Started riding 3weeks ago..... 100 mile in 10 weeks

richardacdc

Hi all,

First post...

Started riding 3 weeks ago on a kindly donated boardman hybrid. I put in a 31 mile ride yesterday in 2.10 with 1000ft of climb which will be my last ride out on the hybrid having fully caught the bug and bought a road bike this week. (Boardman team carbon LTD Edition)

The question is.... Is pitching for a 100 mile sportive in 10 weeks from now realistic?

Also, reasonably fit from playing rugby still but could do with shifting a bit of rugby weight. 5ft 7inch and 15 stone isn't ideal for quick riding. Any suggestions??

Thank you...

socistep

I guess you are unlikely to shift a massive amount of weight in that time but you can increase the distances, try 50miles next and build up etc.

You'll be able to do it, my 2 main tips would be to pace yourself and eat/drink regularly - try and get an idea of your pace from the longer rides you do above then plan around that

Davdandy

I would say its possible but you have to put the work in.

Only a couple of months ago i went from 20 miles to 56 miles and then 76 miles in three weeks.BUT the latter hurt,really hurt.Do it in increasing stages,i was trying to be butch and my body told my i am not.

But if you ride almost every day and slowly increase the mileage i don't see why you cannot achieve your target 100.

JayKosta

If you are comfortable (or can tolerate...) being on the bike for a long time, then doing a reasonable paced 100 miles should be ok. Figure about 7 hours of riding time, not including rest breaks.

Keep your pace at the 'moderate' level, and have plenty to eat and drink.
Change your hand & butt position frequently to avoid problems caused by pressure on nerves, and to encourage good blood flow.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

Ed-tron

Worth checking the route of the sportive. Some are hillier than others, even when the same length.

You need to get used to long rides. Both in terms of food and water intake, but also comfort on the bike.

On the sportive you'd be savvy to ride in groups when you can. Like the pros this saves energy (30%?), but involves some skill, awareness and etiquette. So worth practicing.

You bike is new so should be in good nick. You need to be able to fix a flat when out and about, so you need to be self sufficient for that.

100 miles is doable. It'll be epic, but a great sense of achievement. I'd have thought with a rugby background, you are used to dealing with adversity, and there will be times when it gets bleak and you have to dig deep!

elderone

there are plans online I think on uk cycling that give training tips to do exactly what your asking and they do work,but has been said,you will need to put the effort in.Watch your diet and cut out any crap and hopefully the weight will fall off.
Good luck.

fat_cat

10 weeks is a bit of a challenge to get to 100 miles, so you will need to maintain some focus. My advice would be to try the following:

Try and get out on the bike 4 times a week time permitting. 3 of these rides can be an hour or so, say try 15 to 20 miles. The forth ride (your long ride) increase the distance by 5 miles a week, so that in 8 weeks time you're up to 70- 75 miles. Then ease off the distance for the last couple of weeks. I jumped from 75 to 100 without too much difficulty, so if you follow this you should be OK.

Diet wise as Elderone says just watch what you eat. Work on 1500 - 2000 calories a day, and you should shift some weight.

Best of luck, and be sure to post how you get on on here.

smidsy

Forget speed, work on distance.

Get time on the bike, ther is no other way. Rest is also important so have at least 2 days off a week until you build stamina.

It is more about being able to spend 7 or 8 hours in the saddle as opposed to being able to average 'x' mph.

sarm34

shouldnt be a problem, i took it up 4 weeks before a 100 mile sportive last year, found i hr but very do-able

marcusww

distance is defo the key I jumped from 60 to 93 in 2 weeknds then 102 2 weeks after that, before that I did 2 x 50 milers. The thing that worked for me was pace and food - (I think that nice weather helps too!)

frodosfeet

You'll do it easily enough...I started biking mid Apri(15th) l was reasonably fit before hand with swimming and the odd bit of running.

On 1st June I did a 100 miler in 5 hrs 36 (pretty flat course though)

I started doing 10 mile commutes to / from work twice a day then built up from there so the commutes were appox 20 miles. Longest ride I did before the event was 56.

As long as you're sensible and don't go bonkers for speed you'll be fine.

kampernaut

smidsy wrote:

Forget speed, work on distance.

Get time on the bike, ther is no other way. Rest is also important so have at least 2 days off a week until you build stamina.

It is more about being able to spend 7 or 8 hours in the saddle as opposed to being able to average 'x' mph.

I agree wholeheartedly.

I recently managed it starting completely from scratch in 10 weeks. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't focus on time in the saddle as opposed to speed. I found I needed longer than expected to recover from the 50 and 70 mile rides I did a few weeks before the event. I was very tired for days afterwards and would have preferred longer to build up more slowly. I sort of followed this plan: http://www.carten100.com/guides/TrainingSchedule.pdf with an extra two weeks beforehand getting to learn to ride a bike again. I did go further on the long weekend rides as I wanted to be completely confident in my ability to finish.

In that short preparation time you also don't have any slack to tolerate injury so it is best to go fairly easy and not risk it. There will be plenty of hills to provide sufficient challenge for you I'm sure.

Good luck. You do get a terrific sense of achievement when you complete the challenge.

BobScarle

smidsy wrote:

It is more about being able to spend 7 or 8 hours in the saddle as opposed to being able to average 'x' mph.

Entirely agree, that is the big thing, time in the saddle! And don't forget that a saddle that is comfortable for an hour or two may have you in tears after six.

Experiment with food and drink during your training and have settled on it on the day. That means that everything that you take with you will have been tested and found ok. Build up your mileage, increasing steadily up to about 85 miles before the event, you will just get through the rest. Take it steady, forget time and average speed. There will be people faster than you, (so what?), let them go. Above all, enjoy it.

smidsy

Steady on..that is two people in a row agreeing with ME. You will start a war :-)

jordan_217

Forget time in the saddle - you need to buy some Mavic Cosmic Carbones and aim to average 21.7 - 22.4 mph during all your training sessions*





*This is not true but I dont' want Smidsy getting carried away. He's spot on with his advice here.

smidsy

FAF

However your post still actualy agrees so that is now 3 in a row 8)

I may get a record :P

kampernaut

smidsy wrote:

I may get a record :P

It's not Strava on here you know!

richardacdc

Thanks guys, pleased my post encouraged some bromance.....

I'm going to enter a 55 miler this weekend to stretch myself out in distance, a bit last minute but what's the worst that can happen :roll:

secretsam

richardacdc wrote:

Thanks guys, pleased my post encouraged some bromance.....

I'm going to enter a 55 miler this weekend to stretch myself out in distance, a bit last minute but what's the worst that can happen :roll:

Would that 55 miles be the Tour de Vale? I've done that a couple of times, nice ride but some cheeky hills (don't ever believe that all of Bucks is flat)

richardacdc

Yes it is, I wasn't going to ride the longer distance but I've been coaxed into it by some more experience cycling friends. I did part of the route Sunday and some of the hills were tasty!

Calpol

smidsy wrote:

Forget speed, work on distance.

Get time on the bike, ther is no other way. Rest is also important so have at least 2 days off a week until you build stamina.

It is more about being able to spend 7 or 8 hours in the saddle as opposed to being able to average 'x' mph.

I would echo this advice. Smidsy is correct on at least two matters. The second one being he rides a Basso. I want one of those 2013 Astra frames!!! I bet spending 7-8 hours on it is awesome!

smidsy

Awe guys...at this rate I am going to start welling up. 4 in a row now :-)

Longest I have been on the Basso so far is 5hrs 30 ish. I do have a 100 miler in 2 weeks though so we shall find out.

Dezza

Please look after your knees!
I disobeyed the '10% rule', jumped into high milage and still suffering for it now. Listen to the advice about building up gradually.

Grill

Dezza wrote:

Please look after your knees!
I disobeyed the '10% rule', jumped into high milage and still suffering for it now. Listen to the advice about building up gradually.

This is cycling, not running. If you injured your knees by upping mileage then you're in desperate need of a bike fit.

My first ever ride was 30 miles and the next week I did 77 miles on my third ever ride. 2 months later I did 230 miles in a 12hr TT. The OP's goal is plenty realistic, as all he has to do is go out and ride his bike.

Crankbrother

Just add 5-10 miles per week to your max distance ... Once you've done 130kms a couple of times you'll be fine for the extra needed for the 100 miles ...

Dezza

Grill wrote:

Dezza wrote:

Please look after your knees!
I disobeyed the '10% rule', jumped into high milage and still suffering for it now. Listen to the advice about building up gradually.

This is cycling, not running. If you injured your knees by upping mileage then you're in desperate need of a bike fit.

My first ever ride was 30 miles and the next week I did 77 miles on my third ever ride. 2 months later I did 230 miles in a 12hr TT. The OP's goal is plenty realistic, as all he has to do is go out and ride his bike.

Yep. Had a bike fit with physio after and it wasn't a mile off, seat raise and a few other tweaks. Their conclusion was too many miles too quickly. I've been visiting the physio for 6 months since and trying to change my riding style (increased cadence).

Fair play if that worked for you but this isn't the case for everyone. Surely its safer to take it steady than reassuring it's ok to jump from 0 - 230 miles in 2 months! Everyone is built differently.

Grill

I've blown out my knees 3 times by upping my mileage too quickly on runs. Never had an issue on the bike. You need to change physios and see a real expert such as Adrian Timmis.

Go big or go home.

Dezza

Grill wrote:

I've blown out my knees 3 times by upping my mileage too quickly on runs. Never had an issue on the bike. You need to change physios and see a real expert such as Adrian Timmis.

Go big or go home.

I dont get the hostility.. sorry. I was just highlighting to the guy to take it easy - as others have also written.

I had a bike fit after i nailed my knees and currently building up my strength/sorting IBT issues. If you can't accept that others dont have bionic uberjoints like yours, then thats your problem pal.

Grill

Dezza wrote:

Grill wrote:

I've blown out my knees 3 times by upping my mileage too quickly on runs. Never had an issue on the bike. You need to change physios and see a real expert such as Adrian Timmis.

Go big or go home.

I dont get the hostility.. sorry. I was just highlighting to the guy to take it easy - as others have also written.

I had a bike fit after i nailed my knees and currently building up my strength/sorting IBT issues. If you can't accept that others dont have bionic uberjoints like yours, then thats your problem pal.

There is no hostility, simply advice and solid contention. Cycling is the perfect sport for those with serious knee issues (such as myself) and with a proper setup it's virtually impossible to aggravate your knees to the same extent that you would whilst running (just think about the difference in impact). Unfortunately most physios lack the experience and knowledge of specific application and tend to treat all problems the same. The same can be said of many fitters which is why it's important to get multiple opinions if you can't find the solution yourself. Something as simple as a cleat alignment or shimming can have a drastic effect on comfort and injury management.

Or, if you prefer, you can continue to make excuses and let your riding suffer.

Gizmo_

One thing to say, as well as agreeing with the points about distance above: if you've been playing rugby I'd guess your muscles will have been used to shorter, harder efforts. Sprinting or pushing in scrums?

For cycling, try and focus on your cadence (leg rotation speed): should be aiming for 90rpm. This ensures that you're using your cardio system and working aerobically, rather than just relying on your leg strength. Muscles get tired relatively quickly: your lungs don't.

Calpol

Dezza wrote:

Grill wrote:

I've blown out my knees 3 times by upping my mileage too quickly on runs. Never had an issue on the bike. You need to change physios and see a real expert such as Adrian Timmis.

Go big or go home.

I dont get the hostility.. sorry. I was just highlighting to the guy to take it easy - as others have also written.

I had a bike fit after i nailed my knees and currently building up my strength/sorting IBT issues. If you can't accept that others dont have bionic uberjoints like yours, then thats your problem pal.

Ignore Grill - he has form for judging everyone by his own superhuman standards. YOur advice was well considered and eminently sensible.