Training Advice Appreciated
 

Hello-

I am doing a 56-mile ride the second week in February and am looking for advice on how I should train for this kind of thing. I have been an avid commuter the last couple years with a 10-mile round trip to work and back. I know to a lot of you 56 miles isn't a lot but it seems kind of daunting to me.

How do you train for this kind of thing? Should I ride the full miles before the event or get close? The first 21 miles of the route is kind of a rolling climb at what seems to be 1-2% but there's nowhere around here I can really replicate that, so I have been hitting the hills as much as I can and challenging myself with what I think are some good climbs. I have also been trying to mimic the route as much as I can with climbing at the front end then a little more of a relaxed ride towards the end.

For example, I rode @28 miles today and here was the elevation and climb:

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...r_felicita.jpg


Here's the route I will be riding in February (Tour de Palm Springs)

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...r_de_ps_56.jpg

I am not sure my training will be adequate but maybe I'm just psyching myself out over that long grade in Palm Springs.

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

Keep doing what you're doing, do a couple 35 or 40 mile rides if you want (or just do a 50 miler), make sure you bring enough fuel (food/water), and you'll be fine. If you're worried about climbing, realize that based on the profiles you posted you did almost 3/4 the climbing of the 56 miler in only 1/2 the distance on your 28 mile ride. Just based on the profile, I might even say the 56 miler will be easier for you. You'll be fine. Have fun.

Just keep riding lots. The "climb" for the Tour de Palm Springs is nothing to worry about. The only steep sections are basically overpasses. I've seen people complete this ride wearing flip flops and riding beach cruisers.

I did 57 miles in September, at that point longer than any previous ride I had done (my longest was 40 up til then) I was surprised how "easy" it was to finish the ride. I wasn't in great shape at the time, in fact I think I had been off the bike for 2-3 weeks when I went for that ride. The ride was mostly flat but I did it on my single speed so the hills I did encounter required a little bit of grit. My average speed was somewhere around 17 mph. Not blistering by any measurement but I was satisfied. Again, single speed, no preparation and a lot of coasting to wait for my brother to catch up. I'm looking forward to doing it again in the spring, maybe solo.
You'll be fine, have fun with it.

I had not looked at the climb that way before but it really makes sense now.

Thanks for the input!

lol...ok I am feeling better about it now. If somebody passes me wearing flip flops on a beach cruiser I better pack it in right then and there. :)

Thanks James. I am definitely feeling much better about after everyone's input. My wife is training for it as well and I think I freaked her out a little with my obsession over the "hill". I think the fun part will definitely be the downhill ride after the 21 mile mark. It looks like a relaxed ride the rest of the way.

matt

I think as long as you ride at a pace you're comfortable with, you will not only finish with no problem but really enjoy it. Maybe you finish with more leftover energy than you expected but that just means go back and ride it again some other time and kick it up a little. When I did my 57 miler, I slept damn well that night. I think I could have gone a little harder but I didn't really know, didn't want to over do, and didn't want to leave my brother behind. We looped around a lake so if we ran out of juice, there was no easy finish. The last 5 miles or so, I gave it everything I had left, I told my brother I was gonna finish it out and see him at the truck. Anyway, before I ramble any more have fun with it and come back & update after the ride.

I will be joining that Tour too. You dont have to do serious training for that. Can anyone carry my flat repair things? and keep up (if you can)? i'm doing the longest route.