Pacific Northwest - Newbie looking for training plan for Tour de Blast?

Hi folks,

I've signed up for the Tour de Blast this year and am looking forward to it (yes, many months away, but good to have a goal). ;)

I have never trained for such a hilly course and was looking for some type of plan other than "ride many hills". I'm in Vancouver, BC, so come spring, I have a few mountains to choose from. :)

When I was running half marathons, I had well laid-out plans regarding distance, time, speed, etc. that I should be doing on particular days. I guess that sort of idea is rooted in my head and I'm wondering if there is something similar to help me peak at the right time for the TdB.

Does such a thing exist? I've seen heart rate training, century training, etc., but thought I'd ask.

Thanks for helping out a newbie to bike training!

I rode the Tour de Blast last year for the first time. It's a spectacular ride! Very well organized, and the road is in great condition. It's a long, steady pull up - no exceptionally steep grades, just lots of up.

My recommendation is just find a good training plan for riding a century and follow that. It's obviously not 100 miles (only 82) but if you can ride a century, and you're familiar with hills, you can ride it.

I ride about 100 miles a week, and I try to do at least one 80 to 100 mile ride per month, with a couple of 40 or 50 mile rides thrown in. Most of my riding is done in moderately hilly conditions. I felt very prepared for the Tour de Blast.

Be aware that it can be warm at the base but quite cold at the top. I brought some tights and a jacket with me in a seat bag but didn't use them - I understand that in past years it's been pretty miserable at the top if you're not prepared.

Here's my ride report from Tour de Blast 2008 (with pics):

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=432326

Thanks, BengeBoy, for the reply, it makes perfect sense.

And great pics! Too bad about the Garmin. :(

Hi DragonWoman,

Greetings from a fellow Vancouverite!
I hope your training for the TdB has gone well as it's coming down to the last 2 weeks before the ride.
I'll be doing the ride for the first time this year with a few friends from work. We haven't been training very hard for it (riding about 100-120km a week) so I hope we won't find it too difficult come the day. We'll probably cycle up Cypress Mountain next weekend as the final hard climb before the TdB.

Good luck with the ride!