Okay, simpering for support...

[Kittydew]

OK, some of you wild, mad awesome folk are doing Brevets and a century every... what did the thread say? Ah yes, a month (whuff!). well, I am a rider not a racer, who got hooked on biking about 4 years ago, after being an uber-couch potato all my life. I have completed a couple 100k rides over the last couple years and am finally ready to take it up a notch. I am riding my first Century in March of next year!

So I am looking into a trainer... probably wind, (I know, I know fluid is better, but I'll use it in my garage so not such an issue with noise and the winds ARE cheaper). Hoping to get it for Xmas, and make my interval training more targeted. I read Marla Streb's 100 Days To 100 Miles book... I listen to biker podcasts... I have been in grad. school so my time has been limited for training, but graduate in early December, so I'm ready to kick it in now... so...

Hoping to just post in here to keep myself motivated, and to get any thoughts, suggestions and ideas that may be useful... I am trying to be non-Fred-like, I wear my glasses outside my straps, but must admit, I have areo-bars even though I am not a Triathlete and do no time trials (OK, I got them cuz they seemed cool, the kept em, because I like switching up my posture on long rides!). But I am just a 38 YO chick on a Trek 1000, who loves being on it, is not "naturally athletic" but has already done more than I thought myself capable of, and sees a Century as my next greatest challenge.

So I figured you guys are the ones who have been there and then some... I just hope to lean a little on your good advice and on March 9th, ride 100 miles to benefit the American Diabetes Association (the Tour De cure).

Anywho, thanks for listening... hope to be SCREAMING ABOUT HOW I DID IT!!!! Come March 10th (Or 11th if I need a day to recover! LOL!)
Kitty

[supcom]

Since you live in Florida, instead of a trainer, why not buy a few cool weather clothes and ride outside all winter? I don't know anything more boring and de-motivating than a trainer.

BTW, I do a century a week and I am certainly no racer. You don't have to be real fast to ride long distance - just patient.

[Machka]

Some tips for riding a century: http://www.machka.net/century.htm

And also another site you might like looking around: http://www.ultracycling.com/

Riding a trainer is a good supplement now and then if you prefer not to ride in the dark, or if it is cold and/or wet out, but otherwise, there's nothing like riding outside to get ready for a long distance ride! In your part of the world, a pair of tights, long sleeved jersey (or other top) and a jacket and you'll be set to ride.

[valygrl]

You go girl! I did my first century at 37, since then have ridden about 15 centuries (?) and 10,000 miles of loaded touring. No need to be an uberathlete.

To go farther, get faster. To get faster, ride with people who are faster than you are, and try really hard to stay with them.

Fredlessness is appreciated. Get rid of the aero bars, you already know you should.

:)

[Kittydew]

Hi guys, thanks for the support. Actually I do ride all winter, (and all summer, ugh! That's worse, trust me!) I was considering a trainer because I was told by someone who bikes here locally that a trainer would be a help with doing interval training, which would help get faster, therefore farther... etc... not because of weather, I ride any time during any season here... even middle of the day in the summer (cuz I am crazy). Guess it sounds like I should just keep doing what I am doing... if anything, it might be more useful in the summer, I've been out riding in tropical storms (and once what ended up being an off shore hurricane) that's a reason for a trainer! LOL!

Sounds like joining a group ride would be helpful... I've been meaning to, just always seem to want to go at my own times... better suck it up and get in with the local B.Group. We have a good one here, just never joined, liked being on my own.

Machka, thanks for the URLs, I will check them out! And Valygrl, sorry, gonna stick with the bars for now... I really like using them when I've got a headwind or I feel like a different posture for a while... (and only on the trails, never the street, and I wont in group rides, I promise!) so I'm a leeetle Fredish... at least I don't wear bibs over my jersey huh? :)

Anyway, thanks again guys you all are super inspiring, and VGrl, you doing your first around my age and going on to do so many is doubly so! I am really nervous and excited, this will be awesome!
Kitty

[Machka]

"... which would help get faster, therefore farther ... "

Faster does not necessarily mean you'll be able to go farther. There's nothing wrong with doing intervals and trying to get faster, but if you want to do a century, you're going to have to be able to sit in that saddle for 6-10 hours depending on how fast you do the century.

1 hour intervals will not prepare you for how that saddle will feel at the 4 hour mark ... or how your digestive system will react to food and your sports drink of choice ... or how your shoulders and neck will feel. You've got to start increasing your distance, and when you discover aches and pains you can fix them by adjusting the bicycle or changing the saddle. And along the way you can experiment with food and beverages to find something that will work for you. You'll also be able to build up your "mental endurance".

Bicycle fit and nutrition are much more important than speed (especially short distance speed) for completing a century.

And yes, you can keep the aerobars ... just remember not to use them in a crowd.

[valygrl]

"....depending on how fast you do the century....

which is why faster (less saddle time for same distance) = farther

[Spreggy]

Kitty, I did my first centuries this year, and would recommend two things more than anything:

1. Put in your miles: 3 or 4 20 milers before work or similar, and a min 50 miler each weekend.
2. Learn about nutrition, and what your stomach will tolerate after a few hours of work. Practice your fuel strategy on weekend rides. You'll get the idea that as long as you keep the calories coming, you can ride forever. Just like a car, the fastest, strongest rider is nothing without fuel.

[Six jours]

IMO you would be very well off joining the local club. It's the best way to learn more and get faster/fitter.

And while I do know a rider or two that can tolerate the trainer, I'd personally shoot myself before doing any more riding on one.

HTH!

[Machka]

which is why faster (less saddle time for same distance) = farther

Yes and no.

A person with no experience doing distances, but lots of experience riding fast over short distances, could dash down the road on a century at 30 km/h, and be at 60 kms by the 2 hour point ...... but also be in the early stages of bonking because he/she doesn't know how to eat while riding .... and could also be in agony because his/her saddle is wrong and the bicycle is set up wrong .... and thus may have to slow up, or get off the bicycle for a while, or even quit. If this person does finish, there's a good chance this person will be extremely uncomfortable, and may decide never to ride long distances again because they are just too painful.

Meanwhile another person with lots of experience doing distances, but who isn't very fast, could ride casually down the road on a century at 20 km/h, and be at 40 kms at the 2 hour point (way behind the other person), but because that person has experimented with his/her eating, and has his/her bicycle set up correctly, that person could keep going, and going, and going .... and finish feeling quite good.

I've seen it happen ... many times.

This is not to say speed work is completely unimportant. I usually recommend doing something like intervals once a week, and/or riding with someone slightly faster, and/or doing hill work and things like that ... but there are much more important things than speed to help a person finish a century.

[thebulls]

which is why faster (less saddle time for same distance) = farther

"faster = farther" only works for the "short" long-distance events (like a century or 200K). At some distance, even at Olympic speeds, you're going to be on the bike for a _long_ time. Even if you could average 20 mph, and not sleep, a 600K is going to take 18 hours. So eventually, if you get hooked on long-distance riding, no matter how fast you go, you have to have a bike that fits you well, which also means a saddle that fits you well, and a position on the bike that is comfortable for hours on end. This helps you to ride fast, too. I never did any sort of structured training during my first two years of brevets; just commuting to work and riding brevets and centuries. So my view is that while speed work and intervals and hill work are all great for helping you finish the ride faster and stronger, they're neither necessary nor sufficient for riding long rides. But having a bike that fits in every respect is a necessary condition for being able to finish long rides.

[Rowan]

which is why faster (less saddle time for same distance) = farther

One way or the other it's probably going to hurt. As Ken Bonner says... he rides fast because he knows it is going to hurt, so the shorter time it hurts, the better (for him).

But going fast means you are going to hurt more than if you coast along at a lower average speed. The trade-off is that you might hurt in a different way if you spend longer periods in the saddle.

Personally, I would opt for a bike that fits me properly and is comfortable for the entire period I anticipate being on the bike at the lowest expected average speed.

From what I have learned from both randonnee riding and researching race training programs is... that you need to put in the saddle time first before you get to ride the intervals and other speed stuff.

I seem to remember that incremental increases of 10% a week in the long-distance weekend ride was in order. So if you are starting at a base of, let's say, 50km on the weekend ride, move up to a target of 55km the next week, and 61km the following week.

The essential thing is to get the endurance in your legs first. You can then start on the speed and interval training as you wish. But I wouldn't think of joining a club ride with the testosterosi until I have that endurance. Otherwise, you might get burnt and will unlikely come back when you realise you have been dropped off the back with no directions and you're totally lost... and no-one gives a damn.

PLUS, you don't have to get into speed and interval work unless you really want to. There are people who successfully ride all sorts of long distances, either as part of events or just because they want to, with a base level of fitness established by time in the saddle and with no speed or interval training.

And, ultimately, it all comes down to what you want to achieve and how you enjoy what you do. Some people get high on painful fast. Others just want the achievement and will struggle through it all. Others will just get on their bikes for a century (or longer) just because it's nice out there.

[maxine]

. . . a club ride with the testosterosi . . .

:roflmao::roflmao:

Rowan, you owe the United States Government a new computer monitor. :p

Kitty, you can do it!! I rode my first century, in the Sierra Nevada mountains around Lake Tahoe, when I was 41, and living in the flatlands. I'm 45 now, and and I've continued to ride centuries, and MS150 rides (fundraisers for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society -- 100 miles on Saturday, 50 on Sunday.) The people on this board are a great source of information and inspiration; when you have the time, do some browsing of past posts.

[Kittydew]

Wow, did not mean to start a speed vs. distance debate! :) I guess I'll clarify, I do have fair endurance, I usually ride 24-30 mile rides 2 to 4 times per week (time allowing) and a longer ride on the weekends... usually around 40 miles, but longer when I have trained for the last 2 100K rides (around 50). I am however pretty slow... I probably average around 14MPH.

So I totally get the whole, keep up what I'm doing and slowly increase the distance on the long rides thing, and that is my plan. I was just looking into the trainer with the thought of trying to increase my average speed a little (OK I live in fear of getting to the end of this Century and everyone has gone home!) I know the Tour De Cure is a ride, not a race, and I never felt totally behind on the 100k's I did, but a Century is a lot longer (for me), and I am a bit nervous.

So, some options are group riding to challenge myself and/or using a trainer. I guess I started trying intervals as that's what I read in the century training book I have, then someone mentioned the trainers, and it seemed an efficient way of getting that done, so I could enjoy my outdoor riding without dealing with blowing it out every couple minutes. But I could find other uses for that LBS gift card I'm hoping to get for Xmas! :).

I have always resisted group rides, I like just going when I feel like it. I am not so concerned, as Rowan suggested, about the bike group's Testosterone level. :) Although I know some of the group rides are a big T-festival! LOL! Luckily we have a pretty good local group with some beginner to moderate rides and “show and gos”... I'm sure I could find that “one notch above me” level. I just... ugh... I guess I was never into team sports (OK I was never into ANY sports other than yoga before I got bit by the bike bug) and I just like doing it myself... but if sucking it up and doing a group ride once a week will help me, I'm willing to.

Last comment, you guys are totally right, I need to learn nutrition, I rarely take more than maybe a sorts drink (a good endurance one though) on my longer rides. The TDC rides have been good with the pit stops with food on my past rides, but I want to have what I need on board. And I am ABSOLUTELY getting fitted in December for my bike. I've dealt with pain and discomfort on my longer rides, and while my bike is OK, fit-wise, I know I need to do the full fitting, it was already on my to do list! :) So sounds from what you guys are saying that I am starting out OK, plan-wise, and need to get fitted, work on nutrition, slowly increase distance, and if I feel I need it, do some kind of interval work, but understand that that's not the core of it. Did I sum up OK? :)

I guess my last question would be, how many miles should my last long ride or 2 before the century be? For the 100k rides I did a couple 50 mile rides before the events and felt fine doing 62 on ride day. Would working up to something like an 80 mile ride or two be good? With obviously, plenty of recovery time before the Century.

Thanks again for all the help and great advice! I REALLY APPRECIATE IT!! I am so jacked about this, and you guys are really an inspiration, you are right Maxine, I will keep reading, although, now, I need to get off this site and on my bike!:love:
Kitty

[Six jours]

I guess my last question would be, how many miles should my last long ride or 2 before the century be? For the 100k rides I did a couple 50 mile rides before the events and felt fine doing 62 on ride day. Would working up to something like an 80 mile ride or two be good? With obviously, plenty of recovery time before the Century.

For all the fancytalk us goofballs can come up with, it really is just that simple. If you are doing a 50 mile "long" ride, just add five miles or so to it each week until you are comfortably doing 80 miles. You will then be able to complete a century without any real difficulty.

[Pajaro]

Kittydew, if you find that you can complete 80-mile rides without difficulty, you'll be perfectly fine on your upcoming 100-mile journey.
Congratulations and you're supporting a great cause! Diabetes is certainly a silent killer. Way to go!

:beer:

[Carbonfiberboy]

Well, you might just give the group ride thing a try. It's not a team sport, LOL, not by any means. If I were to characterize a good group ride, I would say it's community-building. With any luck, your century will be a group ride. Having done a lot of them will help you to understand the flow of it all.

And don't just try one group ride, not like it, and then not go back. If you are at least riding with the stragglers, or in sight of the stragglers, give that particular group a few more tries. Many cyclists are very conservative safety-wise, even though it may not seem like it. They like everything and everyone to be predictable. So it might take a while for you and the group to become comfortable with one another and then another while for you to develop the speed and power to keep up with the main body.

Some of the things you might learn from an experienced group is when to go hard and when to go easy. How to keep the momentum up and the miles just flowing behind you. And how to be safe around other riders.

[Kittydew]

Well, you might just give the group ride thing a try. It's not a team sport, LOL, not by any means. If I were to characterize a good group ride, I would say it's community-building. With any luck, your century will be a group ride. Having done a lot of them will help you to understand the flow of it all.

Thanks CFB, I know you are right, although I have to say my experience with the Tour De Cure was that I never really ended up in a group. It was a small number of people (and the Century folks were even smaller) and we got strung out. The first time a fellow professor who does brevets and randonnees and did not have anything to prove, hung back with me at my slow pace and kept me company. Second 100K, I was a bit faster, and I'd have some folks pass me early then catch up with them near the end, but I was mostly on my own. Still, if I DO get hooked:D I am sure I'll eventually do bigger events and have to deal with it, heck, we have another Diabetes ride here that the LBG runs, and I know it has pretty big attendance. So your right... I should give it a try... and more than once, like you said. Might go to the easiest show and go just to get my feet under me, then try one of the harder rides.

I think I'm mainly afraid of being so over matched and and feeling like a Fredish-dork for not knowing all the rules of group riding...I REALLY am uneasy about it... I guess it's throwback from being the clutz who was never picked for teams as a kid! Oh yeah, and all the groups get up too darn early!:p I'll ride in the middle of the day in FL summers rather than get up early! LOL! Ah well, you are right, enough prevaricating... I will give it a try. Thanks for the good advice.:)
Kitty

[valygrl]

This might sound awful, and offend some people, but those big charity (ms, diabetes) rides are NOT real group rides. They are filled with people who are starting out, just learning how to ride distances, and don't know anything about how to ride in a group. They are the worst groups to ride with. Most experienced cyclists don't ride charity rides. (ok, you guys can all kill me now, but I can take it.)

You should try to find a non-racing club, that has designated easy/medium/hard rides, and ride with the easy group. Introduce yourself to the ride leader at the beginning, tell him/her you are a new at group riding, and ask for help with learning basic group riding skills. No one is born knowing how to ride in a group, you have to learn. Admitting you don't know and asking for help is a better strategy than pretending or avoiding the situation.

Riding with groups is fun, you get a lot of benefit to your speed by drafting, you get to chat, you learn new skills, and you are forced to ride a little faster than you are comfortable with, and pretty soon you are going faster (and longer) than before.

Have a map with you, and be prepared to get home by yourself. Have proper clothing for the weather conditions, a little extra food in your pockets, 2 water bottles, and a well-maintained bike. Know how to fix your own flats and have the equipment to do so.

Here's a some stuff from the Diablo Cyclists, I used to ride with them before I moved to CO.
http://www.diablocyclists.org/Downloads/PaceLines.pdf
http://www.diablocyclists.org/DCtraining.html
http://www.diablocyclists.org/TrainingTech/GroupRiding.html
http://www.diablocyclists.org/TrainingTech/GetFaster.html

Don't forget to have fun, and enjoy the sport!

[superslomo]

To get back to what you were <i>actually asking</i>: you can do intervals on any stretch of flat road, or on hills, if you want to do hill repeats.

Do spin-ups of a couple of cadence rpm per time interval over any periods of your choice, or you could do high gear slow to fast accelerations, and loads of hill repeats.

I live here in New York, and it's comparatively colder... I'm planning on selling my stationary trainer because, well, they are horrible. Two hours on the road is more pleasant and satisfying than 10 minutes on the trainer.

Just get out there, and do your intervals on some open road. You'll be better for it.

Getting lights is money better spent, IMHO, but if you do want a trainer, get the fluid trainer. They have a better feel to them than magnetic trainers, and are quieter than wind trainers. They are not cheap, but you can get them used in the spring all over the place. I got a basically unused Cycleops Fluid2 for under $100 in June :D (Everyone realizes in late spring how much trainers suck, and get rid of them unless they are masochists.)

Just my 2 cents, YMMV, yadda yadda. Good luck.

[TomM]

Hi guys, thanks for the support. Actually I do ride all winter, (and all summer, ugh! That's worse, trust me!) I was considering a trainer because I was told by someone who bikes here locally that a trainer would be a help with doing interval training, which would help get faster, therefore farther... etc... not because of weather, I ride any time during any season here... even middle of the day in the summer (cuz I am crazy). Guess it sounds like I should just keep doing what I am doing... if anything, it might be more useful in the summer, I've been out riding in tropical storms (and once what ended up being an off shore hurricane) that's a reason for a trainer! LOL!



I live in Jax and during the spring, summer and fall we always have a good breeze blowing which makes for good training.

[Road Fan]

I guess my last question would be, how many miles should my last long ride or 2 before the century be? For the 100k rides I did a couple 50 mile rides before the events and felt fine doing 62 on ride day. Would working up to something like an 80 mile ride or two be good? With obviously, plenty of recovery time before the Century.

Kitty


I hope it's ok to address this question so late after you started the thread. I just ran across an answer to this question lately, while reading the century training section of "Cycling Past 50" by Joe Friel, a book intended for us middle-agers.

He wants us to complete a 4.5 hour ride 2 weeks before event day, in the context of his generic base-training endurance-based training plan.

So see if that helps you, and maybe you should check out this book and Friel's other ones.

Road Fan

[Kittydew]

Road fan,
Hey, thanks for the tip! No problem posting it 'late'.... my century is on March 9th so I am still training away. I've done a 45 mile last week, then got floored with a cold over Xmas :P Planning on a 50 mile next week, and try to keep adding 2-5 miles or so each week to my longest ride, so I should get up to a 4.5 hour ride by then. Appreciate the help, I took the general advice here, skipping a trainer and I am doing a wee bit of interval, but mainly getting on my bike plenty during the week, and doing at least one long ride each weekend and increasing the distance regularly on that. I am also going next week to get fitted and get a better saddle with my LBS gift cards I got on Xmas! So I am still trucking along and ALWAYS appreciate the tips and help!
Kitty

[Hocam]

You don't really need to incorporate intervals into your training, just climb every hill in zone 4 or 5 (or at a 7 or 8 out of 10 on a scale of perceived exertion) and coast down to recover. If you ride hilly routes (which is a good idea) the intervals will come automatically and your cruising speed will increase as a result.

The idea is to be able to put out more power for a given heart rate. That way that pace where you feel like you can keep it up forever gets faster.

[Road Fan]

Road fan,
Hey, thanks for the tip! No problem posting it 'late'.... my century is on March 9th so I am still training away. I've done a 45 mile last week, then got floored with a cold over Xmas :P Planning on a 50 mile next week, and try to keep adding 2-5 miles or so each week to my longest ride, so I should get up to a 4.5 hour ride by then. Appreciate the help, I took the general advice here, skipping a trainer and I am doing a wee bit of interval, but mainly getting on my bike plenty during the week, and doing at least one long ride each weekend and increasing the distance regularly on that. I am also going next week to get fitted and get a better saddle with my LBS gift cards I got on Xmas! So I am still trucking along and ALWAYS appreciate the tips and help!
Kitty

Kitty, you're ahead of me!

[Kittydew]

Hocam,
Well, that'd be a great idea, except I live in Florida... I've got no hills! :)
Kitty