100 miles a day for 60 days + ??
just1moreperson
Posts: 9
Hiya everyone I'm looking for advice on cycling 100 miles a day for a long period of time. I plan to do "LEJOG" 7 times in a row for charity in the summer and my cycling experience isn't huge so I could do with some advice on how to complete such a ride. Also with the time I have available I really need to be doing 100 miles a day on this trip. Any advice would be welcome. I'm 19 years old and in terms of fitness I'm at a decent level.
Thanks, Matt.
Thanks, Matt.
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That is the same as 2 TDFs consecitively and the riders ahve masseurs etc to sort them out at teh end of the day with nutritionist saying no beer. A bit too high IMHO. You might be able to manage 100miles/day at the beginnig but as fatigue sets in you'll drop off your target. I'd aim around 60 miles/day.I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.0
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Have you ever ridden 100 miles in one day?
Dennis Noward0 -
After a few days, you will need to take a rest day. What's more, you will have to eat so much food, that your digestive tract will start to rebel.
Ray0 -
no I've not done 100 miles before. What kind of training do you think I should be doing?0
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just1moreperson wrote:no I've not done 100 miles before. What kind of training do you think I should be doing?
People are tactfully suggesting that you're taking on way too much.0 -
You would need to be an avid cyclist who has already done a good few centuries0
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andymiller wrote:just1moreperson wrote:no I've not done 100 miles before. What kind of training do you think I should be doing?
People are tactfully suggesting that you're taking on way too much.
Key words here being "way too much". To be perfectly honest this is something that you cannot accomplish. 100 miles a day for 60 days is something only a few people in the world, if any, can do or even want to attempt. Sorry to say but you won't even come close. You probably won't last a week. Don't take it wrong, I'm only trying to bring you back to reality.
dennis noward0 -
So you guys aren't gunna join me then?? :P I'm seeking advice on how to do such a thing so can I have abit more positivity please. Saying It's too much or not possible doesn't help me do it.
I am being tested for Huntington's Disease myself right now so if I get told I have Huntington's I will be riding this 6400 miles trip and I will also have more time to do it in so I would be able to go 75 miles a day If I wanted. Or even have rest days. Even so I will be trying to do it as quickly as possible so I ask again, What kind of training schedule should I be doing?0 -
As a starter you should be out on your bike 4+ times a week riding 100+ miles a day. Cycling training doesn't have to be rocket science. What is your current mileage?0
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Given your inexperience I would suggest you would soon run into problems.
It takes years to build up the sort of endurance would need; most good Audax riders are in their 30's and 40's and 'young finishers' of rides like the Paris-Brest-Paris are remarkable. The PBP is a 4 day, 750 mile ride, and you're proposing to do 10 times that! I can think of only 3 or 4 riders in the UK who would be capable of such an attempt.
You will also need to gain experience of how you react to long distance and multi-day rides. It will impact on your eating and sleeping patterns and it takes experimentation to figure out what works for you. Not every experiment will be a success either; when I first started long distance cycling I messed up big-time for the first 2 seasons.
You would need to work on your bike position too. Spending such long periods awheel will magnify even minor problems until they become show stoppers. Feet, knees, wrists, hands, neck and back will all suffer unless you're seated 100% correctly. It took 6 months for my toes to recover after a 40 hour ride and a couple of trips to the bike fitters to work out I needed orthotic supports in my shoes.
In all honesty, you need at least a couple of years apprenticeship as a serious endurance cyclist before even thinking about a 60 day ride. Be it traditional touring, Audax or Sportif - you need wheel time.
My best advice is to:
A) trim your ambitions. A single LEJoG is still a challenge. Have a think about a 100 hour attempt on it or maybe a LEJoGLE. Either would be outstanding acheivements.
get yourself a copy of The Long Distance Cyclists Handbook by Simon Doughty, which will give you much better preparation advice than you'll obtain on an internet forum. 0 -
I thought your original post was a joke. The big giveaway being to repeat LEJOG several times. However, you have persisted so you may be serious. What you need you won't get from website forums or books.
You need a reality check & soon! Until you can do 3 or 4 centuries back to back then put your plans on hold. Even then doing this would be just a stepping stone.
It does take years to get your body used to cycling long distances day after day. Blame human biology not will power.
If you wish to continue then get a qualified cycling coach who will build you a programme to build up your cycling ability. Make sure they know about nutrition or see a sports nutritionist as well.
The big question is why LEJOG several times? Why not something like JOGLE once then across to Harwich to do the North sea cycle route combined with a trip around the Baltic then down to the Med. 60x100miles can take you to some magic places.0 -
I,ve done LEJOG in 5 days, with six others. That's 882 miles, the furthest we went was 193 miles, the shortest 165 miles.
To be honest I found it got easier to do as the days passed, because my body acclimatised to the effort. I actually felt that I could have ridden back to Lands End too.
BUT. Whether I would have wanted, or have been able to do it seven times in a row is another thing entirely!
The hardest thing I found was eating. We had as much food as we wanted. But what you have to remember is that what goes in, 4000-5000+ calories, has to come out. It played hell with my digestion and riding at the back of the bunch was normally into a headwind. If you see what I mean!
I think you would be much better to do as Gavin Gilbert suggested, a 100 hour attempt, or there and back. Or perhaps even try to break the non stop record, which is about 44 hours and twenty minutes.
On the other hand. If you really are going to try and do this, I'll ride with you from Lands End to Devon if you want a pace maker.
Good luck.
Dave B0 -
Thank you everyone for your responses. I understand the scale of it all. Like I said, I should have more time to do the trip. What do you guys think about 75 miles a day??? Is that a more do-able challenge??
Dave doing it in 5 days is a hell of a ride, congrats on that. Puts Alan Shearer to shame!0 -
just1moreperson wrote:Thank you everyone for your responses. I understand the scale of it all. Like I said, I should have more time to do the trip. What do you guys think about 75 miles a day??? Is that a more do-able challenge??
No, it isn't. You are in way over your head, if you are serious. If this is a joke, well then,
you got me. In any case you can't do this.
Dennis Noward0 -
You came here asking for advice. Seems to me you are a little bit reluctant to take any.
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fto-si wrote:You came here asking for advice. Seems to me you are a little bit reluctant to take any.
I'm taking the advice. Ok so 100 miles a day is not possible, thats fine. Lets discuss seriously how to do this because I am serious about doing it. I would need rest days correct? when and how often should I take rest days? What mileage should I look to do each day I'm on the road?
I'd appreciate anyone who can answer those questions for me, thanks.0 -
What are you currently doing on your bike?0
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You could do a lot worse than get hold of the the last two issues of Cycling+ mag. It contains training routines for anyone considering a 'sportive' this year. Not exactly what you have in mind, but it'll give you a taste of the training you'd need to undertake.0
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I'm taking the advice. Ok so 100 miles a day is not possible, thats fine. Lets discuss seriously how to do this because I am serious about doing it. I would need rest days correct? when and how often should I take rest days? What mileage should I look to do each day I'm on the road?
I'd appreciate anyone who can answer those questions for me, thanks.
1. rest days..... your body will tell you. I have been on the road for 6 months doing 100km a day and if I do not rest every 8 or 10 days my body soon tells me to take a rest
2. What mileage.... That's up to you, only you know the answer to that you may be pssble of doing 100 mpd for a few days or a year i don't know.
Eating.... you will need lots of calories to burn and its hard to eat that much every day.
I truly believe that you have bitten off more than you can chew, you are planning an endurance event with little planning, training, or even knowledge of what you have hope to do.
Highly improbable that you will do it. But I have been proven wrong before.
george0 -
100 miles a day is ok if you're prepared to take a rest day every 5-8 days to rest /do laundry etc. Pace yourself and eat plenty!0
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I'm doing 30 miles a day on my bike, nothing huge. I feel I could do double that without too much of a problem in training.
I appreciate the help. I will check out cycling+ mag.
And thank you for answering my questions, It's basically depending on how I feel and what I'm capable of doing?0 -
take a look at
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/en ... ining.html
or google endurance training
george0 -
In 1992 - long ago , I know - I loaded up with a couple of huge panniers and legged it from home to Italy and and managed to sustain 100 mile days for extended periods - a week to two weeks at a time as I criss-crossed Italy and back home again over a three month span . I had time off the bike to walk the 'Alta Via Uno ' - a sort of Pennine way of the Dolomites - which took a week or so . Whenever I was on the bike , no matter how shagged out I felt , I was obsessed enough to grind out a 162 k + day .
I'd guess that 'obsessed' is the operative word here . I didn't carry cooking gear and lived on junk grub bought on a daily basis and fruit whilst laying down in the woods or a field for the restorative kip wherever and whenever I'd clocked up the ton.
I've never regarded myself as fit , or indeed , 'driven' , but in a sort of way I'd suppose so . What I mean to say is that I'd guess lejog x7 is do'able if you've a mind to do it . Although I wouldn't fancy it as I'm not too fond of touring in GB at all ( weather and all that ..) .
Incidentally the last time I went on an extended jolly on the bike about 7-8 years ago I seemed to have lost the urge somewhat and was happy enough when a 100k rolled up ."Lick My Decals Off, Baby"0 -
Take the realistic advice but also
Bear in mind I rode the Alps - Mont Revard, Alpe d'Huez. Galibier, Lautaret etc - with effectively just one weekend of hill reps of Box Hill and one 30-mile weekend ride. You'd be surprised at what your body can do/what you can put your body through. Your undertaking is, of course, something different and much harder... you seem to either have incredible self-belief and drive (great) or great foolhardiness (not so bad)
Rest days might be the key. Or maybe "only" doing LEJOG two or three times in a row, if you're really up for LEJOG repetitions. Never thought I'd see that0 -
Just start riding very long distances and see how it goes Matt! I don't think there's any substitute for just getting the miles in if you're trying to do such a thing. You better just get used to cycling for 6+ hours a day and see how it goes. Its been mentioned before but to achieve such a feat is very unlikely. Your legs need to have thousands of miles in them. At 19 your body isn't really suited to such a task.
I'm wondering though. Why 7 times? Whats going to be running through your head as you turn around and head back on the 4th trip for example?! It'll get a bit dull won't it? Some of those roads aren't much fun. Why not think of a more interesting trip? JOG to Mont Ventoux and back or JOG to Gibraltar or any trip to somewhere with a bit of relevance to the charity you're riding for? Has the charity got a project in europe you could go and visit? How about cycling around the coast of Britain? I think you'd find it far more rewarding and interesting than grinding up and down the country 7 times in a row. Your idea is partly mad because its very demanding but also because it sounds a bit crap to be honest! You'd get the same amount of sponsorship money and respect doing it back to back. Doing it 7 times is just a bit silly especially as that mileage would get you to some very interesting places or accross the USA or something. Its like saying I'm going to climb Ben Nevis 7 times....why not go and walk accross the whole range for a bit of variety? Remember, you need to capture the imagination of people sponsoring you. If it sounds a bit of a pointless undertaking you won't get much interest. I'd be more inclined to sponsor you if you said you were cycling up the 50 highest roads in Britain or something. Just once miond you...not 7 times! No need!
Good luck anyway, we're not trying to do you down. Just being realistic.0 -
One thing I never actually asked you. Why do you want to ride it seven times in a row?
Dave0 -
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Come on, let's give the guy some encouragement. It'll be a f###ing hard ride but it's not impossible.
If he tries and fails then some people here will say 'well, I told you so' but if he tries it and succeeds then hats off. The world needs more people trying crazy stuff like this.
I've done 60 mile rides day in day out for 7 months fully loaded with camping gear in mountains and it wasn't that hard. That was typically 6 hour days. 100 miles on a road bike with absolute minimal luggage is a bit tougher but not so far off the mark as to be impossible.
I've got to agree though that for 6000 miles of riding I'd go somewhere a bit more interesting but each to their own.0 -
This a a monumental task but people had done more when truely determined. I suggest you contact a recognised coach and ask him to help put together a training plan and thus a realistic progamme for the ride. Check out the list of qualified coaches at the British Cycling website or google cycling coaches. Good luck.
If you do this, how about getting someone like C+ to run an article.I have only two things to say to that; Bo***cks0 -
i did 2 115 mile days on a battered bike after having only been riding for a week last summer and was fine. could i keep it up for 6 days let alone 60, doubtful. try it.0
