Noob here - HEY! Will need advice for a BIG Ride

incurab1e

Hey!

I've been riding just over a year and so am just about up to speed with most things involved - however, my max 1 day ride is 50miles so far.

In July, myself and 3 mates, are riding from the midlands to paris over 5 days - Avg. 85miles per day.

I am wondering if anyone has any advice for us. My biggest problem so far since the weather has got nice enough to ride in, is my Ass pain after 40 or so miles. I am going to persevere with what i have and see if it gets better with more saddle time.

I am riding a Bianchi c2c nirone alu-hybrid 2008.

we're gradually going to be ramping the mileage up over the next few weeks until we get to 85 - then a week after that we may try and do 85miles on back to back days.

So, any particualr training/nutrition/gear tips you guys can dish out? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

thanks
Andy

kilo

Sorry I don't know what your bike is like but I would suggest starting with clip in pedals and proper cycling shoes and then investing in good quality,well fitting cycling shorts and possibly chamois cream as well. You may want to think about a new saddle if the pain is really bad but as you mention you may just need to toughen up your butt.
The idea of gradualy ramping the mileage up is good and the back to back days of cycling is a definite. Your not doing massive mileage but the cumulative effect of day in day riding and waking up with heavy legs may be a problem. On the little long riding I've done on hybrids / mountain bikes I've used bar ends to give a variety of hand positions, you may even be able to fit some cheap tri bars on to give you a bit of a tuck position.

robmanic1

Good quality, padded pants + lashings of Assos will make your bunghole a better place.

incurab1e

Sweet! Thanks guys.

Looks like padding is the way - any particular recommendations?? Money is a consideration :-)

I think I'm gonna do aome TT's - Are these a good idea to judge fitness progress for endurance?

bobtbuilder

TTs are more a sustanined burst of power for the duration of the TT. Your 5 day trip is not an hour spent around your aerobic threshold limit, so TTs are not really what you need for your current goal.

The best way to prepare for your ride is to increase the length of your current rides. I presume you have all day to ride 85 miles per day, so speed is not going to be an issue. You just need more time in the saddle, doing longer rides. This combined with a decent pair of shorts with a chamois insert should solve your undercarriage problem as well.

For shorts, try Probikekit, or Prendas, etc, as you can normally find a bargain on there somewhere. If you can get a pair with mesh braces, even better.

Oh, and keep eating & drinking during the ride. It's no fun at all running out of gas with 20+ miles left to ride!

CiB

Keep the fluid intake up, and the food too. If you wait until you're hungry before you eat you'll bonk and that'll be that. Start eating at around the first hour mark and keep taking it on board.

You need good energy foods, and a mix of water and energy drinks to keep you going. Over 85 miles you'll probably pass a garage or newsagents to stock up with water / chocolate / jelly babies (highly recommended) etc, and at the end of each day's ride avoid going for the huge pile of food if you intend to do it all again the next day. The usual suspects - pasta, chicken etc are good post-ride meals. Also recommended is the long shower / bath and if poss a bit of a massage. Maybe the hotel receptionist will oblige.

Hopefully people on here can be more specific about food & drink requirements, but it's a big part of being able to do it.

Oh - training. Build up to doing 80 miles. 20 should be a doddle, 40 achievable without being drained and then stretch the distances to hit 80 without dropping dead at 65. It's about pacing yourselves largely.

Eau Rouge

Don't just cycle when it's nice weather. The chances of getting 5 days of nice weather in a row, even in July, are not high, and if you've never actually ridden in the wet, or wind or cold, it could be quite a shock. At the very least you'll need to know how to dry your kit overnight.

will3

don't be daunted by 85 miles a day. Think about it: you have all day:
if you have a lie in and start at 10, pedal till 1, stop for lunch for two hours, start again at three, stop for an hour for a snack at 6, put in another two hours 7-9, you'll have eight hours to do it in with plenty of rests.
That's only 10.6 mph which, unless you're taking a serious amount of luggage, or they've put some pretty big hills in between birmingham and paris, should be easy.

OTOH if you start at 8, pedal at 14 mph, could could be there in time for late lunch.
Are you B&Bing it?

incurab1e

WOW!!

thanks guys :-)

I have cycling shoes, the cross trainer type. Will stiff soled shoes make a huge difference?

Are there any particualr shorts you can recommend? I've had a look and there are so many!

I think the plan is to break every 25/30miles so it won't be too tough each day,. Our main worry is the consecutive day riding and the heavy/painful legs.

hopefully a bath/massage should help with that. Are there any particular foods which will aid recovery?

Thanks a lot for your help

Anonymous

Spending money on good shorts is definitely a winner, I highly recommend Assos bibshorts used in conjunction with the chamois cream. You definitely get what you pay for with cycling shorts.

Stiff soled cycling shoes will help a great deal too as they are more efficient and will prevent your feet feeling tired/strained.

To aid recovery, make sure that at the start and end of each day the first/last few miles are done at an easy spin to get the legs warmed up at the start and flush the lactic away at the end.

Investing in a massage stick or some of those ball thingies you get from Boots or the Body Shop will assist too.

The stick - http://www.actionoutdoors.co.uk/stick.htm

le_grimpeur

Best value for money shorts I've found are specialized. Seems that many people on this forum highly rate Assos - though I always get sidetracked by other items, so I've never had the money for these. I strongly believe in quality, so I'd steer away from bargains. It is also worth checking out a saddle that is more comfortable.

Hopefully the discomfort is the general association of cycling located centrally, which alleviates after acclimatisation. Every year it takes me a while to get used to 2 hours in the saddle again.

you should also think about massage oils/creams. One before and another after. Also, I have recently discovered 'compression calf guards' which have certainly helped in post ride recovery.

Stretching. Start now, and do them after all your rides - and try to do some when you have your breaks (before you sit down).

I'm not sure what cross trainer shoes are like. If these are not stiff like MTB or road shoes, I'd advise against them, but if you feel no discomfort from them on your long rides I could not argue against them. The point about stiff soled shoed is that they transfer more power through the pedal - thus require less effort, and obviously provide a tougher barrier between your foot and the pedal, which would make them more comfortable. which comes back tot he first point about if you find your current shoes are OK.

not sure about foods which aid recovery, as eating is about getting the right calorific intake and that's been covered. Due to my calf injury I am taking supplements which aid muscle and ligament repair (Holland & Barret – Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc.)

incurab1e

hey!!

Just thought i'd stop lurking for a bit and let you know how its going.

new kit accquired:

GiordanaA413 Tenax Bibshorts
Specialized BG Sport MTB Shoes (stiff soled)
Sleevless Jersey

The bibshorts are awesome -- I had waited for weeks for WINSTANLEY to send me some Assos shorts (F1 uno) they had on offer for £61!!! They never materialised and I got sick of waiting for them to communicate so i got the Giordana's after reading some reviews. They are super comfy and its like i'm sitting on a cloud :-)

The shoes also made a difference, Its probably partly to do with my increasing fitness and technique but i do feel that the shoes have helped me get faster, and guess what, no numb feet!! That makes long rides much more pleasant.

As far as the riding goes, I've just finished my 5th ride on successive days. Day 1 was 70, day 2 - 15m, day 3 - 20m, day 4 - 20m and day 5 - 30m. Not the biggest distances but the 70 at the weekend left me feeling weak. I was fine on the bike but the recovery isn't so great.

I've been massaging my thighs but unfortunately I can't get to my Glutes properly, and they smart!!

Just over 4 weeks to go!!!

We're startign to stock up on gels and bars - Anyone got any particular recommendations?? or indeed any other advice

:P

BikeDynamics

If you and your mates want to have your riding positions checked, come and see us at http://bikedynamics.co.uk/index.html just up the road in Leamington. I'm sure we can sort you out a good discount for a block booking and a good cause.

Mike at BikeDynamics.co.uk

Mothyman

remember to have fun...
take a look at the scenery every now and again..it will inspire a few more joules of energy to come from those legs.

my friend did the Lon-Paris run and said he tried to get to destination to quick..he suggests slow down the final 2 hours, stop for a coffee and enjoy the experience -rather than bomb to the hotel and sit around waiting til the morning

send us a post - trip update

incurab1e

hey!!

firstly, apologies for the time its taken to post an update, i lost all my bookmarks!!

so, WE DID IT!! It was brilliant - a few hardships along the way but it was brilliant.

The full blog is: http://rugbyparis.blogspot.com/

and there are a load of photos on my facebook (if anyone really wants to see them PM me and i'll send you my details) Here are a couple of them:


:


Buckingham palace

Crazy jap tourists!


Windfarms


RAIN!



THE FINISH!!



It was wickedgood and we will have raised nearly £3000 for macmillan once it all comes in!!

Thanks LOADS to everyone on here who helped with advice, you really were helpful :-)

We're planning next years adventure now - Its going to hurt!!

freehub

Good going. What was your average speed?

incurab1e

the computer said 14.5 but I think we could safely add another mph to that at least. We did the last 2 miles into london on a flat at 5mph! and with all the messing around i would think average actual riding time was 15.5 - 16.5

freehub

5mph on the flat?? Was that the day last week when we had extreme wind?

Matt the Tester

wow, nice going mate.

Aggieboy

freehub wrote:

5mph on the flat?? Was that the day last week when we had extreme wind?

No, it was the day they had an extreme puncture I would guess, Will.

incurab1e

hahahaha!!!

I can confim it was a flat tyre - no. 4 of that day i think. We ran out of tubes so decided to rape my rim and carry on

Roscobob

Well done mate.

Coincedentally, me and a friend are doing Edinburgh to Paris in 2011 for Cancer Research.

I may call on you for advice if you don't mind

incurab1e

awesome!! That sounds like fun :-)

Yeah, ask away - a lot of stuff is in the blog in my sig.

or email andy@rugbyrocks.co.uk

we're thinking of doing the 3 peaks challenge and riding between them next year - hopefully in under 60 hours