Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 48 total)
  • Training for 100 mile road ride – advice please
  • MRanger156
    Free Member

    Signed up to a couple of long road rides in april and june and need to get fitter for them. Im currently reasonably fit but not done much long distance road riding.

    I commute to work 5 miles each way on a singlespeed 5 days a week and plan to do a ride (mtb or road) on a sat. I play football on sundays.

    Any advice for a rough training schedule and any other tips?

    lucien
    Full Member

    Uh……get some miles in – long steady distance stuff like Audaxes, build to within 80% of target mileage within a month or so of the event than tail off.

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    If you only have 1 session a week, just get out there and do long rides, I’d say. Build yourself up to 50 then you’ll be fine at 100.

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    davidtaylforth
    Free Member

    Ride your bike alot more. I ride quite alot, did the Fred Whitton last year but the furthest training ride I did was about 45 miles (at a fair pace though)

    I know a couple of guys who did 6hour 45minute times and they were cycling really far on their training rides.

    stratobiker
    Free Member

    Like lucien says, get some miles in.

    Join your local club and go on the group rides. Three or four hours on a club run chatting takes no time at all. Three or four hours on your own takes forever.

    SB

    bol
    Full Member

    When I did my first 100, the only training I’d done previously was regular 35 milers. It killed me. Get a few 50+ rides in and you should still be able to walk. 😉

    Haze
    Full Member

    Not long started road, coming from a riding schedule very similar to yours it’s been a bit of an eye-opener.

    Making good progress though, did a 50 door to door last week without too much of a struggle.

    If I was planning a 100 I’d probably just spend a bit more time on the bike, up the mileage gradually rather than change anything drastic.

    darrell
    Free Member

    similar issues here. I’m doing the tour of flanders sportive in 6 weeks. Unfortunately its -12 here this week and currently 15 m/s wind. disaster for trying to ride.

    Keva
    Free Member

    wouldn’t you be better off taking the car to do 100miles on the road 😉

    <sorry, couldn’t resist>

    Kev

    sharki
    Free Member

    Is all that training really necessary for a 100 mile rides?

    I say this because a couple years ago when i broke my collar bone i did sod all riding for 7 weeks. Then when the doc said i could ride but don’t fall off (it had not healed fully) then i took to a road bike. Went out and did 3 rides during the week, a 33, a 40 and a 56, then i rode 105miles and still performed at the end of it. Then rode 50 miles the next day.

    I’d not consider myself fit at the time.

    Just go and get some long hours in the saddle, speed isn’t such a big deal on long distance rides.

    And enjoy it.

    crazy-legs
    Full Member

    You need some MUCH longer rides under your belt. Switch to road every Saturday, MTBing will do nothing for your ability to do a 100 mile road ride.

    Build it up gradually, start with 30-ish miles and increase by 10 miles a week. Try and plan the rides so that there’s a bail-out option if you start to suffer, either a cafe or a short route back home. Use the bike that you plan to use on the day, it’ll allow you to get properly used to it and adjust it for comfort as necessary.

    davidtaylforth
    Free Member

    Is all that training really necessary for a 100 mile rides?

    I dont think so, its only riding your bike. If you want to do it quickly then training is probably a good idea, but if your reasonably fit and take it steady away you’ll be fine. Just remember to eat some food throughout

    elliptic
    Free Member

    No substitute for some long steady training rides. As much as anything it’s learning to pace yourself [1] eat and drink enough and deal with the aches/stiffness/soreness (first time is the worst).

    However if you’re getting out regularly for shorter rides you don’t necessarily need to do a *lot* of long ones. Two or three ~60 milers in the month beforehand is enough for me to survive a century.

    Meanwhile try and get out for a 2-3hour ride one evening a week as the light comes back.

    [1] elliptic’s guide to pacing for long road rides: start out slower than you think. No, slower than that. No, really: slow down! In the first couple of hours if you’re not *itching* to shift up a gear then you’re overdoing it.

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    If you stop and rest frequently it helps a lot. I did 130m on a slick’d up mtb back in the day when I wasn’t that fit.

    I stopped once every hour or two to eat & rest – was pretty fresh when I got home.

    bol
    Full Member

    I think steady away is the key. If you go at it in the same way you’d go at a brisk commute or a 20/30 mike road ride you may well blow after the first 50/60 miles (from my painful experience). If you take it steady you’ll be fine. My problem is an inability to pace myself – if you have the same problem then get in the miles!

    Pawsy_Bear
    Free Member

    Training for Trans alps. I have found that I can get an hour each day on the exercise bike at lunchtime and its paid huge dividends. I train use my HR to do intervals and long slow for endurance. You can find how to calculate your HR zone it on line. Until now I never used an exercise bike, just did miles on road and MTB. TBH I have made far more improvement by using HR zones and exercise bike at local gym and some general fitness exercise for back and arms. Made a real dent in my time for say the W2 ride at Afan at weekends. I have also found the delights of spin classes. Being part of the group tends to push my effort levels and they are pleasant on the eye ;-D

    I would stress that improvements in back, arms and core muscles have really help too fron a comfort perspective. I can now ride all day without neck ache or arms wilting on mega downhills. If you do long distance you will know where I am coming from.

    takisawa2
    Full Member

    Take the train to somewhere 100 miles away & ride back. No cash, no cards.
    Wife ordered not to pick you up however much you plead.

    To introduce time constraint, arrange for a mate to bed your wife after a certain no of hours.

    This assumes you have a Wife.
    And a trustworthy mate.

    MRanger156
    Free Member

    Reason I want to train for it is to keep up with two mates who are fitter than me and to prove a point to them and myself. Turns out the first ride is in a month and its 70 miles – time to get the road bike out again!

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    So how many stops during a 100, i’d always assumed it was non stop, but Al’s advice seems more condusive to succeeding to me

    Junkyard
    Free Member

    I have ridden 75 miles with a 45 year old woman who last rode a bike 20 years earlier. It was flat but most peole can cycle for 12 hours this issue is how fast they cand do it and how often they stop

    I would aim for 50-65 mile rides at circa 4 hours ish 15 mph solo speed no stopping
    For the 100 either steady or at normal pace and hope you maintain it due to being in a group/bunch

    as above though start out slower. It is always better to get to 75 miles and have much more energy left that you expected than get to 75 and find you have a lot less energy than needed to finish.

    MrSmith
    Free Member

    your commute is junk miles as it’s so short you don’t even get warmed up, better to do longer sessions if you can and rest or do recovery rides in between (so no caning it for 5 miles when not warmed up)
    i would do a long commute midweek or a long evening ride at a steady pace and have a rest day following.
    50-60 mile ride on saturday again at steady pace. football is probably not ideal recovery after your main ride, it’s more like an interval session which is not what you need to do long road rides.
    i’m guessing your commute is like that too? blasting off at the lights and taking every other cyclist on? 🙂

    MRanger156
    Free Member

    MrSmith – Yes commute is pretty much full pelt on a singlespeed, especially on the way back when its up hill all the way. Agree football isn’t the best recovery but it must be better than nothing.

    I’m going to try and fit in a 20 mile commute once a week (on the way to work) and a longer ride at the weekend.

    MulletusMaximus
    Free Member

    Would definitely reccommend a HRM and do long Zone 2/3 rides.
    I do similar and I have found that by keeping my heart rate down in those zones that I can conserve a lot of energy and it also teaches you to be more efficient with your pedal stroke too.
    This might help

    emac65
    Free Member

    TBH,it more a mental thing than a physical thing with long steady road rides.I did 70 miles non stop on Saturday & that’s my first long ride for nearly 12 mths.Usually only ride off road for around 25-35 mile on a Saturday,with 2-3 rides in the week of 10 or 20 miles.Did it on a hefty Inbred 29er with flat bars & slicks too….
    Just take plenty of food & water(& remember to use them),don’t worry you’ll be fine….

    singletrackmind
    Full Member

    Why not use the road bike to commute , then alternate between long way there = short way home, Short way there = long way home?
    Its miles and time you need not burst energy .
    I need to work on lengthening my time out of saddle on climbs , but the roads locally are hellish busy .
    Are there food stations on a 100 mile road ride?

    MRanger156
    Free Member

    No food stations but we will take food or stop to buy some. I’ve planned out a 20 mile commute to work on thursday I’ll do if its not raining.

    trailmoggy
    Free Member

    just get out when you can and as often as you can, make you hard rides hard and your easy rides easy, recovery rides are as important as proper training rides

    try and train with the blokes you going to be riding with it will bring you on no end

    and when it comes to the big rides try and do them at your pace if poss

    Munqe-chick
    Free Member

    Haven’t read the responses but don’t bother! 😉 I did 89 mile ride last October without training ooo but it hurt around the 65 mile mark for 10 miles or so then I came through with the help of jelly babies!

    Junkyard
    Free Member

    what if it rains on the day of the 100 miler- seriously you need ot egt used to the weather and ride whatever the weather.

    carlosg
    Free Member

    I’m a 40 year old postie , 2 years ago a mate and me did a 127 mile canal ride (so semi off-road) on no training apart from the usual couple of off road 20 mile rides a week. 100 miles on a road bike that’s a steady 5 1/2 hour ride.

    steve_b77
    Free Member

    When i did the London to Paris in July last year, one day at 82 miles, one day at 92 miles, longest day at 116 miles and a short 50 odd to finish.

    I started properly training in the March, commuting to work and back was 18 miles a day on a heavy SS road bike, then pretty much every Saturday I was out on the road, started off doing 25 miles for a few weeks, then upped that to 50, did my first sportive in April and that was the 85 mile route, after that regular 80 milers and building up to a hilly century in late May. Throw in another couple of centuries and you’re there.

    You’ll find your natural pace for short and longer rides, I’m by no means quick but I got my average up to 19mph on the road, and averaged 17mph for the L2P, with a bit of larking about.

    Also did a few MTB Marathons, as the amount of climbing over a relative short distance helps no end.

    Get your fueling right and just as importantly get your recovery right otherwise it’ll take you ages to get over doing even relatively modest distances.

    The ‘Not training, you’ll be fine’ is a bit stupid really, you want to be able to do the ride and a decent pace and not be ruined at the end of it, safe in the knowledge you could do it again the next day.

    Once you gain the pedaling fitness for the road rides you’ll love it 😀

    MoreCashThanDash
    Full Member

    As some have said, you’d probably get round anyway, but you obviously want to get round with some degree of comfort.

    As others have said, get used to longer rides – build it up a bit more each week till you are up to 80 miles, and you can get through 100 on that.

    Make sure you are comfy on the bike, decent shorts, and chamois cream

    Get used to refuelling while you ride – try different energy drinks and foods till you find a combination that you like and don’t upset your stomach. Practice having a mouthful of food and a big swig of water every 15 minutes.

    Think about recovery – you need at least one complete rest day a week if you can. If you are riding or training the day after your long ride then make sure you get some decent food or a recovery drink/bar inside you as quickly as you can after a ride.

    Stretch every day – a lot. It’s very easy to get tight doing long road rides, and that can lead to injuries. If something hurts more than it should, see a physio asap before it gets worse – take this from the guy who spent most of last year building up to a 100 mile ride and then struggled to do 100km because he couldn’t be bothered to get a knee problem checked!

    oldgit
    Free Member

    MRanger your problem is going to be keeping up with your mates on the day, without blowing. I think you might be better off hanging back and meeting up later.

    100 is only a number so don’t get hung up over it. That was for many years a stroll in the park. It tickles me that even a 100k is considered a challenge, that’s a London to Brighton. I’m sure the early ‘sportives’ where nearer the 190 mile mark. And only recently I rode the Harp Hilly 100, which was a 100 miles, now it’s still called the same thing but is only 100km. What Sort of progress is that?
    Now look what you’ve done….you’ve got me going 😡

    Grrr everything is going B&W and wool & leather.

    MoreCashThanDash
    Full Member

    oldgit by name….. 😆

    oldgit
    Free Member

    Don’t make me angry, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.

    stabilizers
    Full Member

    I was in this situation last year.
    I signed up to go on a spring tour with some very competent roadies getting ready for their season. That was 4 days at an average of 85 miles a day in the north west (Scotland).
    Try and get out on a 3 – 4 hours rides every week, on similar terrain to your rides. Time in the saddle will be important. Get used to pacing yourself.
    Make sure your bike fits and feels comfy over the distance. If it does not get it sorted or you will hurt much more because of that, not the mileage. Be sure about your kit, your spares and your food.
    On the ride know what you can do. Dont try to keep up if it hurts. Dont be scared to take a small break when you need it.

    I ended up putting a lot of road miles in last year on a few big trips. I had a good enough time to be setting myself up to do it all again this year.

    MRanger156
    Free Member

    I think your right oldgit. I’m pretty sure I could do it at my own pace but it would be nice to keep up with my mates.

    Shandy
    Free Member

    I “dropped” a few very fit looking lads early one Sunday morning last Summer on the Col de Montets. I finally got round to Googling the event tonight.

    http://www.sportcommunication.info/letourdumontblanc/index2.php

    No wonder they were taking it easy!

    jimc101
    Free Member

    Have done a 100 & 200km Audaxes so far this year, with another 3 x 200 before the end of this month.

    So far the most important thinks I have found are

    Short – make sure the are comfortable + Chamois cream (or similar)

    Other clothing, does it fit, do you have enough cold weather / rainproof gear

    Bike – 100 miles + will bring out any weaknesses, are you gears working, lights, bolts etc – make sure you do a shake-down ride before.

    Spares – as above, useful to carry some bolts, zip ties maybe even a spare tire

    Food – this is where I find I need to improve on eating during the ride

    Recovery – it’s a good excuse to pig out the next day

    If you have got the above done the ride will be the easy part

    Bez
    Full Member

    My personal theory (assuming you don’t really care about pace and we’re not talking mega distances) is that if I can do x miles reasonably comfortably then I can do 1.5x miles with the expectation of being fairly hosed, but fundamentally fine, at the end of it. So I’d work back from there: to do a 100 mile ride you need to be able to do 60-65 comfortably. And to get there, you first need to hit 40-45 comfortably. And to get there, you need to hit 30 comfortably. And to be honest, for road riding, 30 is a short ride. So I’d get to doing 30 comfortably, which shouldn’t take long, then throw in a 45 or two, and go from there.

    Everyone’s different, of course.

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