Hi all,

I'm looking for training resources for bicycling. There's a big ride coming up this year called the Ride Around Mt Rainier in One Day, which is 154 miles / 10,000 feet of elevation gain, and it's pretty clear I need to up my average speed 2-3 mph if I have hope of finishing before the support guys sweep the course. (It's a 15-hour limit.) I've been riding long rides for 20 years, but never really taken on a formal discipline besides "ride big hills" and "go 100 miles and hope I go faster than last time." This year, I've ridden 2,200 miles.

To provide some other information, I'm 39, I weigh 355 pounds (would love to lose about 100 pounds), I'm 6 feet 9 inches tall, I ride a custom bike built 20 years ago (and am ordering a new one this year) and I have started using a wahoo fitness heart-rate monitor in the past few months, connected to a smartphone in a top-tube bag with a transparent cover. I have found that using the HR app does help me remember that I could be going faster and to resist the temptation to lazy about with my heart rate at 130 bpm, and I've been striving to get as much time as possible in the 151-172 bpm range, which the app calls "hard," with 173+ being "peak." Someone told me that's how you build stamina.

Ok, so having told you all that, I have no idea how interval training works, or even if that's what you're supposed to do or...? So, anyone have a favorite reputable book they want to tell me about? Or a web site that has this stuff? Or, does this forum have a sticky post with it that I just haven't been able to find?

Thanks,
Eric the Crankarmbreaker