100k ride for a newbie

pinarellokid

Hi all looking at doing the Manchester 100k ride on 1 sept this year,,

only new to road riding and currently not really very fit if im honest....

i have managed to work my way upto 12 mile rides at present in around 44 mins

do you think i will get trained up in time or am i dreaming ????? dont want to fail and feel an idiot

also any tips on training which will help me along the way

cheers

velvetytoast

It should be no problem assuming you're happy to do it at about 15mph - so with stops about 4.5 hours. You just need to keep building up the miles each week. Depending on how much time you have each week, try riding every other day - 15 miles is reasonable - then try upping the miles on a weekend ride. You should be doing 45 - 50 the week before the ride - the event will give you the extra 10. If you've only just started riding don't do so much that you can't face going out after a day off - regular riding is much better than a couple of times a week. On the ride just eat and drink every half an hour (practice and find stuff you like during the training rides) - keep at it and you won't just get through it - you'll actually enjoy it,

Gizmo_

Easily doable, especially with the bike you have available. If you can do two one-hour rides per week and a two-hour at the weekend, you'll easily have the 'feel' for a longer ride.

I've just done my first 100km day - London to Southend - and lots of clearly very unfit people were doing it on knackered old MTBs. Slowly, but doing it. As said - eat little and often, drink likewise. Take your time.

nbuuifx

I did the Manchester 100 Mile last year, the route was excellent as it was relatively flat for the whole ride. I'm not sure about the bit that cuts across for the 100k but I guess it can't be too bad.

I only started cycling last year and it was my second ride over 40 miles.

Oh and mine was on a MTB. I was doing about 75 miles a week throughout the summer.

pinarellokid

thats a great boost guys for me,, just what i was hoping for ,,

i have worked my way up from the 3.5 mile to work to doing the 12 mile ride and im finding that is getting easier,,

so maybe time to up the rate and go in the saddle longer, so to speak..

its quite addictive this road riding ,,

i was asked to do the 100mile myself but id much rather start with a 100k than jump in with both feet..

just need to put the miles in now and get some real training under my belt

CiB

100k is 60 miles. Which at 15 mph is 4 hours, or 5 hours at 12 mph. 5 hours steady potter is pretty doable for most people and from what I gather this ride attracts 'most people'.

You won't be first back, but you'll make it long before the last stragglers.

pinarellokid

putting it like that certainly makes it feel more acheivable,, i hear this ride is a good starter ride as its pretty much flat all the way,,

can anyone else confirm how hilly this ride is ??

nbuuifx

Nothing will be flat, but as I said before the 100mile was relatively flat, you do get some hills but none of them were major. The worst was probably the one 5 miles before the end it's only short but is narrow and cars and other bikes get in your way and make you have to crawl up - if it was/is clear when yyou hit it you'd fly up.

The route is here:

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/560275

If you look at the bottom it shows the elevation profile

Also the 100 mile if you want to compare: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/28483


Although the profiles look a little spikey - the scale on the left doesn't go very high which shows it's quite flat. The 100k says it has 2202ft of climbing over 67.2 miles. I did a 17 mile ride the other day with approx 2500ft of climbing (that was quite hilly) so you've got less climbing over 4 times the distance.

Put it this way I've not found anything flatter for the distance

Mikey23

12 miles in 44 minutes is pretty good for a comparative novice. I still can't do that. You should have no problems if you prepare and plan sensibly

pinarellokid

cheers guys thats great !!!!!!!

Corporate Camper

You'll be fine. The Manchester 100 (km) was the first ride I signed up for when I decided I needed to have an event to aim for in order to get fit. As I'm a bit of a fat lazy git I really didn't train for it and I turned up for the ride weighing somewhere over 20 stone.

I surprised myself by how easy I found it. I think it helps that there are loads of people doing it, some super fast Roadies but plenty of normal people on normal bikes.

The route isn't hilly, there are a few gentle climbs and one steeper hill near the end (not too bad) and that's it.

The ride is well run and it's a great atmosphere, I enjoyed it so much I did it again last year and will do it for the third time this year ( even though I live daaarn saaarth)

simon_masterson

Just ride regularly and keep the pace up. You should be just fine.

I think that regular intensive rides of at least an hour, followed by a protein shake of some kind to help build muscle and recover for the next ride, are the way to go, but not all cyclists like going down this route (using protein shakes). Certainly it works for me, and was particularly useful when I was doing 35 miles a day in commuting.

I usually just use pure dextrose powder (which I order from MyProtein) in water for energy as well; when I've used energy drink I've positively flown. I get the impression that a lot of folk do similar things to make the more powerful stuff have a more potent effect on race day, and I'd recommend you get something good to keep you going on the day.

Gizmo_

Protein shake? Meh.

Bacon sarnie.