Last-Minute training tips please!
Discussion
I've just realised that the 60+ mile sportive (Polka-Dot Challenge) in the Peak District which I signed-up for in an alcohol-induced fog in the winter is fast-approaching (on the bank-holiday weekend this month)!
I'm a little worried that the only 'training' I've done consists of my daily commute of around 15 miles a day, plus a weekly 20-ish mile blast on my 'proper' bike (hard-tail MTB) isn't going to be enough.
Having never done any events like this before, I am a little worried about the distance and the hilly terrain (it's not called the Flat-District is it!) this has spurred me on to think about last-minute training tips.
I assume I can take the cramming-for-exams technique and do some hard training during the 2 weeks left before the event. Not sure how effective this might be though? Will I just end up wearing myself out before the event?
In the meantime, I've bought myself some new gloves and a saddle-bag thing for the road bike after assuming camlebacks are a bad idea on a road-based event!
Surely the gloves will give me at least an extra 5 miles in the tank... after all.... How hard can it be?!
I'm a little worried that the only 'training' I've done consists of my daily commute of around 15 miles a day, plus a weekly 20-ish mile blast on my 'proper' bike (hard-tail MTB) isn't going to be enough.
Having never done any events like this before, I am a little worried about the distance and the hilly terrain (it's not called the Flat-District is it!) this has spurred me on to think about last-minute training tips.
I assume I can take the cramming-for-exams technique and do some hard training during the 2 weeks left before the event. Not sure how effective this might be though? Will I just end up wearing myself out before the event?
In the meantime, I've bought myself some new gloves and a saddle-bag thing for the road bike after assuming camlebacks are a bad idea on a road-based event!
Surely the gloves will give me at least an extra 5 miles in the tank... after all.... How hard can it be?!
I think you'd be ok as long as you have the willpower to carry on and are not aiming to set a fast time. Try doing some shorter rides in the hills this week and then steady miles next week on the road bike 20-30 miles in one ride. Don't do anything hard after Weds/Thurs to let your legs recover.
Went to the Alps last year with an unfit non cyclist mate who had probably ridden 100 miles in total in training and he managed a 70 mile ride including the Glandon and Croix de Fer. Admittedly he was slow but he made it ok.
What gearing have you got on the bike? That can make a difference between pedalling up the hills and walking.
Went to the Alps last year with an unfit non cyclist mate who had probably ridden 100 miles in total in training and he managed a 70 mile ride including the Glandon and Croix de Fer. Admittedly he was slow but he made it ok.
What gearing have you got on the bike? That can make a difference between pedalling up the hills and walking.
thanks for the tips.
Um - no idea about gearing on my road-bike. I got it a few month's ago to give my MTB a rest from commuting duties. Replacing chains, cassettes etc was getting annoying / expensive (it's XT spec) so decided a road-bike would be used for my commute.
Not knowing / caring too much about road riding at the start, I didn't give the road-biek much attention or thought. In fact, I used the CTW scheme to buy it, managing to get my custom-made new MTB wheels sorted first, and with the money left-over (plus a couple of hundred of my own cash) to buy the road bike!
It's a Trek 1.2 which has a compact double chainset (34 / 50 - I think?) and when in the granny and big one on the rear cassette, this seems like quite a low gear for the hills.
I'd like to think that I am of pretty good MTB bike-fitness, but MTB rides tend to be much shorter than 60 miles and are about a 60/40 mix of fitness and technique I guess. I think I'm going to find that road-riding is more like 90/10 mix of fitness and technique, so more emphasis on the legs and less work with the upper body, weight shifting and picking lines etc?
Reckon that I'll take off the commuter-spec full mud-guards before this ride. Bosh - another 5 miles added to the tank by doing that!
Um - no idea about gearing on my road-bike. I got it a few month's ago to give my MTB a rest from commuting duties. Replacing chains, cassettes etc was getting annoying / expensive (it's XT spec) so decided a road-bike would be used for my commute.
Not knowing / caring too much about road riding at the start, I didn't give the road-biek much attention or thought. In fact, I used the CTW scheme to buy it, managing to get my custom-made new MTB wheels sorted first, and with the money left-over (plus a couple of hundred of my own cash) to buy the road bike!
It's a Trek 1.2 which has a compact double chainset (34 / 50 - I think?) and when in the granny and big one on the rear cassette, this seems like quite a low gear for the hills.
I'd like to think that I am of pretty good MTB bike-fitness, but MTB rides tend to be much shorter than 60 miles and are about a 60/40 mix of fitness and technique I guess. I think I'm going to find that road-riding is more like 90/10 mix of fitness and technique, so more emphasis on the legs and less work with the upper body, weight shifting and picking lines etc?
Reckon that I'll take off the commuter-spec full mud-guards before this ride. Bosh - another 5 miles added to the tank by doing that!
Nothing you do now will have much of an effect so make sure the bike is in good condition, you have enough comfortable clothing to deal with whatever the weather is and take it slow and steady, there is much fun to be had reeling people in at the end of long rides compared to charging off early and have every man and his dog overtake you in the latter stages...
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