newbeginnings

I usually ask questions on the touring board but I think that y'all might be able to answer my questions. Next summer I'm going to be riding my bike from Seattle to Jersey City over 9 weeks, going anywhere from 80-120 miles a day. There are a couple of 30 mile days in there but not many. it's fully supported so I won't be hauling any gear. I have not biked much, have done more running but this is a charity ride for the organization where I work so I get paid to do it

So, how do I go about training? Any chance of my being able to keep up with my running, or am I going to be too shot after riding that long? I'm on a serious diet right now to get down to my goal weight before trying to bike across country . . . next summer how will I strike the balance between eating enough to sustain the activity but not gaining my weight back?

Sorry, I'm really clueless!

Machka 

Well ... where are you now?

What distance can you comfortably cycle? Is a century (100 miles) a comfortable distance for you, and by "comfortable" I mean, could you ride a century on Saturday, and then ride another one on Sunday, or the next weekend, without any undue difficulties?

What does a typical week of cycling look like for you?

And is the ride a Habitat for Humanity ride? Just curious.

newbeginnings

Right now I ride only occasionally. 30 miles is absolutely no problem. I really should get out there and see how far I can ride comfortably. I can definitely tell it works different leg muscles than running, though!

And nope, it's not Habitat for Humanity - it's Sea to Sea: Ending the Cycle of Poverty.

Machka 

If 30 miles is comfortable for you now, my suggestion would be to start gradually increasing that distance. Pick a day on the weekend (or whatever your day off is) and ride 30 miles. Next week, increase that distance by approx. 10%-15% ... do maybe 33 or 35 miles. Next week, increase that distance by approx. 10%-15% ... do maybe 38 or 40 kms. If a distance becomes difficult, remain at that distance for a week or two. Approx. every 4-5 weeks, back off a bit to take a break.

During the week, start riding regularly 4-5 days. Start with 10 or 15 miles, and very gradually increase that distance as well.

If you're going to be doing 80-120 miles a day for the span of 9 weeks, you will want to feel comfortable doing some fairly long distances back-to-back-to-back etc. If I were you, I'd aim to do at least back-to-back centuries a couple times before the event to get a good feel for it. (i.e. a century on a Saturday then a century on a Sunday)

Machka 

If my site actually stays up for more than 2 minutes, you might check this article:

https://www.machka.net/century.htm

SandLizrd

Pay no mind to the canuck, she switches between miles and KM with reckless abandon! But hey, she does know how to ride a bike a little bit.

You'll be tapering down the running as the cycling miles ramp up. You didn't say how much you run, but 300-mile-weeks will take it out of you. Worry about that when you get there.

You, sir or ma'am, need some technology. Look into a Polar 720. It does heart rate, laps, and two bikes. Probably will serve both running and cycling real well. Can do more stuff than you'd care to hear about right now, but part of it is a calorie computation. Granted, these things are known to inflate the numbers but just to get a baseline you'll be loving it. What you'll find is, touring riders can't hardly eat enough! 5000 calories/day makes for some pretty good cheeseburgers and fries and energy bars and chocolate shakes and, basically, all you can munch during your ride. Make the purchase early, it's a great training tool

newbeginnings

Thanks! That gives me a great place to start. I do have a heart rate monitor (Garmin) that I used for running, but I'm pretty sure I can use it for biking too. I have a bike computer that I've been using - I didn't even think about using my Garmin. Now that fall is here in Michigan I can't wait to get some longer rides in.

Machka 

Hehehe ... oops! I'm bilingual when it comes to distance measurements!