HiYoSilver

I've decided I'm going to try the loveland "Tour de Cure Colorado" by American Diabetes Association https://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=2338

There are 2 routes that sound interesting:

Route A -- 50 miles: loveland to Drake and back
Elevation climb 1000 ft from 5000 to 6000.

Route B -- 75miles: loveland past Glen Haven and back
Elevation climb 3000 ft from 5000 to 8000.

I've been riding about 20-30 miles a week without difficulty. I know I'ld have to swap out my cassette as lowest GI is too high at 35gi.

The last time I road 50 miles was in high school, a day or two ago. Which would you do-- go safe with the 50 or go for the challenge and go for the 75? The 75 just tacks on 12 miles further than the 50 as that part of the route is the same, so there's always the option of bailing. This is a ride and not a race.

Thanks for your advice.

Old and Slow

Go for the 50 mile ride. Even if you were riding 20-30 miles a day, the 75 mile ride with 3000 feet of climbing would be very difficult.

DnvrFox

Okay - but look who is giving this advice "Old and Slow"

You need advice from "Young at Heart and Fast"

So, here goes:

Make the 50 your goal. That is doable given your training and experience.

Save the 3,000 foot climb for next year or at least until later this summer.

Have fun!

stapfam

On any long ride there are two limiting factors as to how far you can go. The first one is you and how fit you are. The second is how hard you push yourself.

In 3 weeks time I am doing 100 miles offroad on a Tandem. only 15 hours to do it and 10,000ft of climbing. Hard enough for a youngster, let alone a 58 year old. The only part that is going to get me are the 10,000ft.

I will probably be the oldest, once again, to do the ride, But I have a stategy that works for me. The first 3 miles are uphill, so I take it steady. I let all the youngsters disappear into the distance. On the flat we get a fair pace up so by the time we get to our first stop at 20 miles, we have caught most of them. Then the real hills start, at every hill we do not push to the limit. One of my boasts about this ride is that we do not walk any hill, and that is because we have saved energy to cycle them. On the flat (Can't remember too many of them)the pace goes up tremendously. At the 55 mile mark, we will have a quick lunch of Pasta, Rice, cheese and anything else we can get inside us, and then we are off. We will be amongst the less than 50% that finish, and will hopefully better our time of 12 hours from last year. The fastest will do it in 10hours, but the bulk of the finishers come in at around the 13to15 hour mark.

If you are currently doing 20 miles, up it to 40 occasionally. If you are not too bad at the end of a 40, then on the event go for the 75 miler. All you have to do is take it steady and keep the energy levels up by eating plenty of carbs before and during the ride. Oh yes, get the gearing sorted for those hills

Terex

Uh, stick with 50 and be happy. Lots of things can blow up with the additional miles, altitude and elevation. When you get tired, technique lapses and small irritations can turn major. You said you are doing 20-30 per WEEK. How much at one shot? If it was flat, I'd say go for it, but with your scenario, I think not. Find another, longer, ride later in the year if this one feels good. Best of luck!

HiYoSilver

thanks for the advice. I'm been thinking of NOT doing the 75. The 50 might be doable with only 1000 feet climb, but definitely need a new cassette first. I may just take it easy this time and do the 25 around town. Another alternative I am thinking of is finding a different ride later in the summer, after I'm had more experience.

The more I think of this, the more I realize I need to do at least a 20 before I even commit to a 50. Just to see how this old body performs.

Again appreciate the advice.

nmichell

Uhhh ... I have plans to do the road through Glen Haven, but haven't had the guts to do it yet. That road has some seriously steep sections. Given what you've said, I don't think 3 weeks is nearly enough time to be ready for it.

Terex

Just as a reference point...I started road biking at end of September and currently have about 1300 mi on my bike. Let's say 50 mi per wk avg. Started with 20-25, went up to 35-40 in late winter, and currently handle 50-60 fairly hilly miles on a Saturday ride, with a recovery ride on Sunday. I feel confident that I could do 100 fairly flat, but would have a tough time with 75 hilly. If I could ride more during the week, and consistently ride both weekend days, my progress would be much faster - but I do what I can do, and enjoy it. If you really like to ride, and have the time to get in the miles, the distance and hill climbing ability will come. Oh, and even if elevation change is "just" 3000 ft, you still may be doing a total of 4-5000 total climbing, with the ups and downs. Rain cancelled my ride today, so I took opportunity to clean my bike. Can't wait to get out again.

HiYoSilver

Thanks for the all advice. I'll either do the in town 25 or pass on this event. I'm just not sure my body is really ready for a long ride. I need to find time to experiment first. I don't want to do what I did in HS and ride on a 50 and ache for a week. I'ld rather look for a ride in the late summer or early fall. If the event was a month later, I know I would be ready. Like Terex, I started last fall, but I only have about 320 miles on the bike. [ I've got to find the axiom manual, so I can figure out how to remove the cyclometer head unit without breaking it ] . I was gung ho thinking there would be a group from here riding. Now it doesn't look like there will be.


Question-- how do you find out about group bike rides in your area?