Long distance cycling training advice
mask of sanity
Posts: 610
I’ve had a road bike for a few weeks now and in the summer (June or July) I’m hoping to cycle from my home in Sussex to my uni house in Bristol, which works out at about 140 miles and I was wondering the best way I could prepare for it. The furthest I’ve ridden to date was a (what I would consider hilly...) 60 miler which I did in four hours but really tired me out as I was pushing myself to do it as quick as I could. My cycling prior to my road bike was purely functional: getting to school, friends houses etc but it’s given me a good base fitness.
What I wanted to know is the best way that I can prepare for such a distance and indeed whether it’s sensible to attempt with my limited experience of road biking. I’ve started running and cycle as regularly as I can (not easy seeing as its exam period atm and only have a MTB with me at uni :? )but would I need to cycle a distance more similar to the 140 miles just to see if I’m capable of doing it? Is running even going to help with cycling and would I need to build up more strength from doing weights or something?!
I think the biggest issue I can see is the time spent on the bike rather than the distance itself. By that I mean I could do it in one day if I averaged ten miles an hour which I assume would be fairly easy but would mean being on the bike for 14 hours, which would hurt!! :-s I also don’t really know what the route is like in terms of hills etc.
The more I think about it the more difficult the task seems but I’m so determined to do it that I’m prepared to put the work in! Any feedback would be gratefully received, thanks.
What I wanted to know is the best way that I can prepare for such a distance and indeed whether it’s sensible to attempt with my limited experience of road biking. I’ve started running and cycle as regularly as I can (not easy seeing as its exam period atm and only have a MTB with me at uni :? )but would I need to cycle a distance more similar to the 140 miles just to see if I’m capable of doing it? Is running even going to help with cycling and would I need to build up more strength from doing weights or something?!
I think the biggest issue I can see is the time spent on the bike rather than the distance itself. By that I mean I could do it in one day if I averaged ten miles an hour which I assume would be fairly easy but would mean being on the bike for 14 hours, which would hurt!! :-s I also don’t really know what the route is like in terms of hills etc.
The more I think about it the more difficult the task seems but I’m so determined to do it that I’m prepared to put the work in! Any feedback would be gratefully received, thanks.
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I wish you all the very best.
Steady and long is the mantra.
The above post may contain traces of sarcasm or/and bullsh*t.
Time in the saddle is the most important in my experience. 140 miles will take some time, so to prepare, try and do one long ride a week, progressively extending the time spent in the saddle. Don't worry too much about speed. You can try and improve speed with your other rides. These should be shorter, harder efforts during the week.
Break the journey down i.e. find some stop points 40, 80 and 120 miles along the route, where you can take a break, eat, drink, etc. and will allow you to tick that part of the journey off. I think this is really important, as 40 mile stretches seem far easier to cope with than 140 miles in one go!
Finally, you did your 60 miles at 15 mph, so pace yourself when you set off. Try and limit it to 13-14 mph, that way you won't burn out half way.
If you build up your long rides to 100 miles over the next month or so, you'll manage the 140 miles. I've done a fair bit of very long distance cycling over the past few years and I work on the theory that once I can do a given distance fairly comfortably, I can manage one and a half times that distance (over the same terrain) without breaking myself.
Carry a tube of savlon or similar too. You'll appreciate it after the first 3 hours, even if the first 20 yards is like sitting on a bag of tadpoles.
As Frank said, don't discount the mental side of a long ride, especially when doing it on your own. There will be times during the ride that you will get dispirited, and you need the mental fortitude to cope woth those times.
Nutrition is also a huge factor. You MUST keep eating & drinking even if you don't feel hungry or thirsty. All the training in the world won't help if you bonk on the day.
As for the route, is 140 miles the actual distance you will ride or simply the quickest route between the two points? As you can't use motorways, your actual route could be longer than that.
I'm hoping I will be ok mentally as normally when i put my mind to something I can see it through but dont know how it will be with this... I guess by cycling more you get better at dealing with the mental aspect as well as the physical.
Nutrition is definatly something i shall have to do some research on before i attempt it, so know doubt i'll be asking that later! :P lol.
The route is the actual distance, shown by google maps anyway, not sure how accruate that is. Its actually a lot further to go by motorway anyway.
I agree with a lot of the advice above, especially APIII where he says to break it down into 30-40 mile sections. Psychologically this will be a great help.
But the biggest boost to your chances is to set off early. This has several advantages:
1) The roads are quiet
2) You're still half asleep and will be progressing without being fully aware of the effort!
3) The biggest advantage is again psychological. Even at a modest pace, if you set off at dawn then you will have covered 50-60 miles before most people start work!
Another tip is not to clock-watch. I never look at the time until I'm well over half way, according to my split mileages (see above). It really can be dispiriting to see the minutes slowly ticking over.
Also, don't stop for too long at breaks. The muscles tend to tighten up and it requires more effort to get up to pace again.
In terms of training, start with a leisurely 100, then another a bit quicker and a third as fast as you feel comfortable with. It just isn't practical for most people to be able to try out the full distance in advance. There shouldn't be any hidden surprises progressing from 100 to 140, provided your bike set-up is good and you heed the nutrition/hydration rules.
Good luck and report back!
a serious case of small cogs
I think your plan to do a couple of 100 mile rides and take it from there sounds good. IMO you really don't need to do a 120 mile ride to know you can do a 140mile ride.
I've mapped the route out on bikehike.co.uk and its given an asent of 2143 m and a desent of 2199m. How does that relate over 140 miles? (i.e is it a lot?) I'm guessing that the figure means the vertical height change rather then the distance of asent. Sorry, very badly worded and no doubt a stupid question... Just need to know as much about what i'm hoping to do as i can.
My longest ride has been a 72 mile circuit and looking back at my Garmin GPS stats I see that it included 6,400 feet of ascent but that was quite a hilly ride. Your height ascent of 2143 metres (yes, it will mean vertical height change) is equal to 7,030 feet, so over 140 miles it should be just over half as hilly as my ride was - so it won't be flat but it shouldn't be too bad.
If you're training over similar terrain it should be nothing to worry about.
Im fairly used to cycling hills. Im training on the Sussex country roads which are pretty much all short sharp hills. Im really strugling to find a flat(ish) route i can go on to get the 100 miles in! Had one ride which involved cycling up the south downs which was pretty dam hard! Well worth it though when I'd made it to the top!!
It's mentally tough, and physically exhausting but well worth it, and i'd do it again.
- Just make sure your fully prepared before you set off. Get used to cycling for long distances, if you can do a good long ride each week your endurance will soon pick up.
- Make sure people know your route and have someone on stand by should you need to be collected.
- Food and water is very important. nuts, dried fuit, flap jacks are all good.
- Savlon in the shorts helps too.
Good luck mate