how long will it take to get into professional condition
 

i know this guy in town whos like 50+ years old but hes a personal trainer...he rides a bike everywhere and ive seen him climb hills like nothing...he tells me he can easily do 20mph+ for more than 3 1/2 hours without breaking a sweat... how long will it take me to get into this condition if i diet and do some really hard biking for at least 30 minutes a day?

he also said he was in 56 iron mans/ triathalons and was a professional road cyclist when he was younger...he also said he won many tournaments within the top 3 places....

one thing he told me though is that it takes at least 4 years to get into his condition...is this true? he says that he doesnt even feel tired after 3 1/2 hours and says he can easily do 100 miles in 4 1/2 hours and then go on all day at a nice cruising pace of maybe 14 mph after that for about 10 hours straight...of course with breaks for food and stuff

the answer is years

Guy sounds like a braggart and a jackass, but it shouldn't take 4 years to be able to ride at 20+ for 3.5 hrs. You should likely be able to do that in well under a year assuming you ride enough.

Fixed.

I once saw someone on BFs say that it never gets any easier, just faster.

I think that probably sums up training fairly well. I continue to get faster but I still beat the hell out of myself every time I go out.

Pros in the TDF may start as juniors, so that could be 20 years. Others may start in college, so 15 years. A long time until professional condition.

I will let you know if and when I get there.

If you are only willing to give it 30 minutes a day, it could take you the rest of your life to get in that kind of condition.

Beginning of your life. Most pro's are pro's because they had the athletic genes to get there.

Less than a year!!! Whoa ... hang on there, pardner! :) It will depend on the age of the cyclist. And his weight. And his cardio system. And the terrain. And the genetics.

I'm almost 40, and started road riding 2 1/2 years ago. I'm gradually improving, but I'm not able to ride solo at 20+MPH for 3.5 hrs. Group ride, yes. But solo, not yet.

I'll take it a step further, and if 30 minutes a day is all that you are able to commit to, you'll never reach anything resembling an elite level of performance. That's not to say that 30 minutes a day won't improve your overall fitness, because of course it will, and of course everything will become easier (but still not easy)

To ride like that one must first master the apostrophe. Uppercase helps too.

This guy sounds like the ideal BF poster! Invite him to the forums!

no, now it's fixed

So he only rides when the temperature is below 45F?:p

ditto

i think the guy is full of it. it could be true, but i doubt it. also, only one of the top 3 spots actually counts as winning a race.

30 minutes a day of training probably won't get you a win in the 4s.

and wtf is a tournament?

Also, you're a troll.

Pros can ride like pros. The rest of us just ride as hard as we can.

And that's all there is to it.

I've ridden with an ex-pro. Yeah, I'm never going to even be in ex-pro condition.

Denial can be a great motivator, however, so keep dreaming big! :D



Some good advice that was given to me: "I hope you are riding lots" (this is, of course, relative). But basically, I take this as, if you have a job that is not "cycling", then you don't even have a remote chance to reach pro-level conditioning, never-mind the whole genetics thing.

Also, since you obviously don't know much about cycling, he probably increased everything by 25% to make it sound better and you would never know the difference. Remember cycling is a heavily ego sport.

Sorry but BS

Is it?

I can see it being possible through structured, focused, training if the individual is still young, and in good shape.

Perhaps, but I don't think this situation represents reality for the vast majority of cyclists.

I must be doing something wrong.