dragon ride advice (training)
dufuss
Posts: 8
i have signed up for the dragon ride in wales and looking for a bit of traning advice, this is what i am doing so far. doing a steady 20 miles mon wed thu , then a long ride sun 34 miles i thought this would get me some base training in ,i was going to do this for 2 to 3 months , and then step it up ie interval traning etc . i do have a bit of a problem though i live in lincolnshire and they are not many hillls? currently doing my traning on a carrea subway 2 from halfords, will be loking to get a proper road bike a bit nearer the time . thanks andy
0
Comments
-
What distance are you doing in the Dragon Ride? The 200k?0
-
sounds like a good plan to start with, knock it up with a few more miles each ride and an extra ride or 2 when it feels easy, start banging out the occasional 70miler and you'll be on to a winner. once your comfortable with that sort of milege without hassle you'll know you can go that bit further and then andrenaline can get you the last 25miles home
if not, transfer your entry over to me as I missed the freak sell outCrafted in Italy apparantly0 -
is this not some huge ride that takes evan good riders about 5 hours or more , or am i getting mixed up ,0
-
i am doing the 120km one thanks for the advice0
-
sounds like you're doing the right stuff. as acidstrato says be sure to increase that longer weekend ride by a little each week.
i'm doing the 200km route too so am in training. at the minute i'm doing 2-3 sessions midweeks mainly in the gym or on the turbo - low-ish intensity for an hour. weekends consist of a longer ride between 40-60 miles at the minute on a staurday and another shorter ride on a sunday if i have time.
all my rides at the minute are fairly low intensity. once march come i'll start throwing in some intervals midweeks and some evening tempo rides and maybe hill repeats.0 -
chill123 wrote:sounds like you're doing the right stuff. as acidstrato says be sure to increase that longer weekend ride by a little each week.
i'm doing the 200km route too so am in training. at the minute i'm doing 2-3 sessions midweeks mainly in the gym or on the turbo - low-ish intensity for an hour. weekends consist of a longer ride between 40-60 miles at the minute on a staurday and another shorter ride on a sunday if i have time.
all my rides at the minute are fairly low intensity. once march come i'll start throwing in some intervals midweeks and some evening tempo rides and maybe hill repeats.
Are you training for a sportive or a road race?
You should be able to do sportives on just riding your bike. Intervals and hill repeats are only necessary if you want to actually race....0 -
Intervals will help progress fitness though and mean recovering from hill efforts during the sportive is easier so whilst not a race you can still benefit from doing them. That said I'd say the OP needs to increase the length of the weekend ride to about 45 for now and build up to 70 over 2-3 months. You don't actually have needed to train at the event distance though to get around (I did it a couple of years ago and had only done up to about 55 miles in training) but you'll likely enjoy it a lot more and spending hours in the saddle will get you used to the general fatigue (shoulders, back etc.) and may prompt you to get your position checked.0
-
Whats interval trainning bois.0
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interval_training
Interval training is a type of physical training that involves bursts of high intensity work. This high intensity work is alternated with periods of rest or low activity, the eponymous intervals.
EG: 1 minute at 95% of your max heart rate then 1 minute rest, repeated 10 times, would be an example of interval training.0 -
nferrar thanks for the advice i was thinking of doing a longer ride in a couple of weeks,around what you said 45 miles, would you still stick to the shorter ones in the week ? still don t know what bike to get been looking at these 2 http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165534 http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_1657100
-
It depends how much time you have available to train, 20 miles is OK to start for sure but as soon as your fitness comes on then you risk them being junk miles (no real training effect) unless you up their intensity (one way being through intervals). If you have time available then another long ride during the week would be good to, as long as you give yourself at least 2 days rest between the long ones.
As for the bike, I'd definitely go with the conventional road bike (with drop bars) rather than the hybrid option, you get a lot more hand positions on a road bike which helps with comfort and also allows you to get more aero when you want. The spec. looks pretty good for the price (although how they can describe it as having a 105 groupset when it only has a 105 rear mech is beyond me...). If you're a complete novice though I'd advise looking around local bike shops at what they have (should be a few bargains around as they will still be selling off 2010 models). That way you can get good advice on sizing and the bike will be set-up properly (which seems a bit hit and miss with Halfords).
Also bear in mind the Halfords Boardman Comp is racing (conventional) geometry so has a low front-end which doesn't suit all riders. The other main type is sportive geometry (like a Specialized Roubaix) which has a higher front-end giving you a more upright position. This can be more comfortable but at the expense of aerodynamics. Don't assume though that as your goal is a sportive that a 'sportive geometry' bike is automatically the right option, plenty of people get on fine riding conventional geometry bikes and there's a lot more choice available.0 -
Get out on the bike as much as you can, and don't always ride at the same tempo.
Mix it up, a few lil sprints, a few loong solid hard rides, a few easy rides etc etc.
Should be fine.0 -
wjcrombie wrote:
Are you training for a sportive or a road race?
You should be able to do sportives on just riding your bike. Intervals and hill repeats are only necessary if you want to actually race....
i guess it depends on your aims.
personally if i'm riding 200km over a hilly course (which i am) i want to push myself and do it in a good time by ensuring my fitness is as good as my lifestyle and enthusiasm for cycling allows. sure if the OP just wants to just finish then getting out and riding will be enuff, I prefer to see what i can achieve.0 -
Anyone know if there is a waiting list?
cant effin believe i missde the registration.0 -
Dufuss...as others have mentioned already I would increase the lenght of your longer weekend ride gradually. With a month to go you want to have done a 120km ride already. I even like to have done a ride of say 130-140 km a month before a Sportive of 120km . That way I'm sure I can do the 120km without too much trouble
Regarding the lack of hills. Either travel around and find some or if that is impossible then do longer stretches on the flat in a much higher gear than normal trying to replicate the effort you would need to climb one of the Dragon Ride hills. To my recollection the longest one takes about 30- 40 mins to ride
Good Luck
0 -
IMHO the dragon ride is one of the hardest sportives in the UK, you need to think very carefully about your training and performance.
20 Miles three times a week is IMO no where near enough and you will deffo need to build up to longer rides at the weekend.
As you don't have hills, intervals will help somewhat but you need miles in your legs as well.
You should aim to be doing regular 30 mile rides in the week and build up to a brisk 50/60 ride at the weekend. You are almost sure to be able to do it on less miles, but if you want to do it comfortably then you need the miles.
As for a bike, forget the hi-brid, there are many very nice secondhand road bikes available for around the £400-600 Mark0 -
Velonutter wrote:IMHO the dragon ride is one of the hardest sportives in the UK, you need to think very carefully about your training and performance.
20 Miles three times a week is IMO no where near enough and you will deffo need to build up to longer rides at the weekend.
As you don't have hills, intervals will help somewhat but you need miles in your legs as well.
You should aim to be doing regular 30 mile rides in the week and build up to a brisk 50/60 ride at the weekend. You are almost sure to be able to do it on less miles, but if you want to do it comfortably then you need the miles.
As for a bike, forget the hi-brid, there are many very nice secondhand road bikes available for around the £400-600 Mark
Pfft don't scare him off!
Anyone who's reasonably fit can deal with the suffering for a one off day! You might just go a little slower.
Just get on your bike as much as possible, and vary the way you ride - job done.0 -
chill123 wrote:wjcrombie wrote:
Are you training for a sportive or a road race?
You should be able to do sportives on just riding your bike. Intervals and hill repeats are only necessary if you want to actually race....
i guess it depends on your aims.
personally if i'm riding 200km over a hilly course (which i am) i want to push myself and do it in a good time by ensuring my fitness is as good as my lifestyle and enthusiasm for cycling allows. sure if the OP just wants to just finish then getting out and riding will be enuff, I prefer to see what i can achieve.
Same here and this'll be my 3rd go at the longer distance. I've always been the type of person to push myself, no matter what I'm doing. Can't help it. just my nature I suppose.
My weekly training for the Dragon usually consists of a 3-4 hour ride at a fairly relaxed pace, and if family life allows, 1 shorter ride of about 2 hours worth at a higher intensity, plus a few 1 hour turbo sessions in the week at varied intensity. I could just relax a bit and ride the Dragon at a more leisurely pace but that isn't me..;-)
i'm ok at climbing so tend not to focus on it that much, but I will throw in a couple of 13/14%ers on my long rides and visit Box Hill a few times leading up to the event.
I've also got the Hampshire Hilly 100 in May that I got gold in last year and want to do well there again, plus a week in the Alps a week after the dragon riding around the Marmotte route so want to be in the best shape possible.0 -
thanks for the replies it sounds like i have got to get the miles in my legs then, when i do start going for longer rides i am guessing i would need to eat something as well as drink? please note that i don t want to do it in record time, i just want to get round without struggling if that makes sense thanks andy0
-
duffuss.
start building the longer rides at the weekend. as a rule of thumb don't increase the length by more than 10% each week. as other have said if you can comfortable get out for a 60-70 mile ride on the weekend by spring then you'll be well on the way to being prepared.
as you increase the distance eating and drinking becomes more important. experiment with different foods on these longer rides in training. i try and eat something after every 20miles. that works for me however i have clubmates that can ride for 60-70 miles before they consider anything to eat. find out what works for you and stick to it.
good luck0 -
Agree with much of the advice above.
You need to be comfortable riding 120km before the event. However the long hills on the Dragon Ride will take their toll on anyone who isn't used to hills, so it may be worth looking to do a few rides in hilly areas - the Peaks aren't that far from Lincolnshire.0 -
Rouge Penguin wrote:Anyone know if there is a waiting list?
cant effin believe i missde the registration.
Just turn up and ride it anyway - they're public roads. If not paying makes you feel guilty, donate the entry fee to charity.0 -
dufuss wrote:thanks for the replies it sounds like i have got to get the miles in my legs then, when i do start going for longer rides i am guessing i would need to eat something as well as drink? please note that i don t want to do it in record time, i just want to get round without struggling if that makes sense thanks andy
Everyone struggles. The difference is how fast you're struggling
. 0
