Training & Nutrition - training for ms150 2001

Okay, I've only been riding my bike for about six months; started out w/ a friend, but he's moved away and now I want to train for the ms150 thats coming up in november in arizona, Ive never done anything like this so Im worried about being able to do it. I dont know how many miles I ride but I ride for an hour per night five nights a week...I figure if I can get up to two hours a night, I'll be good, but Im assuming, so Im looking for advice I guess, I started riding my bike for fitness, I like doing and Im "dieting" for life so Im not where I want to be yet and the ms150 is a starting goal for me...Im also looking for anyone else in phx that is doing the ride or rides in general :)

If you're riding an hour a night for five nights a week that is probably around 60 miles a week if you keep around a 12 mph average. The MS150 is two days at approximately 75 miles/day. The biggest hurdle is being used to being in the saddle for that long of a stretch, and your current training regimen is going to help alot. Try to get a couple extended rides (40-50 miles) before the tour and you should breeze right through. 75 miles is actually attainable by most anyone reasonably fit, but with training it's alot more fun.

The MS150 they hold here in NE Ohio is a very organized and well supported tour, let us know how you find the conditions there in AZ.

The MS 150 is 2 days of 75 miles. 75 miles is not that hard to do. It is a matter of riding at a moderate pace, drinking enough water to stay hydrated and getting off the bike every now and then to spell one's hinder parts.

It sounds to me that you are putting in enough training time. I would suggest some 3-4 hour rides on weekends. Try to do back to back 50 milers on a weekend and you should be pretty much set. Doing the longer rides will give you some experience at doing the distance.

Oddly enough, some cyclists have problems with distance. I know this one lady who is very strong and she rides flat out until she keels over. She has never done a century. Fifty miles is about her limit. She never heard of pacing.

sounds like you should do fine if you've already been riding 1 hr, 5 nights a week for a while... that's quite a lot for a beginner/recreational rider (in my opinion)

try to get some idea of how far you ride and your average speed so you can get an estimate of how long you'll be on the bike... or buy a cycle computer to find out...

then try and do a longer ride of comparable distance some time if possible...

my sister and her husband are only recreational riders and have done the MS150 twice and a week-long Mississippi tour - while they are both in reasonably good shape (they rolleblade a lot!), they do not train at all for their tours which amazes me --- they will maybe only ride 3 times in the 2 months before a trip... they aren't fast but they have fun!

i ride almost every day commuting and race MTB CrossCountry and do long tours almost every week... so the perspective is a little different

keep it up and you should do fine -- and your fitness will really show after a while --- most important is to enjoy it and keep it up (i.e. dieting and exercising 6 months and then returning to sloth/excess eating is not the answer -- make lifestyle changes that last forever)

Wow, thanks for all the input...I used to only ride 30 minutes a night, 5 nights a week and that was a killer, then it got easier and I was able to do an hour per night w/out too many problems, its actually easier to go longer, like I get a stretching period :D I've only been doing the bike faithfully since march 1st, I started the Atkins diet and altho it gets alot of negative feedback, Ive been succesful w/ it and its something I intend to do for the rest of my life, controlling my carb intake has been the only thing that has helped w/ the weight loss, but now Im concerned because Ive noticed alot of people say that carbs are necessary for energy while riding, so Im a little hesitant about what to do...I have limited my carbs to 20 per day and its 90% vegetables and salads, the other 10% is usually from nuts and other stuff, so is there anything else besides carbs that will suffise for the energy/stamina whatever?? Please let me know! And thanks again!! (by the way, I started out at 275 and Im now at 225)

hey Chilee,

great start there on your diet fitness - 275 to 225 is a great step!

i'm not a diet or nutrition expert, this is just my gut reaction to what you said:: i would say that you should probably be able to notice if you are running low on carbs... usually after 30minutes to 2 hours of riding i run out of calorie store and have to eat something on the ride to keep going. each person is different and since you probably have a very different metabolism (mine is super-high and 'tuned' for high-power from training) and much more body fat than I do... but you can feel the energy drop or 'bonk'

also, since i gather that your goals are more towards fitness then performance, i would guess that you're OK as long as you have enough energy to ride.

if you find that you ride for 30 minutes and then feel like dirt, then you should probably try increasing the carbs...

and of course, on the evening before you plan a long ride (more than 2 hours or the MS150) i would strongly recommend doing a carbo-load (that means eating a ton of carbo-rich food like pasta to give your body tons of reserve fuel for the upcoming energy needs of a big ride or event). but then you can probably return to your diet afterwards...

for me and my training, it is very important that i eat AFTER training so my body can rebuild so i have have strength for the next ride, but if your case, if you eat a little less after a ride you lose more weight, so as long as you're getting the necessary minimum vitamins and stuff i would think you'd be OK here too.

As i see it, you need to make sure you get enough of all the right vitamins (if it's a diet worth anything it should meet this) and then you just need enough energy to do your daily activities. if you're really active on a long ride and don't have enough energy, eat a little more - as long as you're really active you should burn the calories right off -- but 2 days later return to your diet b/c you're not burning it off anymore!

Okay, all I have to say right now is that my @ss hurts!! :(