I got an entry to the Fred Whitton today via the reserve list, which I’m stoked about.

Now, how on earth to get fit (aka from zero, truly) in time in London with limited hills and time?

Trainerroad until the brain dribbles out my ears?

You don’t have to be that fit for the Fred Whitton its the weather that will beat you!!

I think that fit is relative on a 100+ mile lakeland route taking in 4 passes

Its not a route for the unfit is it.
No one who completes is unfit IMHO

Train a lot or sell it to rich who will do it on a rigid SS with knobblies the day after a stag do 😉

must admit I ride better on a hangover!
ok you have to have a certain level of fitness and bike handling skills and ride without a triple oh and the walls hurt be careful 🙂

Bike to box hill, go up and down it until you want to puke, head home. Then repeat every weekend until the big day 😆

I did the all-year version last June in a leisurely 13 hours being able to stay comfortable on your bike for hours on end is helpful. Weighing as little as possible would help for Hardknott. Being able to ignore the unremitting pain in your legs towards the top of Honister, Hardknott and Wrynose is also a good idea.
The road condition on the far side of the last two is shocking so good bike handling is very important there.

Enjoy the weakness leaving your body.

My lessons from my first attempt last year….
Be comfortable on your bike…whatever that means to you. Lots of recommendations that work for one will not for another

Mentally. Be ready….. It is exciting adrenaline filled at times…but….there are bleak moments….cold fell well actually before for me as it was all rolling and sapped my energy as I was alone for most of it

Make sure your bike works and you can repair it…..iwas amazed at all the breakdowns especially by pimped out carbon Raphael wearing men who could not repair their bikes

It is okay to walk….yeah fine do not listen to or be fooled into machismo

Training…. Cycle wise miles is good but spinning will help personally cross training will be helpful so running and I would say core strength…the climbs are big but it is the totally affect on the body.

Oh eat…real food…..gels and power bars are okay but I saw lots of people’s bodies reboot in explosive ways…

Remember it is a ride not a race….

Each weekend, train to Lewes for the South Downs.

Circular routes with 5000′ per 50miles and bostals on the north slopes with 20% bursts. Quite scenic too.

Although most people (perhaps rightly) focus on the big passes of Honister, Hardknott and Wrynose there’s a lot of up and down elsewhere on the route to wear you down. Vondally mentions Cold Fell – this is out on the west coast and there’s not much shelter, if there’s a head wind then this will be tough.

Generally the advice would be to pace yourself, figure out a reasonable time for you to finish and work out what sort of speed you need to do to achieve that while allowing for time at feed stations and mechanicals. Split the ride down in to parts: half, a quarter or whatever and use those as intermediate targets. Don’t hammer down the hills thinking you’ll make up time there’s only a minute or so difference between the fastest times and a standard time. The roads aren’t closed to traffic, have some sections of poor surface and often have stone walls right next to the road so there’s nowhere to go if you overcook it. If you can get in a group of similar paced riders then it helps a lot – the chatting takes your mind away from some of the pain 😕 and if you share the workload it helps even more: I did one sportive a couple of years ago and knew that the last 20 miles or so were going to be in to a headwind so I found a small group to latch on to (it took me three miles to catch them) but even though there were only five of us we kept the average speed well above 20mph – meant I got a gold standard time!

Eat and drink well even if that means starting the ride looking like a chipmunk with your shirt pockets bulging. If you use electrolyte water additives then check what they supply en-route and see if you get on with it, otherwise take your own. Similarly with food, I did one sportive where the energy bars handed out at the food stops were virtually inedible, they felt like sawdust in your mouth.

Enjoy yourself 😛

If it’s any consolation, I’ll be doing the bulk of my ‘training’ in spin classes, trying to build up to 5.5hrs of spin a week though to make up for lack of time on real bike. 😕

If I’m really fortunate, I might be able to spend March/April building up distance with commutes and increasingly long hilly rides in the Highlands. Pitlochry to Aviemore with two laps of Cairngorm ski centre is about equivalent to the FW so might aim for that late April.

Bike to box hill

I think you mean Whitedown 😈

Either join your local club and get used to 80-100 milers or try something else more realistic this year.

Do you have a Garmin Connect Account? Sign in and grab the century ride plan from there it takes 8 weeks to complete. (Hidden under Training Plans in both classic and modern view).