Cycling 1000km in 10 days

sos88

Hi Everyone,

First of all sorry if my post is in the wrong section, I looked around and thought it looked at home here

So as the title suggests I am planning on cycling 1,000km in 10 days, going from Ireland to Lourdes, France. Aug 2016. A group of 5 of us, it's going to be a charity cycle and we have already secured some large corporate sponsorship.....only downside, we are nowhere near ready and honestly fitness levels are the worse you can imagine. Age group ranges from 30-55, and we have the best intentions but no idea where to start.

We are working on logistics, accommodation, even some marketing for charity campaign, but we do understand most important parts is the cycling and even the fuel for our body!

I was wondering does anyone have any advice, about a training programme? I have searched and search online so any help would be great. The young boy inside me says, jump on a bike and just cycle cycle.....that was fine for 10km till I was out of breath.....yes this is the size of our challenge

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated

thanks everyone

stevie63

It may seem daunting but that is plenty of time to get ready for this. Remember that what you are trying to accomplish is to cycle around 60 miles per day. This means that you are not in any rush, you can average 10mph and still spend only 6 hours on the bike. With this in mind rather than concentrating on going as fast as you can when building up your distance just take it easy and try not to push to hard. You will find that within a month or 2 not only will your distance increase but also your average speed.

To give you an idea a work colleague of mine went from never having ridden a bike more than about 5 miles in his life to doing his first 100 mile ride in just a couple of months. The key was he went at his own pace averaging about 12.5 Mph for the ride. It also meant he could easily have gone out the following day and done a similar ride. All he did was add on an extra 10 miles each week to his longest ride until he cracked the century.

sungod

ride

learn to pace youself, if you were wiped out after 10km then the likelihood is you were going much too hard for your level of training

an untrained middle-aged person who isn't overweight should be able to go much further, my 40's sister who doesn't get much exercise did london-brighton on a clunker of a bike with just a few weekend rides

find a safe route you can do laps on, start with 40-50km, increase distance 5-10% a week in the early stages, longer endurance will develop, the main thing is to get used to being on a bike for hours - sort out bike set-up early

>100km/day should be ok if you're not doing a lot of climbing, check the route profile, if you start early, do 2-3 legs a day with food/coffee stops, you'll be ok

slowmart

Get on your bike, sort out some group rides to bring on the collective fitness together and share the pain and the joy.

It will always help those that like to make excuses which is easy if it's 5:45am raining and dark outside and your pit is warm and your not letting anyone else down.

Learn to love the wind and the rain. Seriously otherwise it's going to be some hard yards to the bike shed, let alone road miles.


The distance is fine, you've plenty of time to learn what to eat, listen to your body, build some miles in your legs and plan the trip.

Have you thought of renting a motorhome? It's relatively cheap and takes the bugbear out of reaching set places each day and you aren't carrying shed loads of kit.

Failing that get yourself an electric bike and say it's the design of the frame rather than a battery

marcusjb

http://www.aukweb.net/events/

Ignore the 1990s website - but here's a whole range of long-distance events that may well be helpful in training.

If you are in Ireland, then Audax Ireland has a very active Facebook page and are a great bunch.

Beyond just riding your bike a lot, make sure you get comfy and learn how your body works with regards to food. Get that all cracked, and with a good dose of mental fortitude, your goal is a very achievable one with a good chunk of time to prepare.

cycleclinic

forget training programmes for this. Just ride your bike. Pace yourself. Your base will build with time on your bike. Ride regularly commute on your bike if you can. Don't try to be a strava hero that won't help your base fittness.

1000km in 10 days is not that daunting. Lots of shorter ride at a sensible pace (not one that leaves your legs feeling like jelly) will do you more good that smashing a high pace for 4 hrs that leaves you feeling ruined.

So just ride your bike even 10km commute each way every day will do wonders for your fittness.

ForumNewbie

Are you being supported or carrying your own luggage? What sort of bike have you got? You need to make sure your bike is the right fit for you, and you need to find a saddle that is comfortable for you. Spongy gel saddles are not the best option, but it's not easy to find a saddle that suits you are everyone is different - you may have to try a few.

jjojjas

its easier than you think. 100km /day with nothing else to do in the day gives you loads of time. I did similar a couple of years ago and I was carrying a tent/clothes/cooking gear/food in/on my panniers.
The most important thing I found was food intake. I ate like a horse, literally twice my usual calorific intake. Make sure you drink plenty too. Before the journey I was only riding about 40 miles each weekend (in the morning) and the odd 10 mile ride during the week. I headed for the hills (because my route was hilly) and made a vague effort to push myself up the harder routes to get in better shape. Having said that... on the ride I had a few beers each night and slept in a tent on the floor.
On a road bike with no luggage and sleeping in a bed it would be a breeze

(ps, I'm 45)
Jas