First Century plus

[Bklynmom]

I just got my first real road bike. I signed up for the PMC at the recommendation of a friend, then realized we had picked the toughest route - 110 Mi will big hills! Uh -oh!

I am planning on doing a metric century in May, and will look for a June/July century. Honestly the hills in the PMC have me worried the most .

I have a training book reccommended by the Pan Mass trainer, Fitness Cycling. They have a hill traing program, basically some very hard, some very quick etc. I was thinking of doing the hill thing (short very intense uphill rides) during the week, and a long ride each weekend. My longest ride so far is 30 miles, and my hill MPH is very low - 7-10 MPH, depending on the hill.

I greatly appreciate any and all advice, especially on working on hill climbing.

[jobob]

This might sound flip, but the best advice I can give you to get better on hills, is to ride hills. Nope, not an April Fools joke

Sounds like a good plan you have there. Just increase your mileage gradually, and embrace those hills.

Oh, btw, 7-10 mph up hills ain't slow. I can show you slow.

[Geonz]

The alternative to hills if you don't have them is riding into the wind. If you have them, that's where to go.
Working on technique **really** helped me on hills. Getting a full, round pedal stroke and using as many different muscles as efficiently as possible wa sa big change from my "it's a hill! PUSH! PUSH" approach.

[li10up]

This might not be the politically correct thing to say, but if it was me I don't think I would be ready for that ride. If your longest ride to date is only 30 miles, sitting on a bike to ride 110 miles could be very painful. Although, I don't know when the PMC is so it may be well down the road which would give you time to prepare. If that's the case then why not give it a try...especially if there is SAG support.

[Grog]

The ride is in August. I think there is time to prepare.

[jobob]

I think she can too, and I tend to err on the conservative side.

Just make sure not to skimp on the training, but don't overdo it (yeah that was helpful )

[Wahine]

With the ride in August, I think there's time. I vote for go for it. Besides, it's a fully supported ride. If you get too tired, catch a ride. There's no harm in trying and you're not going to get stranded anywhere. You just have to give yourself permission to say "I've had enough" and not feel bad about it.

Oh, oh. I think I may have just convinced myself to do a hilly century in later in April.

[Brandy]

I agree...plenty of time to train!

[Offthegrid]

Sounds exciting! Congrats on the road bike. I know it's a long way away, but I just wanted to add to make sure not to go out too hard on the day. It's easy to get carried up in the excitement and to want to ride with a group of cyclists, but if they're going beyond your ability, you're better off to slow down so you can complete the ride.

And trust me, there is no one who will boo you for going "too slow." I've gone so slow up some hills that I feared I'd even fall over.

[Bklynmom]

Thanks for everyone's support! I plan on increasing my long ride every weekend, so I think this is doable. There are great traing rides for my metric century in May with a local bike club. I have started working on hills, and have a plan to go to the big hills in New Jersely in June. I am even thinking of going up to Massachusetts in July to practice on the actual hills.

I think the advice not to get too carried away in the beginning is excellent, because I have exactly the kind of personality that will do that, how did you know?!

Plus I have lots of support from PMC and friends -- and from the folks on TE that I don't even know. How cool is that!

[Jo-n-NY]

Bklynmom....is the metric century in May the Bloomin Metric in Ct. If so besides the 5 borough, that was my organized ride & it rained. I will tell you, it had hills and they were not rolling. It was a fun ride and would have been better if it did not rain. The decents were a little scary on the slick surface.

I will probably ride it again next year. Unfortunately like last year it conflicts with the Montauk Century which I also enjoy to ride, but that is a flat century.

Anyway, good luck in your training and welcome to road biking. It's the best!!

~ JoAnn

[Bklynmom]

It's the Montauk Metric Century I am doing May 20th. Have you done it? It sounds fine and I have gone on a nice group traing ride for it with the 5Borough club last week. I think flat is a good start. If there was a more hilly century to do in late June that would be perfect, so I would appreciate any suggestions you have .

Any suggestions of good rides near NYC for hills would be appreciated.

[lisa_b]

I'm planning on doing the Montauk metric century too, I think its a good way to start the season. It is very flat! Its also a beautiful ride. For hills, I mostly wind up doing repeats on the large hill in the north part of central park. There is a path you can take which allows you to simply do the hill over and over without cycling around the rest of the park. Its a bit less crowded in that section of the park and good practice!

[Jo-n-NY]

It's the Montauk Metric Century I am doing May 20th. Have you done it? It sounds fine and I have gone on a nice group traing ride for it with the 5Borough club last week. I think flat is a good start. If there was a more hilly century to do in late June that would be perfect, so I would appreciate any suggestions you have .

Any suggestions of good rides near NYC for hills would be appreciated.

I did the full Montauk Century last year. It was great, the weather was perfect. It was my first century ride.

I "might" be riding it again this year. My girlfriend had a minor surgical procedure last week so she is not sure if she will be ready to ride it. Since there is another Montauk Century two weeks later, June 2nd we might ride that only if my friend feels that she cannot ride the first one.

I will keep you posted if I ride it, you never know who you pass or meet up at the rest areas or even the dinner at the end

~ JoAnn

[Jo-n-NY]

It's the Montauk Metric Century I am doing May 20th. Have you done it? It sounds fine and I have gone on a nice group traing ride for it with the 5Borough club last week. I think flat is a good start. If there was a more hilly century to do in late June that would be perfect, so I would appreciate any suggestions you have .

Any suggestions of good rides near NYC for hills would be appreciated.

Sorry....also Lisa B

I did the full Montauk Century last year. It was great, the weather was perfect. It was my first century ride.

I "might" be riding it again this year. My girlfriend had a minor surgical procedure last week so she is not sure if she will be ready to ride it. Since there is another Montauk Century two weeks later, June 2nd we might ride that only if my friend feels that she cannot ride the first one.

I will keep you posted if I ride it, you never know who you pass or meet up at the rest areas or even the dinner at the end

~ JoAnn