Training & Nutrition - first biking event ever....

Today i blindly entered a 50km event for next Sunday. Maybe i was just exicted or maybe i was just being plain dumb, but either way, i have to do it. I've already paid my registration fee and i can't back out now. I don't ride my bike regularly and the farthest i've ever rode is probably 20km. So now i got one week to prepare for this 50km event. Anybody have any training tips?

What kind of an event? Road/Mountain? Is it a race? Will there be rest stops, etc?

Answering these types of questions will help us help you :)

What kind of an event? Road/Mountain? Is it a race? Will there be rest stops, etc?

Answering these types of questions will help us help you :)

It's the Becel Ride for Heart in Toronto. It's going to be mostly along a highway. It's not a race, but i want to be able to finish within 5 hours because after that they're going to clearing that highway for cars. There aren't any stops, well not official stops anyways. You can stop whenever you want, but i would like to keep it to a minimun. Oh, and a final note, half the route is uphill (a constant gradual uphill). So, any advice?

Just go at a steady pace and bring some snacks and enough water or gatorade.You should have no problem doing the 50k in under 5 hrs.

keep pedalling.

Well, 50k is only about 30 miles. If you are in any kind of shape at all, you should be able to ride over 10 miles per hour so you are talking a max of 3 hours on the bike. 5 hours should be plenty. The thing is that you are obviously new to cycling so your hinder parts are not used to this nor is the rest of your body.

I would recommend stopping at least once and better still twice. Don't stop very long. Just get off. Walk around a little bit. Take a pit stop. Refill your water bottle(s). Drink some water. Maybe eat a very small snack. Then get back on the bike. Try not to stop much longer then 5 or maybe 10 minutes. After a really long stop, the body might rebell if you try to get it to do some more cycling.

There looks to be 5 rest stops along the path you will be taking from the map they posted. I don't think you will have any problem not completing the route in 5 hours. Just keep moving foward.

There looks to be 5 rest stops along the path you will be taking from the map they posted. I don't think you will have any problem not completing the route in 5 hours. Just keep moving foward.
oh..i didn't see that. My computer froze when i tried to open the map.Thanks for the info :)

Yah, like someone said have food on hand with you (on longer rides I bring bananas, figs, powerbars, gatorade.. yes, water!)

Just take it steady! It's not really that hard.. this saturday I did 65k in under 3 hours on the road and that's with 2.1 tires and no rest stops.

You should be fine, and have fun!

^^^ hopefully i will be fine.

By the way, i was reading some articles on the internet about recipes for homemade sports drinks. Do these drinks match up to store bought drinks such as Gatorade?

Yes, they do.

Gatorade is basically water, sugar, and salt (with flavoring)