Signed Up For My First Sportive
Discussion
I've put my name down for the Tesco Bank Tour O The Borders event in August.
I have never done anything like this before, the most I have cycled in one go is 42 miles on my hybrid, I also have a Triban 5 - hoping that is up to the job
I have a few mates doing it as well, we are all mid 40's and looking for a focus to help us get a bit fitter now we are too old for 5-a-side (read that as injured).
I am going to try and raise some money for Marie Curie as my Mother In Law died at the end of January and spent her last few weeks in a hospice and they really made her last few weeks much nicer so i'd like to try and give something back.
Any tips you seasoned pros could give a newbie?
I have never done anything like this before, the most I have cycled in one go is 42 miles on my hybrid, I also have a Triban 5 - hoping that is up to the job
I have a few mates doing it as well, we are all mid 40's and looking for a focus to help us get a bit fitter now we are too old for 5-a-side (read that as injured).
I am going to try and raise some money for Marie Curie as my Mother In Law died at the end of January and spent her last few weeks in a hospice and they really made her last few weeks much nicer so i'd like to try and give something back.
Any tips you seasoned pros could give a newbie?
Well done, that looks like a decent ride
Not really a seasoned pro but two years ago I'd never done one sportive and last year completed six including a couple of hundred milers, so hopefully I can impart a bit of my 'experience'
You say that you've done 42m before, how did you feel after it? And how long ago was that ride or how often do you do that sort of mileage?
I see that it's a 74m ride so if you can do more 40-50m rides reasonably often (every other weekend seemed to work for me) to get you really comfortable with that length of time in the saddle then that would be ideal training.
Doing that distance will also get you used to the sort of fluid and food intake that you need for such rides. Everyone is different in that respect but only you know your own body and are thus best placed to decide whether you can do it on a couple of bananas and some haribos or need to take more. When I started doing longer rides (30/40m+) I had a Camelbak with 3L of water + High 5 Zero tablets but now I find I can do 50 miles on 2 x 750ml bottles in mild weather and feel absolutely fine post ride so you may find you adapt with food/fluid intake with the more training you do.
As it's in August then hydration will be even more important (that's unless its cold and pissing it down, hopefully not!) but the blurb says they have feed stations so providing there's a couple of them en route you should be ok. Would be worth taking your own high 5 / SIS / NUUN etc. tablets with you to pop in your bottles to keep the electrolytes n ting nicely topped up.
Again, depending on the weather, apply sun cream and lip protection before you start and take it with you to top up later on. I didn't put much on my legs for last year's Norwich 100 and could barely sit down a couple of days after....I still have the tan lines :/
I'd have a decent (porridge + berries & honey works for me) breakfast the morning of the ride and get topped with fluids just before the start.
Make sure you've got a multi tool and some tyre levers, oh and a couple of inner tubes should the dreaded puncture pixies turn up on the day....
And last of all - enjoy it! As you're riding with mates it will be a right laugh and you'll probably find the time and distance will fly by.
Hope that's of some help, good luck and let us know how the training goes
Not really a seasoned pro but two years ago I'd never done one sportive and last year completed six including a couple of hundred milers, so hopefully I can impart a bit of my 'experience'
You say that you've done 42m before, how did you feel after it? And how long ago was that ride or how often do you do that sort of mileage?
I see that it's a 74m ride so if you can do more 40-50m rides reasonably often (every other weekend seemed to work for me) to get you really comfortable with that length of time in the saddle then that would be ideal training.
Doing that distance will also get you used to the sort of fluid and food intake that you need for such rides. Everyone is different in that respect but only you know your own body and are thus best placed to decide whether you can do it on a couple of bananas and some haribos or need to take more. When I started doing longer rides (30/40m+) I had a Camelbak with 3L of water + High 5 Zero tablets but now I find I can do 50 miles on 2 x 750ml bottles in mild weather and feel absolutely fine post ride so you may find you adapt with food/fluid intake with the more training you do.
As it's in August then hydration will be even more important (that's unless its cold and pissing it down, hopefully not!) but the blurb says they have feed stations so providing there's a couple of them en route you should be ok. Would be worth taking your own high 5 / SIS / NUUN etc. tablets with you to pop in your bottles to keep the electrolytes n ting nicely topped up.
Again, depending on the weather, apply sun cream and lip protection before you start and take it with you to top up later on. I didn't put much on my legs for last year's Norwich 100 and could barely sit down a couple of days after....I still have the tan lines :/
I'd have a decent (porridge + berries & honey works for me) breakfast the morning of the ride and get topped with fluids just before the start.
Make sure you've got a multi tool and some tyre levers, oh and a couple of inner tubes should the dreaded puncture pixies turn up on the day....
And last of all - enjoy it! As you're riding with mates it will be a right laugh and you'll probably find the time and distance will fly by.
Hope that's of some help, good luck and let us know how the training goes
I remember some rule of thumb along the lines of being able to do your average weekly mileage in a single ride come the big day. I'd say if you can get some longer rides in beforehand and build up to 2/3 of the target distance you'll be fine. It'll teach you how to manage your efforts, nutrition and water too.
Thanks guys.
Training started this week when I did my first ride of 2015 - Wed night I did 27.5 miles on my hybrid.
I was knackered! Never at much before heading out after work and hit a wall about 22 miles in. It was getting dark so I had to get home and barely made it. Probably pushed myself too far for first ride of the year.
I am looking forward to getting the miles in/up and I am also going to drive the route for the Sportive sometime in my Eunos to see just how bad the Talla dam hill is!
At least i'm better off than the other 4 guys doing it with me, 2 of them don't yet own bikes
Training started this week when I did my first ride of 2015 - Wed night I did 27.5 miles on my hybrid.
I was knackered! Never at much before heading out after work and hit a wall about 22 miles in. It was getting dark so I had to get home and barely made it. Probably pushed myself too far for first ride of the year.
I am looking forward to getting the miles in/up and I am also going to drive the route for the Sportive sometime in my Eunos to see just how bad the Talla dam hill is!
At least i'm better off than the other 4 guys doing it with me, 2 of them don't yet own bikes
Ditch the hybrid and start putting in the miles on the Triban. You'll get used to the different riding positions it offers, and find that the miles slip by much more easily.
If you haven't yet bought some clippy pedals and shoes, now is the time to do so. Cheap M520 pedals (£20) and secondhand shoes (eBay) will be a whole world of efficiency better than the plastic ones that came with the bike - assuming that they are still on there?
Other than that, my best advice is to fit two bottle cages and make sure you're drinking enough.
Oh, and pick some nice varied training routes, but also pick a "test" loop which you can do once every so often before the event, so you can feel your own improvement.
If you haven't yet bought some clippy pedals and shoes, now is the time to do so. Cheap M520 pedals (£20) and secondhand shoes (eBay) will be a whole world of efficiency better than the plastic ones that came with the bike - assuming that they are still on there?
Other than that, my best advice is to fit two bottle cages and make sure you're drinking enough.
Oh, and pick some nice varied training routes, but also pick a "test" loop which you can do once every so often before the event, so you can feel your own improvement.
I went from 20km rides to 40s, 60s, 100s, 200s. Each new distance ruined me but the second time I did each distance was infinitely better. I think it took a while for my body to adjust to a cycling position. Neck muscles needed to be groomed etc. Basically, just because any new benchmark breaks you, don't get disheartened. You'll have told your body that it needs to adapt and the next time you ride it you'll likely be pleasantly surprised.
Also, the Triban is more than up to the task. My Triban 3 has seen 200km rides.
Also, the Triban is more than up to the task. My Triban 3 has seen 200km rides.
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