Training for a 75 mile ride in 3 weeks
 

Hi,

I'm planning to do the El Tour de Tucson 55 mile coming up in 3 weeks with zero experience in long distances and have only cycled for commuting before this. Right now I'm fairly certain I can do the 55 easily by then so I'm curious to see if I can push myself to a 75 with the time I have. It looks doable on a map because I've done the middle (21-36) before with all the hills but of course everything looks easier if you look at it in sections.

I've been training for only a month because it was a last minute decision and also lost about 2 weeks after starting due to feeling sluggish (worried I was overexerting) but I've been riding 100+ miles per week for the last 2 weeks. The longest ride so far is a 40 mile ride with 1,800 ft elevation gain at 13 mph and 2 short breaks but I did get worn out with all the climbs. Did a 20 mile ride on a flat route the next day so I was not completely burned out by the ride.

Here's the route of the 75 mile: El Tour de Tucson 75 miles in Tanque Verde, AZ, United States | MapMyRide
55 mile: El Tour de Tucson 55 mile in Catalina Foothills, AZ, United States | MapMyRide

If you think it's possible, what should I do differently in terms of training? My daily rides have so far been just around 20-25 miles partially due to time constraints in the morning but there are days where I definitely have more time to go farther. The last week should be tapering so I've heard so really that gives me 2 weeks.

Here's my weekly mileage. I think I'm still figuring out my abilities so that's why the numbers jump. I'm not following the 10% guideline.

Week 1: 70
Week 2: 70
Week 3: 70
Week 4: 115
Week 5: 145

Any thoughts?

I would do a 50 mile ride this week and a 60 mile ride next week, see how you do with those distances. If the 60 goes well, then go for it with the 75 mile ride.

I agree, at least one ride of 3 hrs to get a feel for it, and learn about unexpected fit/nutrition/logistic issues.

2400 feet of climbing over 75 miles is practically flat. So long as the weather is hospitable and you are conscious about your pacing, you should do fine. My wife works too much, and only gets to ride maybe 40-50 miles in a typical week, but still manages to do a 70-80 mile group ride a few times a year. I (apparently) ride far too many miles to offer any helpful advice-- I did 67 miles with 2650ft^ @ 17.5mph this morning on 40oz of water and half a PB&J. I'll do another 50+ tomorrow.

Also if it is a popular ride there will be a HUGE draft bonus! When I did my first grand fondo in Miami I barely had to pedal to hold 26mph for the first 10 miles until it broke up a little. After that there were still huge groups at almost every speed to grab on to. The most important thing I would say is make sure you can sit on the bike for that long because your legs should be fine with your training.

You sir are somewhat superhuman (at least to me) to run off of half a PB&J for 67 miles.

Thank you for the advice everyone! I'll see how well I can do the next few weeks. I seem to be running into another sluggish leg week but maybe I should just sleep more.

For me it's just been about miles. It doesn't matter the speed, the intensity, or the elevation. Doing more miles makes it easier to do even more miles. I've done at least 200 miles per week the last 6 weeks, an amount I would have thought impossible even 2-3 months ago. Just keep riding. Eventually, 75 miles won't seem like much at all. The length of my rides are limited purely by time constraints, not physical ones.

Oh, and don't forget the magical power contained in candy bars. I don't get into the super focused nutrition balancing stuff-- I basically ride more to eat more-- but 50 miles into a ride, a candy bar is like a magical elixir.

I've been eating my kids peanut M&M's they got from Halloween lately. After eating those I do feel a lot better :D.