Ventoux in four years

juststartinout

Hi all im planning to climb ventoux in four years time for my 40th birthday.I've been cycling for only six months and thought i'd give myself a huge goal for my birthday to go for plus all the family have said i'll never do it.I know there's alot of hard work ahead of me and I would like help in setting myself a goal for the coming years so in 2014 i can get up ventoux in a reasonable time.I would be most grateful for your thoughts on this.

Year One Goal :
Year Two Goal :
Year Three Goal :
Year Four Goal: On top of Ventoux (hopefully)

chrisw12

Coincidence, me and my two old school mates are doing it next year to celebrate our 40th.

I might regret saying this but I think you and your family are way over estimating the task, it's not that hard that it's going to take you four years to train for it. You could possibly do it next year if you started training now.

A 'huge' and more difficult goal would be to complete a 12hour or even a 24 hour, now that would be a target that would need four years.


I think you'll find that once you gain a bit of bike time and train consistently then this cycling lark isn't that difficult.

chrisw12

Sorry double post

DaSy

Chrisw12 is right, you really won't need 4 years to prepare.

I've ridden Ventoux on a few occasions, last time was all 3 climbs in a day, at 45 years old, and from a reasonable base level, I trained for about 4 months for it.

It's an hour and a half to two hours of toil, but the excitement of doing it will carry you through a lot of it.

You could certainly be ready for it by next summer without too much trouble. It's a pretty consistent gradient, so I find time trial type efforts of two or three hours is the kind of training that helps most, rather than toiling up and down the local climb a multitude of times.

SBezza

chrisw12 wrote:

A 'huge' and more difficult goal would be to complete a 12hour or even a 24 hour, now that would be a target that would need four years.
.

Rubbish, you can do that after 2 years or less of cycling, just might not be big mileage. Did my first last year in my first racing year, and 18 months after starting cycling again after a 20 year break.

To the OP, age is not a barrier, certainly not when you are not even 40. I am sure Ventoux is a good challenge, but you will not need 4 years to be able to cycle up it. A good winter of training and a few sportives in the UK, should see you able to climb it next summer.

juststartinout

Thanks all will take your views on board

chrisw12

SBezza wrote:

chrisw12 wrote:

A 'huge' and more difficult goal would be to complete a 12hour or even a 24 hour, now that would be a target that would need four years.
.

Rubbish, you can do that after 2 years or less of cycling, just might not be big mileage. Did my first last year in my first racing year, and 18 months after starting cycling again after a 20 year break.

To the OP, age is not a barrier, certainly not when you are not even 40. I am sure Ventoux is a good challenge, but you will not need 4 years to be able to cycle up it. A good winter of training and a few sportives in the UK, should see you able to climb it next summer.

I was trying to be conservative.

No offence but I think you under estimate your own cycling ability there, you're quite a bit better than the average cyclist. I also think you under estimate a 12 hour and the difficulty level for us mortals.

SBezza

Chris

A 12 is not easy, (they don't get easier, you just go further ) a bit like the hills analagy, but it doesn't take 4 years prep to be able to ride one. If you can do a 6/7 hours endurance ride you can do a 12. As I said the mileage might not be great but it certainly is achievable within a couple of years.

softlad

juststartinout wrote:

Hi all im planning to climb ventoux in four years time for my 40th birthday.

riding up Ventoux is not like climbing Everest - it's just a big hill that you ride up whilst on a bike. You could probably do it now....

To be honest, I doubt if there is a cycling goal that requires four years lead time - unless you're planning a round the world trip, or similar....

bobhitch

Softlad,
Try telling Chris Hoy that

ut_och_cykla

I don't think you need 4 years either - cycle steadily during the winter, give it some welly next spring. Shed any exttra kilos you have and make steady progresion over the months ahead of you.

Its long and hard but as others have said its not Everest. If you ride it in summer months - start earlier before it gets too hot. Make sure you have the right gears ( a stripped MTB with MTB gears and slick tyres will get most people up!).

I've done it twice I'm 50 + and have a BMI just over 25. First time ten years ago (from Sault - the 'easy' way) was not nice - stopped loads of times and was passed by a one legged cyclist ! But this year was non-stop and very rewarding from Bedoin. You can do it!

Casbar

I agree with all the above comments.

If you trained for 4 years , you could cycle all the way from England to Bedoine, do the Ventoux form all 3 directions, ride to the Alps do all those climbs, tackle the Pyrennese and cycle back home ( actually that might be a great summer project for my 50th )

Depending on what your fitness level is like right now and how much you currently weigh , I would say 3 month training will give you a decent time up Ventoux, but you could ride it at a slow pace tomorrow if neccessary !!!!

jibberjim

Casbar wrote:

but you could ride it at a slow pace tomorrow if neccessary !!!!

Assuming you picked a bike with appropriate gearing.

Pokerface

SBezza wrote:

Chris

A 12 is not easy, (they don't get easier, you just go further ) a bit like the hills analagy, but it doesn't take 4 years prep to be able to ride one. If you can do a 6/7 hours endurance ride you can do a 12. As I said the mileage might not be great but it certainly is achievable within a couple of years.

Yeah - but you're a talented athlete. Most of us aren't. :oops:

forward_loop

If you are looking at four years preparation for an event perhaps a more appropriate challenge might be this.

This year I think Ventoux was the penultimate day and was tackled in the morning prior to a further 12 cols........

http://centcolschallenge.com/

To be honest a single day event would be manageable by most of reasonable fitness. as previous posters have said. Its when you are faced with exertion day after day that long term fitness and training come to the fore.

liversedge

Hey, with 4 years to prep, why not do the whole TdF !

chrisw12

It's funny reading the responses and perspective given by experienced cyclists to this question. We all find it relatively easy and know how easy cycling great distances over great climbs can be if you put a little bit of work into training. Joe public has a different perspective though. They think it's an achievement to drive for 100 miles without a break, they do charity walks/run for 20 mins and take with them a litre of hydration. Tell them your doing a bike tour and they ask if you'll be collecting sponsorship.

That's not me being superior, just thinking how perspective changes as you get into a sport and you realise how great the human body is and how adaptable it is.

KillerMetre

chrisw12 wrote:

That's not me being superior, just thinking how perspective changes as you get into a sport and you realise how great the human body is and how adaptable it is.

+1000

doyler78

liversedge wrote:

Hey, with 4 years to prep, why not do the whole TdF !

What you mean like this guy?

http://www.eddiespeloton.webs.com/

Fair play to him :shock:

rodgers73

I've not cylced up it but I've driven up it and I'd say none of the gradients are that fierce really.

It didnt look too bad a challenge to be honest

liversedge

rodgers73 wrote:

I've not cylced up it but I've driven up it and I'd say none of the gradients are that fierce really.

It didnt look too bad a challenge to be honest

LOL. Classic.

ratsbeyfus

On Google Earth it looks really flat.

dennisn

I'm going to go along with pretty much everyone else. While it's obviously a climb not to be taken lightly, there are bunches of people, in various stages of physical conditioning, that do either that particular climb or something very similar. Why, I've even drug my fat ass up and over a few in the Colorado Rockies. You'll be fine, just keep up the steady riding and get the right gears.

oldwelshman

doyler78 wrote:

liversedge wrote:

Hey, with 4 years to prep, why not do the whole TdF !

What you mean like this guy?

http://www.eddiespeloton.webs.com/

Fair play to him :shock:

I have considered doing this next year with him and am on the site but not sure yet as it is each to their own devices and I need some one to share camper van costs, oh and volunteer to drive it ahead

Road Red

I did it for my 50th last year.

Had never cycled before, bought a bike in October, trained hard over the winter, shed 2.5 stone and went up non-stop in under 2 hours in May.

It's very do-able but it does take a lot of hard work to be able to enjoy it. Having never been on a mountain before I found the mental side of it the toughest. Km after km of grinding was very draining as every time you looked up all you could see was more of the same!

It was great though. Go for it. As others have suggested do it next year and for your 40th set a really big challenge like the Pyrenean Raid.

juststartinout

Thanks all will see how i go and might go for it next year.When you see ventoux on tv and pic's it looks big and nasty but after your posts im sure ive over estimated the training time scale for the trip but im not under estimating ventoux.thanks again for the advice.