Cyclist on Road
Readers Question: After many years out of the saddle I have decided to get back into cycling and have entered the London to Southend Charity Bike Ride (100Km). I started training at the end of March and now do 3 x 10 miles rides in the week and I’m upto 30 miles at the weekend (adding 4 miles every 2 weeks to the weekend ride).
What do you suggest is the mileage I need to get to so that I can achieve the 100km ride on 19th July, am I doing enough training and what would you suggest for a training schedule in the last 2 weeks before the ride and what type of diet should I follow in the week preceeding the ride?
It sounds quite a sensible training plan. With 2-3 months training under your legs 100km won’t seem so bad. Ideally, for a 100Km ride you would have done a distance 60-70% of final distance. Two weeks before ride might be a good time to do a longer ride than usual. If you are reasonably comfortable riding 60-70km, the jump to 100Km won’t seem that much.
I don’t think you need a special diet in the weeks leading up to the ride. However, people often underestimate how much food they need to take on when cycling. For a 100km ride you will want to be taking on food during the ride. A good breakfast and then a couple of bananas and cereal bars during the ride are ideal. Often when people run out of energy on long rides, it is lack of food / water as much as lack of training. (cycling and food)
When you reach a certain level of fitness the distance you can cycle is only really limited by the amount of food you can take on.
For example, someone training for a 12 hour or 24 hour time trial aiming to do 250 or 400 miles, may do a weekly ride of 100 miles. But, it is not necessary to have ridden full distance.
If I was training for a 100 mile time trial, I would be more concerned at developing speed for riding 25-50 miles quick than I would in riding lots of 100 mile rides.
Riding 100 Km Unprepared
Some people may find they are down for a 100km ride and despite best intentions have done little training. I think if you have done no cycling, 100KM would really not be advised. You could probably just about crawl around and cycle 100Km, but your legs would feel painful for the next 3-4 days and I doubt whether it would be enjoyable.
If you have been doing training of 50-100Km a week, you will probably be fine in completing a 100km. Just take it steady, especially in opening miles. There is a huge difference between riding 100km fast and riding 100km slow.
Sometimes I ride 70 – 80 KM and it is effectively a recovery ride because I am just riding at a gentle pace and not doing any intervals.
Related
The London to Southend ride is one of my favourite events of the year. You are very quickly out of London and into rural Essex. Apart from one long hill just out side of London (Chigwell Row), the route is relatively flat. The event is very well marshalled with refreshment stops along the way if you want or need a break. And you will be greeted with a loud cheer as you ride into Priory Park at the end of the ride. If you want to see the route, check out: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/London-to-Southend-2008