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| mackyjagsman1982 | 10 Feb 10:34 |
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Joined: 11 Jul 2011 Posts: 5 Bike: | Hi Guys, i have a 75 mile cycle to do in 20 weeks time, mostly on roads with the odd type of cycle track. Ive not done much cycling for years but im still reasonably fit, (gym 1 or 2 a week and play five a sides at least once a week). Just looking for hints to prepare myself for it and what does evryone think of my chances of doing it. |
alas58 
| 10 Feb 12:33 |
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Joined: 21 Apr 2011 Posts: 85 Bike: My Profile | You will need to get miles in on the bike. the gym is ok for keeping up fitness, but 75 miles can be done if you get cycling again. You have time to build up to do 40-50 miles in a day, and then the extra 25 will be ok. Also thing about what bike you will use, terrain, and support available. If it is a organised ride then feed stations will be available, but if it is a adhoc ride then you will need to organise drinks, food intake. hopefully others will give you more advice, good luck. |
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spaceman
| 11 Feb 14:43 |
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Joined: 16 Nov 2010 Posts: 85 Bike: My Profile | Good luck with your ride. You need to just get some miles in. Start easy and build up. Drink plenty. I would take 2 large 750ml bottles for that with High5 mixed in. Plus I would stop half way fro a drink and a well deserved cake. I also take a few dried figs . Small drink every 10 minutes and a fig every other drink to keep your energy up. But you have to find what suites you. I cycle to work most days from March to November (40 mile a day) but I dont think you need to do that much. When I am not cycling to work I do a couple of Spin classes a week and this really helps. I mainly ride on my on and go at what pace I am comfortable at. If you want any other tips just ask. Let everyone know hoe you are progressing... |
| My Latest Route: Jul 2012 Bedworth to Startford Via Fosse Way and Return Via Kenilworth | |
| mackyjagsman1982 | 11 Feb 15:11 |
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Joined: 11 Jul 2011 Posts: 5 Bike: | Thanks for the tips guys, yeah im looking forward to it. Ive got one of the bikes they use in spin classes in my house so i will be on that most nights aswell as going out on the road to do some miles. |
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rustyspoke
| 12 Feb 07:10 |
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Joined: 28 Aug 2011 Posts: 244 Bike: My Profile | As well as gym get out and do road miles the gym is easy nice warm no wind ,no rough road no rain, because on the day you could have bad weathe. You need to be able to do the miles on the road as well as the gym. In fact i never use gym just bang in the miles and as I have a job that is very phyisical that makes up for the weights. Cycle to work when you can and get some hills in. Good luck and 20 weeks you will do it no problem. |
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Belstane
| 25 Feb 23:40 |
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Joined: 25 Feb 2012 Posts: 2 Bike: My Profile | If you're pushed for time and opportunity to hit the road you can still do a lot of good work indoors by sprint interval training. I used to know a road racer who only did two, occasionally three, forty minute sprint interval sessions a week (round a one mile circuit) before a big race. Mind you, you should have seen the work he put - it was scary. When I skied competitively we used to do forty or so minutes with the bike on the trainer - warm up for a coupla minutes then: 1st minute ten seconds sprint, ten cruise 2nd minute, fifteen sprint, ten cruise, fifteen sprint, five cruise, ten sprint 3rd & 4th minutes, ten cruise, twenty sprint 5th minute cruise. Each five minute section you can wind the resistance up a tiny bit on your trainer. Your legs will be the best judge of whether it's to much. You don't need a lot, part of the work you're doing here is simply spinning the enormous weight of your quads around plus a bit of friction. This is easy to do with a sweep-hand clock in view. Forget the iPod, the earbuds will fall out and if you can hear the music it means you're not working: pain deadens sound. If you do this right and build up to a real workout, you'll have to get your wife to lift you off the bike after forty minutes. The nice thing about this is that you can do as many five-minute stretches as you feel you can, plus, of course, one extra one. You'll know you're doing it right because towards the end of your training period, the final twenty seconds will be pure dead-leg. Don't forget to warm down. You'll need a bottle to put fluid in and a towel to mop it up when it comes out and it will come out: you're not being cooled by the wind. Better to train hard then rest and heal up for a few days than go at it ad nauseam every evening. Apart from anything else, you'll just get scunnered with it. Occasional training pain is better than deep boredom. Also, I reckon you need to be quite fit to get fit, if you know what I mean, so don't be afraid to start at a modest pace if you've been 'desk bound'. I've been out for a few months after surgery and now that I'm old and decrepit I'm finding it quite hard to get up to that level where I really feel in control of the 'pain in my legs' so I've ordered a heart monitor. If I could order a new heart I'd do that too. This sort of thing will build good muscle quality and cardio but the other guys are right, you still need to put in some long rides - it's just that after a few short but hard training sessions, your legs will feel like they're having the day off when you get on the road. The other reason you need to hit the road at the weekend is that your arse needs to harden up - 75 miles is a long time to sit on a saddle if you ain't gone trough the bum barrier. |
| My Latest Route: Apr 2012 Kirknewton, Blinkbonny, Kirknewton | |
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