50 & 100 Mile Advice

swood
swood Posts: 2
Hey all,

I've never entered a cycle before before, but always wanted to. About 3 months ago, while riding to work, i came off my bike and knocked my front teeth out, took the top layer of skin off my lip, broke my nose and fractured my wrist. Determined to get back on it, i signed up for the 50 mile Three Counties ride this Sunday and 100 mile RideLondon in August for charity - If anyone is feeling generous, my donation page is below (Any amount is greatly appreciated)
www.virginmoneygiving.com/SamWood7

So basically i'm looking for top tips and advice when it comes to riding those kinds of distances. I'm not too worried about the Three Counties but RideLondon seems a bit daunting. How far should i be training for RideLondon? Best product to keep me from feeling fatigued? etc..

Many thanks in advance!

Comments

  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    RL is 100 miles, so inevitably you should be training to ride that distance. You should be aiming to hit at least 80% of that distance in the weeks leading up to it, if not the full 100.

    Difficult to give you specific advice, because you haven't really given much away about your fitness, or riding history - although controlling your pace, effort and fuelling is usually the key to surviving longer distances.
  • GavH
    GavH Posts: 933
    When I first started out, it took me only 6 weeks from buying a bike to riding 54 miles. The easiest answer is to get out and ride your bike. That said, you are going to need to consider your fuelling strategy, if not for the 50 miler, certainly for the 100 miler and practice it beforehand. Aim to eat something at the 60 or 90 min point and every half hour thereafter (energy gel, flapjack, banana - anything with carbs that can be easil consumed on the move) and don't forget to remain hydrated. Worry not about pace but simply maintaining a good pedal stroke and completing the distance. You'll be surprised how quickly you improve and how less daunting that 100 miler becomes.
  • kajjal
    kajjal Posts: 3,380
    It really depends how hard the riding is near you, your general health / fitness and keeping yourself hydrated and fuelled during the ride. My riding takes me up over the edge of a valley and then down into the valley which is good for training as like a couple of days ago I was cycling up hill into driving rain and a strong wind. If you have no on going injuries or health issues you are off to a good start. The last thing is get used to how much food and water you need. My first 50 mile plus ride was 25 miles into a strong head wind and then about 10 miles from home I ran out of food / water and was dragging myself up a long hill due to power failure.

    Just get out an ride the distances so you can learn how to pace yourself and keep fuelled.
  • macmaywill
    macmaywill Posts: 19
    swood wrote:
    Hey all,

    I've never entered a cycle before before, but always wanted to. About 3 months ago, while riding to work, i came off my bike and knocked my front teeth out, took the top layer of skin off my lip, broke my nose and fractured my wrist. Determined to get back on it, i signed up for the 50 mile Three Counties ride this Sunday and 100 mile RideLondon in August for charity - If anyone is feeling generous, my donation page is below (Any amount is greatly appreciated)
    http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/SamWood7

    So basically i'm looking for top tips and advice when it comes to riding those kinds of distances. I'm not too worried about the Three Counties but RideLondon seems a bit daunting. How far should i be training for RideLondon? Best product to keep me from feeling fatigued? etc..

    Many thanks in advance!

    Congrats and impressive determination coming back from injury.

    I did 108 miles solo 2 weeks ago and one thing that i found out helpful is to eat when you don't feel hungry. I had an alarm for every 1 hr. Gatorade, water & powerbars were the fuel source and ham sandwich at midpoint.
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    As you get up to 40/50 miles, you may start to find all sorts of things that arent right, which werent noticeable on shorter rides. Bike setup, technique and fuelling all become more noticeable as fatigue starts to set in if something isnt right.

    I found that I was pushing high gears slowly and straining my quads and knees, so adjusted my technique to spin faster in a lower gear on the hills - made a huge difference during and after events. Also fine tuned saddle position to a more comfortable place - I find the best position for short 1 hour sprints is not the best for 100 mile rides.

    As someone else said, make sure you eat and drink BEFORE your body tells you that it needs it - by then it is too late.

    To be honest the step up to doing 50/60 mile rides is the most important - this is where you start to sort things out and get everything right. After that, riding further is mainly down to proper fuelling and time. Having said that, on long rides the amount of climbing is where fatigue can start to hurt you, even if you are doing everything right - only training can help then!
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    Took me a lot longer than that to get up to 50/60 miles, but my issue is that whereever I go is all hills, I was stuck at 35 miles being my longest ride for about 8 months (although much was over winter) so I started pushing up to 50 miles it was amazing, if only because I found it quite easy to do!
  • CXrider
    CXrider Posts: 141
    I did the 3CCR on Sunday.
    How did you get on?

    There were only a couple of real hills to worry about.
    Worst part was the water at the half way stop which was buggered/disgusting and I had to throw it all away leaving me drinkless for the next 12.5 miles.
    Pedal to Paris blog at http://RideToParis.co.uk