London 2 Paris 24 trainning

Fantastic Mr Fox

I'm doing the London 2 Paris 24 next year, and seeing as I haven't ridden much in the way of mountain bikes in the last 5 years (bar the last few weeks) and have never ridden a road bike I need some serious fitness/diet tips!

This is the event - http://www.london2paris24.com/

So its 280 miles in 24 hours with rest/food stops every 30 miles, I think the average speed should be around 17mph.

I've been out on my mountain bike doing 20 mile runs every other day in the last few weeks (picking the most hill ridden routes I can find), averaging about 10mph (its a Trek Fuel, full suspension with very thick tyres). I'm 6ft, 12 stone 6 lbs and generally pretty fit because I swim and run and gym a few times a week. I'm going to sack all of that off now just to work on cycling to see what I can make of it.

My current goals are to drop about a stone, then work myself upto three 90 mile runs a week at 17mph (on a road bike obviously) either on a turbo trainer or preferably actually cycling if the conditions are good. Along with that I plan on consuming lots of protein before and after the ride to help muscle development and then generally just cut out most of the crap I eat.

Does all that sound good? Am I wildly off with my training ambitions and do I need to step it up a lot more?

Plus any advice on some other events/races I can go to so I can build a bit of experience. I have a pretty competitive rivalry with a mate and want to make sure I wipe the floor with him at the London 2 Paris 24 at all costs!

Gizmodo

Fantastic Mr Fox wrote:

My current goals are to ... work myself upto three 90 mile runs a week at 17mph (on a road bike obviously) either on a turbo trainer or preferably actually cycling if the conditions are good.

If the conditions are good - you won't get that choice on the actual event so get out on the road in all conditions, it's important that you know how to ride in a head wind in howling rain!

Good luck by the way.

Monty Dog

Your training regime would be really good...if you were only riding 90 miles. You're going to have build-up you endurance base by doing rides perhaps as long as 16 hours by next summer. You'll also need to work on your refuelling strategy and ability to consume sufficient calories and fluids on the go - you have about 2-3 hours of fuel stored in your body, and the challenge is to keep replenishing it - stopping every 30 miles will help, but you'll need to be eating and drinking every 20-30 minutes to keep yourself replenished for the whole 24 hours. You'e going to run out of fuel at some stage, and you'll need to know what it feels like as the mental preparation is just as important as the physical

sub55

you might want to look at the Audax calendar
http://www.aukweb.net/events/
work up to 3 and 400KM events early next year

nwmlarge

why do you want to lose a stone ? 12 st 6lb is a healthy weight

Beatmaker

Fantastic Mr Fox wrote:

I'm doing the London 2 Paris 24 next year, and seeing as I haven't ridden much in the way of mountain bikes in the last 5 years (bar the last few weeks) and have never ridden a road bike I need some serious fitness/diet tips!

This is the event - http://www.london2paris24.com/

So its 280 miles in 24 hours with rest/food stops every 30 miles, I think the average speed should be around 17mph.

I've been out on my mountain bike doing 20 mile runs every other day in the last few weeks (picking the most hill ridden routes I can find), averaging about 10mph (its a Trek Fuel, full suspension with very thick tyres). I'm 6ft, 12 stone 6 lbs and generally pretty fit because I swim and run and gym a few times a week. I'm going to sack all of that off now just to work on cycling to see what I can make of it.

My current goals are to drop about a stone, then work myself upto three 90 mile runs a week at 17mph (on a road bike obviously) either on a turbo trainer or preferably actually cycling if the conditions are good. Along with that I plan on consuming lots of protein before and after the ride to help muscle development and then generally just cut out most of the crap I eat.

Does all that sound good? Am I wildly off with my training ambitions and do I need to step it up a lot more?

Plus any advice on some other events/races I can go to so I can build a bit of experience. I have a pretty competitive rivalry with a mate and want to make sure I wipe the floor with him at the London 2 Paris 24 at all costs!

Have you actually entered as yet? I want to do London-Paris next year and the thought of making it more of a challenge by doing it in 24 hours is tempting. I can only see details on the 2012 event as for though.

marcusjb

sub55 wrote:

you might want to look at the Audax calendar
http://www.aukweb.net/events/
work up to 3 and 400KM events early next year

+1

300s start around the end of March and 400s late April onwards

Anonymous

Friend of mine did it this year, made it by 20 minutes and he's a pretty strong rider. Only 7% of people made it inside the time as the weather was so bad.

I wouldn't rely on a tailwind/clear skies if I were you

48-16

Hi all,
I appreciate this thread is a little old but I came across it looking for training tips/plans for the London2Paris24 which I have registered to do in July.
Not sure if it was male bravado or too much wine or both but I have decided to have a go on a single speed bike! It seemed like a good idea at the time and now I have already told my mates what I am doing and started fundraising there is no going back. Plus my regular road bike frame has gone to the scrap heap so my single speed is the only bike I have.
Anyway, is there anyone on here who has done it or has done it? I would appreciate any advice/tips from anyone who has cycled in any long distane events or 24hr riding.
I have done a few sportives and I am not a newby to the bike, however, all productive comments would be appreciated.
Cheers

marcusjb

What is your typical weekly distance? How far have you ridden in a day before?

Good news is that plenty of fixed riders are present on most long-distance events.