350 mile bike ride

meatball

Hi all

I am taking part in the Help for Heroes Band of Brothers Bike Ride 2009 to celebrate the 65th Anniversary of D'day, which is on the 24th May. Has anyone got any suggestions or tips on training to cycle 80 miles a day over 5 days?

While I'm here I might as well plug my sponsorship and blog, www.justgiving.com/mbiddis and www.mbiddis.blogspot.com

Regards

Meatball

ColinJ

Hi meatball.

I think that it would help if you told us what level you were at now! Have you ever ridden 80 miles before? How did you feel? Have you ever ridden significant distances on consecutive days?

One piece of advice that I'd give is to make sure that you are comfortable on your bike. Wear decent shorts and find a saddle that suits you. If you get a saddle sore on your first day, the following days won't be much fun :shock: !

Good luck!

meatball

Hi Colin

The most I have managed so far is 65 miles in one day, didn't have any problems with the legs the next day or any saddle sore!!

Meatball

ColinJ

meatball wrote:

Hi Colin

The most I have managed so far is 65 miles in one day, didn't have any problems with the legs the next day or any saddle sore!!

Meatball

I suppose that there are several ways you could approach this. It would obviously be sensible to try riding decent distances on consecutive days before tackling the event. It would also be a good idea to have ridden the distance a few times so that you are comfortable with it, so...

Why not try doing two 65 miles rides in a weekend? You know you can do the distance and it would give you a taste of what it feels like riding on consecutive days.

If that goes okay, try doing 70-75 miles twice and when you are happy with that, do a 160 mile weekend.

Alternatively, increase your one-day endurance by doing longer and longer rides building up to doing an audax 200 (125 miles). 200s are towards the limits of what I do, and I know that I could do 5 daily rides of 80 miles. I'd be tired by the end of the 5 days, mind !

If you can find the time to do three consecutive days, then do three 65 mile rides. Give yourself time for recovery and assess how you felt. If it was too hard, don't step up the distance yet, just repeat until you are ready to do more. If you felt fine. I'd be tempted to do three 80 mile rides next time. Once you are comfortable doing three consecutive days of 80 miles, I'd say that you should be able to cope with 5 days totalling 350 miles. Just make sure that you eat and drink enough each day.

Oh, and take it easy the week before the event! You won't gain much fitness in that week, and you don't want to start off already feeling tired from your training rides.

capilinconnemara

Meatball
Your question sounds familar. This time last year I was aiming for TourOf Ire 08 with over 100mls a day for 4.Taking the best bits of every1s advice I made every minute on my bike count.If you have the Time do long rides(attack the Hills).If short on time trying to set a personal best for a Short circuit makes sure you are pushing yourself,even try doing hill repeats. Marathon runners never do 25mls 365 yrds in training they train intensively up to 15 to 20, I got up to 90 a month b4 and my best w/end was a total of 130 just over the 3rd days total during the event.You know you can do 65 and the extra 15 will pass you by in a the group on the event as you will not be thinking of the miles when your chatting away to ur fellow riders and the adrenilin is pumping.
Best of luck with the Training and the event