London to Paris 24h training ideas

richmarriott
richmarriott Posts: 20
edited April 2014 in Training, fitness and health
Hi all

Been roped into doing a London to Paris and the guy I'm doing it with wants to go via dieppe and achieve it in 24 hours!

I've been cycling casually for about a year now and regularly do at least a 30-40 mile each week. The question is how the heck do I prepare for something like this? The plan is to do about 55 miles on the Friday night to new haven, catch the ferry then dieppe to Paris on a 115 (ish) mile ride. I've got about 15 weeks so need to get on it!

Also any suggestions for really comfy endurance bib shorts or saddles would be appreciated.

Thanks
Rich

Comments

  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Get your weekly mileage up - 30-40 miles a week ain't a lot. If you could double or treble it from now until the ride, it would be a start.
  • richmarriott
    richmarriott Posts: 20
    Thanks for the reply.

    Been out more since the light nights. Last week managed more like 55ish biut am aiming for 70+ then keep upping it from there.

    Got a 60 mile charity ride planned in the next few weeks but over 100 seems quite some way away!
  • bahzob
    bahzob Posts: 2,195
    The training you are doing now should be fine.

    I know it may sound a bit daft but in physical terms you could probably do the ride tomorrow. The biggest challenge is the mental side of pushing yourself on and you are in the best position to answer that.

    Main thing to do is try to do all you can to anticipate potential show-stoppers. I have ridden in and marshalled the LEL which involves riding London>Edinburgh and back. Every year riders fail because of stupid mechanical issues that would have been avoided with a good bike service and a little self education on how to mend a bike.

    These show-stoppers include minor aches and pains that become agony when extended for hours. Most are due to not being correctly fitted for your bike. If you have a sore backside chances are it is due to this not your shorts. Many riders think the saddle is for sitting on like a chair so have it set too low so it's carrying a lot of their weight. This will make your bum hurt and will also make pedalling harder work.
    Martin S. Newbury RC

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