London to Brighton training

D4N

I have a specialized rockhopper 08 bought new and i just use it for a bit of fitness.
The longest ride i've done was 26 miles and i was dead by the end of it.
A bunch of us are goning to try it this year.
Our brief was to buy a cheap bike and do it on that.
Don't ask why.
So i bought a cheap road bike off ebay.

I've since done a few upgrades.
I know it's nothing special but hopefully it should do the trick.
So long story short whats the best way to go about preparing for it.
I do have a turbo trainer if that helps?
Thanks for any input
Dan

pipipi

First of all good luck!

In a nutshell, ride as much as possible!

If you know how far L2B is, then work out a schedule leading up to it, with the mileage increasing week by week. So 10 miles one Sunday, then 15 miles, 20 miles etc.

With a turbo, and bad weather, doing some intervals (hard for 4 minutes then 1 minute easy, hard for 4 minutes then 1 minute easy) and again build this up .Maybe 20 minutes on Tuesday (10 minutes warm up first).Again on a Thursday. Save Sunday for your longer ride.

But again, the more you do the 'easier' L2B will seem.

ju5t1n

Most healthy adults can ride from London to Brighton without any training

D4N

Thanks pipipi, I went out in the snow earlier today for around 10min.
Decided it wasn't worth falling off for
I'll go out tomorrow for at least an hour.
Thanks for the tip on the trainer.
Ju5t1n
I don't know how healthy i am?
I'd better get some miles in.

pipipi

Just remember to build up gradually.

neilg7777

I bought the same bike to do the L2B last year. I used the vicking to go to work and back and I could feel ever hole in the road, it was putting me off cycling :? , Then one day got knocked off by a car and bike smashed up so bought a hybrid as i thought road bikes are not for me. Anyway did the L2B on the hybrid. Good luck with bike . L2B was a slow but great day. You will love the day and ride but it is slow as so many people. after the ride i got the bug and was training more and went to the lbs who convinced me to try another road bike and wow what a diffrence, I ended up with a felt z95 and have done 100 mile rides and love it. Sorry for going on but brought back memorys. I always say getting knocked off was the best thing that happened. You dont need to do loads of training as first 20 miles is stop start and so much happening just enjoy the day you will make it fine
Neil

D4N

Well I went out yesterday in the snow and did 14 miles.
Today I feel fine.
I'll have a rest today and go for 20 tomorrow.
Thanks guys
Dan

vroomvroom

I did London to Brighton last year, I found the route a bit clumsy, lots of stop starts at lights, junction etc. I also found it surprisingly hilly.

I suggest you work up to as long rides as possible and ideally do a few long climbs to get used to riding in low gears. Get used to riding for up to 4 hours in a day.

There where a few in our group that had never ridden more than 20 miles previously who managed to complete in on mountain bikes, so it is achievable by most healthy adults (all be in it took them 6 hours and they walked up some of the hills)

Good luck !!

mrbubbaman

My father in law did it last year with no problems. He's 60 (I think) and did it on a muddy fox mountain bike, which was around 15 years old

Bokoshoko

I've done it twice, once on a hybrid and once on a road bike. It's around 52 miles, the only mildly challenging part is Ditchling Beacon but like all the other climbs on the ride you'll most likely find the most challenging bit is dodging people who've randomly stopped and those who've started pushing.

On the 2nd time I went with a group who'd not done it before and in the 2 months prior their training consisted of once weekly rides to a maximum of 30 miles; they all finished.

It's a good experience and the crowd effect is a big contributor in the level of success most people have with it.

The one thing I'd aim for is to get in the earlier start groups, those that start later will face more of a challenge from fighting through the crowds than cycling.