Help - 300 miles in 5 days

Neverridden

I've just got my bike and have 4months to train for this. I'm mid forties and quite fit but haven't ridden a bike since school! We're travelling up the spine of the country so mixed terrain. Any advice or training plans would be much appreciated.

CarbonCopy

Get some really comfy bib shorts with a good chamois cream to keep your arse and tackle in good order.The time spent from now til then should be used building up to a close simulation of what your hoping to achieve.also make sure your bike is serviced and maintained to a high standard for the big event.

meanredspider

Yeah - there not much better way of training for it than just getting the miles in on the bike. Can you commute to work on your bike? Build up the miles and put in a long ride each weekend. Advice about kit and cream in very sound. A good saddle on your bike will pay dividends too. But there's no substitute for miles.

mercurykev

Don't be too bothered about the distance. You can ride 300 miles in a day if you have a reasonable level of fitness - it only works out as 12.5mph average speed.

What is more important is comfort. I'd agree with the previous poster with regard to comfy shorts and add a point about bike set up. Make sure you have the saddle height and reach set up to suit as a little niggle on a 20 mile ride can become a real pain over 50 miles..

On top of this just get the miles in as this will help with the whole comfort thing.

bigpikle

BIFE FIT first and foremost and then get out and ride it every day you can for as many miles as you can. You'd be surprised how quickly you adapt.

I was scared about 6 months to do my first 100 mile ride and frankly I could have done it after 3 pretty easily, so 60 miles a day isnt going to be too hard once you get a few miles under you, and some good bibshorts

lemoncurd

There are loads of good training books about, The Time Crunched Cyclist is a good start:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-crunched-C ... roduct_top

I would start with a low mileage and increase this by approx. 10% a week plus additional shorter, harder sessions.

DubaiNeil

lemoncurd wrote:

There are loads of good training books about, The Time Crunched Cyclist is a good start

+many

I followed the "Beginner Century" programme in preparation for a 340-ish mile in 4 day ride (Lands End to Twickenham) - and 4 months prep should be plenty, as this programme is set to span up to 12 weeks, so you have a month beforehand to prepare!

I would recommend at least a heart rate monitor to track the training intensity, but I "up-specced" to a Garmin 500 - which was great for the actual ride as well.

I second (or 3rd, 4th etc) the advice for good bib shorts (at least two pairs - and, for me it helped to have two different brands), good (for you) saddle & bike fit.

If you are doing the ride in a group, try and train with the people involved, so you can motivate each other - failing that, try and find a local club to ride with - as this makes the longer runs in the training plan more interesting.

Neil

scottgeniusltd2005

build up to 30 miles in one sitting. if you can do this you'll be fine. 30 miles in the morning, good dinner and a long rest, then 30 miles before tea. easy peasy. do plenty of hills as part of your training, they do take a lot of energy and can get you down.

Wooliferkins

This is a handy training guide. Dont worry about the sportive title it will give you a structure to help increase your fitness and get used to riding on consecutive days.

kim10

I agree with the advice already given. Base training is all you need and that’s best done by getting out on the bike as often you can. Make sure you don’t over do it and also make sure you try and organise your training so it becomes progressive and add a few more miles every week. You could build in a bit of interval training on one ride a week just make it more exiting.

Definitely agree on the quality bib shorts and crème.

Good luck – and hope you keep up cycling also after the event, maybe join a local club

antfly

It's only 60 miles a day, my dad is 75 and does a similar ride every year in a different country. No special training even needed if you're reasonably fit, just do a bit of cycling.