training for a 70 mile ride
Discussion
Hello,
I have signed up for a 70 mile ride in three months time. What sort of training should I look at doing to be best prepared?
At this time of year it will mostly be on an exercise bike in the gym but will move to road cycling as the evenings get lighter.
I have done a fair bit of road riding but usually around 20 miles, so I need to up my game a bit.
Ben
I have signed up for a 70 mile ride in three months time. What sort of training should I look at doing to be best prepared?
At this time of year it will mostly be on an exercise bike in the gym but will move to road cycling as the evenings get lighter.
I have done a fair bit of road riding but usually around 20 miles, so I need to up my game a bit.
Ben
I did London-Brighton last year, which is about 70 miles Probably cycled 40 miles in total in the month before and I don't have great fitness. Felt surprisingly good on arrival in Brighton and other than being a bit weary for the rest of the week, I didn't suffer any injuries or aches.Did get off and push at the last enormous hill though.
ETA The bit about the hill
ETA The bit about the hill
Edited by Aerate on Wednesday 6th March 23:47
I would suggest gradually increasing your mileage over time, rather than anything too complex. Since it's not likely to be a race, the aim will be to get round, and get round without injuring yourself. While anyone of reasonable fitness would be able to get up to doing 70 miles pretty quickly if push came to shove, there's always the risk of injury since the muscles used in cycling are different from other forms of exercise, generally speaking.
Other things to consider - is the ride hilly at all? If so, you may want to do more than simply increase you mileage as time goes by. Also, comfort - make sure you have the right padded shorts, the saddle is comfortable over that distance and that it is at the 'correct' height. Being too far one way or the other can lead to knee and other problems.
Enjoy!
Other things to consider - is the ride hilly at all? If so, you may want to do more than simply increase you mileage as time goes by. Also, comfort - make sure you have the right padded shorts, the saddle is comfortable over that distance and that it is at the 'correct' height. Being too far one way or the other can lead to knee and other problems.
Enjoy!
70 Miles should not be a problem, just do as much as possible when you can. I only started cycling again last year after over 25 years off the saddle and can now ride over 100 miles which when I first started again I never thought possible.
Up your mileage a little bit every weekend (if thats the only time you get). Start off at your 20 miles then the following week do 25 and so on. Eat right during the week and eat/drink whilst riding.
L2B is only 53 miles but the way!
Up your mileage a little bit every weekend (if thats the only time you get). Start off at your 20 miles then the following week do 25 and so on. Eat right during the week and eat/drink whilst riding.
L2B is only 53 miles but the way!
This something I'm interested in too. I struggle to get the time to do very long rides at the weekend, maybe getting out for 35miles, after which I feel fine. However, during the week I often get a few rides in at 20+miles.
Is this enough prep to get me in shape for a 60-70mile ride in May AKA the PH Cycling weekend?
Ta
Steve
Is this enough prep to get me in shape for a 60-70mile ride in May AKA the PH Cycling weekend?
Ta
Steve
Pothole said:
BigBen said:
Hello,
I have signed up for a 70 mile ride in three months time, so I need to up my game a bit.
Ben
You've answered your own question, really.I have signed up for a 70 mile ride in three months time, so I need to up my game a bit.
Ben
i) An excuse to buy more kit, e.g. heart rate monitors etc
ii) A training programme based on technical stuff and numbers.
I have a few friends signed up for the same event and am quite keen to comprehensively beat them round the course.
Ben
For similar rides with limnited time I just try to ride 10miles a couple of times a week at high tempo then the odd 25-35mile ride at weekends, again working abit harder than necessary.
Then when I do 60-70miles at a more relaxed pace it seems easy enough.
I think the biggest difference between short and longer rides is you need to take alittle food and eat it before you need it.
Just squeeze in a couple of rides each week to get your legs and arse in shape and work out how to carry some small tasty energy rich snacks that are gentle on your guts.
Lastly the longer rides are usually punctuated with a few climbs, if you can get some practice at climbing hills in a calm, steady pace so your not destroyed by the top it makes the whole thing more enjoyable IMO.
Then when I do 60-70miles at a more relaxed pace it seems easy enough.
I think the biggest difference between short and longer rides is you need to take alittle food and eat it before you need it.
Just squeeze in a couple of rides each week to get your legs and arse in shape and work out how to carry some small tasty energy rich snacks that are gentle on your guts.
Lastly the longer rides are usually punctuated with a few climbs, if you can get some practice at climbing hills in a calm, steady pace so your not destroyed by the top it makes the whole thing more enjoyable IMO.
The best thing to do is just ride where ever and when ever you can. I did a 70 mile ride a year ago after no serious riding for 2 years, the futhest I did before hand was 30 miles. I did that distance as often as I could. I knew if I could comfortably cover 30 miles, I could push myself on the day to do 70, and I did.
BigBen said:
Pothole said:
BigBen said:
Hello,
I have signed up for a 70 mile ride in three months time, so I need to up my game a bit.
Ben
You've answered your own question, really.I have signed up for a 70 mile ride in three months time, so I need to up my game a bit.
Ben
i) An excuse to buy more kit, e.g. heart rate monitors etc
ii) A training programme based on technical stuff and numbers.
I have a few friends signed up for the same event and am quite keen to comprehensively beat them round the course.
Ben
Steve vRS said:
Pothole said:
I also stopped the booze and ate better.
Now that is drastic. No pie and ale!Steve
scubadude said:
I think the biggest difference between short and longer rides is you need to take alittle food and eat it before you need it.
This is the key. Make sure you eat. On a 20 mile ride you can easily do without food but I find my limit is about 30 miles before I run out of energy. Find an energy bar you like and take enough of them with you. Also consider the salt tablets for your water bottle to replace the salts you will lose in sweat.
I like the chewy honey oat bars because the honey gives instant energy and the oats provide slower release energy.
BigBen said:
I have a few friends signed up for the same event and am quite keen to comprehensively beat them round the course.
Ben
Right, that makes it simple then, you just need to start interval training. Ben
If you are using a gym whilst training, make a 50 minute playlist of songs you like, rock/indie stuff works well because you sprint during the chorus, rest during the verses of each song. The larger the difference in speed between sprint and rest, the better...
If you are out on the road, find a route that has a few hills, strava is pretty useful for finding them so just incorporate a few into a route.
exercise bikes are ok, spinning bikes are better, there might be one spare one in the gym if you ask.
In simple terms, what you are doing is gettting your body used to short sharp bursts of large effort and then recovering. It will destroy your friends both physically and mentally. Its how riders like Contador win so many mountain stages.
Rather than just plod along at a steady pace which your mates can manage, you break up the pace with the bursts on the hills and like elastic, eventually it snaps, you drop your friends and ride away to bask in glory at the end.
You have to really attack the climbs though that said, on any incline you should see a noticeable effect on your mates but if you have done enough training, you will recover quick enough for the next incline.
Pothole said:
eah, I was actually preparing for 2000kms in 12 days from Istanbul to Damascus, so I'm looking at the Op's idea of a training program for a one off 70-miler with some cynicism!
To be clear I know I could set off now and ride 70 miles with no problem, but that does not feel like a challenge. Signing up for the event is combined with a goal of improving my cycling technique, hence the idea of a training programme.pablo said:
stuff.
Thank you that all sounds good. Finding hills round Cambridge is easier said than done but interval training is the direction in which I am already going.Cheers
Ben
BigBen said:
Pothole said:
eah, I was actually preparing for 2000kms in 12 days from Istanbul to Damascus, so I'm looking at the Op's idea of a training program for a one off 70-miler with some cynicism!
To be clear I know I could set off now and ride 70 miles with no problem, but that does not feel like a challenge. Signing up for the event is combined with a goal of improving my cycling technique, hence the idea of a training programme.pablo said:
stuff.
Thank you that all sounds good. Finding hills round Cambridge is easier said than done but interval training is the direction in which I am already going.Cheers
Ben
If you want a longer, less steep 'drag' of a hill, try leaving Cambridge via the Cherry Hinton/Addenborookes way. Wort's Causeway/Shelford road http://goo.gl/maps/EemF0 has a decent ascent, then into Fulbourne, onto the Balsham Road towards Balsham. This bit is a really long but reasonably shallow gradient. When you get to Balsham, stay north of the A1307 and there is quite a cyclist's playground, with some hills, loads of quaint villages and plenty of history. http://goo.gl/maps/t06pS OK, it's not the Alps, but it's better than the fens if you like a bit of undulation. I used to work near Saffron Walden, and regularly cycled in this area. There used to be a couple of clubs/groups out on evening rides in the summer time, so might be worth looking into, even just for face to face advice on routes and technique from the local veterans
As far as the 70 miler goes, I had a couple of routes up through the Kedington, Cowling, Kirtling area around Newmarket and back to Saffron Walden to the west of Cambridge which could be stretched to around 75 miles, and a 97 miler up to the west of Cambridge through to Ely, then back down the east side of Newmarket. That one is a good balance of the undalating terrain of North Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire, along with the pan-flat open expanses of the Cambridgeshire Fens, like Twenty Pence Road http://goo.gl/maps/CQ9Qx between Cottenham and Wilburton.
Sometimes the best way to find the good cycling roads is just to go 'off piste' a little. Take a Garmin or a proper paper map, then just play the 'left-right game'. If you have even a modicum of common sense, you shouldn't get (too) lost. The only real drama about cycling around that area is the dearth of shops/cafes at which to top up on the snacks and drinks, so take plenty of both, and where you do find a shop that is open, top up if you need to. That part of the world looks absolutely beautiful if you can ride out on a sunny day, and there really isn't a huge lack of high ground from which to admire the landscape as a reward for the ascent.
yellowjack said:
How about http://goo.gl/maps/ZlE2A Chapel hill. Barrington to Haslingfield past the old cement works. Between 8 and 10 miles from the centre of Cambridge dependent upon your route. Ride up one side, then down the other to rest. Rinse and repeat. Job's a fish.
Funnily enough that will be on my route to work when the lighter evenings come so will be very much part of my training programme. Comfortably Dumb said:
Easy: get up early on a Sunday and meet us outside of the bike shop at 0900.
May well do that, the problem with Sundays is largely down to how hard the opposing scrum were during Saturday's Rugby match. If they were strong then my legs are fit for nothing Sunday morning.....How far do you usually go and at what sort of pace?
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