Dartmoor Classic and others.....

jamlala

.....hey all! Am doing my first Sportive at the aforementioned Dartmoor Classic in June (100 miler). What sort of training should I be doing? I am 3 times (!) a week doing 30 miles and gradually going to up it to around 70 miles before the event.

I am comfortable with doing more than 30 miles but that is all that time currently allows.
How'm I gonna do?!!! Any advice would be gratefully received!

craker

My 2p worth... you can do all the 30 milers you like, putting in extra hills and speed as you go but that's not going to train you for anything much beyond 30 miles.

I'd be looking at getting some 60+ mile rides in now, granted you're still a couple of months away. I believe there's an argument that you need to train for the lower longer intensity slog of a long ride and that includes learning what foods you can carry and get down in sufficient quantities.

yogi

Don't know how much riding you've done on Dartmoor but it's pretty hard going - it's either up... or down. The only relatively flat bit is the final run down the Teign Valley.

Some long hard rides with lots of hills. Build up to some 100's before the event, it'll build your confidence if nothing else. Riding 3 times a week is fine but with one long ride each week.

Variado

I believe there's an argument that you need to train for the lower longer intensity slog of a long ride and that includes learning what foods you can carry and get down in sufficient quantities.

Nutrition is certainly one thing that you need to consider, it's easy to blat out a 30-miler with nothing but a bottle of water but for longer rides you need to learn when and what to eat (I overate on the first 100km ride I did, then underate (and bonked) on the second)

The other thing is comfort, what might be a minor niggle after two hours in the saddle can become agony after five. Or it may remain a minor niggle. Dartmoor's not the place to find out though..!

As for training miles, almost all of my rides are 25-40 miles (approx. 90-150 minutes) but I don't find it much of an issue to cover sportive distances, so i'm not convinced that 30-mile training rides only train you to be a 30-mile rider. My experience is that as long as you're reasonably fit and can climb then it's easy enough to extend to longer - saying that i'm just looking to finish an enjoyable ride rather than gold-medal.

Doing Dartmoor myself too, looking forward to it

Mendip rouleur

It's a big jump from 30 to 100 miles, I'd make sure you have done at least a couple of 80+ mile rides before the event, just so you know what it feels like to be riding for 5 hours or more.

I think you should also do some specific hill climbing training. Try finding a hill near where you live that has a reasonable gradient (8-10% say), and preferably half a mile or above long. Spend two hours riding up it as hard as you can as many times as you can, using the descent to rest. This would then equate to some interval training that is cycling-specific and will prepare you for riding up hills on Dartmoor. Much better use of two hours than trundling 30 miles round a flattish route.

All you then need is some fog, a howling dog, and some b-rate actors, and you have a perfect Dartmoor summer day. See you there

KillerMetre

Mendip rouleur wrote:

It's a big jump from 30 to 100 miles, I'd make sure you have done at least a couple of 80+ mile rides before the event, just so you know what it feels like to be riding for 5 hours or more.

I think you should also do some specific hill climbing training. Try finding a hill near where you live that has a reasonable gradient (8-10% say), and preferably half a mile or above long. Spend two hours riding up it as hard as you can as many times as you can, using the descent to rest. This would then equate to some interval training that is cycling-specific and will prepare you for riding up hills on Dartmoor. Much better use of two hours than trundling 30 miles round a flattish route.

All you then need is some fog, a howling dog, and some b-rate actors, and you have a perfect Dartmoor summer day. See you there

Not sure I'd recommend doing 2 hours of hill repeats, in fact I doubt there are many people who could do 2 hours of hill repeats 'flat out'. General rule I use is when my time drops 15% below my fastest time I stop.

Good suggestion nevertheless.

You could also just try riding a route with a similar amount of climbing in it.For example one of my training rides is 45 miles with 2700ft of ascent which is around the same amount of climbing as is in the the first 50 miles of the Dartmoor classic.