Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Training for a 145 km (90 mile) bike ride. advice?

Hey guys, i am training to bikie to my cottage which is 145 km away.

Now, im getting my first road bike saturday morning (i dont know that much about bikes/biking), and im leaving in august. so i have about 1 1/2 to 2 months to train for this.

ive never rode a road bike before so, im aiming for atleast half way there (72.5 km).

What advice to you guys recommend for training to ride this one way route?

I am :
15........years old
140.......lbs
5' 11"....height

thankyou.

Step 1. Go for a 5 km ride on the new bicycle to check fit and to figure a few things out ... like shifting.

Step 1. Go for a 5 km ride on the new bicycle to check fit and to figure a few things out ... like shifting.

Ok, so you recommend a 5 km ride? And im getting my bike about 10-11 am tomorrow so i have all day to ride, should i do anything after the 5 km?

Do an Internet search for "training for a century ride". There are numerous training programs for that distance out on the Net. The distance you're looking at is close to that. Your time available to train is less than what most programs suggest, but you can adjust them to the time you have and just give it a shot.

You need to find "your sustatainable pace over distance", build up saddle time to prepare your behind for the "abise" it will take, learn to drink/eat to keep yourself going, and learn to handle the bike/repair it (flats, chain thrown, etc.). Figure out what you what/need to carry with you and how - ex., how many water bottles, cell phone or money for emergency calls, pump or air cartridge for flat fixiing. Also of importance, you need to learn about riding in hot weather and when to stop due to heat/dehydration issues.

If/when you have specific questions, be sure to ask them - here or elsewhere.

FWIW, at 15 years old, you've probably got more energy than I did when I started riding again and I did my 1st century only 2.5 months later.

Good luck.

Ok, so you recommend a 5 km ride? And im getting my bike about 10-11 am tomorrow so i have all day to ride, should i do anything after the 5 km?

See how you feel, and then decide what you want to do.

Do an Internet search for "training for a century ride". There are numerous training programs for that distance out on the Net. The distance you're looking at is close to that. Your time available to train is less than what most programs suggest, but you can adjust them to the time you have and just give it a shot.

You need to find "your sustatainable pace over distance", build up saddle time to prepare your behind for the "abise" it will take, learn to drink/eat to keep yourself going, and learn to handle the bike/repair it (flats, chain thrown, etc.). Figure out what you what/need to carry with you and how - ex., how many water bottles, cell phone or money for emergency calls, pump or air cartridge for flat fixiing. Also of importance, you need to learn about riding in hot weather and when to stop due to heat/dehydration issues.

If/when you have specific questions, be sure to ask them - here or elsewhere.

FWIW, at 15 years old, you've probably got more energy than I did when I started riding again and I did my 1st century only 2.5 months later.

Good luck.

Thank you SOO much for that! That really helped me alot! And ok, btw, congratulations! Thanks.

Ok thanks for the great advice, I'll do that first thing tomorrow.

You have a LOT going for you at your age: energy, weight (or lack of excess!), enthusiasm, and a much faster recovery than us geezers.
Keep in mind that you need a schedule of progressively longer rides with recovery days for your body to rebuild. As mentioned above, there are several good century training programs on the 'net, all of which will include the basics:

Assuming that you're already doing some riding, increase your weekly total mileage by about 10% per week.
Your weekly mileage increase should be split among the week's rides so that your 'long' ride gets a good percentage of the increase.
Vary your daily rides so that 'long' ride is about 2-3 times the length of your medium or short ride(s). For example, if you're riding 4 days/week, you might ride 10, 15, 20, and 30 miles/km (not necessarily in that order) on a week where your total is 75 miles/km. The idea is to increase you total weekly miles and your longest ride of the week to a point where you're 'long' ride is about 80% of your goal event distance.
The week's other rides can be used to add in hills, faster pace, recovery spinning, etc.

Most important -- have FUN!

What advice to you guys recommend for training to ride this one way route?Drink your milk and eat your vegetables.

Have fun. And see if you can find others to ride with. Keep track of how your rides go by keeping a "log book."

If you want train to get faster - look for books about training. (or read many of the old comments posted here)

Just remember, bike riding is about having fun as well as racing.

You have a LOT going for you at your age: energy, weight (or lack of excess!), enthusiasm, and a much faster recovery than us geezers.
Keep in mind that you need a schedule of progressively longer rides with recovery days for your body to rebuild. As mentioned above, there are several good century training programs on the 'net, all of which will include the basics:

Assuming that you're already doing some riding, increase your weekly total mileage by about 10% per week.
Your weekly mileage increase should be split among the week's rides so that your 'long' ride gets a good percentage of the increase.
Vary your daily rides so that 'long' ride is about 2-3 times the length of your medium or short ride(s). For example, if you're riding 4 days/week, you might ride 10, 15, 20, and 30 miles/km (not necessarily in that order) on a week where your total is 75 miles/km. The idea is to increase you total weekly miles and your longest ride of the week to a point where you're 'long' ride is about 80% of your goal event distance.
The week's other rides can be used to add in hills, faster pace, recovery spinning, etc.

Most important -- have FUN!

That'd great help thank you. But can you give me an outline if you can for a schedule for the 6 weeks, or even just like 2 maybe 3 weeks so that I get the hang of what your saying about the distance? Thanks.

Drink your milk and eat your vegetables.

Have fun. And see if you can find others to ride with. Keep track of how your rides go by keeping a "log book."

If you want train to get faster - look for books about training. (or read many of the old comments posted here)

Just remember, bike riding is about having fun as well as racing.

Thanks for the advice! I'm definitely getting a log book, I love the idea!! Thank you!

When I was 14, my best friend and I rode to his cottage about 100 miles away. This was the early 80s and we were both on heavy steel bicycles. We had been planning it for about a year as neither of us had ever ridden so far before. His parents met up with us in their car at the half way point to ask us how we were doing. We were still feeling okay, so we rode on. The ride took us 10 hours to finish, but we made it. You can too.

Oh, about the training, we did maybe 100 miles/week for about 6 weeks before the event. Our biggest mistake was not bringing enough food and water. We had a few sandwiches and fruit and we each had a single water bottle, but that was it. After about 60 miles, we stopped for ice cream and water which helped a lot.

can you give me an outline if you can for a schedule for the 6 weeks, or even just like 2 maybe 3 weeks so that I get the hang of what your saying about the distance? Thanks.As I suggested above, a Yahoo/Google search provides numerous links to training plans:

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AuQHMqJN2Qhl4mzezYFuoaSbvZx4?p=train+century+ride&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-701

Read the first ten results in their entirety and you'll learn more than you imagined on what to consider/how to train.

Wow you guys are pros! ^^ and ok, I'll be sure to check it out,
I just did 24.50 km today which is like what? 11-12 miles?