Training & Nutrition - training for a 50 mile?

So ive only REALLY been cycling for oh, two weeks now. Yeah its not long at all, but ive been biking (When i bike, 2-4x a week) about 20 miles on average throughout the day. Today im looking at hitting about 40 since my destination plans changed.

I want to do a 50mi ride coming up (i think its a race, not that i care) but im concerned that i cant do 50 in one shot whereas im sure id be able to do 50 over the course of a day, round trip to work.

Suggestions?

don't really need to "train" for a 50 miler unless your obese and very unathletic. I'd say a complete beginner can hop on a bike and ride 50 if they put their mind to it

don't really need to "train" for a 50 miler unless your obese and very unathletic. I'd say a complete beginner can hop on a bike and ride 50 if they put their mind to it

X2. At that level, it is pretty much all mental. If you have been doing 20's, then you can do 50. It is just a question of time.

Agreed. I had never gone longer than 20 miles until earlier this year, when I went on a 43-mile group ride. Despite the fact that the pace was much faster than I usually ride, I finished and could have kept going another 7, even at that pace. It would have been hard, but very doable.

If you take it at a moderate pace, 50 should be not only doable, but easy.

cool. im doing 43.5 today, to a client and back, and shouldnt be hard.

thanks guys :D just going from 20 to 50 is a bit mentally unnerving.

When you do your 50-miler don't forget to bring enough food and water. You can go 20 miles without eating during a ride, but you'll need to eat during a 50 mile ride.

To me, the difference between doing 10-20 miles and doing 50 is that all the little problems you might have with your body (aches, pains) and bike fitting (alignment, stem length, angles, etc..) seem to get magnified and can really blow you up. You pedal thousands of times on rides like that. Be in tune with your body and your bike. I tweaked my back by being hunched over too much (bike fit not good). I could do 20 miles no problem, but when it came to 30-40 i found myself laid up on the couch for weeks and still am. keep on truckin' and good luck!!

To me, the difference between doing 10-20 miles and doing 50 is that all the little problems you might have with your body (aches, pains) and bike fitting (alignment, stem length, angles, etc..) seem to get magnified and can really blow you up. You pedal thousands of times on rides like that. Be in tune with your body and your bike. I tweaked my back by being hunched over too much (bike fit not good). I could do 20 miles no problem, but when it came to 30-40 i found myself laid up on the couch for weeks and still am. keep on truckin' and good luck!!

I agree. I believe you stated that have a couple of weeks on the bike at the moment. I'd be concerned that you have a good base. Usually, the mileage is increased at a gradual state. You also mentioned that you believe it may be a race. Don't get intimidated and feel that you have to ride as fast as all the other riders. Surely there will be some riders there that have been riding for quite some time. If you force yourself to try to keep up you may lead to injury. Just be sure that all is fitted properly and then have fun.

Normal thought is not to increase your training distance by more than 10% per week or training period, since that much more is usually OK for the body to endure, but it's not so much that you can't move the next day. That's primarily the technique for running, weights, etc, and I use it for bikes too, so if you can ride 20 with no problems, next time try 22, if that's OK then up it a little more.

While you probably could do 50 right off the bat if you went slow enough, if you have the time, give your body the chance to get used to it. If 20 is fine, then I'd try 25 or so, but if at 20 you're pretty tired, then give your body a chance to adapt. If not, you'll just injure yourself, have to take time off, then start all over again.