Now that the 2025 Tour Whose Name Shall Not Be Uttered has ended, it is fairly common for Sufferlandrians to ask themselves: “where did all the food in the refrigerator go?”, or “what now?”, or “do I have what it takes to storm the gates of Castle Sufferlandria?”
Well, ask no more. It is not uncommon for Knighthood Quests to be pursued a week or two after a Tour so why not you, why not now? There’s plenty o’ room…and you’ll get a badge…and an email with a certificate confirming your badassedness…and a letter in the mail with decals… and your name engraved on the Scroll of Honour, that hallowed list of People Who Have Done Dumb Stuff… and access to a couple of decommissioned vintage vids.
Share your plans. Ask your questions. Get it done.
I second this suggestion! If you’ve been considering a quest, post-tour is a great time to get it done. Rest this week, do 3 vids this Saturday and 5 the next, take notes, plan your route, and share it here so we can gleefully anticipate your Misery!
While my prep advice might differ from @DameCristy’s I’m more than happy to provide guidance, suggestions, warnings and all manner of mocking along the way.
100%. I was just referring to the suggestion of doing 3 in-a-row and 5 in-a-row. I understand the KoS prep plans have that kind of thing built in, and this is the tack quite a few Knights have taken. But, I swear to GvA, that had I been faced with a day where I had to do 5 vids back-to-back, I’d have kept going or might have given up completely.
That’s just how I’m made. I did a similar thing in prepping for a virtual Everest up Alpe du Zwift. My plan had me doing increasing reps of AdZ a couple days apart. When I got to the day where I needed to do 4 in-a-row, I just kept going to get the 9 needed for the vEverest to be done (technically 8.5, but I kept going cuz, umm, reasons )
I was told that once I had completed an indoor century ride that I was in perfect shape for a KOS. So I did the KOS prep plan and then I went for it. My knees still aren’t the same. But that was probably more from my poor playlist choice.
Event prep is such a personal choice.
But once you complete a TOS you should be pretty close.
Just a small teaser here: I am considering a second Knighthood Challenge for late April (which is about two years after my first). This week and next I’m doing the MAP Go Beyond FTP plan, mixed in with the March Challenge, and then starting the six week Knighthood prep plan. I succeeded with the prep plan approach last time, so I’m stickin’ with it.
One of the things that has led me to consider it was G.O.A.T. being removed from the eligible list last year. Since that was one of my ten, I have feelings of inadequacy and guilt. I’m thinking, in what doesn’t yet seem like a good idea, that I’ll choose the ten longest duration knight-eligible rides.
I’m sure I’ve come to the right place to be talked out of this madness (Ha!)
I thought this very same thing for my second KOS. I eventually pared it down a bit. But I did still include the 3 longest videos at the time and 7 of the 10 longest. And I also did 11 videos. Even tho I did 12 for my third, that second KOS is still my longest.
And boy was I fried. The Cobbler was number 11. Longest SUF video of my life.
If I do this, my compulsive nature will cause me to do them in descending duration order, meaning after the first three (ISLAGIATT, Cobbler, and Blender) I will have been riding for nearly 5 hours and twenty minutes and still have seven rides to do! Sounds nuts!
I did my indoor century by riding ISLTA a little over 2.5 times at around 80% intensity in level mode. So, not a lot of intensity, but more than just an ITT.
Those are some of my all-time favorites, too. And with Defender, Nine Hammers, and Butter at numbers 11, 12 and 13… There’s temptation to just keep going, amiright?
Maybe in two more years, I can do the remaining eligible videos not in my first or second go, also in descending time order, so that’s about how tempted I’ll be!
)
