I say go for it Eric. Saturday I rode the Tour de Cure Nashville after training just shy of 9 weeks. There is a great article in Bicycling magazine about training for a century. I jumped into the program 8 weeks out and it worked well for me. The American Diabetes Association is a great organization. Being a type one diabetic of 33 years, it's also one I'm very partial to. I raised almost $3,300 and finished the ride over 75 miles. GO FOR IT!!!
Originally Posted by EricT
I was thinking of entering in the Tour de Cure New Mexico in mid-June. I thought the 58-mile course would make a nice challenging objective for me. I've been riding about 6 weeks now, and my longest distance ridden is 30 miles. I calculated that by increasing my long ride by 10% each week, I can work up to 58 miles in time for the event.
I just have a few questions for those of you more expert than I...
- Is this a realistic goal for a relative beginner?
- Does anyone know what the terrain is like?
My long rides are mostly flat, but during the week I do 14-mile rides on hills, averaging about 14mph. Some hills are rollling, but there are a few that slow me down to about 9mph in low gear (I've got an Allez Elite double). Will doing endurance rides on flat terrain, with hilly rides in between, prepare me for a long ride that will have some hills thrown in?