Long distance rides question..

Hey,

Just wanted to ask about longer distance rides. I know we have some funky long distance ladies & would like some input.(Nanci where are you???)

I was at the Audax site (http://www.audax.org.au/calendar.asp) and saw a 100km ride in Feb and April I think i could do. 200km is a bit frightening & am worried i'll be the slowest one out there. There is one in September but the site says it's actually 250km:eek:

If I am doing around 200km/wk but my afternoon ride home is max 50km and my speed/time/distance is still a bit shaky, would it be a good idea? Which of the three would be most important to work on first?

I'd like to do longer rides but would love some input.

What did you long distance ladies work on??? I'll go and search earlier threads as my answer may be lurking. :D

(K..i found the ultracycling site..:) )

Thanks for your help.

I found this riding schedule very helpful when I was preparing myself for my first century. I followed it and felt very strong on my first century. Hope it helps.

http://www.diablocyclists.com/RiderT...ingProgram.htm

My perspective on training your body for long rides is time/distance and last, speed. Time is first because you're only going to ride as long and as far as your butt will let you. Make sure you have a saddle and a bike fit that allows you to do this, and comfortable shorts. The distance goes hand in hand with this, because if you are doing the miles you will rack up the time. A good guideline I once heard is that you can do a distance in one day when you can do 3 consecutive days of riding of shorter distances that add up to that single day's goal. So if your goal is 100 km, if you can do 3 days in a row of at least 33 km & not hurt too bad, you should be ok. Finally, speed does matter. If you can build up speed, you will be able to minimize the time it takes you to go the distance. It all works together.

Makbike & Squirrel-thanks for your help!

I've saved the link M & will scour the site for info!

Thanks
c

CC - the CA long distance folks were on a ride today....

in terms of training, the programs cited (diablo cyclists) are good. you might also check out the umca website. just gradually work up your mileage, adding maybe 10 miles a week. a 100k should be totally doable. don't be put off by the 200k.

I will try to get you some more links tomorrow.

cc-
i've found youre only limited by your saddle (and the parts that contact it). i still get real pain after about 85 miles, where you just cant find a comfortable place on the seat.
for distance, i worked up to it, did my first 34-miler when i didnt think i could, then did my first 70-miler when i had never before ridden that far, then did my first true century when i'd never gone more than 70 miles, then did four centuries last year and hope to do at least six this year.
i'm still looking for that magical saddle that is lightweight, long/narrow for racing, but still comfy for the long rides.
i know its out there . . . .
and my suggestion to you is to Just Do It, you'll be surprised what you can accomplish. good luck.

I sort of did the same thing. This summer I never did any rides over 50-60 miles and I did a century in September, with no special training. The day I wanted to do a longer ride of 80 miles, I was sick. I had never ridden more than 70. But my rides include a lot of climbing and the century I did was fairly flat. The last ten miles were very hard, but it was more because of the 30 mph headwinds and a freakish microburst of very cold rain.

Ok first off I did I see you are from the southern hemishpere? Then It is summer and you are able to ride more, even in the heat. So adding on the ability to do a 100k next month is not a problem. You may even want to consider that ride in September, it gives you almost 9 months to build your riding distance. It's easier to do in metric numbers then in English units because when we say a hundred miles it means for most people 6 to 8 hours in the saddle or more.Where it is much closer to what you will see distance wise to the 200k. So you only have to prepare your body for 3 and a half to 5 and a half hours depending on your speed and the conditions. As far as getting your body ready to sit in that saddle that long don't worry about it you will adjust. Part of being a cyclist is being able to ignore all but the pain that means you had better stop or you will need medical attention.

The solution to the speed problem for the rides around here is simple: start earlier. (Most of our long rides don't have a mass start.)

I've also heard the "Rule of 3" and it makes sense to me: on a supported ride you can go 3 times as far as you can go on a "regular" daily ride.

Generally, the people who worry about whether they can do it most don't need to worry :)

What I would do is start with the 100km - pace yourself and see how it goes. Then think about the 200 and the 250. Of course, 200 km feels like ten times as long 'cause you've already done 100kmwhen you started! As somebody already said, though, at a certain point the seat's most important.