Originally Posted by
Mithrandir
Just curious, those that say 5k over 63 miles isn't too bad; how much do you weigh and how much experience do you have?
I'm 400lb and just hit my first cycling anniversary. Did 1k over 30 miles last week, and couldn't make it up one of the climbs, and ended up hurting my back enough to keep me off the bike for 6 days. I'm trying real hard to train for an event in September, which is two days of 50 mile rides, 3k climbing each. I seriously don't think I can do it at this point, if last week is any indication. People claiming that an event with twice as much climbing as a ride that's twice my current limit (ie 4x total) isn't much climbing... that's ridiculous. How is that even realistic?
I come in at 6'5"(195cm), 252lbs(115 kg) and consider eaxactly those sort of numbers "hilly", even "hard" but extremely doable. Here's this mornings ride which is pretty darn similiar to those criteria.
http://app.strava.com/rides/11489999
I have absolutely no doubt that at 400lbs you would find such a ride extremely challenging. Weight has a huge impact on climbing hills. As the pounds come off, you will find that it's possible to consider things that previously seemed impossible.
Keep training! 3-5 rides a week. Mix in a variety of distance rides, hilly (by your measure) rides, etc. And most importantly, invest your energy, interest and time into maintaining a healthy diet. The loss of 25 pounds (very achievable in that time) will make just as large an impact. Your goal sounds pretty ambitious, but, not impossible.
My goal, for November, is a sub 6 hour Lake Taupo Century. Wish me luck.