Cross country training

[bikexcountry]

So as you may know from some of my other threads (check them out) I will be going across country this summer on my bike.

I was wondering if I could get some help developing a training program, I plan to leave around June 22, I am still on a mountain bike with road tires but plan to get a touring bike soon.

I have done 30 miles no problems, and I am heading out for 100 miles tomorrow. All this is unloaded. I'm young, but I can only bike on weekends or evenings, but I'm willing to do what it takes to build endurance. Any suggestions?

[Carbonfiberboy]

Ride both days on the weekend, and another 4 days during the week. Don't worry about it being unloaded. You can practice with loaded just before the trip. Get the touring bike ASAP. Besides the training, you have to get comfortable on the bike: fit, saddle, position, handling, etc. This can take quite some time. So ride lots. If you can get in 200 miles/week, you'll be golden. Even 150 will be good. Ride hills. Look for them. Never see a hill you won't go up. Find long climbs if you can, at least 1/2 hour. When you get close, experiment with your full loaded weight and be sure you have gearing to handle it on long climbs.

[bikexcountry]

OK does this sound good:
+10-15 miles on weekdays (50-75 mi)
+50 on Saturdays (I have a bunch of stuff on Saturdays, so I'd head out early and be back by noon)
+80-120 on Sundays
__________________
180-245 miles a week

PS is 120 even humanly possible? I figure 10mph I could do it but is there enough time in a day?

[Carbonfiberboy]

OK does this sound good:
+10-15 miles on weekdays (50-75 mi)
+50 on Saturdays (I have a bunch of stuff on Saturdays, so I'd head out early and be back by noon)
+80-120 on Sundays
__________________
180-245 miles a week

PS is 120 even humanly possible? I figure 10mph I could do it but is there enough time in a day?

Ah, I see you only have about 6 weeks. Talking training program, November 2010 would have been a good time to start. All you can do at this point is ramp up your weekly mileage by about 10%/week. Doing it faster can lead to repetitive stress injuries. The last few days you'll be busy sorting out your gear, so cut back the mileage then. Otherwise, that looks great. I kinda doubt you'll be riding a century on Sunday after doing 50 on Saturday. You'll see how it goes. Don't push too hard. I've ridden 250 miles in a day. Yes, it's possible, though I rode in the dark for a couple of hours. Carry real lights. You never know. Stuff happens.

[fstshrk]

OK does this sound good:
+10-15 miles on weekdays (50-75 mi)
+50 on Saturdays (I have a bunch of stuff on Saturdays, so I'd head out early and be back by noon)
+80-120 on Sundays
__________________
180-245 miles a week

PS is 120 even humanly possible? I figure 10mph I could do it but is there enough time in a day?

I think you can 120 miles in a day, but probably not every day. Which route are you taking?

BTW, kudos. I wish I could do a cross country ride some day.

[bikexcountry]

Alright then thanks. I don't think I'll have a problem following 50 miles honestly. I can do 30 barely breaking a sweat, and 50 isn't much harder. Those centuries I think will be hard. And do you think it might be a good idea to start camping, getting a feel for what it will be like actually on the road?

[bikexcountry]

I think you can 120 miles in a day, but probably not every day. Which route are you taking?

BTW, kudos. I wish I could do a cross country ride some day.

I am still trying to figure that out. I am probably either going to take the google maps route from Orange County, CA to New Hampshire or head up to Washington for the TransAm trail and jump off at NH.

And I'm still looking for people to join me, so if you have a month...

Check out my other posts, they have some more details, especially which route.

[chasm54]

If you are leaving in six weeks, aim to ride across America in only one month, and your longest ride so far is 30 miles, you need to get a lot of time on the bike pretty quickly. And I'd recommend that you start doing some loaded rides quite soon. Riding 100 miles in a day is one thing. Riding 100 miles a day, day after day, with camping gear etc. on the bike, that is another thing altogether.

[yiffzer]

I cycled in Spain and Morocco fully loaded in the winter and the most we ever did was 150 KM which is not a century in miles. Our average daily KM was more like 70 which is far less than a century. A century becomes much easier when you load lightly. I would suggest you look at his blog on ultra light touring: http://ultralightcycling.blogspot.com/. Borrow some of the principles and apply it to your preparations on your cross country tour.

I second the opinion that you should train by loading. Keep hitting those long hills because you're going to face a lot of these undoubtedly. It's about building stamina. And definitely start working on your ideal diet (i.e. salt intake) because you will crash before a century if you don't maintain adequate intake of balanced nutrition. Keep in mind that the more hills you attack, the more calories you'd be burning, thus you need to eat more.

Really exciting trip by the way! I wish I could go with you.

[Machka]

PS is 120 even humanly possible? I figure 10mph I could do it but is there enough time in a day?

Have a look ... http://www.machka.net/24hour/2006_UMCA24hour.htm
287.3 miles (462.4 kms) in a day ... and we're not fast.


As for your training ... you've left it very late. You've left everything very, very late.

But let us know how the 100 mile ride goes.

[bikexcountry]

Jesus 250 miles? I would not ride for 24 straight hours a day I don't think. Too much work, plus that was unloaded.