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Hi guys... new to the forum so please bear with me.
A buddy and me are doing a charity ride from Leeds to Liverpool along the Canal, in aid of Help for Heroes, and I figured I'd best try and get fit(ter).
It's 127 miles spread over 2 days, but the furthest I've ever done in one go is probably 20, and that was a few years ago. Any tips for building myself up for it, and food/drink before and during the event.
I've just started building up a bike on a budget to replace my current POS so now I have a deadline eeek!
Just do the miles and pace yourself. How long untill you do the ride?
you will get better / more scientific advise from others but in my view its just about getting the miles in - you want to be riding 30/ 40 / 50 mile rides as often as you can (2/3 times a week) in the weeks leading up to it and then have a more relaxed week the week before.
On the day - pace yourself. 65 miles on a canal towpath is not that difficult - especially if you take your time. Make sure your bike is really comfy with a really comfy saddle
As for food - you need a mix of long and short acting carbs - so oats and so on for breakfast with cereal bars and jelly babies or similar for snacks. Normal food is perfectly appropriate - just lots of it and little and often. A pint or two ( but not six) in a canalside pub will make the afternoon go easier. Sweat a lot and you might need some electrolytes - salted peanuts re good. You can get loads of various "scientific" products if you want
65 miles in 12 hrs is only 5 and a bit MPH - easy peasy.
Post up near the time and you might get folk to ride bits with you / offer support / donate cash
We do the ride on the 3rd/4th September, so plenty of time I think.
I was planning to get a couple of short ish rides in during the week, then a longer one at the weekends. Just got to start getting together all the bits to finish building the bike, and planning to get some jersys/t-shirts printed for us to wear.