Sportful Bodyfit Pro Sleeveless Base Layer
- Sportful Total Comfort Bib Shorts
- Sportful Fiandre NoRain Bib Shorts
- Sportful NoRain Arm Warmers
- Sportful NoRain Leg Warmers
- Sportful Stelvio Jacket
- Sidi Dragon 4 SRS Carbon MTB Shoes
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