Long Distance Charity Ride

Peter007

Was hoping someone could give me some advice on training for a long charity ride that I am planning for next summer. I am planning to bike from Portsmouth to Leeds (270ish miles) in 3 days. Ideally I would be putting in lots of miles between now and then, unfortunatly being in the Navy kind of precludes this with being away. Will hopefully have the month leading up to the ride alongside and wil so be able to train then as well as the odd weekend and evening ride but no sustained period ashore.

Am relativly new to "serious" cycling having recently bought a Scott S20 (double) as most of my riding has been on a mountain bike around farm tracks and country lanes in suffolk. I am quit comfortable doing 50miles a day at the moment on my own at about 17miles per hour on a saturday and sunday with no ill affects or prior training. I love getting out on the bike and am hating being stuck at sea with just a rubbish exercise bike to train on. Any suggestions on training or mile that I should be looking to complete prior to my 3 day epic would be much appreciated

ut_och_cykla

Just cycle as much as you can during the winter - 50 miles a day is not bad for starters and might even be enough to get you through your intended charity ride. You'll get your body and brain used to riding reasonable distances in all weathers and give yourself a chance to try out food and drink on the bike - which will make life easier for your charity ride too.

More training will make life more pleasurable for your 3 day jaunt - try upping daily mileage and doing back to back rides (ie Saturday & sunday) once 'spring' arrives. If there's a time limit, some longer intervals (short rest periods) might help but you can probably safely wait until next spring for those too.

On ship a crappy exercise bike is perhaps not your best option but any kind of aerobic, whole body exercise will be better than nothing - this would inlcude swimming/jogging etc.. What about core exercises (back, abdomen) too?

All in all If you can already manage 50 miles you don't need to worry - you've got plenty of time!

keebo

If you can manage 50 miles on your own, you're well on the way! Also, if you've been out riding on your own, you'll find that on the big ride a bit of company will help the miles melt away. I did Malin to Mizen [Irish end to end] for Marie Curie cancer Care in June this year and being able to chat to other riders took my mind of the 426 miles I covered.