Advice on summer prep for a 112mile'r.....

zak3737

Mornin all,
I've been drafted into a Team of 4 for a Charity Ride in September, where we will be apparently cycling to/past every Golf Club in East Yorkshire, in under 12hrs.
Now, my initial route calcs frightened the hell outa me, showing 160mls+, but I am 'reliably' assured that the ride will be 112miles or so, perhaps because thats Iron Man distance or something .....

So, now that Spring has supposedly Sprung, my thoughts have turned to how the devil I'm gonna prepare myself for the challenge, and improve my overall fitness over the summer too, all the while enjoying the riding and summer.
So far, since getting my 1st Road bike last August, & having not ridden for some 6/7 years, I've managed to ride regularly over the winter, mostly doing up to 45miles or so, some flat rides, some more undulating, and so far, without any great problem, even for my 15st weight, the delights of the Wolds in East Yorkshire are for the most part not too brutal, but enough for my inherrant dislike of hills !

What would the BR Massif suggest as to build up over the summer to prepare me best for the 112 ?

I've been thinking of something like....planning a 50mile ride in March, a 60 in April, a 70 in May, etc etc......which would take me through to a 100mile'r in Aug, - and straight into the task in Sept.
Would that seem a logical build up for the challenge ?
Now that nights are drawing out, I'd imagine that I can do most of the training after 4p, so as not to eat into family life too much, or indeed my Sat pm Golf habit either

Any advice gratefully read :-)

triban

The steady build up is a good idea. You should be fine if you can get to doing regular 80 mile rides, which you should be on track for doing by june i would say. maybe do a few more towards 90, but once you are doing 80 plus each week, the jump to 112m won't be to traumatic! But you don't want to be doing 100milers the week before, you will wear yourself out!

with a window of 12 hours as well, you can take it nice and steady. if you normally ride at say, 15mph average, and you drop that to a 12-13mph average, you'll be suprised at how much further you can get for your energy.

take plenty to eat - i'd be likely to nibble on some flap jack every 10miles or so, but see what works for you!

get out there at first light and you'll be home in time for a round of golf! whether or not you'll still want to play is another matter

Good Luck, and enjoy it.

chris_bass

You could probably do 112 miles in 12 hours now if you really had to. It is more about getting used to the time in the saddle and the mental side of just keeping going.

If you aren't blasting it cycling is very low impact and quite good for doing for long periods at a time.

Bobbinogs

Lots of guides out there (BHF, etc.), try this one or use it as a template for your own:

http://www.doitforcharity.com/cycling-t ... guide.aspx

lakesluddite

Well the good news is you've got plenty of time to go, and hopefully plenty of good weather to do all your training. I've got a 112 miler in early May, so my training months are from now onwards!
As the above have said, if you dial down the speed, then 12 hours to do 112 miles should be no problem, just make sure you get out and do some good distances and spend hours in the saddle at a time - get your backside used to being in the same position for hours on end.

And yes, eat and drink lots - take advantage of the feed stops. And don't bother with the golf, just go straight to the 19th hole.

debeli

I'm with much of what's been posted. 112 miles is not a distance that will really challenge a regular or keen cyclist over 12 hours.

Stuff to bear in mind:

Are you OK being in the saddle for a number of hours?

Are you used to riding in a group? Do the group share a basic view about desired pace and all that malarkey?

You will need to hydrate. Two 750ml bidons should be fine - you can re-fill them en route. No need to drag a load of water about with you that you'll only dring 85 miles later...

Is the bicycle in 'happy' condition? Tyres, spokes, oily bits, brakes, steering, cables blah blah. It is galling getting sidelined on a long group ride by a petty mechanical problem that's been staring you in the face for weeks.

112 miles is not a 'fitness' distance per se. You'll do it whether super-fit or just OK. Problems (if the occur) will be with sore back, saddle issues, cramps and stuff like that. Make sure you're bendy and are happy with the way the bike is set up.

Prepare for shitty weather. God seems to hate cyclists. It will rain or be windy or something else horrid.

Think about clothing. Take the least you can get away with. 80 miles in, you will resent every unnecessary gramme you are carrying.

You will love it. Have fun.

sloppyschleckonds

Zak3737 wrote:

So far, since getting my 1st Road bike last August, & having not ridden for some 6/7 years, I've managed to ride regularly over the winter, mostly doing up to 45miles or so, some flat rides, some more undulating, and so far, without any great problem, even for my 15st weight, the delights of the Wolds in East Yorkshire are for the most part not too brutal, but enough for my inherrant dislike of hills !

What would the BR Massif suggest as to build up over the summer to prepare me best for the 112 ?

Ride your bike more, sort your diet out

marcusjb

Your target is very achievable.

Ride lots.

Get comfy.

Learn what works for your body in terms of food and drink.

cougie

Yes its not that difficult. Plenty of people do the 112 miles as part of an ironman and then run a marathon after - and thats with a 16 or 17 hour cut off. (dont forget the 2.4 mile swim first) - and thats not for superhumans - just about anyone could do that with say 6 months practice.

Its an average of 9 miles an hour - in practice you'll easily do it much faster than 12 hours.

Build steady and pace yourself and keep eating and drinking.

drummer_boy

Do you know how much climbng there is on the route? Everything mentioned above, about weight, counts double (or triple) when going up hill!!
I started riding again last year (t'other side of the Pennines to you), joined a club and did 110miler, over Dent and back within 4 months! I weigh in at 17st now(I was 19st then!), and am looking at the club audax this year, at 130 miles (12000 ft of climb) in May.
Like everyone says, time in saddle pays dividends, and your bum will thank you on the day.

zak3737

Thx for advice all.
I'm certainly aiming to ride more, or as much as I can, family allowing, and am going to invest in a better pair of padded bibs, as current ones are less than brill.
Have had no issues with posterior so far, after some saddle tinkering, so hopefully that should be ok.

East Yorks & the Wolds is perhaps best descibed as 'indulating', no killer climbs really, so my hatred of climbing will perhaps not be too drastically tested, its just the overall distance that will be the challenge, but as said, with plenty of rides before, and some good distances, sure we'll be ok.
Perhaps the best area I can learn is food & hydration, I know I wont be using any of the 'energy' drink supplements again, - the last time I used that during a C-C MTB ride, despite being knackered, my pulse didnt slow all damn night !

cougie

What kind of energy drink did you use ? Was it something like red bull perhaps ??

Theres no problem in using proper energy drink - stay hydrated and taking on energy at the same time is a good idea - but it has to be fit for purpose.

zak3737

It was Maxim kind of stuff, the powder mix, tasted ok but played havoc with pulse by end of day,
perhaps just took in too much over the day.

Re Red Bull - never touch that poison, had a ski holiday once where the barman kept giving us Vodka & Red Bull shots, swear I didnt sleep for 3 damn days !

cougie

Unusual. Well the good thing is that you have plenty of time to find an energy drink that you can get on with on your rides. Lots of choice out there - or you can make up your own.

For long rides - get a bento box type bag for your top tube. You can fill that with high energy food and make sure to eat something every 20 mins or so. Saves messing around in your pockets.

If you're riding with others - do find out what they are doing - will you be stopping ? Who is the slowest - are you riding at their pace or separate ?

jameses

Zak3737 wrote:

am going to invest in a better pair of padded bibs, as current ones are less than brill.

That's definitely a sound idea. Make sure they're a decent fit, which is to say they should feel a little bit tight when standing - it ensures the pad stays where it should when you're seated.

Other than that, I'll just echo what others have said - first and foremost, put some time in the saddle and get your shoulders and back (and arse!) used to maintaining that position for several hours at a time. I think this is what stops you more than lack of fitness. Besides that, find out what works for you with feeding and drinking. 12 hours gives you plenty of time, so you can afford to take it a bit easy on the pace, build in a cafe stop or two.

Good luck!

zak3737

cougie wrote:

Unusual. Well the good thing is that you have plenty of time to find an energy drink that you can get on with on your rides. Lots of choice out there - or you can make up your own.

For long rides - get a bento box type bag for your top tube. You can fill that with high energy food and make sure to eat something every 20 mins or so. Saves messing around in your pockets.

If you're riding with others - do find out what they are doing - will you be stopping ? Who is the slowest - are you riding at their pace or separate ?

I get the same reaction with alcohol these days, so hence limit my intake considerably these days, AF I think they call it.

As its a Charity Day/Ride, I'm certain there will be feed stops on route, so hopefully wont need to carry an awful lot anyway, and restock drinks on route, and I'm sure we'll be aiming to do this as an 'enjoyable' ride and pace accordingly, ride together as much as poss, and hopefully avoid the race that some may want to make it. Too old for that malarky !