Long distance for charity

conure
conure Posts: 13
edited May 2010 in Road beginners
Hi guys,

Very new cyclist here that hasn't ridden in several years. I'm looking for some advice about a planned long distance ride for charity, and was hoping to get some idea as to the plausibility of it.

In 2 months time, I'm planning to ride from John o Groats to Lands End, averaging between 140 and 110 miles per day, for seven days. A few questions:

Is it doable for somebody of reasonable fitness (Can run about 10 miles quite comfortably) with 2 months training?
I'll be using the Orbea Aqua T23 which, I know isn't top of the range (far from it) but was the highest my budget would allow.
The guys I'm going with are more confident, however their max rides are about 50 miles, and they're basing their ability to complete this distance in 7 days on the fact 3 of us will always be drafting, and switching in and out of the first position.

Any advice, help, criticisms etc are more than welcome

Cheers

Comments

  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    It's a long long way per day, even for someone who has been riding for a while.

    Having said that, if you're not to fussed about what time you wake and arrive, as well as the quantity of suffering (not to mention the quality ;)), it might be ok.

    Can't offer much advice beyond just getting out on your bike and riding for as long as possible, and make sure you don't arrive at the start of your trip tired from your training.
  • gwillis
    gwillis Posts: 998
    Hi ,

    Im not a bad runner but found cycling to be very different indeed. Im sure you can increase your mileage weekly and build upto a longer distance, but thats still quite away. I wish you all the best though. Try looking at some training programmes online in the mean time and get some tidy bibs :)
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    I think its doable but its not going to be a lot of fun.
    Ignore the running thing - there's no link there.
    Even if your mates are up to 50 miles at the moment - that's something that an average beginner could do with a few weeks preparation. Drafting off the bloke in front will not give you an extra 60 miles a day.
    Why is everyone so underprepared ?
    If you take it steady and keep eating then you'll do it but I bet not all of you will.
    The motto is train hard - race easy.
  • conure
    conure Posts: 13
    Hi guys,

    Thanks for the advice. Cougie would you advise either training for longer, or doing it over a longer period of time?

    Thanks
  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    I suggest that you all go out this weekend and try to cycle 140 miles. Then you might appreciate what it is your trying to do. What's the longest time you've spent on a bike in one day? Why are you're mates only cycling up to 50 miles when they will have to cycle > 100 miles for 7 days in a row?

    I'd say you're woefully under-prepared and in line for a miserable 7 days (probably more like 1 or 2 for some of you) unless you really dedicate your life to training for this for the next 2 months.

    Long rides at the weekend so you're comfortable with the distance and time in the saddle and shorter, faster rides 2 or 3 days during the week to increase your speed.
    More problems but still living....
  • conure
    conure Posts: 13
    Hi Ama,

    I agree with the under prepared so hopefully they will take some note of this. On the other hand, we're all students that finish this year which means that we now have all day every day to train, which is the plan. I'm still not confident that it's enough time to build up to that kind of length though.

    What would be a reasonable time bracket of training for this type of distance do you think, for people that can ride 50 miles without huge difficulty? I'll show them this forum and hopefully we can rearrange a date closer to the end of summer.

    Cheers
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,909
    If you have that much time available I reckon it should be doable. Get some form of structure to your training in place and try to get up to around 80 or 90 miles a few times a week. Make sure you schedule rest days into your training. You should be able to schedule in 30+ rides which is quite a bit. Try to plan routes in advance so that you know how far you are going and don't waste any time on the day arguing over the route. It shouldn't be necessary to ride the full distance beforehand (not many people run marathon distances when training for a marathon). Mix it up with some long steady rides and shorter, hard rides and possibly some interval work as this will keep things interesting. It may be worth doing one ride of the full distance a couple of weeks beforehand just to get an idea of what's involved. Ultimately it will be difficult but surely that's the whole point - if it were easy then why would anyone sponsor you :wink: At that time of year you will have about 16 or 17 hours of daylight if required so you can take it pretty easy and get a few stops in en route. Have an easy week the week before you start too and get lots of fuel on board.
  • gllewellyn
    gllewellyn Posts: 113
    Hi Conure,

    Have a look at this article about training for a 100-miler over 11 weeks.

    As the others have said, I think it'll be a struggle to achieve what you're planning in just 2 months - purely from the prespective of the hours spent in the saddle.

    But then, what is life without challenges! I say go for it anyway, and let us know how you get on.
  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    Pross wrote:
    If you have that much time available I reckon it should be doable. Get some form of structure to your training in place and try to get up to around 80 or 90 miles a few times a week. Make sure you schedule rest days into your training. You should be able to schedule in 30+ rides which is quite a bit. Try to plan routes in advance so that you know how far you are going and don't waste any time on the day arguing over the route. It shouldn't be necessary to ride the full distance beforehand (not many people run marathon distances when training for a marathon). Mix it up with some long steady rides and shorter, hard rides and possibly some interval work as this will keep things interesting. It may be worth doing one ride of the full distance a couple of weeks beforehand just to get an idea of what's involved. Ultimately it will be difficult but surely that's the whole point - if it were easy then why would anyone sponsor you :wink: At that time of year you will have about 16 or 17 hours of daylight if required so you can take it pretty easy and get a few stops in en route. Have an easy week the week before you start too and get lots of fuel on board.

    I agree with most of what you say, but not this. If they were training to do a one-off ride of 100-140 miles then what you say would be true. But doing that sort of distance 7 days in a row means that a one-off ride of 140 miles should be easy. If someone was training to run 7 marathons in a row then they probably would be running marathons in their training.
    More problems but still living....
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,909
    I'm in the Eddie Izzard camp when it comes to training for multi marathons :lol:
  • Invest in Chamois cream or you will fail very early :D
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Marathonners dont usually run marathons in practice - it takes too much out of the legs. Most people peak around 20 miles or so = and then taper down so they're fresh for the race.

    I dont see you have enough time to train and recover and taper in time to do it justice. If you can put it back to the end of the summer then you'll be in much better stead.

    Time on the bike is crucial really - your bum will hurt, your back, neck, shoulders. Legs probably not as much as everything else. The better prepared you'll be then the better the experience will be. Can you extend the period too ? An extra 2 days would make a difference.

    And you could be unlucky and have a headwind all the way - the prevailing wind changes with the seasons so check and make sure you're playing the odds right and aiming for a tailwind ?

    Good luck - its something I want to do too, but not in a week. And I rode 140 miles in one day when I was 16. Only my bum hurt after that !
  • conure
    conure Posts: 13
    Hi guys,

    Thank you very much for the advice - I'm sure it will prove invaluable. I'm going to try to persuade the others to do 9 days, it seems much more reasonable. I'll definitely be getting some cream to 'lube up' as I have heard all about saddle sores..

    We're going to take a camera and I'll keep a day by day blog and post it up here when I'm back. Also, we'll be donating to charity for the event so I'll provide the justgiving link here if any of you guys are interested.

    Thanks again for the help, any more hints/tips/advice would be greatly appreciated!

    Conure
  • I think it all depends on the individual, but it is better to be prepared.

    Years ago I worked in the US, in California. The daughter of the General Counsel of the company I worked for was at uni on the east coast and was working in our labs for the summer at the end of her first year. Her boyfriend, who had never really cycled much before, bought a bike and decided to ride across the US to visit her in California as he didn't have a summer job, and had nothing better to do. Riding east to west is generally considered the "wrong" way as the mountains come near the end of thousands of miles. Anyway, to cut to the point, he got within 200 hundred miles of his destination when he broke his foot (darn metatarsals don't just pick on the professional sportsmen). I can't remember how long it took him but he cycled close to 3000 miles with very little training.

    So John O'Groats to Lands End should be a doddle for you!! You have the youth of students behind you, but do you have the motivation of love waiting at the other end? :D
    No-one wanted to eat Patagonia Toothfish so they renamed it Chilean Sea Bass and now it's in danger of over fishing!
  • conure
    conure Posts: 13
    Well Finbar that depends on whether or not you would regard a pub as 'love'! For me, I think it's a yes...Cycling across the USA sounds crazy, that would take ages in a fast car, let alone a guy on a bike..

    A few quick other questions guys, what do you recommend eating during training? I usually use powerade for running however as we're going in just over 8 weeks (and have now pretty much swayed them around to the 9 days point of view) I need a definite change of diet quickly. I think my weight is pretty ideal (hopefully..) so I'm just looking for the best types of food to compliment building fitness, muscle and recovery.

    Also, I have searched online and there isn't a great deal on training programs for 8 weeks to reach the 80 mile or so point, if anybody could suggest something that would be really appreciated.

    cheers